Sip of the Day

National Escargot Day surely not! I had to double-check which continent I am on. Snails have been on the continental menu since ancient Rome, and the oldest recipe for snails is recorded in Apicus’ cookbook dating back to 1 B. C. Did you know that restaurants serve about 1 billion snails annually, and the French consume 40,000 metric tons of snails per year; Escargot de Bourgogne (butter, parsley, garlic, shallot, and crusty bread to mop it all up on the side) is my mandatory appetizer order at Tar Tabac, my local French Bistrot. There is no second-guessing on wine pairing here; the only respectable choice is a bottle of Maison Louis Jadot Chablis! This clean and crisp, unoaked chardonnay complements the herby, garlicky, buttery escargot to perfection. After all, they are both Burgundian! Since NYC restaurants are now open and the weather is much improved, instead of cooking, I will stroll down to my local Bistro and enjoy my escargot and a glass or two of Chablis al fresco and people watching – Sante!