Dining & Drink

Food and drink pairings that are perfectly unpredictable

The case for Chianti

The Haze does all of your succulent, smoky favorites—ribs, brisket and pulled pork

The Cardinal rises anew

The holidays have come and gone. You'd never know it by the number of Christmas decorations that still abound. (I especially find the brown wreaths with their bright red bows depressing.)And, the New Year now seems very much like the old one.I've gone to Mardi Gras and returned with only a lot of worthless plastic beads.Worst of all, by even the most optimistic prediction—I've lived in Wisconsin too long to be optimistic—spring is at least a month away.

Sometimes in our search for "great" wines we can overlook the "good" everyday wines

Jovian Taphaus has good food with a view

Try a new-fangled twist on the Old Fashioned

Seemingly it's been around forever—even the ancient Greeks enjoyed it.Virtually every culture that makes cheese makes some kind of cheesecake.I remember my own first encounter with what I was sure would be a yucky dessert.It was at Sam's Subway, a delicatessen in Indianapolis and I was in second grade.Cheese here to for was something I was only accustomed to seeing on a sandwich. I only tried it because my mother told me I wouldn't like it.

Day 1, January 24

Don't forget to try An Affair to Remember

The Del-Bar never loses its appeal

It doesn't seem that long ago—probably because it wasn't—when the Food Network premiered online along with many similar sites.Suddenly, a wealth of recipes and cooking advice was readily available without spending a dime on nary a cookbook. But did anyone really comprehend the revolution the internet would have on cooking and eating?Or that even in the hinterlands suddenly the most exotic bounty of the world would become just a click and Fed Ex delivery away? Or that restaurants big and small, grand and humble would open virtual locations in cyberspace?

Mention January 6 and some people think the Feast of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night.For many, it's time to take down the Christmas decorations.For me, it's time to start the party. It's Carnival time.