Fratellos Valentines 2010

Holiday Inn Express & Fratellos for Valentines

Mardi Gras at Fratellos Fox River Mall

Fat Tuesday, February 16th

Enjoy our Authentic Cajun Menu:
·  Crawfish Fettuccine $16.99
·  Blackened Chicken $16.99
·  Crab Cakes $16.99 with corn salsa
·  Jambalaya with crawdads $16.99
·  Cajun Seafood Creole $17.99
All entrées will come with choice soup or salad, hushpuppies, jalapeño corn bread and dessert.
Soups: Gumbo and Creole Corn Chowder
We are also featuring:
·  Beads and Masks
·  Jazz and Cajun Music
·  Prizes Given for Best Costumes
·  Hurricane Drinks
·  Free Bacardi Jello Shots

Fratellos Fox River Mall
Appleton | 920.991.0000

Valentines Get-Away Package

Geyser Peak Wine Flight

Bringing the warmth of Sonoma to Fratellos with our Geyser Peak Wine Flight.
Three 2 oz pour for $7! This is here for a limited time only, so hurry in today.

To Screw or Not To Screw

To Screw or Not to Screw

Words of Wine by Brendan Moore

There is a lot of hoopla over which is better, corks and screw caps?  It’s a hot topic.  Let’s take a walk through the pros and cons of each.

Real Corks

Pros:

• Air=Aging: The air contact that is allowed by the natural cork, although minuscule, is a part of the aging process involved in red wines
• It’s natural: Cork is a completely natural product. The cork used in wine bottles comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. The corks are punched from the bark and then cleaned and sterilized (that’s the closest they come to chemicals) before going into a bottle. Nothing else is added to the cork.
• It’s green: Cork is a renewable natural resource, and the bark replaces itself by growing back on the tree ready to be harvested again in about 7-9 years
• It’s sexy: A real cork is part of the “show”.  (Let’s be honest—wine has always had, and always will have, a bit of show to it that many wine drinkers enjoy.)

Cons:

• Nasty?:  TCA (trichloroanisole) is produced by fungus and can grow in cork trees, causing great anxiety for wine lovers. It has been associated with causing cork taint, which statistics claim have been found in as many as twelve percent of the bottles produced annually (although I have never found this number to be nearly that high)
• Save-A-Tree: Wine production has now reached about 17 billion bottles a year and natural cork simply cannot meet demand, worrying many of over-harvesting
• Oops: Can break off in the wine

Synthetic Corks

Pros:

• Clean: No worry of TCA
• No oops: Do not break off in the wine
• Easy:  No change required by wineries in the bottling process
• Sexy (kind of): Still have a bit of “show” to them

Cons:

• Not natural: Synthetic corks are…here it comes…SYNTHETIC!  (With all of the focus on eating natural and healthy, why would we consider using something that isn’t?)
• Dangerous?: Some contain dyes that can permeate over time
• No air=no aging: Do not allow for natural aging
• Not green: Creation of waste and excess energy required to manufacture

Screw Caps (Stelvin)

Pros:

• Clean: No worry of TCA
• No oops: Nothing to break off in the wine
• Clean: No harmful chemicals or dyes used
• Easy: Ease of opening
• Everyday: Perhaps adds a bit of a casual side to wine (which it may need—think beer or liquor)

Cons:

• Difficult: Require changes in the bottling process by wineries
• Not sexy: Definitely not sexy, complete loss of the “show”
• Ageability: Do not allow for natural aging (Put a bottle of soda in your basement for three years and see how many bubbles are left)
• Not green: Creation of waste and excess energy required to manufacture

Okay, I am a little biased.  I’m a traditionalist when it comes to wine.  I am not saying that a product should be avoided due to its type of closure.  Make up your own mind!  These are just the facts; someone with a different point of view would surely have different pros and cons.  The results are mixed. For the moment, reasonably thinking, if you plan on drinking it now, “screwing” will guarantee quality, while cork is for those that want to “delay the gratification”.

However, since about 90% of consumers drink a wine within 8 hours of purchasing it, is it really that much of debate?  You decide.

Words of Wine from Brendan, CSW

Wines of Spain at Fratellos of Milwaukee

The food and wine of Spain Ahhh, Spain. Just the word conjures up images in my head of beautiful historic buildings, the running of the bulls, tomatoes, olive trees and olive oil, the brilliant colors of paella. And vineyards. Yes, vineyards. Did you know that Spain has more land under vine than any other country? And that it is the number three or four producer of wine every year (depending on who you ask)? Did you know that the Spanish restaurant, El Bulli, owned by chef Ferran Adrià, is considered the best restaurant in the world and Adrià himself, is acknowledged as the best chef on the planet? I speak highly of Spain, so you can see why, I, as one of the only official Spanish Wine Educators in Wisconsin, chose to dedicate the whole month of January to the cuisine and wine of this brilliant epicurean country with lunch and dinner features and exciting wine flights. We will also be capping off the month with a Spanish wine dinner showcasing a few of the country’s most popular wines and regional specialties on January 27th.

Brendan Moore, CSW
General Manager of Fratellos Waterfront Restaurant, Milwaukee