Robert K. Stephen – Page 229 – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

RKS Wine: Is This Bargain Basement Portuguese Wine Worth $12.95?

Price is not determinative when it comes to quality of a wine. I had a buddy over for dinner last Saturday. He was happily ebullient over a $90 Pinot Noir from Prince Edward County in Ontario. Knowing that I write about wine and have made several recommendations to him for wine purchases he looked atContinue reading “RKS Wine: Is This Bargain Basement Portuguese Wine Worth $12.95?”

RKS Literature: Freedom and Individuality

“The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to attain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental or spiritual. Mankind are greaterContinue reading “RKS Literature: Freedom and Individuality”

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: “The Communist Manifesto”

“The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has piteously torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors,” and left no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous cash payment. The bourgeoisie possess theContinue reading “RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: “The Communist Manifesto””

RKS Wine: Bordeaux Wine Label: Who Kidnapped the “Château”?

If you prefer the wines of Bordeaux a common feature on their label is some Château in picture and in name. Who kidnaped the château on the front of this bottle? There is no château written and for pictorial representation perhaps it is there but so far in the distance. The wine is 100% Merlot.Continue reading “RKS Wine: Bordeaux Wine Label: Who Kidnapped the “Château”?”

RKS Travel: Thessaloniki, Greece: Greece Eats: Pantopolio Food Emporium

I am not quite sure what to classify Pantopolio as? A deli would be too crude. I think I will settle with a “food emporium” crammed full of Greek delights, cheese, wine, seafood, meats just to name a few. There are literally hundreds of high-quality food items here. I discovered this wonderful shop 4 yearsContinue reading “RKS Travel: Thessaloniki, Greece: Greece Eats: Pantopolio Food Emporium”

RKS Travel: Thessaloniki, Greece Eats: Where the Dinosaurs Go to Eat: Kafeneio Pyrgos

On the surface in the heavily trafficked areas of Thessaloniki one may be left with the impression the younger set survives on coffee and as the sun sets move on to cocktails. As in Toronto so it goes in Thessaloniki where wine and beer is dying and the mighty cocktail lifts its costly head. ThereContinue reading “RKS Travel: Thessaloniki, Greece Eats: Where the Dinosaurs Go to Eat: Kafeneio Pyrgos”

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Narcotics and COVID

“Always attuned to changes in the mood of the market, drug dealers had quickly realized the advantageous commercial consequences of a year of continual stress. When the numbers of the infections increased, so had the need to find drug-induced solace in what seemed like the Valley of the Shadow of Death. When the numbers decreased,Continue reading “RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Narcotics and COVID”

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Artists and Politicians

“But artists, he had long since concluded, were rather like politicians in their interest in the tasteful appearance of truth rather than the truth itself. “ Donna Leon “Give Unto Others” : Atlantic Monthly Press 2022

RKS Travel: RKS Hotel Reviews: Daios Luxury Living in Thessaloniki Greece

Thessaloniki is Greece’s second largest city behind Athens. Despite being an old fogey I certainly pick up a very youthful and hip vibe in Thessaloniki. And that has been constant in the last decade. The cafes and bars are packed and it is a love affair with the cocktail and coffee. I prefer Thessaloniki toContinue reading “RKS Travel: RKS Hotel Reviews: Daios Luxury Living in Thessaloniki Greece”

RKS Wine: Red Bordeaux Trio

Be forewarned at 62 degrees Fahrenheit the wine is flabby so try to bring it down to 55 degrees which is what your refrigerated cellar temperature should be. The nose is primarily black fruit with some plum and mocha all sitting on a pool of kirsch. On the palate the tannins are soft but aContinue reading “RKS Wine: Red Bordeaux Trio”