Let’s Talk Wine: Chianti

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

I am leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Italy! I’ll be spending a week in Siena with my boyfriend and his family before flying to meet M&D’s very own Andrew Sarubbi for another week traveling Spain and Portugal. I am beyond excited for the food, the wine, and the time off work. Matt and I have been talking about how we want to spend the trip and while we have lots of ideas, one thing stands out the most – vineyard visits. There are over 800 vineyards in the Tuscany region alone so we are not short on options. The house we are staying in is within short driving distance to Chianti region of Tuscany so I know we’ll be heading that direction at some point. We’ve talked vodka and mezcal recently so today, let’s talk wine. Specifically … Chianti. Lets Talk Wine: ChiantiContinue Reading

Why Whole Foods is Pushing Paiche

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Why Whole Foods is Pushing PaichePaiche is an Amazonian fish very popular in Peru but not yet a staple in American seafood. Flavor wise it’s similar to any white fish but a bit denser and less flaky. Sounds pretty good, right? Since early 2013, Whole Foods has been pushing it as an alternative (and a cheaper one at that) to the more well-known Halibut or Chilean Sea Bass. But here’s the thing. Paiche is victim to over fishing in South American regions. Though it is not yet endangered, the species may be heading in that direction if trade isn’t controlled to preserve it. So then why would Whole Foods want to push a potentially endangered, nearly unheard of fish on to its consumers? I think the answer will surprise you as much as it surprised me. Continue Reading

The Difference Between Mezcal and Tequila

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

The difference between mezcal and tequilaLast January, the general manager of McKinney and Doyle, and a very close personal friend of mine, Andrew Sarubbi traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico to learn how to make Mezcal. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage, smoky in flavor, made from the agave plant. Recently, the food, specifically the bar, industry has seen a surge in new agave distillates entering the market. It can be tricky to understand the subtle nuances among them so I thought that with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, today would be a great day to talk a little about them, specifically between tequila and mezcal. A lot of people describe mezcal as a type of tequila, but it’s actually the other way around. Mezcal is a much broader category that encompasses tequila. Let’s dive a little deeper, shall we?Continue Reading

Food Trends to Look for in 2015

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

IMG_3074The food industry is constantly evolving and changing. That’s why over the past couple of years you’ve seen “healthy alternatives” on restaurant menus. It’s also why you’ve seen an influx of house infused liquors and herbal combinations in the cocktail menus. Granted we are well into 2015 at this point but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still things to look for. It’s funny how you notice things more readily once they are pointed out to you or become relevant to your personal life. Like how if you buy a new car, all of a sudden you see tons of YOUR car driving around. I’m willing to bet this will be another one of those situations. You’ll read about all of these trends here and then go out to eat and it’s all you’ll notice. Keep me posted on that one.

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