Spec’sology Blog - Finer Foods

The delicious hamburger is an American staple invented by Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas, in the 1880s. Of course, Fletcher’s claim is one of many in a long list of hamburger inventors, but he’s from Texas, so that’s what we’re going with. Regardless of where it may have been created, the reason for its staying power is rather simple – it’s delicious. But why? It’s just meat, bread, and cheese at its most basic, right? Well, there’s actually a scientific name for what makes them so good and it’s called the “Maillard Reaction.” This reaction is a process that caramelizes

Fun Fact: The word spaghetti is plural for the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning “thin string” or “twine.” The best part about spaghetti is the variety of pasta dishes you can make. With each dish there’s a different wine that pairs perfectly. Check out our recommendations below and get ready for some serious noodling on date night! Red or Tomato-based Sauces Tomato-based sauces include fresh tomato with basil: pairs well with crisp dry whites such as Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio. Cooked tomato sauces such as Napolitano or marinara: pair with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a light

The Ultimate Guide For Pops Just a friendly reminder that Father’s Day is Sunday, June 16th! So, once searching the Internet for “cool gifts for dad” fails, head over to Spec’s and reclaim your title of “Number 1 Kid!” Spec’s has thousands of world-class wines, rare spirits, hard to find beers, and a walk-in humidor featuring thousands of fine cigars! It’s the perfect place to shop for the man who thinks he has it all! You can even create the perfect pops-pleasing gift basket with all of his favorites in no time! Checkout our Father’s Day Gift Guide and let

As far as meringue-based sweets go, the macaron stands out as a triumph of culinary achievement. Not to be confused with the similarly spelled macaroon, a coconut-based cookie, the macaron is made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder, and food coloring. It’s typically presented as a sandwich cookie with a buttercream, jam, or ganache filling. Macarons are available in a variety of flavors. These light in weight, but heavy in sugar, cookies pair wonderfully with wine. The key is to not let one overpower the other in sweetness by balancing out the dominating taste of the wine.

If you aren’t sure if the old saying, “Mother knows best,” is true, then a quick trip to Spec’s will certainly solidify it as fact. Spec’s has aisles and aisles of mom’s favorites as well as accessories and gift baskets that’ll have her changing your name to Favorite. Below you’ll find a great little gift guide to show mom how much you care. Sweet Delicious Lazzaroni Amaretti Cookies are a great way to tickle her sweet tooth. Lady Walton’s White Chocolate French Vanilla Cookies are a delicious European style wafer cookie filled with creamy white chocolate and a hint of

Click here to view product. Kalahari Biltong “Kalahari Biltong is an honest, simple product that shows, like well executed beer, what great ingredients, good processes and an attention to detail can produce. It pairs with just about any beer style and friends. We enjoyed it with blonde and amber lagers, especially a well-brewed Pilsner.” The craft beer movement was started almost 4 decades ago by people who had experienced good beer abroad and came home to find nothing commercially available of the quality that they had experienced. Kalahari Biltong shares a similar story. Three friends traveled to South Africa to

After spending an hour or so devouring plate after plate of Thanksgiving dinner, there’s no physiological reason you should have room for dessert, but let’s be real – most of our stomachs contain a magical wormhole that leads to another stomach dimension where we apparently have plenty of room for dessert. And it’s no wonder this secret portal exists, as no Thanksgiving meal is complete until we’ve dug into our second (or third) slice of pie. Pie is the universal Thanksgiving Day dessert and if you’re going to unbutton your pants, there’s no better reason than another slice of pie!