Olive Oil, Extra Light
When you enter the private dining room off the Intercontinental Boston’s restaurant MIEL BRASSERIE PROVENÇALE, with a menu featuring its eponymous signature ingredient (miel is French for honey), hanging overhead is a glistening olive oil chandelier. Don’t miss the interior door leading to a floor-to-ceiling secret olive oil shop. intercontinentalboston.com
-- Nicole Alper
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IN GOOD TASTE
Napa Souvenirs
 For a wine-country gift they’ll remember, try one of the small-batch specialty items from NAPA SOAP COMPANY. Wine-inspired bar soaps, bath salts, aromatherapy home diffusers, and shaving gift sets are a few of the back-to-basics, environmentally friendly products available. napasoap.com -- JANET THOMAS
Toting a Taste of the Good Life
What better way to celebrate a crisp fall day than a picnic? The BMW PICNIC TOTE ($120, bmw-online.com) is our choice for carrying your outdoor dining essentials. It’s packed with everything you need but the cheese and wine. For that, we spoke to cheese guru Laura Werlin, author of Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials, at this year’s Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Her suggestions: a five-cheese lineup that includes a triple-cream cheese, a goat cheese, an aged sheep's-milk cheese, a blue cheese, and a cloth-wrapped cheddar, such as Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. For wine, try a riesling, which Werlin calls “cheese friendly.” -- LORI STACY
GLASSOLOGY
AMERICAN AIRLINES’ ACCLAIMED WINE CONSULTANT AND OENOLOGIST KEN CHASE SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON THE SHAPE OF WINE GLASSES TODAY.
Wine glassology is a coined fictitious -- but fitting -- phrase that deals with aroma science and relates it to how wine glass shapes and sizes might affect the aromas and taste of a wine.
The theory is simple: Different grape varieties have varying intensities of fruit expression. As aromas in the wine glass expand (caused by aroma molecules moving as you twirl the glass), the molecules follow the shape of the glass, delivering aromas to the olfactory system (your sense of smell) with varying intensities. The best example supporting this theory is the tulip-shaped glass that is bulbous at the bottom and closes in at the opening, forcing the rising aromas into a concentrated stream of those gregarious molecules (American Airlines has recently introduced a larger glass of this shape on select flights).
How is the taste of a wine affected? The taste theory is based on the wine's being delivered to different parts of the palate as a result of the size and shape of the wine glass opening. A narrow opening would hit the front of the palate, while a wide opening would hit the front of the palate as well as the sides. Different parts of our palates have receptors that detect sweet, sour, and salt sensations and so, theoretically, if one can direct the flavors to a specific area, then an increase in intensity should be realized.
The theory is sound … but more independent experimental research is needed. In the meantime, do ensure you always have enough room in your wine glass to play with the wine, and enough wine to enjoy your own studies on the subject. It’s not an exact science.
These fine wine glasses, from Riedel's Vinum collection, are designed for enjoying specific varietals of wines. From left to right: glasses for bordeaux/cabernet, burgundy/pinot noir, chablis/chardonnay, shiraz/syrah, sauvignon blanc, champagne, and montrachet/chardonnay. riedel.com
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FOOD AND WINE
A SMORGASBORD OF COOKBOOKS
 Cookbooks, once the chronicling of a chef’s repertoire, are today an extension of everything from destination spas to vineyards. Here are some of our favorites.
-- NICOLE ALPER
CHEFS
Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, by world-renowned chef Thomas Keller, is the first American book on the technique which involves packing food in airtight plastic bags and cooking at low heat (Artisan Books, $75).
New Orleans chef John Besh’s My New Orleans features more than 200 recipes as well as personal stories of Besh’s beloved city and its regional cuisine (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $45).
In Jamie’s Food Revolution, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver shares common-sense cooking techniques that will help Americans eat better (Hyperion, $35).
SPAS
Healthy living is on the modern mind, and two spas, Rancho La Puerta, in Tecate, Baja California, and The Golden Door in San Marcos, California, have produced cookbooks reflecting each spa’s cuisine. Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35) highlights seasonal farm-fresh “Cuisine of the Californias,” while Golden Door Cooks at Home: Favorite Recipes from the Celebrated Spa (Random House, $40) pays tribute to proteins, whole grains, and fresh vegetables in a medley of deliciously healthy recipes.
VINEYARD
The Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook is an inspired collection of recipes contributed by world-famous chefs such as Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, and Charlie Trotter -- all fans of the Bryant Family Vineyard and their world-renowned “cult” Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $50).
HOTEL
The InterContinental Kitchen (theintercontinentalkitchen.com, $60) celebrates the hotel and resort company’s 60th anniversary with a worldwide culinary tour of their hotels. Learn how to prepare chilled mango pudding with soft almond jelly from the InterContinental Hong Kong and many other regional favorites served at InterContinental hotels and resorts.
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FOOD AND WINE
TOASTING FALL
 Bubbly just got better. LAURENT-PERRIER ULTRA BRUT champagne uses no dosage, but rather grapes with high sugar levels and low acidity. With a crystal-bright color and complex aroma, its flavors of citrus and honeysuckle blend in your mouth, finishing with a clean, lingering taste of a seaside walk along a flower-flanked path. laurentperrierus.com -- N.A
MILLION-DOLLAR VIEW
Bathed in a color palette of cerulean blue, black, and white, The Butterfly Room at CECCONI’S in West Hollywood showcases horizontally striped Italian marble floors, custom blue leather chairs, and, most notably, a million-dollar Damien Hirst heart-shaped original painting. cecconiswesthollywood.com -- N.A.
STAR-POWERED HOT SPOTS
In America’s see-and-be-seen dining culture, some of the brightest star power is not hiding in a restaurant’s corner booth, it’s on the investment papers. The delicious TRIBECA GRILL, co-owned by Robert DeNiro and restaurateur Drew Nieportent, together with some of DeNiro's celeb pals who have invested in it (including Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, and Sean Penn), helped put this NYC neighborhood on the map. Jill Hennessy, who starred in NBC’s Crossing Jordan, and husband Paolo Mastropietro own the New Jersey eatery HENNESSY’S TAVERN. In Miami, Danny Devito has introduced an Italian chophouse (and his own brand of limoncello) to the sassy South Beach crowd at DEVITO SOUTH BEACH, while in Atlanta actor Ashton Kutcher co-owns the sensual sushi hot spot GEISHA HOUSE. Meanwhile, in cities across the country -- Atlantic City, Chicago (due to open soon), and Manhattan -- music mogul Jay Z is adding some hip-hop style to the sports-bar scene with outposts of his swank THE 40/40 CLUB. -- N.A.
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NIGHTLIFE
CIGAR SCENES
 Cigar smokers tend to be sociable and plugged-in about the good things in life. A great way to find out about a city’s top haunts is to settle down in a cigar bar, order a drink, light up, and chat with the patron next to you. No doubt, you’ll leave with fresh insights and maybe a new cigar or two. Here are five great places to enjoy a cigar. -- MICHAEL KAPLAN
HAVANA CLUB, Baltimore. This jazzy spot has deep-red carpeting, dark-brown leather sofas, a fairly exhaustive list of premium cigars, and a great crowd. It’s situated directly above a Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which makes it a perfect place for post-dinner cigars and cognac. 600 Water Street, havanaclub-baltimore.com
HUDSON BAR AND BOOKS, New York City. There are three of these Bar and Books spots scattered around Manhattan, but this place is particularly cozy. It attracts a great downtown crowd, and you’ll have a hard time deciding whether to pair your cigar with a classic cocktail or a glass of fine, single-malt Scotch. 636 Hudson Street, barandbooks.cz/
GUANXI LOUNGE, San Francisco. This semi-private club is situated in the back of the swanky Chinese restaurant Shanghai 1930. It’s a big place with a media room, two banks of humidors, and a dress code that has most patrons wearing suits or sport jackets. 133 Steuart Street, shanghai1930.com
OZIO MARTINI AND CIGAR LOUNGE, Washington, D.C. Good music, good food, cigars, and dancing are the primary lures here. But there is also a chilled-out lounge in which to relax and enjoy your smoke. Dress code is business casual. 1813 M Street NW, oziodc.com
THE OAK BAR, Buenos Aires. Expect antique oak paneling, a wood-burning fireplace, leather club chairs, and a great selection of Cuban cigars stored inside a humidor fashioned from an old safe. It all adds up to make this the perfect place for unwinding with a fine smoke and a glass of single-malt Scotch. Inside Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, Avenida Alvear 1661, buenosaires.park.hyatt.com
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NEWS AND TRENDS
Take Note
 Reserve a stunning view with your meal at the recently opened BLACK ROCK OCEANFRONT RESORT on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Cozy up to cocktails at Float Lounge on the rocky shoreline, do dinner at Fetch Restaurant, which overlooks the open ocean, or book a small reception or custom private dinner at the Wine Cellar, with a surge channel and wave action just outside. blackrockresort.com -- J.T.
This fall, all eight DEL FRISCO’S locations launch the new Black Tie Martini, which combines Woodford Reserve bourbon and a splash of orange-blossom water. delfriscos.com -- N.A.
Thomas Keller’s mythic New York restaurant PER SE has a brand new a la carte Salon Menu. Dine in the intimate bar area without the prix fixe commitment (hint: try to snag the table with a Central Park view). perseny.com -- N.A.
HOTEL CARL GUSTAF adds another feather to its culinary cap with the recent addition of Victoria’s, where executive chef Emmanuel Motte serves his award-winning cuisine, often including hip “ampuls” of specialty sauces. Perched on the dramatic Hill of Gustavia, the stylish hideaway has the nearby harbors and jet-set scenes of St. Barths and St. Martin in fine view. hotelcarlgustaf.com -- J.T.
Wired for Food and Wine
FOODIES ARE ATWITTER WITH NEW WAYS TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN PURSUING THEIR PASSION FOR FOOD.
CHOW.COM covers the entire virtual edible world, from food stories and videos to community centers featuring no-holds-barred restaurant evaluations.
From the world of Relais & Châteaux, the newly launched website GRANDSCHEFS.COM offers personal stories, recipes, and advice for home cooks from the organization’s 160 Grands Chefs.
Want to add a touch of Vegas to your restaurant search? iPhone’s app URBANSPOON allows you to plug in restaurant type and price point, then shake your phone to hit the culinary jackpot.
Wine enthusiasts can visit the new WIREDFORWINE.COM for great daily deals on wine. It’s a simple concept: Just one well-acclaimed wine is featured each day and it's sold at a deep discount until it is gone.
For those wanting to add a blog to their daily ritual, you can follow the musings of such foodies as Louisa Chu, whose MOVABLE-FEAST.COM documents subjects as disparate as rare-breed chicken eggs and the revelries of Anthony Bourdain. -- N.A.
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