Sunday, January 13, 2008
Food, "Behind the Bar"
On the vine
Eno’s Doug Strickland appreciates food and wine pairings and the slower pace of European life
Doug Strickland of Eno
CREDIT: Spark St. Jude |
By Hope S. Philbrick
Doug Strickland is managing partner and wine director at Midtown’s popular Eno restaurant and Barrelman retail shop. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., he holds a certificate of higher training from the Wine & Spirit Trust in London, England, and basic level certification by the Court of Master Sommelier (and is a candidate for advanced certification). The Sunday Paper recently talked to Strickland for insight into his company’s beverage programs.
Q What’s the story behind Eno and Barrelman?
A We opened Eno on November 23, 1999. Barrelman came in 2002. At the time, Midtown was really going through a major renaissance, and our concept was very unique. We were the only wine shop connected to a restaurant at that time that I know of.
Eno was the first business in the building, and I asked the developers to save the space next to me thinking it would be neat to tie together a retail wine-and-cheese shop. I’d spent time in San Francisco and had seen shops like that, and I thought it would be great for people to come in, taste wine and take it home with them. It seemed like a good idea and a niche.
At Barrelman, we have a selection of about 50 different cheeses. We’re talking about rolling out some other things like cured meats, pastas, salads, paninis and espresso for carry away now that the neighborhood has filled in. We have a great wine club that people can join at a $30, $50 or $80 level; members get two bottles of wine each month featuring a different winegrowing region. We also host tastings once a month for members and the general public where we talk about wines from the region and they can taste samples. Another monthly tasting is geared more toward the experienced oenophile; we taste wines that cost $65 to $85 and talk about the regions and winemakers in more detail.
What’s your philosophy about food and wine pairing?
Our philosophy about wine in general is “live and let live.” We don’t try to push our likes and dislikes on the guests. I do like some of the trends that are taking place with more grower-producers, more organic and bio-organic. These wines tend to have a sense of place and are more varietal-driven and less manipulated by the winemaker. These wines will typically go better with food. We do carry quite a few Old World wines that are higher in acid—a general statement is that wines that are higher in acid go better with food. They tend to have a longer finish that allows the fruit character to carry through longer on your palate. Food and wine pairing is my favorite part of what I do.
Eno is a European Mediterranean–influenced restaurant, and so our wines are primarily the grape varietals grown in that region. Our list features not only wines from that region but varietals typical to that region that may be grown elsewhere. We feature wines from all major growing regions but primarily focus on France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and the United States.
What’s new on Eno’s cocktail menu?
We’re constantly developing new cocktails, but we’re also working on wine spritzers and fairly classical drinks. I’m not getting extremely crazy with cocktails because, at some point, I’m not sure it’s that practical. But we do have seasonal cocktails, tweaked more with the weather than on a calendar basis.
We do a true Venetian spritz with prosecco, campari or aperol, a slice of orange and an olive. It’s very simple on the rocks and great before dinner—or after dinner, really. It’s very classic. If you go to Venice, you’ll see probably 80 percent of people sitting around the piazza drinking it. What I’m trying to do is deliver that European-Mediterranean experience. Maybe you can’t go to Venice, but you can go to Eno. That’s sort of the idea of what we’re really trying to deliver: A slower pace, a European quality of life. SP