We're all Irish next week
- Dan Matheny
- 37 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Irish Week all week long starting Monday,
and don't forget another Lenten Special this Friday!
Hours of Operation
Monday - Tuesday, 10am to 6pm
Wednesday - Saturday, 10am to 8pm
Calendar 🗓
March 13 (Friday) - Lenten Special: Crab-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, 4-8pm.
March 16-21 (Mon-Sat) - Irish WEEK!! Spreading out the St. Patrick's love this year with a couple of Irish specials and brews the whole week.
March 20 (Friday) - Lenten Special: Pappa al Pomodoro, 4-8pm.
March 27 (Friday) - Lenten Special: Lobster Rolls, 4-8pm.
March 28 (Saturday) - In like a lion, out like a lamb (hopefully). It's Lamb-O-Rama! A lamb dinner all day long, no reservations required.
News 🗞
This Friday is another Lenten special, Crab-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. We're crafting a creamy, delicious Crab Stuffing to put into a jumbo Portobello Mushroom cap, then baking it until melty and golden and serving it with some Garlic Buttered Green Beans. It'll be a warm and cozy dish for what looks like it will be a chilly evening. Then next week, believe it or not, St. Patrick's Day is already here... because we didn't want to celebrate just on a Tuesday, we are extending the celebration all week with the inaugural Irish Week 🍀. Come anytime Monday through Saturday to have the classic ReuDAN Sandwich, fresh Rye Bread piled high with some magnificent Wagyu Corned Beef and Pastrami -- not one but BOTH -- plus Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, and Thousand Island Dressing, served with Chips & a Pickle. I'm not kidding you, this is some of the best meat you'll ever taste on a sandwich. We're also going to try out the new Bangers & Mash Dog, a Split-Top Bun with a layer of Potato Mash, a Pork Banger from across the pond, Sauerkraut, and a Caramelized Onion Aioli, served with Chips & a Pickle. Lunch, dinner, snack, heck even brunch, it's whatever you want it to be. We'll also of course have Irish Beers ready to go, and Irish Coffee in the Frozen Machine.
Wine Feature ⭐️
We got a few new wines this week from Hook & Ladder in Sonoma's Russian River Valley, so let's talk about the Hook & Ladder 2022 The Tillerman Red Blend. The owners and winemakers of Hook & Ladder are a firefighter and an anthropologist from San Francisco who bought a winery and proceeded to enroll in classes and learn how to make wine after the fact. A little backwards, don't you think? But they learned the ropes, bought more land in the Russian River Valley that grew into Hook & Ladder, and became some of the pioneers of Russian River Valley wines, helping to make it into the prestigious appellation that it is. This blend is all estate fruit from the even more prestigious Chalk Hill sub-appellation of the valley. It's primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, medium- to full-bodied "with notes of ripe wild berries, black cherry, and baking spices on the nose. Layered flavors of black currant and raspberry lead to a long finish of spice and dusty cocoa." Try this bottle for $29.99, or try their Cabernet Sauvignon at the same price, or their big, bold Zinfandel for $32.99. All good options for grilling... if the nice weather comes back.
Wine Pick 🥂
The pick this week is a bargain we snagged, Copain 2024 Daybreak White Blend from Sonoma Valley. We've had a couple of Copain wines before, and they don't disappoint. Though owned by a larger wine house since 2016, they are still a small winery that takes good care of their grapes and are very committed to sustainability and social responsibility. Now, I will be honest and say this wine sounds a little crazy in its blend... I'm not sure there is a white grape that is not in it: Malvasia Bianca, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Semillon. To quote a reviewer, "I am always impressed when a 100% varietal wine shines, but I am equally impressed by the art of blending grape varieties. Skilled winemakers know just how to combine grape varieties to fill in missing spaces, round out flavors and add complexity to a wine without losing the identity of each grape variety. Copain’s winemaker, Ryan Zepaltas, demonstrates that skill with Daybreak." It also means this wine can go with pretty much anything. Green tea, honey, and passionfruit on the nose, with notes of pear, nectarine, and tropical guava on the palate. Not to mention this retails for $25 on their site, and we have it at $18.99. It's a no-brainer.
Food Feature 🥩
I have a small number (6 to be exact) of 1lb cuts of Fresh Choice Bavette Steak for $24.99 apiece. This steak is just a fantastic cut of meat from the bottom of the sirloin, heavily marbled with a great fat to muscle ratio. Most similar to flank steak, it's a flatter cut, very even in width, so it will cook evenly. All you need to do is give it a quick sear on each side, then finish over low heat for a few minutes -- it will cook quickly. Then let it rest and cut against the grain, and it will fall apart it's so tender.
Oyster Selection 🦪
North Shores and Pink Moons this week. North Shores from Massachussets are medium in size with a light & bright flavor with a vegetal note and a clean finish. Pink Moons as you've heard before are perennial favorites from PEI, smaller in size but not in flavor. Briny, creamy, and crisp with a sweet mineral finish. Irish Points will be coming in hot (figuratively) for Irish Week next week...
Market Items 🛒
Fresh Faroe Islands Salmon - $18.99/lb
Fresh Alaskan Halibut - $32.99/lb
Fresh Choice Bavette Steak - $24.99/lb
Fresh Quixote Argentinian Chorizo, 16oz - $12.99
Fresh Oysters (North Shore & Pink Moon) - $24/dozen
Sea Wings Sustainably Sourced Crab Claw Meat, 1lb - $24.99
Frozen Hanger Steaks, 1/2lb - $14.99
Frozen Choice Hanger Steaks, 8oz-2pk - $29.99
Frozen Choice Ribeyes (Boneless & Bone-In) - $22.99/lb
Frozen Wagyu Ribeyes, 12-14oz - $35.99
Frozen Center Cut Beef Tenderloin Filets, 8oz - $16.99
Frozen Beef Tenderloin, 6oz 2pk - $21.99
Frozen Whole Beef Tenderloin, 3.5lb - $100
Frozen Short Rib Burgers, 4pk - $15.99
Frozen Little Town Jerky Fully Cooked Rare Beef Tri-Tip - $15.99/lb
Frozen Australian Lamb Racks, ~1.5-1.75 lb - $39.99
Frozen Bone-In Veal Loin - $18.99/lb
Frozen Pounded Veal Leg Cutlets, 1lb (4 per pack) - $18.99
Frozen Ground Veal, 2lb - $21.99
Frozen Veal Rack - $32.99/lb (1 available)
Frozen Veal Chops - $30.99/lb
Frozen Smithfield Smoked Spiral Ham, avg. 5-6lb, $10.99/lb
Frozen Pre-Cooked St. Louis Ribs - $29.99
Frozen All-Natural Berkshire Pork Tenderloin, 14oz - $13.99
Frozen Cooked Marinated Pork Shank, 16oz - $9.99
Frozen Bone-In Frenched Pork Chop, 16oz - $8.99
Frozen Duroc Dry Aged Bone-In Pork Chops, 14oz - $16.99
Frozen Skin-On Chicken Breast & Thigh, 2pk - $4.99/lb
Frozen Greco Italian Sausage, 4pk - $14.99
Frozen Portico Peeled & Deveined Jumbo Shrimp - $18.99/lb
Frozen Portico Bikini Shrimp, 2lb - $27.99
Frozen U-10 Scallops - $32.99/lb
Frozen Bay Scallops - $10.99/lb
Frozen Lobster Tails (5-6oz), 2pk - $25.99
Frozen 1lb Lobster Tail - $35.99
Frozen King Crab - $91.99/lb
Frozen Massa Sicilian Style Pizza (Veggie) - $15.99
Frozen Oven-Roasted Potato Wedges - $8.99
Frozen Au Gratin Potatoes -$5.99 2pk / $9.99 4pk
Fresh/Frozen Drake's Pasta Veal Ravioli - $14.99/lb (serving for 2)
Fresh/Frozen Pear & Cheese Fiocchi - $18.99/lb (serving for 2)
Fresh/Frozen Portobello Mushroom Ravioli - $9.99/lb
Fresh/Frozen Lobster Ravioli - $25.99/lb
Frozen Bake House Artisan Multi-Grain Bread - $4.99
Frozen Baker's Source Roasted Garlic Bâtard Bread - $7.99
Frozen Miner's Demi Glace - $9.99
Frozen Brittany Blend Mixed Vegetables, 2lb - $8.99
New Wine🍷
Hook & Ladder 2022 The Tillerman Red Blend, Russian River Valley - $29.99
Hook & Ladder 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Valley - $29.99
Hook & Ladder 2022 Zinfandel, Russian River Valley - $32.99
Copain 2024 Daybreak White Blend, Sonoma - $18.99
Siduri 2024 St. Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Central Coast - $25.99
Siduri 2024 Chardonnay, Sonoma - $25.99
New Beer & More 🍺
Jackie O's Under the Clouds Hazy IPA, 6pk cans - $11.99
Jackie O's Music to my Beers Hazy IPA (Collab with OU's music program), 6pk cans - $12.99
Kegs - 1/6 Barrel 🛢
Streetside Brewery Ernst Hefeweizen - $114.99
Madtree Happy Amber Ale - $109.99
Sierra Nevada Premium Pils - $121.99
FBC Old Dutch - $134.99
KCBC Superhero Sidekicks IPA - $144.99 (arriving Monday)
Final Thoughts 💬
Everyone say your goodbyes to Michiah this week as Friday is her last day for a while. No, she's not leaving us forever, but she's got to go deliver this baby before she has it right here on the kitchen floor. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers, and she also wants me to mention that she IS accepting wine as a post-baby gift... good luck, Michiah!
Cheers from all of us here at the Wine Merchant!
📞 419-424-0391