Aug 12 2012

Rise Biscuits and Donuts, Durham, NC – part II

Almost exactly two months ago, you might remember that I posted about having a great doughnut from Rise, which is an upcoming speciality doughnut and biscuit shop in Durham, NC. The new shop is the creation Chef Tom Ferguson of Durham Catering Company. Well yesterday, he decided to have another free sampling of some of his newest creations:

Rise Biscuits and Donuts - Wine Authorities sampling menu - 11 August 2012
Click to enlarge

As you can see from the menu above, he not only had some of his newest doughnuts (like a glazed with peanut cocoa butter, and a ham-wrapped doughnut with sorghum glaze), but he also brought two of his biscuits. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try either of the two biscuits, and I actually didn’t even get a photo of them. However, the doughnuts this time were even more of a sight than the ones from the previous tasting.

Rise Biscuits and Donuts - four doughnuts - 11 August 2012
Click to enlarge

Starting with the far left, you will see the “Peaches and Cream,” which was a beignet-style pocket with peach glaze and filled with a raspberry-mint cream (and crumbled pistachios on top). Next to it was Chef Ferguson’s infamous maple-bacon bars, which can only be described as a full breakfast in a single doughnut. On the right-hand plate, the ones in the foreground are the glazed with peanut cocoa butter in the centre. Lastly, behind them are the Long Johns wrapped in thinly-sliced ham and covered in a sorghum glaze.

You may notice that the “Peaches and Cream” doughnuts look similar to the one that I tasted at the first sampling a couple months ago, and you’d be correct. That one was a similar style doughnut, except that the cream inside was basil, and the glaze on the outside was pineapple instead of peach. I thought that last doughnut was great, because it reminded me of the flavours of Thailand, but this remake took it from great to perfect. It was an excellent representation of the East Coast of the United States, representing the peaches from Georgia and South Carolina, and the amazing “peaches and cream” ice cream from the Newport Creamery, that I used to love so much as a kid.

Unfortunately for me, that was the last doughnut from Rise that I will get to taste, as I’m moving at the end of the month. However, I’m sure that my job will bring me back to the Triangle from time to time, and I will certainly have to stop in to see what new and exciting flavours Chef Ferguson has on the table.

Cheers,
Zach

Aug 11 2012

Wine tasting review – 11 August 2012

Today at the weekly wine tasting at Hope Valley Bottle Shop centred around the wines of Laurent Miquel. Laurent left his engineering background in 1996 in order to pursue his father’s passion for winemaking. His vineyards are all located in the Languedoc region of southern France.

The first pour of the day was the 2011 Laurent Miquel Chardonnay, and it had a middle-yellow tone at the edge, but was very light straight on. It had very few legs, but the ones that were there were medium thickness and slow. It had a very prominent citrus (primarily lemon) aroma, but there were some scents of apricot and maybe even a little honey in the background. It had a fantastic balance of fruit and acidity (especially at the finish), and a lovely minerality about it. In fact, for the amazing price of $9.99 USD (for the sale today), I decided that it would be a good one to take home.

The second offering was the 2011 Laurent Miquel Rosé, which was a blend of 70% Cinsault and 30% Syrah. It had a light peach colour, with medium, very slow legs. I picked up faint scents of melon and peach, but they didn’t come through very prominently in terms of flavour. Being very fruit-forward, I found it to be a little too acidic in the mid-palate.

The third wine was the 2010 Laurent Miquel Syrah Grenache, which was 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache. It had a medium purpleish-red colour with very low contrast between the centre and the edge, with medium but quick legs. I picked up notes of white pepper (likely from the Syrah), and the intense berry flavours from the Grenache. It had medium body, but was highly tannic (almost astringent), which was a bit off-putting.

The last pour of the day was the 2007 Laurent Miquel ‘Saga Pegot,’ which is 100% Syrah. It had a deep garnet colour which allowed very little transparency to it. It had medium, but quick legs. There were great aromas of licorice, and even some drenched cotton (I know it sounds like a terrible descriptor, but it added an incredible depth). There was a nice mid-palate mouth feel to it, and it had good acid. Though I don’t usually like Syrah, I found this one to be particularly pleasant, and think that it would be quite nice without the accompaniment of food.

Cheers,
Zach

Aug 10 2012

Jason Derulo – Future History review

Jason Derülo is one of several artists that I would classify as “easy hip-hop,” meaning that it isn’t as rugged as a lot of the rappers out there, but isn’t as mellow as “easy listening.” Having enjoyed his first, self-titled, album, I was excited to hear that he was releasing some new tracks on an album called Future History. I picked it up about a week ago, and have given it a few listens thus far.

Jason Derulo - Future History album cover

1. Don’t Wanna Go Home – 9 / 10
Starting off the album with his signature singing of his own name, Don’t Wanna go Home sets the stage for the more European club mix style of his new album. The chorus, as the title might suggest, is a play off of the traditional Jamaican song sung by Harry Belafonte. Definitely a fun start to the album.

2. It Girl – 7 / 10
This track is definitely slower and more contained than the intro, and is more of a soft hip-hop ballad. The chorus saying “Baby, you’re the shit, girl” seems a little out of place with the music and message of the song. Other than that lyrical oddity, though, the song is pretty strong.

3. Breathing – 8 / 10
With a heavy emphasis on euroclub sounds and beats, this song resonates throughout. The verses and the chorus are both heavily influenced by the current trends in pop (with the musical glitching that has been prominent in dubstep). There are a couple points where his falsetto seems very forced, though. It is a very catchy song that I think will likely be one of the next singles from the album.

4. Be Careful – 7 / 10
The introductory piano with the scratchy old-fashion record sounds in the background mixed with the strings make this song a bit different than the others. Whilst the song is good throughout, it doesn’t have any parts that stand out to me.

5. Make it up as we Go – 6 / 10
A combination of the slower pace of It Girl and the pop elements in Breathing, this song also has some interesting sound effects (that sound like a muted cowbells). Not a bad track, but unfortunately, nothing ear-catching like some of the other songs.

6. Fight for You – 10 / 10
From the strong vocals and accidentals, great lyrics, the newage African chant feel, and the throwback to Toto, this is arguably the most catchy song on the album. Really, this is the song that sold me, and I can’t get enough of it. Without a doubt, my favourite on the CD.

7. Pick up the Pieces – 8 / 10
Starting out with some spoken word and the sounds of a heart beating, this track goes into a good combination of beats, smooth sounds, and even a looped guitar part in the background. Though the lyrics are a bit cliché with the “If love is made of glass / can we pick up the pieces?” line, they do get stuck in your head.

8. Givin’ Up – 9 / 10
The guitar loop from the previous track has been modified a bit for this one, but it is also more prominent. That makes for a neat sound when combined with the hip-hop groove. This song reminds me a bit of some of the newer songs by Nelly (like Just a Dream).

9. Bleed Out – 6 / 10
Musically, this track seems a little harsh; lacking the smoothness of a lot of the other songs on the album. Also, the lyrics don’t flow as well, and seem dissonant. Given the content of the song, these stylistic changes may have been intentional. At the same time, though, it makes it less appealing to me.

10. That’s my Shhh – 4 / 10
Like Be Careful, this song also starts with a piano piece. It goes into a musically sensual jam, but the lyrics completely kill it. Unfortunately, I think of tracks like this one as trying to combine the musical style of Boyz II Men and juxtaposing it with the trite words of many contemporary raps.

11. X – 6 / 10
Following in the footsteps of many of the pop tracks from this past year, this song focuses on redundancy and vocal glitches or repetitions. It’s good for a club hit, but might not see air time outside of that.

12. Dumb – 7 / 10
Starting with some good harder, haunting guitar riffs, Dumb continuously builds throughout the first verse (even adding another nice piano part during the chorus). The punchy rhythm part didn’t come until after the 3″ mark, but it made for a great finish to the song. Also, this track was the shining glory in an otherwise mediocre ending section of the album.

Overall, though I like the album, there weren’t many tracks that stood out as completely exceptional. The one total success, in my opinion, is Fight for You, and I like that song so much that it makes the whole album worth it. I gave it a total of 87 / 120, which is ~7.25 stars (and rounds up to 7.5):

Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starHalf-filled starUnfilled starUnfilled star