Salvatore Ferragamo in Naples

Salvatore Ferragamo

Exciting news! One of the celebrity vintners this year, at the 2015 Naples Winter Wine Festival, will be Salvatore Ferragamo~ His Il B0rro vineyards wine in Tuscany will be offered in the bidding wars...check out il borro here
Enjoy! NWWF benefits children's charities~ DF *****

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Dinner with Andre'

Dinner plate, Andre's 

Mary and I had such a good time tonight, chez Andre' - the premier gourmand* steak house of Naples- see the site here - it's a cozy place located centrally in the heart of Naples.

 *noun

1. The definition of a gourmand is a gourmet, or a person who enjoys good food and drink.
   An example of a gourmand is someone who has no problem spending $200 for a meal at a Michelin star restaurant.

 


The first thing you see upon entering is photos of the owner, Andre', with Speaker John Boehner, and Marco Rubio....the bar is to the left.  The manager suggested a beautiful "house" Malbec- which I really enjoyed.  (The wine list is quite extensive)
Our dinner: Sliced tomatoes with onion and blue cheese, with a piquant sauce...followed by a medium pink Porterhouse for two accompanied by shoestring battered onion rings and fabulous double order of creamed spinach!  Finishing with- wait for it- PROFITEROLES !!! 

Andre's Naples

So good !  Mary had coffee with her half, and I finished off the dry and smoky Malbec, a lovely mate with the yummy dessert...notice the creme fraiche on the side- so good !  Mary also reminded me about one of her favorite blogs, called Manger, out of the Medoc region of France- check out Manger here it's pretty fabulous- anything Mary likes usually is.  Enjoy!  Mangia!  Cheers!  DF *****

Decorator Scrapbook May 2014

These pictures speak for themselves...Aerin's new book... one of our vignettes at the Miromar Design Center... the place card from a recent dinner party we attended...  highly decorative Iranian carpet seen at
Clive Daniel Home... fabulous South African wine I was served by Melinda Antonicci, an old friend from Louisiana... Cheers!  Enjoy!  DF *****

Avenue 5, Naples

Seen at Inn on Fifth, Club Suites, Naples

We were recently treated to a private, designers only tour of the new Avenue 5 bistro, and the club suites at Inn on Fifth, Naples.

A ceiling detail at Avenue 5, Naples

As you can see from the above shot, the new bistro in the hotel will have a totally hip and up to date vibe, along with a 3,800 bottle wine cellar!  Many thanks to Cathy and Jinx for a wonderful evening on Fifth.  DF *****

2009 Castle Rock Pinot Noir

Courtesy Bleu Provence, Naples

I've been enjoying this "New World" Pinot Noir lately, and thought to share it with you, dear readers.  A product of the central coast of California- it's described as a "Burgundian varietal, with an elegant, medium body, and aromas of cherry, tea, and herbal spice".  Enjoy!

I found the above image on New York Social Diary, and thought it most inspiring- a tablescape from the Manhattan home of young Christopher Stevens, a New York decorator- he reminds me of my old colleague, the late Randall Ridless. Christopher has also worked for my old friend and FIT class mate, Marcy Masterson.  Kudos to Christopher, his chic Hermes' orange flat is quite charming, and with an enviable location, in the west village, or vill-lahge as we used to call it. Stay tuned for more exciting news on DFS ! 

Cheers !  DF *****