Posts Tagged ‘Wine’

When we heard about A Taste of Rockaway Beach from Patrick, co-owner of Syarh’s Wine Bar, we were thrilled! We found out more from Rockawayist.com The Hospitality & Entertainment Association for Restaurants and Taverns (HEART of Rockaway Beach) was recently formed by businesses still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. Several restaurant owners have banded together in hopes of drawing attention from residents and visitors especially in the off-season. Their first event, A Taste of Rockaway Beach, will be held on December 7th. It is described as a “restaurant crawl to celebrate the new and […]

Tomato reader Nicole, from San Jose California shared with us her Bridal Shower Wine Basket photos.  She came across our post “For the Newlyweds Who Love Wine – Bridal Shower Gift” and used it as inspiration for her own beautiful gift basket (pictured above). Nicole took it one step further adding wine glasses with “Mr.” and “Mrs.” painted on. I asked Nicole how she made the glasses… I used a Sharpie paint pen (medium tip), typed out the letters on the computer in the  font and size that I wanted, and […]

Like many designers, I really love typography. And I especially love old typography and signage. These signs are from another time, a different Ridgewood. Joe’s, 66-53 Forest Ave My husband took me on our first date over 11 years ago at the original Joe’s. The inside was decorated with fake flowers and garlic hanging from the ceiling. The table cheese sat in sawed-off plastic Coke bottles and notably, saint statues and gnomes were scattered about. It was a very special first date to say the least! 68-55 Fresh Pond Rd This store […]

Walking to the subway, I passed the old sign on Cypress and Stanhope and decided to take a picture, but I also noticed there were dudes inside the place. These dudes appeared to be building something. “Dudes”, I said, “Are you building something?” They told me about the plans for the Cypress Inn, cafe by day, wine bar by night. Paula is going to find out more from the owner Vinny, but in the meantime, I thought you guys would be happy to learn that we’ll be getting a new […]

Last Saturday we ran into Patrick Flibotte co-owner of the new wine bar Sayra’s, soon to open on 91-11 Rockaway Beach Blvd. “Want to take a look?” Patrick asked, offering an unexpected invitation which we immediately accepted. Susanne and I were thrilled to get a first peak inside the much-anticipated, first-ever wine bar in Rockaway. My reaction when walking in was… this place is really special. After talking with Patrick it all made sense. He’s an artist with a concentration in sculpture and welding. From the handmade bar stools to the […]

Of late, I’ve been into giving (and receiving) gifts of food and beverage. It’s a fun idea to consider this holiday season. Lets get the juices flowing… Wine, beer or alcohol: if you have a friend/family member that indulges in these pleasures, you just can’t go wrong with these gifts. Usually I pick up wine for 13 bucks or less, so receiving a fancy bottle is always a welcomed treat. Same goes for vodka, whiskey and other liquors. Peroni for your beer drinking paisans – so easy! I’m sure your friends […]

ROMEO is a terminology I learned from my long time friend, Mike Honan. Mike coined the term ROMEO to refer to “Retired Old Men Eating Out” (note: that may be a completely false statement that he coined it, but I am going to give him the credit anyways). I always get the term mixed up and say its “Really Old Men Eating Out”. In the latter interpretation, my father Jerry has been doing that for years! I bring up the ROMEO terminology now, because my dad has retired. Part of […]

I just returned from the South of France with the Gehrhardt crew. We stayed in a little town named Cerbère. The town of Cerbère didn’t have much to it but the neighboring towns of Banyuls and Colliouere were quaint and what you would expect for a town in South France. Besides the quaintness of these towns, they also boast another great feature, both towns produced wine. Ahh music to my wino ears. From my brief wine education, I knew that I liked French wines. Not that I drink French wines […]

My friend Jackie is an awesome gift giver. A few years back for my birthday, she handed me a tupperware of homemade french onion soup, grated gruyere cheese, and a loaf of french bread. Seriously thoughtful gift for a food lover. As you may know from my wine basket post, I was asked to be in Jackie’s bridal party – her wedding was this past weekend – the weather was 85 and clear, the vineyard was gorgeous and the food was out of this world. We had a blast! Each guest […]

Last Thursday I was having an afternoon cocktail on the RD when I had a crafty DIY idea. I decided sponge painting paper wine bags would look totally chic. A new liquor store opened a few blocks from me and instead of the unsteady, non-reusable black plastic bags often given, Sanctuary of Spirits uses a strong narrow brown paper bag (I’ve been saving them). I thought if I jazz it up, when I visit friends for dinner parties and such, I can bring wine in the embellished wine carriers. Below […]