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the_maestro
3 days ago18 min read
Becoming a Certified Sommelier
"What all did this involve?" is a question many curious family members, friends, and fellow wine professionals ask about certification.
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the_maestro
Aug 184 min read
The Best Bites at the Iowa State Fair
The standard fair fare of corn dogs and funnel cakes can be found at countless stands, but certain pioneering purveyors push the envelope!
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the_maestro
Apr 279 min read
Clues for the Clueless: Wine FAQs, Part 1
For the next few installments of the Maestro's "Clues for the Clueless," allow me to answer some of your most pressing wine questions.
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the_maestro
Mar 1323 min read
Three Wineries in La Rioja
Until this spring, I’d never done a wine tasting visit to Europe. In fact, until January, I’d never formally gone wine tasting outside of...
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the_maestro
Jan 308 min read
New Zealand's Central Otago Wine Region
When you visit a locale that happens to make excellent wine, make sure you leave room in your suitcase. When I booked my January trip to...
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the_maestro
Dec 11, 20235 min read
Eat Like the Maestro at Miami Art Week
A few years back, the art world was shaken to its core when Italian absurdist artist Maurizio Cattelan duct taped a ripe banana to a wall...
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the_maestro
Nov 10, 202310 min read
Clues for the Clueless – Sushi in Japan
I like to think I am knowledgable about food and beverages. But sometimes one has an experience that reminds you just how little you...
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the_maestro
Oct 28, 20234 min read
Street Food in Omoide Yokocho – Tokyo, Japan
Tucked in the belly of the glistening skyscrapers of Shinjuku is Tokyo's own "Memory Lane," or Omoide Yokocho, a narrow alleyway housing...
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the_maestro
Jul 18, 202216 min read
Blue Hill at Stone Barns (2) – Pocantico Hills, NY
Regular readers of the blog have doubtless come across at least one of the reviews of my meals at the Stone Barns Center for Food and...
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the_maestro
Jun 29, 20224 min read
Eat like the Maestro in DC
Car Talk, my very favorite old NPR show, took calls from all over the country, and whenever Tom and Ray got a call from DC, Tom always...
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the_maestro
Jun 18, 20225 min read
The best lobster roll in Maine, Part 2
Once I'd dropped off my friend's new Bernedoodle puppy in Boston and enjoyed some culinary offerings in one of my favorite cities in the...
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the_maestro
Apr 9, 20223 min read
Eat Like the Maestro in Boston
Oooo kiddos––it's been a busy time in the Maestro's life, and I have a backlog of blogs that resembles a California freeway at 4pm. So...
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the_maestro
Dec 31, 20219 min read
The 2021 Variant of the Big Drunk Gay Awards
Perhaps it was the sense of impending doom resulting from waking up every day in this pandemic, now again in a terrible phase, that...
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the_maestro
Dec 30, 20215 min read
36 hours of fantastic food and bev in Athens
I am woefully behind on blog posts owing to the end of the semester at Davidson and the ensuing whirlwind travel schedule. I know both of...
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the_maestro
Dec 5, 202121 min read
Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark
Years before I came to understand what fine dining really meant––or rather, what it really could mean––my attraction to the best...
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the_maestro
Nov 7, 20217 min read
Table for One – The slight against solo diners
I have few particular complaints about my single lifestyle. It allows me to be nimble and spontaneous, easily adapt to new circumstances,...
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the_maestro
Oct 5, 20219 min read
Finding the Best Lobster Roll in Midcoast Maine
The Maine coast has approximately 24,398,423,876,323,907 restaurants serving lobster. This is the land of “lobstah,” especially this time...
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the_maestro
Sep 12, 202111 min read
Is Las Vegas Undergoing a Culinary Revival? A Case Study
Back in the era of big name European celebrity chefs establishing outpost restaurants, in the heyday of places like the Bellagio, when...
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the_maestro
Jul 22, 20213 min read
Fonta Flora Brewery and Singlewyde Pizza at Whippoorwill Farm – Nebo, NC
North Carolina is the land of beer. I have five breweries within a five minute walk of my apartment. Charlotte has dozens in its city...
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the_maestro
Jul 5, 202114 min read
Our Culinary Adventure in Lima
Lima, Peru, a vibrant city of nearly ten million people, has earned a reputation as one of the culinary epicenters of the Americas, if...
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