This is just a quick report based on one quick visit. This is a lively, almost cozy wine bar in the Murray Hill vicinity of midtown Manhattan.

The good: about 30 wines by the glass and 20 beers from around the world. Varied menu of both small plates and entrees, featuring what I would call global cuisine.

The not-so-good: wine that sells for $14 a glass at a wine bar deserves a higher quality wine glass than Wine:30 uses.

For my late dinner, I had the plate of four very small grassfed beef sliders. Here, they really were sliders: the rounded balls of meat slide right out of the cute little brioche buns because they rest on a slippery pickle slice. The chef might consider rearranging the layering of Gruyere cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard and the pickle slice to prevent escapes.

The wine I enjoyed very much. It was a glass of 2009 Termes, a full bodied Spanish wine that was spicier than a Zinfandel but smooth almost like a Cabernet. Nice way to end the evening.

I will return.

Perhaps I am teasing myself because these juicy burgers are definitely not on my eating plan post-New Year’s, but just looking at the pictures of Chef David Boulud’s Original DB Bistro Burger makes me salivate. 

One of the first ultra-burgers publicized in the United States, Boulud’s burger is juicy sirloin with a center of braised short rib, foie gras and black truffle. Need I say more?

While it’s no bargain bite at $32, I don’t think you will find a more memorable burger easily. It comes with either traditional French fries or “pommes soufflees,” which are crispy, house-made potato chips. 

Of the many times I have dined at DB Bistro Moderne, I keep going back for the burger. The other items certainly show the kitchen’s craft, especially delicate preparations of fresh fish. But the burger… is what dreams are made from.

The “news cycle” in these days of the Internet and social media sometimes goes in circles, as it did today when someone, somewhere posted a link to a 2009 New York Daily News article that quoted a 2009 U.K. Daily Mail article that quoted a 2009 medical study about red wine and its affect on sex.

I must admit that the report is rather intriguing, even if it is more than a year old.

Here’s what the study was about and what the researchers found:

Although there had been prior favorable evidence connecting moderate red wine to men’s sexual health, nobody had studied whether there was a similar correlation among women. So, Nicola Mondaini and colleagues at the University of Florence asked 798 women in the Chianti region to participate in their study. After dividing the women into groups based on their usual red wine intake, the researchers asked them to complete a standardized sexual health questionnaire.

The results showed that women who drank one or two glasses of red wine daily scored much higher on measures of desire and lubrication - and overall sexual health - than women who either abstained from alcohol or drank more than two glasses of red wine daily or consumed white wine or other alcohol.

Dr. Mondaini says the “intriguing” results have their limitations because of the study’s methodology, but they certainly suggest a connection “between red wine consumption and better sexuality.”

Yet another reason I prefer red wine.

I haven’t got a clue why it’s there, but right on the ingredients panel for this Swiss-made cherry preserves is wheat syrup. That’s a problem if you have a gluten intolerance. Worth noting is that this single-serve package accompanied my serving of gluten-free toast on a recent cruise. This is a perfect example of what happens when chefs, cooks and servers are not sufficiently aware of potential allergens to catch them before they reach a guest who has alerted them to a sensitivity. If I had Celiac disease and these preserves were either served without the label or I had not read the label, the health consequences could have been quite significant. Fortunately, I read labels, and I am sensitive to wheat but not allergic. Not everyone is so lucky.

Look carefully if you see “Let’s Grow Healthy Together” alfalfa sprouts in your local store. Green Valley Food Corp. of Dallas is recalling 6,723 cases of the sprouts because Salmonella was found in a test sample. These were distributed in Texas. Details are available from the company via the FDA’s website.

Unfortunately, there have been way too many sprouts recalls in the past several years, and illnesses reported. A different manufacturer recalled possibly contaminated sprouts from stores along the East Coast in April. Be careful!