From B(agel) to Z(infandel)

Easter Sunday is a special day to The Great Plotnik and The Great Ducknik, because it was Easter Weekend when they spent their first real holiday together. This was back when people still sent letters in the mail and nobody's tryst could be interrupted by a cell phone message. Plot and Duck passed that sainted weekend, with late winter's Atlantic winds whistling bitter cold outside, in their room under the stairs at Captain Fisher's House on Martha's Vineyard. Though the time they had was so memorable they still talk about it every Easter Sunday, the view over breakfast then wasn't half as good as the one they had this morning at World Headquarters.



Breakfast then? Plotnik remembers fried chicken and a bottle of May Wine, and brownies too. But this morning it was the Traditional Easter Feast of Bagel/Cream Cheese/Tomato/Sweet Onion, with coffee so strong it hurts to drink it.



Last night Duck and Plot went out to Brother Jim's for a vertical wine tasting of 2000 vintage zinfandels. The Rafanelli, as always, stood out, even from other stalwarts from Topolos, Rosenblum and Unti. Plot is not one of these people who can detect 'a hint of boysenberry and pencil lead' in his wine, but he is coming to think that Rafanelli wines have something that other wines don't. Maybe it is the equivalent of Chef Pickle's umami in food -- that indescribable extra essence that great chefs and winemakers can impart to their foods. You've got to know how to do it -- it ain't in any book.

Rafanelli zins have a texture that sits better on the tongue -- Plotnik would not normally say something this ooh-wow about food or wine, but there, he did it. So sue him. It's true.

Also, just because Carrie and Linda seem to be frowning behind the bottles, it was a very temporary state of affairs, not noticed when the shutter was snapped.



As always, Jim's pulled pork was delicious, and the zinfandels even managed to be tasted above the peppery spiciness of the meat.



And the Dodgers won yesterday.

Plottie wishes a Happy Easter Sunday to all his readers, especially to BZ in freezing New York, PD, 5H and Baby I in freezing Chicago, and Mushnik in glorious Firenze. Bet the bells are ringing like crazy there.