After one too many plastic cups of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I’ve moved on to wine as my new drink of choice. But, like beer, there are many kinds of bad wine that are too easy to accidentally drink. So what makes a good wine? And what’s the difference between a chardonnay and a Cabernet?

Here’s the rundown on the mot popular kinds of wine and what to drink them with.

Reds

Cabernet Sauvignon is produced mainly in France and California. This red is what’s called “full bodied,” meaning it’s got a rich, strong flavor of dark fruits like black current. The best Cabernets taste a bit earthy and dry and they tend to get better with age, so pick-up a bottle with the earliest date (as in, 2003 rather than 2008).
Pair with red meat, grilled vegetables, or pasta with red sauce.

Merlot is arguably the most popular red wine. Merlot can range from medium to full-bodied and is high in alcohol and low in acidity. Flavors include plum and chocolate (yum!). Grown all over the world, this wine is easy to enjoy.
Pair with pasta with red sauce, beef, or grilled or smoky meats.

Pinot Noir is made from a velvety grape that is one of the hardest to grow, which makes a good pinot great and a bad pinot terrible. A good pinot will be complex, with flavors ranging from black cherries to earthy spices. Pinot Noir grapes traditionally come from Burgundy, France, but are now being perfected in Oregon and California.
Pair with salmon, pasta, or pork. Read More »

All of my life, finding food has never been a problem. My mom buys it, my college cafeteria supplies it, and there are always easy-to-make snacks in my fridge. So imagine the huge reality check I get when I move into an apartment style dorm for part of the summer. The cafeteria isn’t open until fall and I am off to fend for myself in the food department. While I am armed with a kitchen full of essentials (microwave, refrigerator, stove, etc.) there is one tiny problem; I have never cooked for myself.

Now when I say I have never cooked for myself I mean that I have never bought groceries for myself and the only thing I have used an oven for is baking brownies. If I want scrambled eggs for breakfast, I make them in the microwave. Mashed potatoes? Screw the stove; I use the microwave. Basically I am skilled with the microwave and nothing else. But since a summer full of microwavable foods did not sound that enticing, I have found a few tips for all those who are cooking in a small kitchen.

Establish food ownership: This is only needed if you are sharing kitchen space with other people. I know many roommates who have fought over ownership of a jar of salsa or accused their friends of eating their whole bag of pretzels. These situations could have easily been avoided had everyone sharing a fridge talked over how they wanted to share the kitchen. Read More »

Let it be known that day three of the Master Cleanse really, really blows.

My day started off OK. I woke up in good spirits feeling ready to take on another day without food when I remembered that it was time for my massive morning dosage of salt water. The night before, I had premixed my oral enema and left it next to my bed in the hopes that I would then drink it immediately when I awoke and I would be so out of it that I wouldn’t fully realize what I was doing. And it worked. At least, a third of the way through it, it worked.

After that I was left to choke down the rest, and though it proved to be more effective than yesterday, I came to the conclusion that a belly full of salt water is no way to kick things off. Tomorrow I’ll be entrusting my a.m. colon purge to Chocolate Smooth Moves; because I’m already struggling to find reasons to wake up in the morning without that staring me in the face. Read More »

Person: Arden Wohl

This girl directed a film on the Chupacabra. Fashion-wise, she is all about extremes. An article on Radar Online quotes her as comparing herself to a lizard and saying, “Clothing is meant to be fun, right?” As much as she is known for her constant headband-donning, she does not confine herself to one fashion genre. In fact, she seems to be all about extremes, liking “things long and loose, or short.”

It seems many New Yorkers, in our daily quest to make the A/L/N/6 train without attracting any unwanted attention, have resigned ourselves to the same hoodie, leggings and “I’m NOT a Plastic Bag” as every other chick on the platform.

Conversely, Wohl’s socialite peers are partial to Tory Burch (boooooring) logo flats and “ethnic” paisley print muʻumuʻus. Now you may say, “Hold on a second, Nora- Arden Wohl wears those mu’umu’us, too!” Let me tell you something about Arden Wohl: though she was born into privilege, Arden Wohl sure seems to know a little more about the world and its problems than most of her peers. Arden is dedicated to saving Darfur and is currently promoting Libby Spears’s documentary, The Playground Project, about the commercial sexual exploitation of children, with Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney. Arden is also passionate about the Nest Foundation, which raises awareness for the same cause. Read More »

You know you like it and can drink it by the bottle, but what else do you know about wine?

Do you pick out the perfect bottle to have with dinner by closing your eyes and randomly grabbing one? When someone says, “This malbec has a rich palate, but is a bit short on the finish,” do you just smile, nod, and agree? I thought so. It sounds like you need to meet Jon and Ted, the two guys behind 2 Guys Uncorked.

I mean, you already know one thing: wine is good. So, why not learn a few more things about it, so you can sound smart and enjoy wine even more than you already do (um, or maybe that’s not a good thing?). 2 Guys Uncorked review wine, but they do it in a fun, youthful way. They’re not pretentious, they don’t use words you can’t understand, and they actually review wine you can find.

In fact, all of the wines they review can be bought in either Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Oh, and they’re also affordable. You won’t find any $200 bottles of wine on their site because most of the wines they review are in the price range of $3.50-$20. Anyone who reviews a $3.50 bottle of wine is OK in my book.

With an easy-to-use website, you can browse their reviews or search for specific wines. And if you have no idea what you want, you can just tell the wine guys your occasion. Use the pull-down menu to let the guys know you want a wine that is good for anything from “weekend fun” to “celebrating” to something for “making a good impression.” Read More »

Ah Soy, how I love you cubed in my Ramen, sautéed with broccoli and peanut sauce in that Thai restaurant down the street, and poured in my morning coffee in the form of Silk.

Let’s face it, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to nosh on a little soy now and then. But there’s a new plant competing for the affections of vegans and carnivores alike—hemp. Chances are, if you’ve been hanging out in Whole Foods recently, you’ve noticed an unusual amount of hemp based goodies like hemp tortillas, hemp granola bars, hemp bread, and hemp bagels.

Don’t think the only people jumping on this foodie bandwagon are patchouli scented, pot smoking, Grateful Dead t-shirt wearing, hippies. Any health nut worth their Kashi Go Lean is trying out these new products. Read More »