Happy Holidays Grateful Palate Customers!
This is an email for all my customers old and new. There are several new items up on my website. Please visit and you’ll find some highlights below. Remember, every order gets a free Bacon of the Month Club Do You Wanna Piece of Me Apron by Ana Benroya. Be sure to add it to your cart.
The Basket is back. With beautiful red rope this time. The first run of baskets sold out in 24 hours. 28 just arrived and two just sold. This is the last shipment I will have this year. I expect them to evaporate. This may be the best gift of 2018 for your foodie, vegan, vegetarian or human friend or family. Remember, they stack!
It’s not too early to start thinking about your Christmas tree. And it’s always a good time to think about bacon.
Enjoy your bacon at both ends. The only bacon toilet paper in the world. That I know of.
Bags Groove. My name for my series of custom designer wine bags. I like to think Theolonius Monk would have bought one. Four different styles. See them all at my web store.
Please call or email any thoughts or questions.
Remember to order your free apron.
Butter is coming. Wine is coming. Grab Bag is coming. Stay tuned.
Warm regards,
Dan Philips
Admiral Bacon
“I worked with the Grateful Palate a while ago on a series of wine labels, and they are finally available for sale. The theme was Southern Gothic, and I brainstormed some concepts with owner Dan Philips and designer Beth Elliot. They gave me a lot of creative freedom, and the typography was expertly done by Jeff Keedy. There are little bits of foil printed in the intricate framing elements.”
– James Jean
Product of the Year 2018 aka Best Holiday Gift Ever!
I first found Yolanda’s baskets a few years ago in a small shop in the old city of Valencia. I bought three, then couldn’t find her again. Now that I’ve tracked her down, I learned that she’s made only 100 baskets in all, and only 30 are available this year. Last week I finally ordered a bunch. I’m flying to Spain tomorrow with an empty suitcase to pick them up. They’re not cheap—they’re essentially one-of-a-kind. And you won’t see them everywhere. In the old days, when I’d find something like this, it would turn up at Williams Sonoma or Dean and Deluca six months later. So I made Yolanda promise not to sell her baskets to Amazon. Ever. Sorry.
There are 13 baskets available. Best Holiday Gift 2018. Or perhaps ever, certainly since Bacon of the Month Club memberships. Reserve one now. They may not be available when I return from Spain.
PS: One more thing: They stack! So get more than one. Put your eggplants in one, your avocados in another, and your satsumas in a third.
The Basket: $92
No octopuses were harmed in the production of this product.
]]>“Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that if we are not beautiful to each other, we cannot know beauty in any form.”
― Dorothy Allison
“Who is he who will affirm that there must be a web of flesh and bone to hold the shape of love?”
― William Faulkner, “Beyond"
It was no surprise to me that James Jean created beautiful labels for me in the early 2000’s for a project called the Southern Gothic Wine Collection. At the time he created three different triptychs. Two red wines and one white. Southern Belle was the flagship, a big, rich tantalizing wine. Poor Thing was a sexy, sensual grenache. Diddley Bow, a racy, startling, electric white wine. What was a surprise was that he created labels that captured Southern Gothic culture as if he had been born in the south.
In 2008, I stopped making the triptychs and each wine is now bottled in one label, or one panel.
I only have one complete triptych left and it is available now until 5pm PDT today, October 16, by auction. Each bottle is signed by James Jean.
James talks of “thwarted desire” and “sad romance” as themes that motivated him in creating these labels. To me, James work is always about love; and usually a journey from a place of challenge, sadness, pain, disappointment, loss, but the vision of beauty is always present and the destination of love, is never far away. These labels are early James Jean work, when these themes were very present and manifest in a direct way; though less complicated, layered and perhaps whimsical as his later work has developed. But these early labels have an intensity that I associate with the work of a young artist.
Southern Belle Triptych auction opening October 23. Two complete Triptychs.
Butter Club Coming Soon. Instagram: @thecolorofbutter
A Case for Baskets Basket sold out. Pre-orders now available here.
Dear Palates,
What sadder words are there in any language than “Last call for Champagne?”
There are only a few hours left to order my new Champagnes:
NV Good Lord Blanc de Blancs (100% barrel fermented Chardonnay) and NV Bless Your Heart Rosé (100% Pinot Noir.)
You’ll want a glass while the turkey is cooking; or while you’re wrapping holiday presents; or while you’re waiting for mid-night; or, watching Rick and Morty reruns; or my favorite way to drink Champagne, for no special reason at all. There’s no better date night than a bottle each and a bunch of conversation and laughter.
Sales will cease at the end of day 27 September, TODAY! Feel free to email me with questions or comments.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Philips
The Grateful Palate
www.gratefulpalate.com
NO OCTOPUSES WERE HARMED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS WINE.
Dear Palates,
There are only three more days left to order my new Champagnes. NV Good Lord Blanc de Blancs and NV Bless Your Heart Rosé.
Sales have been explosive. Thanks to all who have already purchased these two extraordinary Champagnes. Once you taste them, I promise you will want more. The holidays are rapidly approaching; these two Champagnes will make unique gifts and delicious pairings with all sorts of holiday foods.
For those of you who don’t know, these labels were designed by world renowned artist James Jean. You can see his work on Instagram (@jamesjeanart) or on his Facebook page. I have known James for decades. He has designed all of the Southern Gothic Wine Collection wine labels beginning with Southern Belle. James signed and numbered each of the bottles. I only produced 400 bottles of each Champagne.
Cedric Guyot is the winemaker and a new friend who has a garagiste winery in the very south of the Champagne region, in a village called Vertus. Cedric’s wines are peerless, but more importantly to me, he shares a restless innovative spirit and he was willing to experiment with new techniques, including substituting Pappy Van Winkle for the traditional Cognac in the dosage.
You can order right now and until end of day 27 September, this coming Thursday. Feel free to email me with questions or comments.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Philips
The Grateful Palate
www.gratefulpalate.com
PS I’ve received many inquiries about my old imported Australian Shiraz. There are several on the website but if you have old favorites please email.
]]>Hello My Persons,
It’s important to stay centered. Even though I have a religious devotion to yoga, meditation and Grey’s Anatomy, when you have a week like I’ve had, you can get lost. I’ve had an amazing week, for sure, if you measure life by Champagne dollars. So, thank you. You’re my person.
Still, that’s not enough to keep me centered. I’ve spent more time on social media than I’ve ever done in my life, more time with Google analytics, more time with Shopify, those dime store hoods who tried to steal my money, though, in the end, I stared those bitches down and made them shopablink. So by today, Friday, I felt lost. I dug deep and grabbed my life map.
I’ve been told, The Dali Lama himself, has a copy of this map. Tattooed on his butt. So this is my weekend in a nutshell. This is where I’m goin. Road Trip! I’m gonna follow this map, drink my weight in bubbles and (foie gras) toast you for being there. I suggest you do the same. That’s why I made the stuff. A customer wrote to me and asked me which fizz I prefer and here’s what I wrote:
I love both the Blanc de Blancs and the Rosé. That’s why I made them. Rosé tends to be more rare; and real rosé, made in the right way, with good color, structure and body is even rarer. It’s a bigger, more powerful wine than the Blanc de Blancs. The Blanc de Blancs has that typical bread basket, hazelnut, butterscotch quality I love in BdB but with a nervosity and electricity that makes it exciting to drink; and of course the hint of bourbon dosage, which doesn’t really taste of bourbon but adds a hint of beguiling complexity, is alluring and delicious.
Bam!
Good Lord Blanc de Blancs and Bless Your Heart Rosé…both, are still available, but all orders must be placed before next Thursday (9/27), because once people start tasting them, well, there’s not a map on earth that can help you. Trust me, you don’t want to explain to your partner on Thanksgiving/Christmas Eve/New Years Eve why you don’t have her/his/their/Cardi B’s Good Lord.
Cheers, Salut and Chin Chin,
The Admiral
PS More than a few customers emailed me about this soy sauce. I might import it again. Let me know if you have interest.
PPS Over the years I’ve been sued by the estate of Rosalind Russell, The Red Cross, the biggest bank in the world, and Maker’s Mark, to name a few. I expect to be sued by Ellen Pompeo. Bring it Ellen. I’m waiting. I have your bacon right here. However if you never hear from me again, you’ll know the executives at Shopify read my emails.
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Greetings Grateful Palate Customers,
My website www.gratefulpalate.com has just gone live, right now. In the weeks to come I’ll offer artisan products I’ve discovered over the past few years in my travels to 35 countries; and which will be available only on my website and nowhere else. You’ll also discover old friends like Allan Benton and new friends like Yolanda Herraiz.
My first offering is two Champagnes; they are extraordinary bubbly wines, born from a project that I made in collaboration with friends: James Jean in Los Angeles, Cedric and Karla Guyot in Champagne, Julian and Sissy Van Winkle in Louisville and JJ Bertram in Barcelona. As you can tell, this was an international operation on a scale I’ve never attempted before. Here’s a photo of the two Champagnes which I call Good Lord Blanc de Blancs and Bless Your Heart Rosé.
I’m modest but I’m unabashed in saying these may be the most beautiful Champagne bottles ever produced. They are extremely rare, only 400 bottles of each produced, artwork by and signed and numbered by world renowned artist James Jean, who I met years ago when we created Southern Belle together.
Go to my website for the full story, but there’s a super secret ingredient that a large Champagne estate owner called a “game changer.” By the way, I LOVE WORKING IN CHAMPAGNE. This is how my friends help me celebrate a bottling at their Chateau in Epernay.
I’m happy to hear from any and all customers. Write any time.
Warm regards,
Admiral Bacon (Formerly Captain Bacon, I promoted myself) aka Dan Philips
(note: this letter has been slightly modified for my public blog)
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About ten years ago I had a dream to make a Champagne, but not just any Champagne. I wanted to make a Champagne in a style never made before with a bottle design never made before. My first call was to an old friend, James Jean. James had already designed my Southern Gothic Wine Collections labels. He agreed to create original art for the label. I've had an obsession with Southern culture since I was born into it, married it, read it (heroes William Faulkner and Dorothy Allison) and can't seem to escape it. I began a years long conversation with Sissy Van Winkle who educated me in the subtleties of Southern vernacular and unwittingly came up with the names of the two Champagnes. Good Lord and Bless Your Heart. But then the journey began. It turns out that a Champagne package is more complex than any label I've ever created. Check out my history at www.gratefulpalatelibrary.com. I've created a few labels. But nothing prepared me for this. Capsule, neck label, box, cork, muselet.
Everything needed to be designed and everything needed to tie together like a puzzle. James wanted to create an all over, full sleeve design for the bottle and that was a challenge, in part because when the sleeve shrinks, the artwork changes. See video below. James and I engaged his friend, designer Will Staehle in Seattle to realize the artwork and design the box, neck label and capsule. JJ Bertram, a gifted designer in Barcelona provided further design and guided the production to completion.
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Sandra Beasley
There seems to be quite a few debates and differing opinions about poets and poetry. But I'd like to pose one fundamental question: can you be considered a great poet if you never, ever reference bacon? Did Philip Larkin ever mention bacon? Did T.S. Eliot ever mention bacon? Philip Levine, Patrizia Cavalli, Pushkin, Sappho, Anna Akmatova? Did they? What about Shakespeare? Well, Sandra did and has and will. What's more poetic than bacon? What rhymes better than bacon? What rolls off, and on, the tongue better than bacon? Sandra Beasley knows. She knows both metaphor and curing. In fact, she wrote two poems just for me and you can read them below. And, a couple more after that. The jobs and duties of the Bacon Poet Laureate are still being defined as is the cash award but stay tuned.
THE TRUTH ABOUT BACON
First, we must strip it of its easy name—
No one ventures into a summer storm
for the sake of holding an umbrella.
Each pack an act of transubstantiation,
the profane returned holy in heat,
body gone kinetic in the pan
& damn, who would call it comfort food—
This flesh, this fat, this sizzle?
Let it be anything but comfortable. Let this
be the permission you’ve been waiting for.
Sandra Beasley
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THE CATALOGUE
Rubbed in cayenne. Rubbed in cinnamon.
Rubbed with white sugar, then with brown.
Rubbed in capers, in great Muppet capers,
by animal and vegetable, mineral-rubbed.
Brined in dill that thinks it is coriander.
Brined in maple syrup. Brined in coffee.
Brined like the Pennsylvania Dutch do:
oak-barreled in brine for five weeks
before hung by a chimney with care.
Hung by the rafters. Hung in the locker.
Hung by sawhorse in the best friend’s lot.
Hung like a firework in the July sky—
until the pellicle forms, that unsung
tease of protein that hugs the smoke—
Smoke from hickory, from applewood,
from cobs smoldering in their harvest crib.
Smoke from a roadside roadhouse flare.
Smoke smuggled stateside by mouth.
Smoked later in the rind, Szalonna-style,
fat dripping into mitts of bread and radish.
Like fingerprints, the catalogue promises.
Each one different. They come to be confit
in the cast-iron, slow and low, or microwaved
to a crisp in their swaddle of paper towels.
They come for company of greens and eggs.
They come to our kitchen, singing with ghosts.
and hunger is the palm that gathers us all.
Sandra Beasley
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Sandra Beasley
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocation
Osiris Speaks
I left my heart in San Francisco.
I left my viscera in the Netherlands.
I left my liver on the 42 Line, headed
from Farragut Square to the White House.
I left my occipital lobe in Reno.
I left my corneas in Tangier.
I left one foot in a courthouse,
and one in a traveling circus. I had hoped
to find you, Isis, before the fish swam
between my legs and swallowed,
but now I navigate the Seine,
sharing a scaled belly with the ashes
of Joan of Arc. So I left my pride in Paris.
I left a vertebra in Venice. On Murano,
my clavicle became the mouth of a bowl.
I left my mouth on Mount Everest,
holding every apology I had meant to offer
and while they chattered in sad fury,
I sowed my teeth in an arctic field.
Now there is little left of me: Fingers
with nothing to tickle. Hands with nothing
to grasp. The small bones of my ears
do their xylophone dance while the small
cusps of my wrist bones pretend to be
ears. Every king, in the end, is his only
audience. Every queen picks up the pieces.
Isis, every fish in that river is a child
of mine. You are my net. Hold me.
— Sandra Beasley
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The Piano Speaks
After Erik Satie
For an hour I forgot my fat self,
my neurotic innards, my addiction to alignment.
For an hour I forgot my fear of rain.
For an hour I was a salamander
shimmying through the kelp in search of shore,
and under his fingers the notes slid loose
from my belly in a long jellyrope of eggs
that took root in the mud. And what
would hatch, I did not know —
a lie. A waltz. An apostle of glass.
For an hour I stood on two legs
and ran. For an hour I panted and galloped.
For an hour I was a maple tree,
and under the summer of his fingers
the notes seeded and winged away
in the clutch of small, elegant helicopters.
— Sandra Beasley
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1997 The First Catalog
500 total copies mailed out! Before the internet. Before Amazon. Customers faxed orders. Or called.
1998
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
???? Can't find it ??? Help!
2003
2004 came wrapped in a poster
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
]]>And of course I needed a spokesperson for the club, so I hired Mrs. Pietini.
Here are a few of my original cocktail recipes:
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