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July 29, 2008 | Uncorked | Wine advice and commentary - wine tastings and events around Dayton, Ohio
 

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Blue Moon chef-owner joins new Bellbrook restaurant

Restaurant news that is NOT Restaurant Week related: here’s a story we posted this afternoon (7-29-08) on the newspaper’s web site …

Greg Fitzgerald, former chef-owner of the Blue Moon and most recently the executive chef at Madison’s Bistro, has been named executive chef at Amelia’s Bistro, a new restaurant scheduled to open in mid-August at 129 W. Franklin St. in Bellbrook.

Amelia’s, owned by Sugarcreek Twp. Realtor Sharon Bistrek, is scheduled to open on Aug. 12 at the former Garstka’s Tuscany Grille, Bistrek and Fitzgerald said. It will be open for breakfast and lunch only for the first couple of weeks, then will add dinner hours.

Bistrek described the cuisine as “gourmet comfort food.” She and Fitzgerald said the restaurant will work closely with local growers to include local produce and meats into the restaurant’s dishes.

Bistrek originally had hired Candace Rinke of Springboro as executive chef, but the two parted ways due to a misunderstanding, the restaurant owner said. She then hired Fitzgerald, who owned and operated the Blue Moon in Dayton and Eclipse in Centerville until early 2007. For the past year, he served as executive chef at Madison’s Bistro in Washington Twp.

When it is up and fully operating, Amelia’s Bistro will be open six days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It will be closed Monday. The phone number will be (937) 310-3040

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‘Nothing decent comes out California for less than $25’

Yesterday’s post about beer’s popularity surging in relation to wine prompted a comment from a reader named Stu about the high cost of wine, ending with the declaration, “… nothing decent comes out California for less than 25 bucks.’

Do you agree?

I, for one, suspect that if I sat down and tasted 20 California wines blind — 10 that cost more than $25, 10 that cost, say, between $15 and $25, all of them selected randomly — I would end up preferring the less expensive California wines, which I believe would be less likely to be overly alcoholic, less overtly oaky, less likely to be overextracted, and overall, better-balanced wines. If — rather than tasting the 20 wines at one sitting — I instead drank the wines with dinner for 20 consecutive days, I’m pretty damn SURE I would prefer the less expensive Californians. That’s because whenever a single California winery makes a “regular” bottling for less than $25 and a more expensive “reserve” bottling, I almost inevitably prefer the regular bottling.

“Nothing decent comes out of California for less than $25??”

Not true.

How about, “Nothing decent comes out of California for more than $25.” Not true either, but I wonder whether that declaration might not be closer to the truth.

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What would the holidays be without Scrooge and a little bah humbug? The Human Race Theatre opens its version of the classic tale "A Christmas Carol," Thursday, Dec. 4. The show runs through Dec. 21 at the Loft Theatre, 126 N. Main St. Tickets are $33 to $40 for adults and half price for children. Also, La Comedia in Springboro is featuring "Miracle on 34th Street" Wednesdays through Sundays through Dec. 31. Tickets are $47-$65 for adults, $25 for ages 11 and younger. More »

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Some are searching for new customers. Others are looking for a test market for new appetizers or entrees. Others want customer feedback on which new wines to add to the wine list. Whatever their reasons, more restaurants in the Dayton area are using wine tastings and wine dinners to try to get new, fresh faces to cross their doorsteps. A decade ago, diners could easily count on one hand the number of restaurants that held regular wine events. Now, the number exceeds a dozen and is growing. More »