Alor Cafe Social

Beaujolais Wines are grown in a tiny region of France. Located north of Lyon in eastern France, Beaujolais overlaps Burgundy in the north and Rhône in the south. The picturesque Beaujolais vineyards run along the Saône River, where winemakers have crafted deliciously supple and fruity wines since the days of Ancient Rome. Over mainly granite terrain, the Beaujolais Crus form a meandering path. From south to north, Brouilly is followed by Côte de Brouilly, Régnié, Morgon, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Chénas, Juliénas and Saint-Amour. The region has ideal growing conditions. It receives lots of sunshine and has granite-based soils that lend excellent structure to the wines. The Gamay grape is used to make all Beaujolais wines with the exception of white Beaujolais, or Beaujolais blanc, which is made of Chardonnay grapes. Only manual harvesting is allowed in the Beaujolais region. Handpicking means that before being vatted, entire bunches are sorted to remove any bad gra...

Coming to the Alor Cafe Stage tomorrow night will be jack Wilkins and Andy Mckee. Below is an excerpt from Jack's website.  Guitarist Jack Wilkins has been on the International jazz scene since the early 1970's. His flawless technique and imaginative chordal approach have inspired collaborations with Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Bob Brookmeyer, and Buddy Rich among many others. A native of Brooklyn, Jack began playing guitar at age thirteen. His mentors included Johnny Smith, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard.  “Windows”, his first album as a leader (Mainstream, 1973,) also available in transcription published by Hal Leonard Publications has been critically acclaimed as a dazzling, seminal guitar trio work.  Later recordings, “Merge”, “Mexico”, “Call Him Reckless”, “Alien Army”, “Keep in Touch”, and “Trioart”, feature the Brecker Brothers, Eddie Gomez, Jack De Johnette, Al Foster, Phil Woo...

Born February 27, 1923 to a Czech family in NYC was Chuck Wayne . He rose to prominence in his 20's as a jazz guitarist in the 1940's. In 1949 Wayne landed himself a spot in the George Shearing Quintet. You can spot Chuck's guitar on the hit "September in the Rain", one of Shearing's most notable tunes. By 1954 Chuck had moved on to be Tony Bennett's music director and accompanist. Throughout the 50's and 60's Chuck peppered his resume with clubs and venue's all over the New York area. Throughout his career Chuck had the opportunity to play with music stars such as  Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Sarah Vaughan, Woody Herman, Joe Bushkin and Hank Jones, among others. Wayne’s own “String Fever” enjoys cult status among jazz guitar fans.  Also producing 5 albums of his own. Wayne was a longtime resident of Staten Island until moving to New Jersey in 1991. Where he pasted in 1997. Survived by his wife,  Mrs. Wayne, who lives in New Jersey...

Every week we experiment with diversity by doing a ravioli of the week on our dinner menu. This week my selection was to do a Thai influence. The ravioli is filled with chicken and then served with sauteed spinach and pork belly lightly glazed with hoisin sauce.  As spoken by  Australian chef   David Thompson David Thompson , a prolific chef and expert on Thai food, observed that unlike many other cuisines: [2] "Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got to have a smooth surface but it doesn't matter what's happening underneath. Simplicity isn't the dictum here, at all. Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavours, but to a Thai that's important, it's the complexity they delight in.".

My little pumpkin can be used as a term of endearment but what I really love is the Pumpkin itself.  These cute and sometimes giant round veggies are probably the number one sign that Autumn has started, and have become the mascot of the season. There are literally more than a 101 ways to use and cook a pumpkin. Just this week I am featuring the pumpkin ravioli dressed with shaved asparagus and carmelized pumpkin on the dish.   There are so many little know facts about pumpkin. I think the biggest myth about pumpkin especially in the United States is that its only used for jack -o- laterns and pumpkin pie. Actually until Irish immigrants arrived people used turnips and potatoes for jack-o-laterns. The traidtion of cutting them into face started in Ireland hundreds of years ago.  The word pumpkin originates from the word  pepon  (πέπων), which is Greek for “large melon", something round and large. [7]  The  French adapted this word to  p...

As a Restaurant owner its business. As a Chef its about food. Seemingly there would be no room to make friends with your patrons. Seemingly. However,  that is not the case if you want success on both levels. As an owner you must get out onto the floor and get face to face with the patrons. Like politics you have to shake hands , compliment the ladies, and maybe kiss a baby or two. As a chef your food is a vehicle of love,  really. I love to cook. Its a manifestation of my creativity and I love to see the satisfaction on someone's face when they enjoy my creation. That is a transfer of the energy , of the love. This also is a major part of the key to success. I have never in my career heard of a chef that hates to cook succeeding. LOL. The point here is that this business is primarily about connecting with people. The success, really is in getting to know them on a first name basis, and having your place become like a home away from home to them, not necessarily just in dol...