Home Food & Wine Food Wine 2005 NORTHSIDE'S TOP WINE DIRECTORS AND SERVICE

NORTHSIDE'S TOP WINE DIRECTORS AND SERVICE

Written by Susan Dyer Reynolds

Wednesday, 31 August 2005

SHELLEY LINDGREN, A16 A16’s General Manager and Wine Director Shelley Lindgren made the cover of Wine & Spirit magazine’s Best Sommeliers issue of 2004, but she’s still just a wine geek at heart. Getting the soft-spoken Lindgren to talk about herself is a challenge—she’d much rather talk about wine. “Wine is my passion,” Lindgren says, “I was always interested in it. Even in school, I always found ways to make my papers about wine. It’s really just self-education. You pick a region that ignites your passion, and for me it’s Italy because it has the most diverse varietals and regions—I still learn something new every day.” Lindgren definitely deserves all of the accolades showered upon her. Watching her help patrons make choices, you realize the sheer amount of knowledge she already has, and she’s only in her 30s. “This is a great time to be a consumer,” she explains. “Small families in the early 90s used to sell grapes to the big labels, but now they are starting to make their own wines.” She tries to make it to all of the tables because she knows that Italian wines are uncharted territory for many diners. “A lot of times I use my intuition with a customer. I’ve tasted all the wines on the list. If I ask a few questions about what they prefer, say Pinot or Chardonnay, I can find something they’ll like and often love.” PAUL EINBUND, TARTARE Sommelier Paul Einbund of Tartare wanted to work in the wine business so badly he was willing to sleep in his car. “I was up here from L.A. training waiters for this restaurant and I had a day off. So I drove to Napa, saw the vines, and that was it.” While enrolled at Cal Arts, Einbund would drive up on the weekends to do tastings with different winemakers. “I would buy a loaf of bread, some Land O’Lakes honey butter, and water, and sleep in my car at night,” he says. “I was a waiter—I was starving. But I had to do it.” When you find out the unconventional start he got in the wine world, his innovative pairings—like a vermouth cocktail alongside beef tartare, melon-infused soju with opakapaka, and Lindeman’s Lambic Kriek to complement the Tasmanian trout—really make sense. “I’m kind of the ‘people’s sommelier,’” he laughs. “I can tell you that Gatorade removes all the acidity from wines and makes them flabby, and I can tell you what bread goes best with Land O’Lakes honey butter, which, by the way, isn’t the same—it used to have pools of honey running through it.” Einbund’s novel approach to wine extends to the way he pairs them with different dishes. “I sit down with two wines I think are right, one I think will be terrible, and one random wine,” he says. “A lot of time the ‘terrible wine’ is the best. Every dish has tons of possibilities. People might say, ‘duck and Pinot Noir,’ but I sit down with every dish and find what I think is the best wine to match it with. And it may not be a wine at all.” ALEX FOX, MYTH It’s hard to believe that Myth is Alex Fox’s first time as the wine director of a restaurant. A former wine educator at Niebaum-Coppola, Fox’s enthusiasm is evident as he stops at tables to offer guidance through his wine list, which emphasizes newer, smaller California wineries. “From Europe we give you archetypes—flashy and classic from Spain—but from California we have the most interesting wines, nuanced and easy to appreciate.” When asked why wine seems so daunting to most people, Fox smiles, “There’s nothing more difficult about wine than plumbing—there is a level of complexity to all jobs. If you’re interested and you gain experience, anyone can do this. I want to make it as fun, interesting, and unintimidating as possible for people.” He credits owner Tom Duffy with taking a chance on him. “Since I’d never worked in a restaurant, Tom was taking a big risk,” Fox admits. “He’s on top of everything—he nurtures you and allows you to develop your skills. I think Myth is the model for management, and I thank Tom for this opportunity every day.” BEST SERVICE: GARY DANKO Making guests happy and keeping them happy is chef Gary Danko’s number-one priority. It has been an integral part of the Restaurant Gary Danko experience from the day the doors opened, and it remains that way six years later. Whether it’s a shiny silver dome placed over your entr&eacutee when you slip to the restroom or the seamless way that plates, glasses, and silverware come and go, the efficient, effortless, and charming service at Gary Danko is the pinnacle for which all restaurants strive. BEST SERVER: JAMES MULHALL, GARY DANKO By far the most unsung heroes in the restaurant world are wait staff and line cooks. Without them, every restaurant, from neighborhood trattorias to shimmering four-star jewels, would crumble. Dining at Gary Danko isn’t just a meal, it’s an experience, and longtime captain James Mulhall is one of the reasons. Not only is he Northside’s Best Server, he is quite literally the best restaurant employee in the country, having recently won the Exxon-Mobil Travel Guide 2004 Best of the Best Employee Award for Restaurants in recognition of his work at Gary Danko. Anyone expecting a buttoned-down night at Gary Danko won’t get it, except perhaps for the sleek Armani suits worn by the wait staff. While his knowledge of the menu and wine list are unrivaled, Mulhall also makes the experience fun with his easygoing charm and quick wit. He perfected his craft over three decades of work in the industry, beginning when he left school in Ireland to work at the Burlington, the biggest hotel in Dublin. He started in management, but as soon as he walked into the kitchen, he was hooked. “I remember the night the Aga Khan, one of the richest men in the world, was holding an event in the ballroom for 1,500 people. There was an army of chefs, all carving, plating, saucing, and screaming—it was wild,” James recalls. “During dessert, the chandeliers were dimmed and each of the 200 waiters carried a giant baked Alaska with sparklers around the darkened room. It was magical. That night I realized that food needs a stage.”

Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 January 2008 )