Chef/Owner Ken Forkish admits that he wouldn’t stand in line, the way that we have for 55 minutes, for the promise of delicious pizza.  I’ll admit that Scott’s spontaneous idea on a rare free Saturday night in Portland to head to Ken’s Artisan Pizza, was an inspiration that quickly soured once we realized we had missed the first seating.  The waiting area is awkward, and let’s just say that it is not my daughter that gets grumpy when she gets hungry.  Guess who?  I tried to reassure my party that within a minute of being seated, our frustration would vanish.  And so it did.  Scott declared it the best pizza he’d ever had (the only other time I had heard that was in Corsica).  I overheard a party of four (who had waited even longer than we had) that it was the best pizza that they’d ever had.  I had been determined to try some of the wood-fired oven specialties other than pizza, and I wasn’t disappointed.  I absolutely loved the roasted calamari in a spicy tomato sauce served over grilled bread.  I followed that with a vegetable plate, the star of which was the creamy roasted fennel with melted Grana-Padano.  

I may not have the wood-burning oven, but our home version, with a rosemary dough and great ingredients from Steve’s Cheese or Viande, never fails to delight.  Duck Salami Pizza with some fresh arugula, with a glass of 06 La Paulée?  I think I’d even stand in line for it.  

If you haven’t already, get your tickets now for Saturday night’s annual Flavors of Carlton event – it’s only $50 for a night of great food and wine, and the chance to pick up some great art, wine, and travel packages at auction. We’ll be pouring alongside another dozen of Yamhill/Carlton’s finest producers, and we look forward to seeing you there. Details here…

Then next weekend it’s a great opportunity to tast three killer 1er Cru Burgs that are rarely, if ever, open for tasting – the Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaut St. Jacques from Lucien Le Moine, the Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru from J-J Confuron, and the Vosne-Romanée La Croix Rameau from François Lamarche. From now thru March 14th – we’re taking 25% off all of the 1er Crus and Grand Crus from these three star producers – so don’t miss your chance to grab some deep discounts on some of Burgundy’s top wines. The tasting is open to all from 1-5 here at our tasting room in Carlton on Saturday March 14th.

The day after that I’m off to San Francisco for a couple of days – our distributor there is having their big annual trade tasting, and I’ll be seeing some top accounts and old friends, including journalist Jordan Mackay (whose great book Passion for Pinot has just been released.) Then the following weekend I’m off down south for our winemaker dinner at the Steamboat Inn with Gabe Rucker from Le Pigeon – I am salivating already over the hedonistically decadent dishes Gabe has up his sleeve…

On top of all of that, Champions League resumes on Tuesday & Wednesday – I absolutely cannot wait for Inter-United, Barca-Lyon, and Arsenal-Roma – amazing action to come!

And for inspiration, here’s a shot of Musigny, my personal favorite Grand Cru…