Wine And Seafood Tasting In Belmar NJ!

Don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but the Jersey Shore seems better than ever. I spent my Sunday in Belmar, New Jersey, and it was one of the best days I have ever spent down there. I went down fairly early Sunday morning, so I would be able to find parking close to the beach, and the beach was already crowded before 9 am. I can’t remember seeing the beach that crowded so early in the summer, but it was great to see that people are coming back here after all the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The new boardwalk is great, they still are using trailers that are set up to serve food and beverages and so on, but I’m sure it wont be long until they have a permanent solution there too. The weather was gorgeous, so I stayed for a few hours.

Just a few blocks from where I was, they were having the annual Belmar Seafood Festival, so I figured that would be a good place to get lunch. OMG what a great festival that was! Every seafood restaurant you could think of, was represented. You name it, they had it. Lobster, clams, scallops, shrimp, and it was blackened, steamed, fried, grilled, I can go on, and on, and on. I ended up trying blackened scallop kebab, (I’m gonna find out how to cook these guys) and it was delicious.

After strolling around for a bit, I headed for the “Beer and Wine Tent”, they actually had a free wine tasting (made my day even better). They were serving 4 wines, my first tasting was a 2011 Albarino from Martin Codax, this is a Spanish wine, a very light and crisp white wine, that I thought suited the settings and feel of the festival. The next tasting was Starborough, a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand. Also a pretty good wine, pear stood out. I skipped the rose ( just not my thing) and went on to the red wine, Las Rocas, a 2009 Spanish wine. A dry and fruity red, that I would pair with some pasta and tomato sauce, not seafood.
I ended up enjoying a glass of the Spanish Albariño after the tasting.
What a great Sunday, and what a great festival. “Stronger than the Storm” for sure! Cheers!

   

 

   

India Paired With France!

I decided to use my summer office for writing my blog this morning. I’m laying on the beach watching the waves and the surfers as I’m working. There is nothing more peaceful. I love coming down to the Jersey Shore, my favorite place on earth.
The other day I went to an Indian restaurant with a friend. I always take it as a good sign if there is people of the same ethnicity as the restaurant, actually dining there. Meaning I would like to see Mexicans in the Mexican restaurant, and Chinese people in a Chinese restaurant, and so on. I believe that you get food that is close to what they eat in their home country, not something that is modified to suit the main stream public. In this Indian restaurant, we were the only non Indian people….. And the food was amazing, the spices they use is just so good. It is a totally different food experience. I really had no idea what wine to bring, was kind of thinking Riesling or a Gewürztraminer, but I didn’t have any, and there was no time to go shopping. I have learned one thing about food and wine pairing; French wine is very food friendly, so I decided to take a bottle of French table wine 2011 Domaine De Pere Caboche, Vin de Paysde Vaucluse. Since I don’t speak French, I have no clue what the label says, all I know is that it’s a blend, I only paid around 11 dollars for it, and it tasted great. As usual, the French wine paired well with the food. If you prefer your food real spicy, I would probably choose a Riesling, or at least something lighter on the sweet side.
What a great day in the office. They are having the annual Seafood Festival a few blocks up, I might have to grab some lunch. Cheers!