Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Salt & The Cellar by Akira Back, Orlando's newest Fine-Dining entrant

Chef Akira Back’s Salt & The Cellar, ensconced at ette, one of Orlando’s newest concept hotels, is currently providing one of the most scintillating dining experiences on offer in the city. I was alerted to the restaurant, and it’s fare, by two separate sets of friends who dined there and left singing its praises. I had to investigate.


The ette hotel is located in the heart of one of Disney's tourist zones, in close proximity to some of the Disney attractions. Access is via exit 64 on I4 and then travelling westward on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. Given the traffic volumes in this area, it is prudent to add to your travel time budget in order to ensure timely arrival.

The restaurant is described in its literature as "an Innovative Mediterranean Asian restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner." It does not serve alcoholic beverages, offering instead a number of inspired mocktails prepared by a resident mixologist. These mocktails are made-to-order and a number of them are finished tableside. Winelovers are encouraged to bring their own beverages for corkage-free consumption.

As you drive under the hotel overhang, the car doors are opened by the valet and a Bellman, the latter of whom asks if we are here for dinner and the name for the reservation.He relieved me of my wine bag as he escorted us inside to the Hostess stand. He passed us, and my wine bag, onto the hostess who verified our reservation and then led us to our table. Once seated we were presented with the food and mocktail menus.

Menu entry point

Menu jump page

Food menu

The restaurant decor is eye-catching, as is the color-coordinated staff attire. The ambience and service up to this time served to reassure us of the pleasing experience to come.







The table setting was immaculate with chopsticks available for those so disposed. Each table sports an ice-filled bucket for chilling wines or champagne brought in by customers.


Our waiter was Paul and he showed up brandishing the bottle of English Sparkling from my wine bag (the bag had been deposited with the bartender by the hostess) and immediately plunged it into the ice bucket at our table. He the proceeded to tell us about the restaurant, the pedigree of the chef, the restaurant philosophy, and how staff training reflected that philosophy. After taking water orders, he went over the mocktail menu.

Parlo and Ken opted for mocktails with the former ordering the Foreshadow and the latter Into the Woods.The tableside presentation of the mocktails was elevated. Both Parlo and Ken were pleased with their orders with Parlo going on to order Where the Clouds End (too thick, she said) and Hidden Path (she loved).

Foreshadow: Coconut, Cleared Pineapple, 
0% White Rum, Citric Syrup, and Jelly
with Coconut

Hidden Path: Crodino, Balsamic Vinegar,
Ginger Ale, Dehydrated Strawberries,
0% Gin, Acorn 0% Vermouth

Where Clouds End: Yuzu Tonic, Lemon Cordial,
Espresso, 0% Coffee Liquor

        Into the Woods: Fresh green herbs, ginger, cucumber, 
                 lime, cookie crumble, forest aromatic mist


In the intervening period I had scanned the QR Code and gained access to the menu. We set about ordering appetizers. Paul had alerted us to the fact that all dishes would be placed in the center of the table and would thus be shareable. We ordered the Grilled Eggplant, Akira Back Tuna Pizza, and the AB Wagyu Tacos. Parlo is Gluten-free so Paul said he would have the Chef prepare an appropriate option for her. That option turned out to be something he called Beyond Tacos, a plant-based filling inside lettuce leaves.

The tacos were very flavorful and were livened up with a touch of spice.There was an exciting contrast between the pizza base and the raw tuna. I enjoyed all of these dishes immensely.

AB Wagyu Tacos

Beyond Tacos

Akira Back Tuna Pizza

Grilled Eggplant

We followed the appetizers with a Black Miso Cod course and followed that with a Caesar Salad and Togarashi Fries.

Black Miso Cod

Caesar Salad with Tofu dressing

Togarasi Fries

For our main courses we had the New York Strip and the Jidori Chicken with Vegetable Fried Rice and Roasted Broccoli as sides. The Chef recommends that a minimum of three salts be added to the steak to complete its seasoning. The selected salts were brought to the table when the steak was delivered.

Jidori Chicken

Vegetable Fried Rice

NY Strip Steak


We had the Yuzu Curd for dessert.

Yuzu Curd


This was an absolutely stunning evening. This was a Michelin-Star-worthy dining experience. As Parlo described it, "this was one of my best dining experiences in Orlando. The food, service, and ambience were all excellent and the environment was relaxing. It was worth every penny that we spent."

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Saturday, July 9, 2022

The Falanghina cultivar: At home in Campania

Ian D'Agata (Native Wine Grapes of Italy) has tagged the Falanghina variety as "... one of the greatest success stories in Italian wine of the last thirty years ..." in that it has "... managed to break through barriers in Italy, as experts and beginners alike look for it in stores and on restaurant wine lists ..." As was the case for Phoenix-like Italian varieties such as Schiopettino and Timorasso, Falanghina was on the brink of extinction before being rescued by Leonard Mustili and "a few other local growers and producers" in the early 1970s.

The Falanghia variety is grown in Molise, Puglia, and Abruzzo but Campania -- and the region's Benevento province -- is its home. It is the most widely planted variety in Campania, with its 3000 ha representing 15% of the region's plantings. The grape is grown in all five of Campania's provinces but Benevento is king of the hill with 80% of the total plantings.

Falanghina's name, according to D'Agata, derives from the Latin falange (phalanx) due to its vine-support poles resembling the typical formation of the ancient Roman legions. Key characteristics of the variety are shown in the chart below.


The chart following shows the DOC Falanghina production zones while the one immediately following shows the composition of the wines.



As shown in the preceding chart, Falanghina is a versatile variety, supporting sparkling, still, and sweet styles and blends or varietal wines in each of the foregoing cases. Beginning in 2011, four of the areas within Sannio DOC were designated as subzones and wines made therein can so identify on the labels: Guardia Sanframondi (Guardiolo), Sant'Agata dei Goti, Solopaca, and Taburno.

Gambero Rosso describes the Falanghina wine as "fine and floral with a citrusy character and balanced flavor." It has been elsewhere described as a "bright, fresh, and aromatically complex white wine." D'Agata sees the Beneventano genotype as more structured and floral and with higher alcohol than its Flegrea counterpart. The latter, on the other hand, exhibits "flavors and aromas of unripe peach, Golden Delicious apple, apricot kernel, and cherry pit," Both genotypes are high in acid and carry a chlorophyll note.

Gamberorosso has stipulated the evolutionary path of Falanghina wines as follows:
  • Six months after harvest, the wine exhibits strong notes of banana, apple, and pineapple with secondary floral, apricot, and peach notes.
  • After 18 months, the wine has a "more balanced aromatic profile" with the fermentation notes giving way to more varietal notes and the wine becoming more complex and aromatically specific.
Most of the Falanghina wine production in Sannio falls within the domain of four large cooperatives but there are some excellent independent producers plying their trade within the zone. The cooperatives are La Guardiense, Solopaca, Taburno, and Vigna Sannite. The most important independent producers are Fontanavecchia, Terre Stregate Winery, Masseria Vendetti, and Masseria Vigne Vecchi.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme