time for a digestif?

It's past midnight here on the East Coast. Today I left the D.C. area for Atlanta, where we'll be pouring at a wine auction and meeting with media.

The trip is going well -- lots of positive comments about our wines. And lots of amazing meals. Some highlights:

Mandalay: I remember what it was like to discover this place, years ago, when I was a poor grad student in College Park who subsisted largely on 89-cent bags of lentils. Back then, Mandalay was just a hole-in-the-wall former doughnut store with only a handful of tables. Finding this place was like finding god. (Only god was Burmese and harassed you if you didn't finish all of your food or at least ask for a takeout box for the leftovers. And most of the time, you agreed with god because the food god provided was so unbelievably good. Especially the vegetarian stuff. My favorite is the tofu and bean sprouts. Or the pepyoke. Or the tofu in coconut curry. It depends on my mood.) I make it a point to go back to Mandalay every time I'm in town. (The restaurant has since moved to a swank new location in Silver Spring and now even has a liquor license.) I went twice during this last visit. And I hope I can go back again soon. I've tried a number of Burmese places in the Bay Area, and I swear to you, nothing even comes close to Mandalay.

Central Michel Richard: Now this was a first for me. Central opened about a year ago, and they carry our Chardonnay by-the-glass, so we actually stopped in twice -- once for a media dinner and a second time to host a happy hour for our distributor. I loved Central. The food is excellent and fun. I loved the gougeres and the "foie gras" pâté (which I'm told is not really foie gras but is chicken-based). And there's a fabulous dessert called the Kit Kat bar, which pretty much looks and tastes like a giant Kit Kat bar made with all the best ingredients (it even has crunch).

Equinox: Had lunch here today. We sent our wines to the chef, Todd Gray, and he made us three courses to pair with them. For the Chard, he created a warm mushroom salad that pretty much made me swoon (I'm a big fan of the fungi). With the Pinot, he sent out some duck breast. And for the Bordeaux wines (Merlot and two Cabs), there was veal (I sort of feel guilty about this) over spinach and grits. Yes, and this was lunch -- lunch! Unbelievable! And we still had plenty of time to catch our flight.

Penang: And then it was off to Atlanta, where I saw my aunt and uncle briefly for dinner. They took me to Penang, a Malaysian restaurant they discovered through a Malaysian friend. I've never had Malaysian food before. Tasty stuff. The appetizer was a chicken broth-based curry that is served with a side of roti (very thin bread, sort of like the Malaysian version of naan) for dipping. I wanted to die. My uncle also ordered a whole fried fish that was excellent (although I have to admit it is kind of hard for me to eat around the bones).

And now off to sleep. Because it is ridiculously late. And I need to digest.