My new Dyson Animal vacuum

Happy Mother's Day!

Don't laugh. But Don and Elli gave me this for Mother's day. The Dyson Animal.

Yep. I got a vacuum.

Not exactly what I had in mind. I did imagine a gift in a box. A pretty blue box. Or a silver box. Or a box that fits in the palm of your hand.

Not a box big enough for Elli to make a fort - which is what she did the minute the new vacuum was lifted out.

They did get me a cute pair of jammies too. So that's good.

And Don did do the vacuuming today. Another plus. But then he proceeded to tell me how hot and sweaty he got vacuuming - so I doubt he'll be manning the animal again anytime soon. The machine is so strong and powerful it's harder to maneuver.

So here's the good part.

Our floors and carpets are clean. We were shocked and disgusted with how dirty they were. We thought we had a nice vacuum. (SEBO) But it was not doing the trick.

We filled up the Dyson container after vacuuming the house. FILLED IT UP! As in it was so full of dirt and dog hair we had to empty it.

I'm obsessed with vacuuming our house because the dogs and humans here seem to drag in dirt and leaves all the time. I vacuum like crazy 'cuz it bugs me. Which is why they probably thought I needed a new vacuum, I guess?

The suction is so strong with the Dyson the carpets look fluffier and cleaner - because they are!

So, it may not have been the box I was hoping for. But it is an amazing little machine. I look forward to sweating with it next weekend. Maybe it will be my new exercise plan.

Six delicious French wines to try

Oui Oui! French wine is delicious!! J'adore vin français (I love French wine!!)

I always thought I didn't like French wine. I had a few bad experiences with wine that tasted really horsey. Literally, it tasted like a stinky horse in the barn. So I shied away from French wine.

I'm happy to report that I was wrong!!!

The funny thing is, I don't think I'm the only person that is a bit shy about French wine.

I attended a French wine tasting at BevMo! last Thursday. Our guests at these tastings usually head straight for the bar and immediately start tasting. The atmosphere is always lively with guests sipping wine and friends chatting.

This night was different. Everyone walked into the tasting room and went straight for the cheese without filling their glass with wine. And no one was talking. It was weird.

I think they were intimidated by the labels. It couldn't have been our host. Emmanuel was delightful. He was friendly and charming with a twinkle in his eye. And come on, the French accent was divine!  Oooh la la!!

I didn't even need to say anything to him about our guests behavior. He grabbed the first bottle, walked out from behind the bar and started pouring the first wine, a Louis Michel & Fils Chablis. The guests loved him, and the wine. He charmed them all.

$29.99 Regular/$24.99 ClubBev!

That's all it took to loosen up the crowd.  Before you knew it people were busy tasting wine and buying it like crazy to fill their cellars. Talk about a 180!

My favorite was the Chablis - it was crisp and light with hints of peach like a Sauvignon Blanc, which as you know is my favorite wine. I would drink it every day if it was 12 bucks and not $24.99!

In fact, most of the wines were kind of expensive. So maybe it wasn't French wine I didn't like. It was CHEAP French wine I didn't like. I'm not too fond of cheap California wine either! Or cheap anything for that matter.

Give a bottle or two a try sometime and let me know what you think. Some of these wines are served at top restaurants like the French Laundry!

88 PTS WILFRED WONG. This wine makes a statement, the '10 Domaine J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet offers ripe apple density, with a push of sweet oak; long and layered on the palate; bright finish.  $64.99 Reg/$59.99 ClubBev!

90 WINE SPECTATOR. The '10 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc is ripe and creamy up front; butter-framed melon, creamed peach and pear notes; stony edge on the fresh finish; blossoms in the glass.  $45.99 Regular/$41.99 ClubBev!

The price point on this one had everyone giddy. Of course it wasn't my favorite. 88 PTS WILFRED WONG. Richer and more forceful than other from the same appellation, the '09 Perrin & Fils Cotes du Rhone shows substantial power and richness; red fruit and leather in the finish.  $10.99 Regular/$9.99 ClubBev!

89 PTS WILFRED WONG. Pure and honest, the red-fruited '08 Perrin Gigondas exhibits red fruit and mineral in the aromas; lively and energetic on the palate; bright finish. $32.99 Regular/$28.99 ClubBev!

My favorite Red - - 96 PTS WINE SPECTATOR. The '09 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape is packed with dark cocoa, mesquite, tobacco and roasted fig; pure cassis and plum fruit flavors; long finish with vanilla bean notes. $99.99 Regular/$89.99 ClubBev!

I asked Emmanuel what his favorite wine is. He's currently drinking the '89 Ch. de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We tasted the '09. His favorite is 20 years older. ha. Maybe I should buy one of these and save it for a special occasion.

Now go forth with a glass of French wine, and talk like a Frenchman!

Note: all prices listed are BevMo! prices.

BIN 38 Restaurant and Wine Bar Review

Don's wine flight

We went to BIN 38 in San Francisco last Saturday. We took Elli with us, which probably wasn't the best decision, but we were eating early (5:45pm) and thought it would be fine.

We rarely go out anymore. But now that I'm working again (woo hoo!) we decided to treat ourselves to a day in the city. Don did a quick search of places in SF and found BIN 38. We love wine so it sounded great to us. It was listed as a $$ price point. Which is a little misleading unless you're very careful with what you order.

It turns out BIN 38 is quite the happening singles scene and it's more wine bar than restaurant.

They made an amazing plate of pappardelle noodles with an alfredo sauce for Elli. It was super tasty so she was happy. Don and I each had a different wine flight, w shared the olive tapenade appetizer, and each of us enjoyed a really yummy entree. He had scallops. I had chicken.

Burrata $14

Castelvetrano olive tapenade, garlic puree, charred bread

Diver Scallops $25

Parsnip gratin, sunchokes, leeks, american caviar, celery, hollandaise

Wine Pairing: Domaine des Baumard Sauvennieres

Mary’s Chicken Roulade $22

Ricotta gnocchi, cipollini onions, artichokes, king trumpet mushrooms, truffle jus 

Wine Pairing: Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti

The food was delicious, although my chicken was a tad salty. The wine was good. But the service was really slow and uneven. They were so busy on Saturday when we got there they didn't have any clean wine glasses. It took about 15 minutes for us to get wine. That doesn't seem like a long time, but it felt like a really long time as we sat there looking at everyone in the dining room drinking wine!

Our entrees came really fast - which made us feel rushed. Don ordered another glass of wine just to send a message that we were there to enjoy ourselves.

I guess they had the last laugh though. The wine Don ordered, which was part of the flight he sampled, turned out to be 20 bucks a glass. It wasn't even a big pour.

Needless to say, our bill was quite a bit bigger than we anticipated.

Olive tapenade appetizer

Chicken with gnocchi, artichoke and mushrooms

Scallops

The couple sitting next to us had a mix-up with their order. She ordered scallops and he had the burger. They brought her a salad, which was wrong. They took the salad away. It took FOR-EVER for them to bring her scallops. Her poor date sat there staring at his burger get cold. They nibbled on all his fries while they waited for her entree. It was uncomfortable to watch. The server should have kept his burger warm.

I wasn't being nosy. The tables are tight in the dining room so it was impossible to miss what was going on at their table.

Overall, the place was fun - if you're young, single and have a lot of disposable income.

I don't think we'll go back anytime soon. Or ever. Unless someone else is buying.

BIN 38
3232 Scott Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Reservations are strongly recommended. Kids are not.