I am a died in the wool atheist, but I may have found my personal heaven here in Cambridge, Mass. What am I doing here you ask? Kismet. Fate. Luck. Happy chance. Call it what you will, this place is basically Barbsville.
So for real, my doves, I am here following my sister Lorri, who is here taking a course at Harvard U. You cannot believe how much mileage I've gotten out of her being a student here. So how's your family Barb? My sister's at Harvard! That'll be $4.99 ma'am. My sister's at Harvard! Why are you visiting the USA Ma'am? My sister's at Harvard! Elitism by association. Let me have it; it's the closest I'll ever come to being hoi polloi.
Anyhoo, here I am, crashing at my sister's hotel, here courtesy of my soul-wife and travel partner Karen, and I'm taking pictures for my business--www.wordstockphoto.com--shameless self promotion over. I can tell you Karen and I walked for 10 hours today around the town of Cambridge Mass., while I snapped away, gathering photo letters in a visual, mental ecstasy. It is a visual treat to be here. There are buildings that are older than Canada. My camera is exhausted and so am I. But I'm not here to write about my pictures. I'm here to write about food and drink. And I have had the BEST in the last 24 hours. No shit. For reals. Listen, people. Listen hard.
In the last 24 hours I've been to the same store 4 times. Four flipping times. What could bring me back 4 times in 24 hours? Only the most amazing food and wine store I've ever experienced. It's in Harvard Square, it's called Cardullo's and it's basically the best thing ever if you are a woman in her mid thirties who is sensory driven.
The first trip to Cardullo's we basically wandered the aisles with mouths open, goggling at the gourmet until we stumbled into the wine section. This is something a Canadian can't get used to. Wine in any store. Not government regulated. Just gorgeous wine, sitting there amonst the sea salt crackers and salmon roe. And in that wine section was a bonafide wine goddess name Eileen.
Eileen. Eileen. Every time the wind blows, her name whispers Eileen, Eileen, Eileen. Eileen sat in the corner, wine steward name badge discreetly pinned on her left shoulder. Twenty-something, adorable and clearly with an I.Q. of 196, Eileen chimed "Can I help you find anything?"
I cooed that I loved the stoney minerality of Chablis, and you could see a wiggly excitment bubble to Eileen's surface. She showed me at least 4 different wines she knew I'd love. I ended up with Frederic Gueruen 2007 Chablis. Don't bother, my Ontario loves. No way you'll find it. No way.
Lemony. Stoney. Zing zing sing. All those things that make Chablis, Chablis. In a word--mahgahhvahhhweep.
I've been back to Cardullo's 3 times. Today. In the last 12 hours. Intermittently between picture taking. Once to buy gifts and wine. Next to buy cheese and bread and wine. Lastly, to stumble down for more wine before close because we loved the next two wines so, so, so much.
Eileen, on our first and last meeting, chased me down with Cardullo's card in hand which read: Aia dei Colombi FALANGHINA. She squealed something about Falanghina not not normally being available anywhere else in North America. I hung on to this card like a Gold ticket from Willy Wonka.
People, I tried this wine a mere few hours ago, and it was THE BEST WHITE WINE I HAVE EVER DRANK IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I am not shitting you. The vintage is 2008. I know of no other place that it can be purchased except Cardullos. But from me to you, it is worth buying from this store by the case. They ship anywhere. It was...butter, clotted cream, faint citrus, smooth, smooth, smoooooooooth. Heaven--if it exists--has a river of this. There is a website on the back of the bottle: www.aiadeicolombi.it which I've yet to visit but will probably make my homepage.
Next up: Fleur Pinot Noir 2007. I picked it for two reasons: I am continually searching for wonderful Pinot Noir, and the label is totally beeeautiful. I am so thankful for the pretty label, because this wine-- Oh! This wine! THIS WINE! This wine make me so happy! It was like sticking my face in the lushest, freshest, greenest spring garden and inhaling. The first thing, the very first thing I thought of when I inhaled this wine, was rose garden! If I could have fashioned some sort of device to harness a glass of this wine to my nose, I would have. This wine is Catherine Deneuve. This wine is Pinot Noir heaven.
By the by, we purchased several unreal cheeses to accompany our wine. The perfect combo, ever: the Fleur 2007 Pinot Noir with Pecorino Tartufo. By the by, served by a guy so smokin' hot, he left scorch marks on our minds.
Can't post more right now. Trying more wine. Floating...floating...floating...more coming. More later. More. Mmmmm...
'Til next time,
Blissful Barb
It's all true - astonishingly wonderful.
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