Entries Tagged as 'alpana'

OYSY Sushi

February 22nd, 2009 · No Comments

oysy_grand_chicago

Last week we went to OYSY sushi again. I think this makes OYSY our official downtown sushi spot. As I mentioned before, the fish is good and the prices are reasonable. .. unless your Dallas and you eat 15 nigiri in one sitting. Then complain you’re full and order mochi ice cream anyway! That can add up.

We used to always refer to the restaurant by the letters in it’s name – “O Y S Y.” I mentioned to Dallas that I saw on the restaurant’s website that it’s actually pronounced “oh-EE-she” and he recognized it as a Japanese word that means “delicious.” I looked it up and “delicious” in Japanese is actually spelled “oishii.” I guess OYSY looks better on the sign, I don’t know. But the restaurant is delicious indeed!

After dinner we went to Charles and Alpana‘s condo for a small cocktail party. Little did we know that Alpana is a great cook and had made homemade carnitas, guacamole, quesadillas and pineapple upside down cake. Wish we wouldn’t have eaten so much sushi, but oh well. We still packed it in somehow, along with large quantities of wine, of course. I hadn’t seen Alpana for a while and Charles even longer, so it was good to see them again. We got to meet their little pug, Haruki as well. He was so cute. I told Alpana that even if Dallas and I don’t get a dog, I’m still coming over for play dates with Haruki!

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Alpana Pours by Alpana Singh

June 22nd, 2008 · No Comments


finished 06.19.08

Alpana signed this book and gave it to me when I invited her in to talk at Google. I have many wine books and I’ve never gotten through any of them. I think there were a few things that helped me get through this book and really learn more about wine. I’ve met Alpana a few times so I could imagine her talking to me throughout the book. Alpana’s writing is just like she speaks and acts, which is really down to earth and relatable. There were several times in the book where she told a story and it was exactly something I either have done, or could have imagined myself doing. I’d heard Alpana tell a few of the stories and techniques in the book, so reading them again was reinforcement. Finally, it’s a book written by a woman my age for women. Which isn’t to say a man can’t read the book and get something out of it… Dallas has been picking it up and reading parts for weeks… but I think it’s a different perspective than what you’re used to when you buy any other wine book.

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Alpana Singh @ Google

June 5th, 2008 · No Comments

This is an author talk I set up before leaving Google. I’d hung out with Alpana a couple times before and asked if she’d like to come in to talk about her book, Alpana Pours, and to lead us in a little wine tasting and she graciously obliged. I actually introduced her in the beginning, but that is cut off the video. Thankfully. But it does explain why the IT guy was jumping up and down and flustering me during my short intro. The camera must not have been rolling!

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Whisky Dinner @ David Burke’s Primehouse

August 31st, 2007 · 3 Comments

Talisker

Singleton

Amuse Bouche

Last week Wednesday, before I went to California and before my family was visiting, Chuck and I met up with Alpana Singh and her husband Charles Blackstone at a wine tasting she was hosting at Osteria Via Stato. Afterwards she had made dinner arrangements for us at David Burke’s Primehouse and also invited Martin Duffy, a whisky expert.

Butter

Popover

Marty made special arrangements to bring his own high-end whiskys to dinner and spent a lot of time describing each one and educating us about whisky and scotch, how it’s made, how it tastes, the smell, where it comes from, it’s history, etc. I know some of the others at dinner knew more about whisky, but for me it was really a learning experience. I think whisky will have to be an acquired taste for me and I should probably keep at it, but I like trying new things and learning all about whisky that night was really fun for me.

Cold Seafood

Onion Ring Tower

I must also talk about David Burke’s Primehouse. It was divine. I don’t eat very much steak at all, but I thought it was fantastic. I loved the decor, the lighting, the tables, and of course the food. The service was pretty great, but because we had special arrangements, I can’t really speak for how it is on a regular night. I mean, David Burke himself came out to our table to say hello. Awesome.

Bone-In Filet

Caol Ila

Glenkinchie

One thing I really liked about Primehouse even before I set foot in the restaurant was the fact that the restaurant is named after a bull on a ranch in Kentucky that sires all of the cows who are then butchered to make the steaks used in David Burke’s restaurants. The bull’s name is Prime (and he has his own website here). It’s kind of morbid to think about, but I was really digging the fact that David Burke is so into his ingredients and that involved in knowing where they come from. Also, an interesting fact we learned that night: If Prime were to die today, there’s enough of him (his sperm?) in storage that they could continue making steaks with his lineage for about 50 years.

Lagavulin

Chocolate Mousse

Lollipop Tree

Here’s what it comes down to – David Burke’s Primehouse is pricey, but I thought it was really worth it. If you’re in Chicago and have a special occasion coming up and you love steak, why not try it out instead of the normal go-tos like Morton’s and Gibson’s?

Read Chuck’s post about our dinner on Chicagoist.

Cookies

Cake

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Taste & Find a Mate

August 1st, 2007 · No Comments

Alpana Singh
Alpana Singh, Scoozi!, River North, Chicago

Jason Steele
Jason Steele, Scoozi!, River North, Chicago

Rachelle Bowden, Erin Shea, Alpana Singh, Chuck Sudo
Rachelle, Erin, Alpana & Chuck, Scoozi!, River North, Chicago

Alpana Singh invited Chuck and I to a wine event last night. I asked Erin to come as my “plus one” because I thought she’d enjoy the wine and meeting Alpana. Also, I don’t believe we got invited to as many events back when she was the Chicagoist Food Editor. Anyway, last night was really fun. I’d never been to Scoozi! before and enjoyed the appetizers they served (prosciutto and arugula pizza, yum!). And of course, the wine was good. I really enjoyed the Masi Masianco Pinot Grigio and the Marco Carpineti Tufaliccio Rosso.

I’d heard it was so, but was still pleased to learn that Alpana was really down to earth and nice and talkative. We spoke for quite a while and our conversation ranged from wine to booze to the CTA to dermatologists and gynecologists to working out and yoga. And probably 10 more things I can’t remember now. We also met Alpana’s husband, Charles Blackstone. After coming home and looking up his website, I realized that Charles and I had emailed back when his book was first released and I wrote a post about it.

The event was also a singles mixer and Jason Steele spoke briefly about dating. None of us were really there to hook up, we were there for the wine, but when talking about how she thought more men should attend wine tastings, at one point Alpana said “If you can’t get laid at a wine tasting, then you can’t get laid.” I thought it kind of was representative of how she is obviously really very intelligent about wine* but at the same time she believes in making wine fun and casual and bringing it down to the level of the everyman. Which is way cool. Wine doesn’t have to be snooty and obscure and I don’t think it is and I don’t think Alpana thinks it is. We had fun and I’m glad we met. She’s totally someone I could hang out in the bar and drink with.

* Alpana passed the Court of Master Sommeliers’ advanced certification test at age 21 to become the youngest person to ever achieve the rank of Master Sommelier… and the master sommelier exam only has a 3% pass rate.

More Photos

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