KE Cellars in Tyler

July 11th, 2011

Tyler has always been in a dry county, sending people miles away on a drive to the county line for any alcoholic needs. However Keipersol Estates has created an exceptional location in Tyler Texas through the KE Cellar located in the French Quarter. KE Cellars is truly unique because of it’s ability to sell wine within Tyler, it has been said that the local status of the winery has brought them favor with Tyler’s legal permission. Tyler has thoroughly opposed such controversial ventures in the past, yet perhaps the equestrian nature of a business is what’s important rather than the simple matter of alcohol. With an extravagant European feel, KE Cellars has created an atmosphere synonymous with an East Texas wine connoisseurs fantasy of rustic class and sophisticated intoxication.

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Stepping into a strip mall store has never felt so much akin to a ranch wine cellar. The staff are extremely dutiful to the attendance of their customers offering information on any wine, upholding the level of professionalism assumed of a wine cellar even down to their formal uniforms. KE Cellars is much more than a cellar, with nightly music showcases, a giftshop and a wine processing area in the building this local wine cellar does much more than sell wine. KE Cellars doesn’t have to be only a wine shop, the Grande Cellar in the back of KE Cellars is open for anybody to enjoy a bottle of wine with friends, alone with some work or even for your next business meeting it makes a relaxing location for any day at any time.

Appropriately decorated with surrounding barrels of aging wine there’s a wi-fi connection as well as live music from six to nine in the Grande Cellar. KE Cellars can even mail you your wine to you if you aren’t able to come to the boutique yourself. Not only do they carry wines from the Keipersol Estates, in fact they have an enormous variety of wines from wineries across Texas and on a gratuitous note keep in mind that KE Cellars will give you a free wine tasting if you bring ten of their bags back to the store.

Kiepersol Estates own wine can range from light to quite intense. The 2010 Kiepersol Estates Moscato is a light selection of the Keipersol collection, described as a pale straw sweet wine it also has a palate immersed in the sweet tropical flavor of lychee and peach with a subtle finish of honeydew to delicately accompany the fruitiness, this moscato won the bronze in the 2011 San Antonio News Express Wine Competition. But if a more intense wine is your pleasure than perhaps you should try the Kiepersol Estates numerous award winning 2007 Cabernet including a gold in the 2010 American Wine Society Commercial Competition. With flavors of caramel, chocolate and black currant at first the wine transitions with black pepper and structured tannins coming through as well as hints of coffee and black fruit for a strong vibrant finish to this highly acclaimed selection.

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The Sweet Gourmet in Tyler Texas

April 7th, 2010

The Sweet Gourmet
4554 S Broadway Ave
Tyler
TX 75703
903 534 0840

The Sweet Gourmet is an upmarket shop selling sweet treats of all kinds and many other specialist cooking products. It is located in the French Quarter in the central shopping district of Tyler.

The first thing that greets you as you walk into the store is chocolate, wonderful chocolate. You will also smell the coffee – mmm, chocolate and coffee – what a combination! This is the place to find Godiva, Green and Blacks, Cadburys, Lindt and other brands of PROPER chocolate, plus hand made chocolates, chocolate-covered nuts and a huge variety of candies to die for. At the back of the store is a large selection of candy for all generations – including things like liquorice and a gourmet jelly bean bar.

But this is not the only thing on sale. There are all sorts of things for the serious chef – products by Barefoot Contessa, Paula Deen and Stonewall Kitchen plus a limited amount of nice quality cooking ware. If you want to ‘fake it’ there are even some ready meals for sale.

The Sweet Gourmet also stocks some international products like the British favourite ‘Marmite’. They have a refrigerated section too and to suit the Texas palate there are plenty of things to grill and barbeque plus rubs, seasonings and marinades. There are chips and salsa of many different varieties too!

There is one problem with this shop. It is EXPENSIVE! Granted, the items stocked are not likely to be on your usual grocery list, but the cost is high. If you are a regular visitor to Dallas then you may not want to pay these prices. BUT… the cost does make a gift from the Sweet Gourmet even more special, and gifts are really a huge part of their business. Anything can be gift wrapped or put in a gift basket and a nice selection of cards are available to accompany the gift. They will even deliver. Corporate orders are also welcomed.

The Sweet Gourmet is all about fun too. They hold special events throughout the year – like monthly cooking demonstrations by the resident French-trained chef and evenings for couples and even for the Garden Club. The owner – Pam Gabriel, welcomes ideas and is always keen to put on a special event for your club. Birthday parties are also welcomed at the Sweet Gourmet. At the back of the store is a kitchen where they have the cooking demos and hand dip fruits in chocolate to sell. During a birthday party, the guests indulge in a chocolate tasting session and then go back to the kitchen to dip their own fruit and nuts in chocolate. This is then bagged and becomes the party favor to take home. The Sweet Gourmet can also supply the birthday cake. For 12 kids this fun party costs around $200.

If money was no object, I think I would practically live in the Sweet Gourmet. Sadly, reality means that I have to restrict myself to just going there on odd occasions to buy gifts for other people. I hope I don’t visibly salivate when I do!

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Great food is not relative

November 15th, 2009

Well it’s happened. There’s a new restaurant chain in Tyler Texas that I’m excited to have here. I realize that for years I’ve complained that we need more local eateries and less corporate food. As a general rule I remain devoted to this idea, however unlike the Chile’s, Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s genre, the new establishment will fill an otherwise empty niche. The new restaurant is Einstein Bros Bagels.

Einstein took over the ailing Blockbuster video location in the French Quarter, A building that had become something of an eye sore inspite of its prime real estate. While I enjoy bagels, I’ve not had a really good one since moving home from St. Paul, Minnesota. Einstein offers a tremendous menu of breakfast and lunch time sandwiches, as well as plain bagels that are anything but. They also serve great coffee.

Admittedly the prices are a little high, (I’d say a bit higher than what you’d spend on a Whataburger breakfast), but they are not unreasonable. Look for Einstein to quickly become the favorite hangout of Tyler yuppies and Starbucks moms. I must confess I felt a bit like just another member of the local herd heading for the newest culinary curiosity, but at least this one is unique in Tyler.

The surprising thing to me is that it’s taken this long for a good bagel place to open here. Considering the quality of the food and the central location on South Broadway, expect the new establishment to do well. Einstein is more than worth checking out. For more information on Einstein Bros Bagels, see their website at www.einsteinbros.com, or walk into the new location. They can be found at 4500 South Broadway in Tyler.

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Adventures in Learning in Tyler

September 15th, 2009

I spent much of this past summer writing about both educational opportunities and booksellers in Tyler. Well summer is almost over and school has started but I have still not exhausted either of these topics. Adventures in Learning, is both an educational opportunity and a bookstore.

The fact is, Tyler is a town that believes strongly in providing the best possible academic choices to its young people, whether it be public, private or home school and home school co-op institutions. Adventures in Learning is there to help teachers and parents supplement their existing curriculum’s and enhance the learning experience for students of nearly all ages. The store offers all sorts of work books from grammar, reading, spelling, history and geography, to math and science. Home school parents in particular will benefit from the material. So will parents with students whose children need additional practice at home. But don’t search for a core curriculum here. It’s probably best to look to an established company for that kind of material.

If you’re a teacher looking for charts, maps, globes, timelines or other school supplies, A.I.L. has a huge selection. Educators will probably find things they were unaware even existed. They have all sorts of educational games and teaching aids designed to make the students enjoy learning.

My one criticism is the store carries a lot of toys, and things I would not particularly want finding their way into the classroom. Call me old fashioned, but I consider these things more of a distraction to students. The store has so many different teaching aids, that perhaps the enthusiastic teacher can risk over stimulating the class if he or she is not careful. But of course the good teacher knows to be careful in this respect.

This being said, if you’re looking for material to supplement your students learning material, Adventures in Learning is a great resource with a lot to offer. On a scale of one to five I would give the store a four. Pay a visit and judge for yourself. They are located on South Broadway in the French Quarter next to China King.

Tags: Academic Choices, adventures in learning in Tyler, Adventures in Learning Tyler Texas, All Sorts, Booksellers, Bookstore, Core Curriculum, Distraction, Educational Games, Educational Opportunities, Educational Opportunity, French Quarter, Geography, Globes, Grammar, Home School Parents, Learning Experience, Maps, Math And Science, Reading Spelling, School Co, Timelines, Work Books
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KE Cellars in Tyler

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Adventures in Learning in Tyler