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World Guest Cards (Mirovoj Gost’) may be obtained at any of the Mirovaya Karta restaurants.
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Please contact Julia Badekha by the phone (044) 253 16 24 and repeat your data, in order to find out the error reason.
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Increasing your discount from 10% to 15% and from 15% to 20% depends upon the number of visits to our restaurants using your card. You can inquire about the number of visits registered, by e-mail at info@kartamir.com.ua give your surname, given name and patronymic if used.
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You can inquire the Department on Work with Clients about the state of your bonus account by the phone (044) 531 94 03 or by e-mail info@kartamir.com.ua.
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You can renew a lost card contacting the Department on Work with Clients. Phone: (044) 531 94 03, e-mail: info@kartamir.com.ua
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You can get an application form by fax (044) 537 22 77 or at any our restaurant. Additional information is available by the phone (044) 253 16 24.
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SUMMARY
| PUBLISHERS’ FOREWORD
The octave is made up by just seven notes but their endless combinations and intricate interweavings give birth to the magic of music. Any discovery we make is accompanied by a melody of its own, every time unique, sounding for those chosen to feel the joy of the find.
We admit we still believe that any traveler (not alien to romance, of course) will hear more or less clearly the tunes whistled by an invisible jazzman on our walks in New York, regular and orderly clarinet parts that blend into a bouquet of German Riesling, or a warble of an Indian pipe that accompanies a legend on cinnamon told in an old magician’s cracked voice.
A tune guessing game is exceedingly absorbing. We could endlessly argue whether vintage champagne is the reincarnation of the great composers, is it pathos or triumph (or maybe both?) that the musical theme of the Global Hyatt Corporation hotels is based on, how would the Tuscan chocolate brand Amedei sound if it were a concerto — we’ve checked it, it is not boring at all, on the contrary it triggers your imagination and drives to venture into the new and the unknown.
A strict English etude is what we believe to be the embodiment of the famous Tod’s leather goods’ look. The notes of bold jazz improvisations come as a blast of fresh air. But here we are talking about the current mood which tomorrow can sound quite different. The jewellery of the Romanov Imperial House sounds like classical music: Mussorgsky, Glinka, Prokofiev, and, certainly, Tchaikovsky. As for the travel to the Turks and Caicos islands, it is recommended to listen to some unobtrusive electronic music, ambient or lounge, which will easily lead to the highest degree of relaxation and re-loading of your body.
People too sound like a certain music, or, to be more precise, the music can tell much about them and reveal their little (or sometimes big) secrets. The ardent temperament of Diego Rivera trembles in the guitar despair of flamenco, the profile of eccentric Andre Putman is outlined with a sharp lead pencil in the musical pictures of refined and creative Erik Satie, the melodies of wine connoisseurs Jancis Robinson and Michel Rolland, begin in different registers, gradually merging into one theme…
NEW YORK: ALL THAT JAZZ
By Nata Stasiuk, page 8
«There are many apples on the tree but if you were lucky enough to play in New York, be sure you picked the biggest», this proverb was coined by jazz musicians in the 1930s. At that time, New York was invaded by a bright and noisy crowd of these people. The Big Apple has remained a city of polyphony ever since, with every part unique, and beauty emerging from improvisation skills. It so happened that any aspect of life in New York is like jazz. The same holds for its cooking — diverse, bold, fresh — that requires constant improvisation.
At times it reminds of a needle in a haystack but self-assured and cheeky inhabitants of the global city need little time to find anything they look for in the melting pot of New York. It does not matter that refined French restaurants and elegant cocktail lounges are located next to 24/7 snack bars, ancient grocery stores, and a motley mixture of ethnic restaurants — if you were born in Manhattan you will always find your way through this polished and fashionable Babylon of today.
Similarly to the city itself and its inhabitants, New York cooking emanates never-ending energy, starting with a commonplace hot-dog and ending up with the most famous duck breast at Four Seasons. This city has been a major centre of everything: finance, art, architecture, media, and, of course, cooking, for so many years that now we rarely think of the origin of the indisputable status. Meanwhile, a secret of New York is simple: since its foundation, it has been perhaps the only place on earth to encourage and economically support freethinking and dissidence. Since the first Dutch colonizers, the city has remained home to the risky and adventurous, those who readily face experiments, eager to explore the new and the unknown. These were the basic principles of the local culture and the local cuisine which has been developing on the crossroads of the Old World’s traditions and the New World’s discoveries. A constant flow of immigrants from all over the world has largely contributed to the tendency.
LUXURY EATS
By Leo Malyshev, page 28
We could endlessly talk and write about splendid, eccentric, at times simply inventive or even shockingly innovative dishes served by the best chefs in the most upscale restaurants in different corners of the world, yet gourmets will always come back to the high classic, the basics of any cooking, the ABC of gastronomic feelings, to the simple snacks and ingredients referred to by a hard-to-translate word combination — luxury eats. Black caviar, white anchovies, black truffles, blue cheese, jamon — it does sound like the basics, like ABC. Let’s remember these noble dishes and give them the respect they deserve.
«Caviar is only good when it is chilled like champagne in the house of a good master», used to say Prince Vladimir Odoevsky. Black caviar is actually a very simple dish, you need just to mix sturgeon roe with salt, but it has always been considered an expensive delicacy: according to statistics, 95% of the earth’s population cannot afford it. Long ago cooking experts classified the varieties of black caviar according to their taste characteristics. The Beluga sturgeon caviar is premium. Its silver black eggs are the largest among all roes, it is known for a sophisticated taste and almost no specific flavour. Next comes the Ossetra variety of the dark bronze colour, smaller grains and slightly felt flavour. No.3 is Sevruga caviar: small black eggs and a strong specific salty-sea taste and flavour. The first two varieties are considered to be the most delicious.
It should also be said that depending on the type of processing black caviar can be divided into zernistaya (unpressed), payusnaya (pressed), and yastychnaya (unscreened roe). Unpressed caviar comes from the mature grain, with all eggs firm, soft, of the same size and colour. Pressed caviar is prepared from the fattest, Sevruga, grains, while unscreened roe is salted without having been sieved (i.e. thin film that separates some grains is not removed from the roe). It is salted, slightly pressed (it acquires a jam-like consistency), and then packed...
WHITE KING BACK TO RULE THE WORLD
By Alexey Dmitriev, page 38
Can it be so that Germany is famous for nothing else but its excellent cars, world football championship, and Boris Becker? Can it be so that the vine is no longer cultivated on the slopes of German rivers? ‘The truth is simple, the truth is in wine’, this observation is confirmed by German Riesling, perhaps one of the most underestimated grape varieties in the world.
In the 18-19th centuries, German wines were no less popular than the wines of Bordeaux. Times have changed, and now Germany has lost its leading position to some extent, which led to the decrease of interest in German wines. Yet, up till today, Germany has been producing world-class wines, the wines which — although definitely deserve attention — tend to be overlooked. The basic grape variety of these wines is Riesling, «the king of white wines» willing to rule the world again. But what damaged the reputation of German wines, after all?
First of all, Riesling seriously suffered at the time when «oak» taste and strength were a fashion hit. This grape variety is not really «oak-barrel-friendly», and the wines it yields are rather low on alcohol content. Secondly, in the 60s and 70s, the name «Riesling» lost its shine due to its unreasonably frequent use to denote a number of white wines of doubtful quality. Besides, the term «riesling» makes part of a lot of fairly mediocre wine varieties. In California, there are «Riesling Grey» and «Emerald»; in South Africa «Riesling Cape» and «Paarl»; while in Australia the noble name refers to almost any white wine, including a Hunter Valley Semillon.
More than anywhere else, Riesling is insulted in its native Germany where it is confused with «Welschriesling» or «Italian Riesling», a widely spread, often very average grape that has nothing to do with the Riesling variety. The use of the name «Grauer Riesling» as a synonym of «Rulaender», and «Schwarzriesling» for «Muellerrebe» is another example of the Germans’ frivolous treatment of the high-end grape variety in question. Meanwhile, in the late 19th century, German Riesling was very highly valued and cost not less than great red wines of France.
CHOCOLATE BY AMEDEI
By Natalia Kosovets, page 48
A famous cocktail «Death of chocolate», an ultra-fashionable club «Chocolate Decadence», a cake «Better-than-sex»... The list of areas covered by the power of chocolate is endless and includes clubs, restaurants, desserts, sauces, design styles, and many more, but now there is hardly anyone surprised by its diversity.
Its origin played a significant role in chocolate’s gaining its remarkable status. The most precious chocolate types are made from cocoa-beans grown in one region and their taste palette is unique. Say, the chocolate that comes from Central and South America has a delicate taste with a strong fruity note. West-African chocolate from Ghana is much less refined, of a a slightly «smoky» calm quality, and goes into mass production. Indonesian chocolate from Sumatra or Java tastes somewhere in between the two above mentioned varieties. The production of chocolate, like winemaking, largely depends on nature and man. Here, everything is of importance: the quality of cocoa beans, their level of acidity, and even ripening conditions. Similarly to wine, there is a notion of «terroir» in the production of chocolate. The unity of soil and climate yields fantastic combinations of taste and flavour. For example, a famous brand Amedei produces two varieties of chocolate: Chuao and Porcelana created from cocoa beans from two different regions of Venezuela. Both types are of an exceedingly delicate taste and flavour, they have a long aftertaste and a brightest bouquet of overtones, and yet both the bouquet and the shades of flavour are completely different.
Amedei is a relatively young brand, with its history starting in 1990. That was the year when brother and sister Cecilia and Alessio Tessieri inherited a formula of perfect chocolate from their Tuscan grandfather.
MICHEL ROLLAND, ENOLOGIST FROM BORDEAUX
By Vladislav Sikalov, page 54
Michel Rolland was long ago recognized as the most famous and popular consulting enologist in the world. In a queue for his advice, you will probably have to wait for about a year. At the same time, he is much discussed as one of the most controversial enologists. While Robert Parker, the utterly influential wine critic, believes that Michel is a true genius, other critics consider him merely a curious eccentric who disregards local conditions and produces similarly tasting wines. However, it will not be an overstatement if we say that this professional enologist changed both the method and the very philosophy of winemaking. We as customers should be grateful to him for doing it.
The profession of a consulting enologist was born quite recently, invented by Emile Peynaud, a professor of the Bordeaux Institute of Enology. He was the first to realize that the enologist could never be a dictator, his role was just to recommend, while it was at the discretion of his clients or partners to accept or reject his recommendations. Say, the objective of Michel Rolland as an advisor is to make sure the terroir yields the best possible wine. And what the reaction of the customer will be… That’s the point where furious debates rage.
With about 100 clients in 12 countries, Michel Rolland finds time to experiment with wine and wine-related materials in Europe and, to be more exact, in his native France, in its very centre, in Bordeaux. Michel cooperates with such celebrated wineries as L'Evangile, Pavie, Troplong-Mondot and Leoville Poyferre in Bordeaux, Marques de Caceres in Spain, and Ornellaia in Italy. He himself owes five wine estates in Bordeaux, and managed to persuade Bordeaux winemakers to harvest more mature grapes, which significantly improved the quality of their wine.
NEIMAN MARCUS: WHERE LUXURY REIGNS
By Leo Malyshev, page 70
The philosophy of Neiman Marcus high-end department store chain is to do everything possible to make the customer happy. And this works both ways. Each of Neiman’s 100,000 loyal customers spends an average of $11,000 a year in their stores. This may be a reason why recently the Neiman Marcus Group was sold at quite a high price. At present, the chain, which comprises 37 boutiques, two Bergdorf Goodman department stores in New York, an online purchase and print catalogue sales divisions, and 14 clearance outlets, owns exclusive rights to the world’s top brands of fashion clothing; the company is a leader on the luxury items market, well ahead of its main competitor, Saks Fifth Avenue.
It surprises what a thoughtful, coordinated and professional approach was taken by Neiman Marcus managers during the time of crisis on the market of luxury goods which occurred right after the September 11 tragedy. In shortest time, they managed to return the company to the same heights without significant losses. To do it, a completely new method was chosen: Neiman closed most of its stores which targeted middle-class customers, and the prices in the remaining stores were considerably increased. The strategy proved right, the most affluent customers went for Neiman’s goods.
Yet, Neiman Marcus stores are rather «a play on luxury than a play on retail», in the words of Kewsong Lee, a partner with Warburg Pincus, the investment company which bought Neiman network. Kewsong is right in some way. A pronounced ambience of piety for refined luxury reigns at Neiman. No one is amazed when, on a customer’s request, sales assistants fly to Paris to a fashion show. A special full-time employee is in charge of the Neiman Marcus expansive art collection, from paintings by Picasso to Alexander Calder’s sculptures. Here, the customers are not simply offered expensive goods, Neiman Marcus stores is a place of a particular aura, a friendly and benevolent atmosphere which is so important for affluent consumers.
CRUSADER OF PAINTING
By Vladislav Sikalov, page 80
His name sounds superb — Diego Maria de la Concepcion Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodriguez. And like his name, he too was superb indeed. A leading artist of Mexico, one of the best public speakers, a prominent revolutionary of his time, but, above all, Diego was a man of talent and, although very far from the playboy type, he always relished a particular attention of women. Members of the fair sex perfectly understood they’d better not get involved with him but would every time be dazzled by the artist’s charm, so strong that relationships seemed to be happening, so to say, all by themselves. No one has ever managed to calculate all his wives and lovers, and even Rivera himself never tried to do it. Instead, he preferred to argue passionately about art, to create new forms, drink, and make trouble — like most artists, after all.
A detailed biography of Diego Rivera, a mysterious man of no integrity, whose political views combined high idealism and opportunism, would take up more than one issue of a magazine like ours from the first to the last page. Up till now, most scholarly monographs on Rivera have followed the political portrait of the artist created by Bertram Wolf in 1939; nowadays, the artist is mostly referred to as ‘the husband of Frida Kahlo’, a classical victim of feminism. Unfortunately, even the recent books devoted to the artist give only a superficial analysis of Rivera’s influence on modern painting: the image of Diego the Womanizer has remained popular and intact. Or rather it is his status of one of the most fascinating, controversial, and eccentric people of his epoch that holds strong.
This giant, whose appearance reminded so much of his titanic murals, lived his life to the fullest. The same is true of his long and short affairs, and of his private life on the whole. Women realized that the passionate painter, a descendant of hot-blooded hidalgos, had no moral bans, and anyway he’d get what he wanted…
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In this section:
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 summer 2004
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 december 2003 / january 2004
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 february / march 2004
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 april / may 2004
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 october/november 2003
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