Food & Wine June 2020

2019 VILLA MARIA PRIVATE BIN MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC ($14) My wife loathes Sauvignon Blanc, so if I buy a bottle, I have to finish it myself. I did that with this ultra-fresh wine from Villa Maria—its passion fruit and grapefruit-zest flavors remained vivid even after a day or two open in the fridge. 2018 ABBAZIA DI NOVACELLA KERNER ($21) How can you argue with a wine from an oddball grape (a cross of Riesling and Schiava) made at a winery located at an Alto Adige monastery founded in 1142? You can’t, I think, at least not when it’s as alluringly floral and lively as this one. 2017 IL POGGIONE ROSSO DI MONTALCINO ($30) I love Brunello di Montalcino; I do not love paying for it. Thankfully, Rosso di Montalcino, at least the good ones, like…

A New Season THIS WEEK, I PLANTED A GARDEN. I’m no green thumb, but I found comfort and purpose in mixing soil and seeding it with vegetables with workaday names like Better Boy tomatoes and straightneck squash. This garden has sparked a minor obsession and internet searches for ginger plants and bay laurel saplings. Oh, the possibilities: A Southeast Asian curry garden! A salad garden! Wait, couldn’t we also raise chickens? And then yesterday I found our dog Birdie snout-deep in one of the barrel containers, rooting up tomato plants to get more licks of bone meal–flavored potting soil. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. While the garden takes root, I’m finding more immediate returns in my kitchen by feeding a sourdough starter (which I’ve named Althea) that was FedExed by a friend. I’ve…

At Meredith, publisher of Food & Wine and other well-known magazines, our mission has always been to inform, inspire, and entertain our readers. In this extraordinary and uncertain period, we are, more than ever, dedicated to providing you with honest information, stories of inspiration, and the advice and guidance to help you navigate these turbulent times – and to make your life a little easier. We recognize the sacrifices and challenges you face, and we want you to know that all of us at Meredith, through each of our magazines and digital properties, are committed to serving your needs at this critical time and beyond. We are especially grateful for the dedication and bravery of the first-responders and the everyday heroes on the front lines of this crisis. We wish them, you, and…

WHEN COVID-19 HIT DETROIT, restaurants and bars were forced to pivot to delivery and takeout with just a moment’s notice in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic. While this mandate required a total transformation of business for most chefs across the country, Ping Ho was uniquely well-equipped to continue to support her community, employees, and suppliers in the midst of chaos. Ho’s first restaurant-supported retail concept, called The Royce, worked well enough that she did it again two years later with Marrow, a butcher shop that also seats 80 for brunch and dinner. In cities like Detroit where development is slow and sporadic, businesses must be dexterous in order to survive—The Royce, for example, is a bar; a wine shop that carries affordable, exciting bottles to bring home…

YOU’VE JUST HAD A GREAT (albeit indulgent) meal and find yourself faced with a classic dilemma: Do you go for something a little bitter, like an amaro, to help you digest? A coffee to perk you up? Or do you end the night on a sweet note with dessert? According to chef Joe Beddia of Philadelphia’s beloved Pizzeria Beddia, there’s no need to choose—or rather, you just need to choose an amaro float. Inside the Hoagie Room (where Beddia serves a hoagie and pizza omakase—yes, you read that right), glass cups filled with creamy soft-serve ice cream are swirled with bitter Italian liqueur, the ideal ratio being five ounces of high-quality ice cream topped with one ounce of amaro. The result is a perfect treat that, like the ending of…

THIS SUMMER, my go-to party trick is showing up with the Fireflower. This flat-pack portable firepit comes together in seconds, thanks to the genius of architect and designer David Grisham. Simply slide the notched pieces together and voilà! It’s the perfect foundation for a campfire, whether you plan to roast marshmallows or just keep warm after enjoying a sunset on the beach. The pit can even turn into a full-on grill thanks to a grate that conveniently fits into the assembled base. (From $199, fireflower-usa.com) BACKYARD UPGRADES ESPRESSO SET Don’t let cooking out keep you from a good cup of joe. GSI’s stainless steel Mini Espresso Set takes seconds to assemble and makes a strong cup of coffee in less than three minutes over your chosen heat source—grill, camp stove, or (when you’re…