It was good to see some of our favorite buddies yesterday at the Gardens, West and Calder, I guess you could say that they have grown up here starting even from with in utero ingestion....huh Dena? As you can see, they were exploring some of the new flavors of the Gardens, Mavromatika soupa, as well as their standard faves...Tyro, Fava, Patzaria. For dessert they were treated to our secret stash of Pagoto Fistikia, pistachio ice cream, waiting for its introduction on this summer's must try list!

Tucked in between that visit and my instruction at the Kitchen Window, was in impromptu wine tasting from the Boutari sellars (pun intended) Gigi, Allison and Laura, of Chicago. We compared two of our Agiorgitiko wines, Lafkioti and Haggipavlu with theirs. What a difference French oak can make with the same berry! We revisited Naoussa, the must have with all Avgolemono dishes, and finished off with the Naoussa Grand Reserve 03, a wonderful tasting and soon to be enlisted at the Gardens. One good discovery? Anginares definitely NOT a pairing with Naoussa--even with its lemon base. Didn't work at all! (Yes, I'm going to get that Gardens' Wine Primer and Pairing List put together...!)

Finally, I made it to the Kitchen Window with my nothing less than my most ambitious menu: why do I come up with such extreme self-tests for the most unfamiliar venues? Anyway, it was a gracious group and they were attentive to everything I said asking VERY good questions: always a good indication of interest and focus...so, once Laz rushed the forgotten artichokes to the site (traffic in Uptown 5:30 not-withstanding) my heart resumed its paranormal pace and it was a pleasure to share some of my cooking techniques together with some philosophies on life with such a warm and responsive group--half of which turned out to be our best supporters in the business. Thank you!