DRIVEN Blog
Talkin’ Turkey, Drinkin' Juice.
Poll 30 people about their Thanksgiving wine preferences, and you might find yourself in a bit of an algorithmic pickle— you’ll likely get 30 distinct responses. I know because I’ve tried it, and I spent…
The Experimental Herbalist: Diet and My Pursuit of Personal Energy
Living a life with Deborah equates to plenty of exciting culinary exploration, and this has now been my delight for nearly a decade! The “healthful hedonism” of consuming whole foods, with whole…
Something’s Gotta Give: My Initiative For Fragrance-Neutral Dining
The restaurant business. I know it well, from both sides of the table. I’ve done my share of dining out, for business and for sport. I’ve proudly been part of the wait staff at several of NYC’s most elite…
Savor The Season: DRIVEN’s Autumn Wine Roundup for 2015
Welcome, Autumn! And with it, welcome not just to the sense-worthy nuances that signal the change of seasons, like the crisp air, the colorful foliage and the sound of leaf blowers in the distance…
Everyone’s Favorite Word: Flapjacks!
Sometimes we call them pancakes, but that word just seems way too conventional for the type we have in mind. Ours aren’t the kind you‘d slather in maple syrup at breakfast; these are the sort you’d…
Hudson Redux: Why I Keep Returning to This Fascinating River Town
Back in the spring, I had posted an article titled A Place Called Hudson: A Must-Visit for New Yorkers, detailing my weekend getaway with Deborah to the city of Hudson, NY. Our new favorite nearby…
Saugerties by Storm: Small-Town Charm Awaits at the Foot of The Catskills
Saugerties IntersectionExploring historic Hudson Valley villages can become a New Yorker’s hobby. Deborah and I have done our share, and I periodically report upon all the worthwhile nooks and…
Summer Sipping Wine Event: The Lost Recipes
There’s been quite a bit of animated conversation in the 5 weeks following our Spring & Summer Sipping wine and food pairing event. Most of it has been centered on the food part. I’ve been gradually posting my recipes for the evening’s scrumptious fare, and…
5 Restaurants, 3 Vermouths, & an Art Exhibit: The Other Side of Bridgehampton
Last month I raved on and on about the Channing Daughters Winery portion of the trip Deb and I took to the South Fork of Long Island. Having waxed so nostalgic about the week-old experience…
Things That Make NY Great: T.Edward Wines
Wine tasting trade shows in NYC are always an adventure, but never so much as when the hosting distributor is one of the “Big Ten”, as I like to refer to them. T.Edward Wines, based in Tribeca, is one of those New York ten, qualified by being progressive in the…
Springtime Sippin’ in Chelsea: Another Cultured Wine Event Rocks the House
Last Wednesday saw WAC’s first wine event of 2014, and a wealth of free-flowing delight amongst its participants. Spring & Summer Sipping, an informal investigation of warm-weather wines and their suitable food accompaniments, was attended by seventeen…
The Windham Hill Inn Effect: Escape to a Green Mountains Paradise This Spring
Spring may have taken hold for us here in NYC, but spring takes a bit longer to arrive in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Thus, I’ve been holding out all winter to let you in on my newly-discovered staycation destination, which lured Deb and me for 3 nights last September. This one’s for the foodie with a longing for the…
Wine List Navigation Takeaways: Let’s Eat!
What would a lesson in Wine List Navigation be without a sweet surrender to the temptation of sipping on a little vino and snacking on some strategic homemade munchies? That’s just what I encouraged at my March 26th workshop, as the ladies in…
Wine List Navigation Takeaways: Great Questions Answered
At Deb’s March 26th Wine List Navigation: Earn Your Wings workshop for addressing the challenges of ordering wine in the NYC restaurant setting, the ladies in attendance were quite intuitive when it came...
Things That Make NY Great: Channing Daughters Winery
It took a few extra years, but Deb and I finally made our way back to The Hamptons, in pursuit of……what else: food and wine! To avoid the temptation to spend our entire trip sunning on the beach, we…
Wine List Navigation Takeaways: Shrewd as a Sommelier
At last Wednesday’s Wine List Navigation workshop, a dozen ladies “earned their wings” by understanding and troubleshooting the challenges of ordering wine in a restaurant. It comes as no surprise…
What I’m Drinking: Obscure Gems of Italy’s Piedmont
The usual suspects? You know that’s not what I’m all about. Sure, with cuisine, I’m always excited to try a different take on a classic (it’s seldom I’ll turn down a meatball simply because I’ve had a million of ‘em). But with wine, there are just too many options these…
The Restaurant Wine Ritual: A Host’s Perspective
As a frequent business dining host, you will be taking part in the age-old honor of ordering a bottle of wine for the table. For some, the very thought of such a responsibility is intimidating, even panic-inducing, and rightly so; without a professional wine background, it is natural to feel at a loss when flipping through a comprehensive restaurant…
Honk if You Drink Franc!
Michael and I have been fixated on New York State wines for quite some time, but never so acutely as we have been since 2008, when, as synchronicity would have it, while we toured the wines regions on Long Island’s east end and the Finger Lakes for the first time…
They Came, They Learned, They Bought: The C.Wonder Effect
thank you to all the ladies who attended last Wednesday’s C.Wonder wardrobe tutorial and discounted shopping opportunity, hosted by WAC Specialist Caroline Sill, the fashion retailer’s Manager of…