Piedmont Tasting at Jaynes, Sunday 3/28, 5-7pm


The hills of Barolo may be covered in snow this coming Sunday, but in San Diego it looks like we'll have weather in the mid 70's! No wonder everyone I talked to in Piedmont said they loved San Diego. This Sunday, March 28th, we will be hosting a fantastic Piedmont wine tasting from 5-7pm on our patio. Helping us out will be italian wine experts Jeremy Parzen Ph.D.(Austin) and Whitney Adams(L.A.) of blogs Do Bianchi and Brunellos Have More Fun. Both are great reads if you haven't already checked them out. Whitney and Jeremy were also part of a blogging/wine trip to Italy I recently returned from covering the Barbera Meeting 2010.

We will be pouring 8 amazing wines:

Tintero Grangia NV
2007 Elvio Cogno Nas-Cetta
2007 Cascina Ulivi Gavi
2008 Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto D'Alba
2007 Cantine Valpane Barbera Del Monferrato "Pietro Rosso"
2005 Silvio Giamello Barbaresco
2003 Produttori Del Barbaresco, Barbaresco
2005 GD Vajra Barolo

Sunday March 28
5-7pm
$25/person

Call 619-563-1011 or Email Jaynes for reservations
Tickets will also be available at the door.
Retail ordering will be available for those in attendance through 2 Bianchi

See you Sunday!


Spring "Hunting" in South Park

Something new at this Saturday's Spring Walkabout in South Park (3/27 - 6-10pm):

"Scavenger Hunt" with quizzes and prizes ... for adults and for kids.
Here's a preview --

HAMILTON'S TAVERN: How many beers do we have on tap? Prize is 25% off your beer or wine purchase.

ALCHEMY: Where is the exercise bike at Alchemy and who put it there? Give the correct answer to the person at the door and it gets you a free snack coupon on your next visit for dinner.

MYTHOLOGY: Tell us 2 facts about the holiday OSTARA - i.e. origins, meaning, symbols, etc, and we will grant an additional 20% discount on your total purchase (sale merchandise included)!

ABSOLUTE SKIN: get Facemapped (a short consultation regarding their skin), then get a sample package of products and a coupon for 20% off any service at Absolute Skin.

ENERGY GARDEN MASSAGE: Name three of the massage treatments, Energy Garden Massage offers and receive a 1 hour massage for $40. Visit www.energygardenmasssage.com for details, you can access wireless internet at Rebecca's Coffeehouse where I will be offering complimentary 10 minute massages, Find me for the coupon and stay for a coffee.

POSH WASH: How many tables are in the back patio and how many "8-load" washers do we have? The correct answers will get a coupon worth a credit toward 1 free use of a "2-load" washing machine valid anytime.

STUDIO MAUREEN: What animal is covered with mosaic tile and who is the artist who made it? The prize is a pack of notecards.


KIDS HUNT:

DAILY SCOOP: How many flavors of ice cream do we serve? Receive a free scoop of ice cream.

SO CHILDISH: Tell us who is coming to visit the store on Saturday, April 3rd!! receive a prize.

STUDIO MAUREEN: For the kids: Count the red eggs in the gallery's two front windows. Prize: Pick something from the gift jar (beaded bracelet, animal pin, rubber insect).



March yourself to down to 30th St.

Spring is in the air!

In the past few weeks the days have gotten longer, the weather has
gotten warmer and 30th street is even cooler!

This week alone you can enjoy -
Drink-About tonight! Wednesday March 24th, - and the Victory Garden Fundraiser at the Linkery tonight too
South Park Walkabout on Saturday March 27th and then next Tuesday's
30th on 30th!

Cask & Oyster Thursday too!

Each Thursday you can count on fresh shucked oysters from Carlsbad Aqua Farms, served on the half-shell with fresh mignonettes created by Nick. Two oyster varieties, one small and sweet, one larger and briny: paired with hand pumped ale, these oysters are sure to please.

This week we'll be pouring North Coast Brewing Red Seal on the beer engine.

Tonight, Wednesday, March 24th! Two "Brewery Tours of SD" Busses loop for 4 hours, stopping at 8 craft-beer bars.
Hop on and off FOR FREE!
download bus schedules here

We hope to catch you at one or all of these events this week.

Cheers!

From all of us, at your local Ritual :-)

p.s.

Thank you for shopping locally! Our local organic farmers, craft
brewers, artisanal sausage makers and bread bakers and 30th street craft beer purveyors all thank you!

Ritual Tavern
4095 30th St @ Polk
San Diego, CA 92116
619.283.1618

Heaven Sent Desserts' "30 on 30 Parfait"


Heaven Sent Desserts on 30th and University are offering their special “30 on 30 Parfait” – a luscious heavenly chocolate mousse layered with icy mint mousse, interspersed with our famous triple chocolate brownie bites, topped with whipped cream sprinkled liberally with delectable curlicues! All for the extra special price of $3.25 just for the 30th on 30th!

Don't miss out - Make the 30th a celebration!

Ritual Drink About Wednesday March 24th


Drink About is a great way to explore San Diego's great craft brew culture. One Wednesday a month* you can get from South Park to North Park to Normal Heights to University Heights for free. without having to worry about driving or parking yourself. (*usually the 3rd Wed., but St Paddy's Day got in the way this month)

2 “Brewery Tours of SD” Busses loop for 4 hours, stopping at 8 craft-beer bars.
Hop on and off FOR FREE at Blind Lady, Small Bar, Live Wire, Toronado, Ritual Tavern, Sea Rocket, The Station & Hamilton’s.

The first buses will be leaving Blind Lady at 7pm and Hamilton’s at 7:10pm. They will run in a circular pattern until 11pm, stopping only at stops on the right side of the street. This means they will only stop at Ritual on an express route from Hamilton’s to Blind Lady.

Important Tip: The buses will do their best to always stop at Toronado and Ritual Tavern at the same time so that you can transfer at this point.

To get more info and to download a bus schedule go to the official Drink About site.

South Park Walkabout next Sat. 3/27


Make plans now for the Spring South Park Walkabout, featuring scavenger "hunts" for adults and kids, with specials and giveaways galore!

More info on participating South Park businesses, and a free South Park newsletter are available at www.southparkscene.com.

Ritual Tavern (not so weekly) Update

We've been hearing from a few people that we should post more updates.
It has been a while since we've chatted, so here's whats doing this
weekend. . .

Appetizer specials this weekend include a golden and red beet salad
with goat cheese, roasted yellow squash and yogurt mustard dressing.
Or try a bowl of sweet potato leek soup. The entrée special this
weekend is a Niman Ranch boneless pork loin with red wine jus served
with a sweet potato and parsnip puree and Suzie’s Farm organic broccoli and
chard. It’s a little early in the season, but we do have some organic
strawberries from JR Organics served with out famous shortbread
cookies and fresh whipped cream. Come by early: these berries are sure
to sell out!

This weekend’s cask is sublime, in a self righteous kind of way.
Brewed by Stone Brewing, Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is a Black IPA with
8.7%ABV!! Mighty tasty, you won’t even notice the alcohol.

This month’s Drink About has been postponed a week because of St.
Patrick’s Day Usually held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, Drink
About provides a free shuttle bus from Hamilton’s in South Park to
Blind Lady in Normal Heights with stops in at Ritual every 30 minutes
until 11:20pm. (first stop 7:20pm) Join us for Drink About on March
24th.

We’re gearing up for St Patrick’s Day best we can. In addition to our
signature Shepherd’s Pie and casked stout, we’ll have the Ritual
corned beef and cabbage. We’re corning/brining Niman Ranch beef briskets
without using that pesky salt peter* (In addition to avoiding high
fructose corn sweetener we like to avoid manufactured chemicals in our
food preparation.) Please join us for a plate and a pint this coming Wednesday March
17th.

Cheers!
from all of us at your Ritual :-)




*”Salt peter typically refers to the chemical compound potassium
nitrate, though it may also refer to sodium nitrate. Salt peter was
once collected from decomposing material, but today, it is generally
manufactured by treating sodium nitrate, mostly mined in Chile, with
potassium chloride and collecting the precipitate. Salt peter was one
of the ingredients of the first gunpowder, black powder. Today, it has
many uses in both the laboratory and the larger world.. . . . Sodium
nitrate, also called salt peter, shares many applications with
potassium nitrate. Both can be used to manufacture nitric acid, to
propel model rockets, and to increase the shelf life of meats and
other foods. Sodium nitrate is also used to manufacture glass and
enamel. Like potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate may increase one's
likelihood of developing cancer, but it also occurs naturally in leafy
green vegetables and may have some health benefits. A small study
conducted in Sweden suggested that the nitrates found in vegetables
may help lower blood pressure.”
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-salt-peter.htm

Jaynes Gastropub In Piedmont, Italy

Barbera Meeting 2010 began yesterday in Asti, Italy with an excited if a little jetlagged "Team Blogger" diving into a epic tasting day, pressing palate to over 100 wines. Blind tasting at the Palazzio Zoia and tours at several Asti wineries made for full contact sport. "We welcome the bloggers!" was enthusiastically proclaimed by the Asti Agricultural Ministry's superintendent while we all fumbled with our electronics and wireless connections. The rooms are filled with worldwide wine trade and press, but the blog presence is a brand new addition to this annual event and is creating quite a buzz.

Our team consists of 6 of the world's great independent wine bloggers (and me). I am stunned by the palates of this crew and their writing chops are razor sharp. While we may not like every wine on this trip and this will certainly be documented, we will definitely fall in love with some and will come to a greater understanding of why Italy and Piedmont in particular is so dear to all of us.

I urge everyone to stay tuned to this story. Ill be trying not to spill Nizza Barbera into my Macbook...

See the following blogs for updates throughout the week and beyond:

Bigger than Your Head


Brunellos Have more Fun

Do Bianchi

Oenologic

Saignee

Worcester Sauce

Jaynes Gastropub