A recent sun splashed Sunday afternoon at Birkdale presented a perfect opportunity to indulge in one of the best cigars available on the planet right now: the Padrón Family Reserve No. 45.  Released in two versions (natural and maduro) with one size (six inches with a 52 ring gauge), this exulted cigar celebrates the 45th anniversary of Padrón Cigars. After staking out an outdoor table at a local Starbucks next to a gas patio warmer, I carefully surveyed the scene for cigar disafficiondos before slowly torching up my pricey No. 45.  The cigar features a decadently dark hued wrapper, encompassing fine reserva Nicaraguan tobacco, reportedly aged for at least 10 years. Receiving nods of encouragement from a vicarious onlooker  toting a freshly brewed Venti, I slowly began to enjoy the cigar and couldn't believe the rich, intense notes of cocoa and espresso, followed by a slightly spicy finish; but all well rounded and incredibly smooth.  The firmly pressed tobacco burned very evenly and at a luxuriantly slow pace allowing nice coils of smoke to waft by soccer moms and yuppies buried in their Sunday Observers. Similar to a fine Pauillac or a nuanced Miles Davis or Steely Dan album, I didn't want this ...

You call yourself a music lover, music consumer or better yet, a true aficionado? Are you in London or planning a trip there sometime soon? Jaded Londoners need not continue reading but those who have not been to Abbey Road and the famous "zebra crossing" should add it to their itinerary. You see, the famed Abbey Road studios are reportedly up for sale by it's cash-strapped and over-leveraged owner, EMI records. This old Georgian house in north London ranks up there with Graceland, The Whisky A Go Go, Motown's old HQ and Memphis' Sun Studios as 'hallowed ground'. The Beatles recorded 95% of their recorded output here, including the classic Abbey Road album which features the band casually crossing the road in front of the studio during a mid afternoon tea break. Legend has it that the album was set to be titled Everest but the lads couldn't be bothered to travel to the Himalayas for a photo shoot. The iconic album cover was the first not to feature the name of the album or the name of the band. In hindsight, those 7 or 8 photos taken that day seem quaint given today's PR machine world of choreographed photo opps and behind ...

One of them died before he had a chance to get old.  Another died a decadent prototypical rock and roll death at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on the eve of their 2002 tour, hot on the heels of their incendiary performance at the Concert for New York. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey soldier on with help from a brother, the son of a Beatle and others sharing the common cause of continuing to breathe life into a band called The Who.  This  Super Bowl performance proved there is still life and vitality in the now age-less songs that Townshend originally penned decades ago.    Hard to believe it but these guys were also at Woodstock over 40 years ago. Have they aged?  Yes, certainly;  Townshend no longer bounces up and down and smashes his guitar and Daltrey's voice now shows distress on higher registers but these guys can still manage to bring it and deliver a quality performance. Cynics may say this isn't really The Who anymore now that Moon and Entwistle are no longer on the stage and with us.  Others say no, Townshend and Daltrey have every right to  perpetuate the legacy of the band and can still deliver ...

Yes, it's true that Taylor Swift was off key and out of tune during  the Grammys Rhiannon duet with Stevie Nicks.  What's surprising is the  growing backlash against Miss Swift.  Barbs are being thrown in the main stream press citing Swift's weak voice and poor choice of material during last week's performance.  Some are now questioning if  she deserves all of the praise and awards over the past 12 months.  Many are missing the real story behind this flap and fail to recognize a true talent when they see one. Her management have weighed in and are calling Swift the voice of her generation, stressing the unfortunate fact that her live performance at the Grammys was indeed flawed but shouldn't really matter.  Basically, shit happens, especially during live events like the Grammys despite best intentions and many rehearsal hours. The official story from Swift's camp is that the volume levels in her in ear monitors were off which caused her to not hear Nicks and the band,  causing her to harmonize off key and off pitch.  Sounds logical to me.   The funny thing though is that everyone seems to be ignoring other performances from the same night from other artists which ...

Tired of boring, overcooked pork roast and pedestrian pork chops?  I urge you to give this recipe a shot ASAP! After an earlier failed attempt over 1 year ago, I set off again this weekend to tackle this seemingly easy crowd pleaser.  Pernil is very popular in Latin America and is typically the centerpiece of a holiday or celebratory gathering.  The prep is relatively straight forward and easy to follow. The most important ingredient is a nice pork shoulder (Paleta) or if you'd like to downsize the recipe, find a nice half pork shoulder -- a Boston butt or a fresh picnic roast are usually easy to find here in the USA.  My particular cut was approx 4.5 lbs including bone.  Make sure you find a cut with a good amount of fat/skin on one side of the roast. After scanning several recipes and cookbooks I improvised and came up with the following marinate which you need to rub into the roast and then refrigerate over night. Easy Pernil The Marinade -2 Tablespoons peanut oil or other oil -2 Tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar -2 Tablespoons honey -Juice of half an orange or lemon -Small handful of crushed chili flakes (Chili Quebrado) -Fresh rosemary or flat leaf parsley roughly chopped -4 ...

1. Jimmy Page.  2. David Evans aka The Edge.  3. Jack White. Those are the three primary reasons why you need to rent It Might Get Loud featuring the interwoven stories of all three and how they came to be uniquely linked forever to the electric guitar and rock and roll. And, there are more reasons which I'll outline below. 4. Headley Grange - This is a mythical place in Led Zeppelin lore and history.  It was here that the band recorded much of Led Zeppelin IV and parts of posthumous albums. Set in the East Hampshire countryside, the film features several scenes in which Jimmy Page returns to the stately home and points to the exact location at the bottom of the entrance stairwell where Bonzo's drum kit was set up for maximum sonic effect.   Page, his white hair in a stylish pony tail,  also strolls the gardens of the estate; the very place where Robert Plant famously remarked that he wrote most of the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven there in one afternoon. 5. Mount Temple Comprehensive School - This is the Dublin high school where Larry Mullin Jr. posted an item on the school bulletin board, seeking band mates to start a ...

A warm Subrosacafe.com welcome to our newest contributor, Shaun K. from Marbella by way of London.  We look forward to frequent guest reviews, recipes & random ruminations from one of southern Spain's quintessential gourmands. On the northern outskirts of the City of London lies the historic Smithfield meat market.  Given it’s propensity for supplying everything and anything carnivorous from all over the world, the area is home to a number of notable eateries taking advantage of the proximity of such excellent produce.  One of the most inspiring restaurants has been there for about 15 years now and has become a modern day pilgrimage site for chefs seeking to pay homage at the feet of Fergus Henderson, the undisputed king of offal and a hearty style of long lost traditional British cooking. One of the most notable pilgrims from the US is Anthony Bourdain who says of Fergus’s signature dish of Roast Marrow Bones and Parsley salad "If I was on death row and I had to choose what would be the last thing I put in my mouth, this would be it". I can think of no endorsement that comes better ...

The Chestnut Street Grill (dearly departed) is my gold standard whenever considering and reviewing a restaurant that purports to be a genuine fresh seafood and fish establishment.  It was one of the first Chicago restaurants to feature grilled seafood, offering the public a welcomed alternative to deep-fried or sautéed fish.  The old Chestnut in Chicago was in the Water Tower Place where you can now find Mity Nice Grill; part of the Food Life monstrosity on the Mezzanine level. Styled as an authentic San Francisco seafood house, Chestnut Street Grill became one of America's foremost seafood restaurants and enjoyed a long, successful run with it's heyday being between the years of 1985-1990 or so.  The restaurant defied the odds as it was tucked deep away within an 8 story Shopping Mall with no on street presence. The centerpiece of Chestnut and the thing that set the restaurant apart from other seafood impostor restaurants was their glassed in display kitchen which extended out into the heart of the dining room featuring a vast, wood fired charcoal grill in which almost all entrees were grilled to order.  The smartly dressed wait staff were all attired in white jackets with black trousers and were expected to be incredibly knowledgeable on each and every fish species or shellfish that the ...

Well, color me impressed.  This device seems to have delivered on just about every tech geek's wishlist.   See all the news that's worthy below from today's announcement.. Steve Jobs introduces the new iPad iBooks on the iPad Email on the iPad Web surfing on the iPad Full features & Specs here.

A French country kitchen par excellence.  This famous restaurant, a stone's throw from one of  Bordeaux city's old city gates, Porte de la Monnaie, has been serving southwestern France regional specialties since 1968.  It was on my hit list for my September 2007 Bordeaux wine country visit and it should be a must stop for anyone visiting the Bordeaux region. As you enter the restaurant you'll immediately see a country kitchen with wood burning fireplace straight ahead of you.  Laid upon a red checked wood display table are baskets of fresh cherry tomatoes, radishes and generous slabs of beautifully marbled cote de boeuf.  You'll also likely see one or more whole ducks or chickens being spit roasted over the fire with a large iron kettle of duck fat also bubbling away; they fry their signature chunky fries in this kettle.  It's a perfect Bordeaux tableaux and sets the scene for a fabulous experience. Specialties of the house include duck and foie gras, grilled cote de boeuf, the herb spit-roasted chicken, duck rillettes, the crispy & insanely flavorful duck fat fried potatoe chunks and for good measure, heritage black pigs and farm fresh lamb from the region. After being seated I was presented with a basket of the aforementioned ...