Duck confit at Alias

I was put on this earth to do two things: drink lots of delicious wine and enjoy many legs of duck confit.

I spent an entire summer in Paris and instead of visiting the museums I spent four months searching out the best duck confit I could find. And there were so many excellent examples.

First and foremost, to qualify as excellent duck confit, the duck must posses a slightly gamy, ducky aroma and flavor. The meat must be tender of course, and the props go to a well-rendered and crispy skin to contrast with the meat. I also like the meat to be well-seasoned (I think there should be a little bit of a salty flavor permeating the meat). Away from the duck, I personally like there to be a sweet fruit element for contrast. But I know a lot of people don’t like fruit with savory.

About Alias: they have a $30 three-course supper on Sunday nights that is a good value. They also have a duck confit I love. On a recent visit, the duck confit was served on toasted cornbread with a smear of crème fraiche and jam.



Corn bread was an unusual choice to pair with duck, but sweet is a very important counterpoint to ducky. Cornbread might be a bit too dense and the creme fraiche was kinda lost in both flavor and aroma. Requisite fruit was present, this time in the form of brandied cherries. Yum.

As for the duck confit itself: perfectly ducky. Ducky aroma came up to meet me. Skin was perfectly rendered. Perfectly seasoned.

This is the benchmark for duck confit.

Gypsy Dancer Estates, ‘A&G Estate Vineyard’ Pinot Noir 2006 (Dundee Hills) $53, 13.9% abv

“Wines that dance in your mouth” promised the cork.

A slight exaggeration, but a delicious wine nonetheless. I made some venison potstickers, so my thoughts went to an Oregon Pinot Noir to pair it.

The Gypsy Dancer was grown biodynamically on the famous volcanic Jory soils of Oregon, and had all the earthy dark fruit of a higher-priced California Pinot Noir but without the accompanying alcohol burn I sometimes get in those.

The color was ruby (just shy of a medium intensity…you could certainly read through it) with a very thin rim. I don’t think I would mistake it for a Burgundy on sight or aroma profile, which was not too intense, and included damp moss, dark raspberry, blackberry, cocoa, baking spices, and a small truckload of vanilla (is it just me? I love cocoa in a wine, but cocoa and vanilla? Not my favorite). On the palate, the Gypsy Dancer was a good balance of medium body, alcohol, and dusty tannins. Classic medium (+) acidity for Pinot Noir was intact. The blackberry finish pleasantly went on for a bit. I’m not sure I’d hold on to this wine for a long time as the vanilla is liable to take over after the fruit fades.

Markham, Petit Sirah 2003 (Napa), $25, 14.8% abv

In my quest to continue to understand the new-new grape, petit sirah, I had a glass of Markham Petit Sirah recently.

I would have mistaken this wine for a Zinfandel (though ultimately, I think Zinfandel shows more figs and raisins). Aromas were only medium-intensity (I thought it would be louder) and included jammy blackberry, loads of granite, blueberries, cinnamon, slight vanilla, and maybe some violet. The tannins were ripe and a long finish was carried by juicy blackberry and smoke.

Not quite my cup of tea (wine?) but this Petit Sirah seriously rocked out with a bowl of buffalo chili with cilantro sour cream. In fact, with the tannins tamed, the juicy fruit came gushing out. In the right setting, this could be a real crowd pleaser.

Wine in a keg

Each keg holds 2.25 cases of wine.

How cool is that?

Hope Estate, Verdelho 2007 (Hunter Valley, Australia) $NA, 12.5% abv

Jet Blue. Center seat. Next to a fussy seven-month old. Entertainment system broken.

Alcohol needed.

I find ‘meh’ white wine easier to swallow than ‘meh’ red wine, so I ordered a mini bottle of white and, well, color me surprised when I was presented with a Verdelho! From the Hunter Valley! That seems so random to me that I fully expect their red selection is a Blaufränkish from Lodi.


Swirling from my small plastic cup, I found the wine had medium intensity aromas of lemon peel, grapefruit, orange, lychee, wet stone, and a hint of green herbs. The body was a little fuller than medium, oily in texture, and seemed slightly off-dry on the palate (mind you, I have a blind spot on residual sugar). Acid was soft and flavors agreed with the palate and further included menthol, which I interpreted as higher alcohol (though the bottle said 12.5%).

Alternative package alert – this was bottled in a seriously solid plastic bottle (like, I couldn’t dent it or destroy it with my hands. Hey, the famous Jet Blue entertainment system was down).

This unexpected little wine option made me think what a great time in history it is to enjoy wine.

5ive Steak, Jet Blue Terminal 5 at JFK Airport

Once upon a time, I was a ‘professional’ career woman (as opposed to my ‘professional’ lush status now) and spent lots of time going to and fro in airports around America. Much unstructured time in these airports was spent studying dining options on the directory board trying to judge which spot may might pour a decent glass of wine (i.e., something beyond Sutter Home White Zinfandel or Robert Mondavi Coastal Selection anything). On one particular bad day I remember whining to a bartender that all I wanted was a friggin’ glass of Champagne! Geeze, I’ll take a Prosecco!! Is that so much to ask??

He offered to shoot some club soda into a glass of Chardonnay for me.

Anyhootle, imagine how disoriented I was this week to stumble into the sidewalk café-esque scene that is the new Jet Blue terminal 5 at JFK airport. I had less than an hour to grab a glass and a bite, so in lieu of investigating my options (which all looked so grown up anyway), I settled into 5ive Steak because they had a huge artistic display of wine bottles on the wall.

The wine list, while overpriced (eh, it’s an airport) was actually interesting with many solid selections from the old world and a slight emphasis on France and Spain. d’Yquem pre-flight? Perhaps you’re more in a Chateau Trotanoy mood. Maybe a Domaine l’Arlot ‘Clos des Forets’ St. Georges? ’99 Petrus? For real?

There was even a notable selection of half bottles, and the bartender said he’d be happy to sell me a bottle and a go-cup for the flight. I hate to sound so gee-whiz, but how cool is that? I was seriously debating a half bottle of Dönnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Auslese 2006 for the flight.

Despite about 25 by the glass selections, I settled for a glass of Gruet Brut NV (a nice, simple bubbly, yes, but the CO2 allows alcohol to enter your bloodstream faster, so it was consumed for medicinal purposes).

Away from wine, they provided a good cocktail list with both the recognizable (margaritas) and the less-familiar (that cursed cocktail called Blood & Sand). They also featured four American whiskeys and a domestic rye. All bottle beers offered were well-known.

I didn’t have enough time to check out the other restaurants, but Jet Blue said they the new Terminal 5 has 400 wines available by the bottle, 150 by the half bottle, and 200 by the glass.

We’ve come a long way, baby.

Seven Spice Sour

Togarashi-infused sake (Momofuku private label honjozo), yuzu/lime juice, and simple syrup. Created by the amazing Don Lee for Ma Peche.

While you're there, dig into the Cotes de Porc - pork ribs from Newmans Farms in Missouri with a lemongrass caramel glaze that plays well against the spicy cocktail. Or vice versa.