I love finding a good place to just hang out and have a beer and a snack, and Galaxy Hut, one of the first places I ever went after moving here in August, has been a favorite ever since. The bar is tiny, just one room that holds less than fifty people for their twice weekly concerts (Sunday and Monday nights), along with a great little outdoor patio that has a few small tables and one larger table in a corrugated tin hut at the back. Sitting outside is great during the warmer months, but it does get a little loud inside when it's full, though not so loud that you cannot have a conversation.
The beer list is extensive and impressive, about thirty rotating taps with seasonal, local, and other assorted craft brews, grouped by category. They have some spectacular options, regularly having some of my favorites, like Bell's or Founders, and always something I have never heard of. The beers are available in a variety of pour options, and are not super expensive for this area, but would be expensive back in non-Boston Massachusetts.
Food, on the other hand, is both cheap and delicious. I originally went there (and, quite frankly, returned each time) because they have tater tots, and they are delicious. It is like being a child again, except better, because there is beer now. Plus, these tater tots are delicious, served fresh and hot (they probably started life in a factory, but hey, who cares, they are freaking awesome), with a couple of different sauces available, with the best being their honey mustard. I also tried the eggplant fries a couple weeks ago, and they were really good, but only for about the first ten; after that, I was bored of them, especially because they have no real textural contrast. I have yet to have anything, because I tend to go there when I just want
a snack (aka, tater tots) and a drink, but I intend to have real food
there soon, and I have no doubt it will be good.
The menu is heavily vegetarian or vegan (in fact, a couple years ago they eliminated meat from the menu entirely, only to reverse themselves upon realizing it was cutting into sales. Everything can be made to suit vegetarians or vegans, and they use different equipment to make the meatless meals. Gluten intolerant diners need not fear either, as they do appear to offer the ability to make much of the menu gluten free friendly.
Showing posts with label Craft Beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craft Beer. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Heavy Seas Alehouse (Rosslyn, Arlington, VA)
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*****
I have come to really enjoy brewpubs that have gone the gastro-pub route; this includes Bluejacket, a new D.C. brewery which I reviewed in May. Sometimes in these situations, the food ends up becoming more of a focus than the beer, or vice versa, and this can lead to problems, or at least a situation where you go for one more than the other; obviously, the goal is a nice equilibrium, where people want to go to your restaurant for both. Heavy Seas Alehouse, in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, VA, has done a pretty good job of balancing things out, ending up with a nice restaurant that also serves very high quality beer.
Heavy Seas Beer, based in Baltimore, is the overarching organization that is responsible for the restaurant, which also has a location at the brewery itself. Claiming to be the largest producer of cask conditioned beers in the United States, Heavy Seas has a great focus on high quality ingredients, including sourcing at least some of their hops locally in Maryland. This kind of caring translates into quality, and the two beers I had were both delicious. Unfortunately, I do not know the names of either for sure, but I am almost certain the saison I had was the Red Sky at Night (on cask) and the barley-wine I had was the Below Decks, based on what I can find on their website and on BeerAdvocate.
The saison was light but boozy, definitely not a session beer, which I typically pick saisons for, but with the normal light, citrus and wheat forward spiciness I expect out of a good one. The beer is both bright and cloudy, a strange mix that actually looks very cool as the clouds swirl through the glass; this could be related to being cask conditioned, but it did not taste like there was any sediment, and I suspect that Heavy Seas is more careful than to allow something like that to occur. Either way, it looked good, and tasted better. Assuming this was the Red Sky at Night, it is a 7.5%, and it definitely drank that way, but it was not overly sweet as some higher ABV saisons I have had were, and it definitely is still refreshing.
The barley-wine was absolutely not refreshing, but that is no knock on it. Sweet, tart, malty, and with a hefty fruitiness, this was at the recommendation of the waiter (I'll get to him later) to accompany my rather heavy meal; as he promised, it held up well to, and even cut, some of the richness of the cream based sauce in my dish. Nearly black and served in a goblet, this was a beautiful beer to behold, and my dinner companion, who had never had a barley-wine before, was quite impressed with the quality of it. There was little hoppy flavor in the beer, but there was certainly plenty of booze; the Below Decks is a 10% beer, and while it drinks a little shy of that, I was a little buzzed by the end of dinner after the two beers.
As for food, Heavy Seas holds its own. We split the Smoked Short Rib Taco, an order of which comes with three well filled soft corn shells and a ramekin of a sauce that appeared to be sour cream based. The short ribs were rich and flavorful, shredded and accompanied by cotija cheese (a classic, and delicious, Mexican cow's milk varietal that melts well and holds up to strong flavors like good beef) and a "pickled chayote slaw" that really just served to provide an alternative texture, but little else. This was a very good appetizer, not making me full, but definitely not leaving me starving. Of course, even if it had, the entrees arrived as I was taking my final bites; I would take this over either arriving too early or after a long wait, but I do tend to like a couple minutes between courses, though I think I may be alone in this.
My entree, the Duck Cannelloni, was again a recommendation by the waiter, and it was a good one. The sauce, listed on the menu as a "smoked cheddar cream" was heavy but not overwhelming, while the pasta, which resembled more of a very long, thin ravioli (and was actually almost identical to the ravioli my date had) was cooked fairly well, though it was maybe a tiny bit undercooked; just enough to be noticeable to me, but certainly not enough to be a problem. Even though duck is listed as the primary meat, I did not see or taste that much of it, though what was there was tasty. The whole dish was topped with fried onion strings, which were just shy of crispy; definitely a misstep on the part of the kitchen, as those need to have a legitimate crunch to be successful. Instead, they were a bit blah, and by the time I was finished eating, they were soggy and a little chewy. Despite this one issue, I ate everything with gusto, and really wanted a spoon to finish the sauce off with, though I held back.
Dessert was shared, with an order each of the Pecan Bourbon Bread Pudding and the Pyrat Rum Creme Brûlée, both recommended highly by the waiter. The Creme Brûlée was solid, with a definite flavor of white chocolate, as promised by the menu, and with a glass-like crust of caramelized sugar; that was perfect, since so often I get creme brûlée that has a weak, barely there at all crust, and this was clearly done with care and precision. That said, the Bread Pudding was the real star, not just of dessert, but of the whole meal. Local ice cream (rum raisin?), raisin bread, and a crème anglais to die for, this was among the best I have ever had, right up there with the to-die-for bread pudding at Fat Cat in Quincy, MA. It was sweet, but not even close to cloying. The portion was large enough (and we were full enough) that even though we loved it, we left about half of one of the five pieces of bread on the plate when we left, plus about a quarter of the creme brûlée.
So, finally to the waiter. Myron was up there with Timmy from David Burke Prime at Foxwoods, super knowledgeable, incredibly friendly, timed things well, provided great suggestions and checked in just the right amount. We at a couple points exchanged recommendations on food (I told him about Fat Cat, since he said he is a bread pudding aficionado) and beer (he agreed with me on Troegs Hop Knife), and he was just spot on with all his food and drink suggestions during the meal itself. I know some restaurants will do their best to honor requests for specific wait staff; if you go, I suggest asking to be put in his section.
All told, this was a really good experience, with pleasant staff, good food and beer, and a pretty nice atmosphere. My one complaint might be how insanely loud it is in the front area by the bar, including in the seating area, but it was a bit quieter in the back (good job by the hostess, too, clearly recognizing the nature of the dinner and putting us at probably the quietest table in the place, despite several open tables elsewhere), though still a bit noisy. This did not result in any problems for us, but it is something to be considered. Either way, I absolutely recommend going, and do yourself a favor and order the bread pudding.
Friday, September 5, 2014
SingleCut Beersmiths (Astoria, Queens, NY)
While the rest of my trip up to Queens was fine for a group post, I felt that my trip to SingleCut Beersmiths deserved its own review. A small brewery located in the Astoria neighborhood, my cousin and her boyfriend recommended we go there knowing that I love trying new beers. Serving both their beers and a limited menu of food in their tap room, this is a fun little spot to hang out with a drink and a snack, though probably not a good option for a full meal.
I ordered a beer flight (5, 5oz beers) and a steak and mushroom pie, since I was a bit hungry and figured after two beers at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden I could use a bit of food. The steak and mushroom pie was pretty good, reminiscent of the meat pies I ate constantly the summer of 2007 when I was studying in Oxford and frequented the pasty shop on Cornmarket St. The meat was flavorful and tender, the mushrooms cooked just right, and the gravy savory, while the crust was flaky.
I asked the bartender to pick whatever she wanted for my beer flight, since I did not know their menu at all, and she did pretty well. Virtually all of their beers are named for people, who I suspect either work there or are connected to the employees. They also spell lager lagrrr...pirates? I went light to dark, taking brief notes, as follows. Descriptions from their menu are in italics.
"Ian" Olympic White Lagrrr!: A wheat lagrrr! made with hundreds of freshly juiced and zested oranges, coriander and szechuan pepercorn. The wittier witbier! 14IBU, 5.4% ABV. Very little nose, with a light look and feel, a major coriander flavor, but lacking the szechuan flavor I was looking for. All in all, refreshingly mild.
"Kim" Hibiscus Sour Lagrrr!: Refreshingly tart and citrusy. Made with hibiscus flowers and black currants. 5IBU, 4.1% ABV. Wow! What a great beer. Huuuuuuge nose, sweet and sour smelling. It both tasted and smelled a bit like Warheads candies, as my cousin pointed out (I could not quite place the flavor, but as soon as she said it I knew she was right), with a great tart, slightly fruity beer that was not nearly as sweet as it smelled. The black currant came through well, as did the citrus. The best beer I had there, and really the best beer I had other than the Troegs Hop Knife. Despite its very low ABV, I do not think this is quite a session beer, if only because of the very intense flavor.
"Billy" Half Stack IPA: This juggernaut of an IPA has a stone fruit, citrus and dank hop profile that is insanely drinkable. 88IBU, 6.6% ABV. Very little nose, but what there was smelled entirely of hops. The hops carried over into the flavor, with a good citrus note. The aftertaste is actually very pleasant, a rarity, and despite its high IBU number, it was very drinkable.
"Dean" PNW Mahogany Ale: A crisp, spicy and dry malt back bone featuring Pacific North West hops. This mahogany colored ale has a notably resiny, piney and citrus hoppiness that will put hair on even a lumberjacks chest! 73IBU, 6.0% ABV. Huge malt flavor, definitely sweet. I honestly did not write much about this, because I just could not quite decide how I felt. I do not recommend it unless you like super malty beers, but I would not necessarily say do not drink it either.
"John Michael" Dark Lyric Lagrrr!: He's back, in black, and better than ever. With it's (sic) deep dark hue, an abundant hope presence and surprisingly smooth quaffability this beer in black is what we mean when we say, "Lagrrr!" (usually followed by an echoing sinister laughter). 50IBU, 6.0% ABV. Huge malt nose, but less malty flavor than the "Dean." The booze is heavily present in the taste, surprising for a 6% beer. My cousin had the coffee version, and it was much better.
I ordered a beer flight (5, 5oz beers) and a steak and mushroom pie, since I was a bit hungry and figured after two beers at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden I could use a bit of food. The steak and mushroom pie was pretty good, reminiscent of the meat pies I ate constantly the summer of 2007 when I was studying in Oxford and frequented the pasty shop on Cornmarket St. The meat was flavorful and tender, the mushrooms cooked just right, and the gravy savory, while the crust was flaky.
I asked the bartender to pick whatever she wanted for my beer flight, since I did not know their menu at all, and she did pretty well. Virtually all of their beers are named for people, who I suspect either work there or are connected to the employees. They also spell lager lagrrr...pirates? I went light to dark, taking brief notes, as follows. Descriptions from their menu are in italics.
"Ian" Olympic White Lagrrr!: A wheat lagrrr! made with hundreds of freshly juiced and zested oranges, coriander and szechuan pepercorn. The wittier witbier! 14IBU, 5.4% ABV. Very little nose, with a light look and feel, a major coriander flavor, but lacking the szechuan flavor I was looking for. All in all, refreshingly mild.
"Kim" Hibiscus Sour Lagrrr!: Refreshingly tart and citrusy. Made with hibiscus flowers and black currants. 5IBU, 4.1% ABV. Wow! What a great beer. Huuuuuuge nose, sweet and sour smelling. It both tasted and smelled a bit like Warheads candies, as my cousin pointed out (I could not quite place the flavor, but as soon as she said it I knew she was right), with a great tart, slightly fruity beer that was not nearly as sweet as it smelled. The black currant came through well, as did the citrus. The best beer I had there, and really the best beer I had other than the Troegs Hop Knife. Despite its very low ABV, I do not think this is quite a session beer, if only because of the very intense flavor.
"Billy" Half Stack IPA: This juggernaut of an IPA has a stone fruit, citrus and dank hop profile that is insanely drinkable. 88IBU, 6.6% ABV. Very little nose, but what there was smelled entirely of hops. The hops carried over into the flavor, with a good citrus note. The aftertaste is actually very pleasant, a rarity, and despite its high IBU number, it was very drinkable.
"Dean" PNW Mahogany Ale: A crisp, spicy and dry malt back bone featuring Pacific North West hops. This mahogany colored ale has a notably resiny, piney and citrus hoppiness that will put hair on even a lumberjacks chest! 73IBU, 6.0% ABV. Huge malt flavor, definitely sweet. I honestly did not write much about this, because I just could not quite decide how I felt. I do not recommend it unless you like super malty beers, but I would not necessarily say do not drink it either.
"John Michael" Dark Lyric Lagrrr!: He's back, in black, and better than ever. With it's (sic) deep dark hue, an abundant hope presence and surprisingly smooth quaffability this beer in black is what we mean when we say, "Lagrrr!" (usually followed by an echoing sinister laughter). 50IBU, 6.0% ABV. Huge malt nose, but less malty flavor than the "Dean." The booze is heavily present in the taste, surprising for a 6% beer. My cousin had the coffee version, and it was much better.
Queens Trip (Queens, New York City, NY)
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*****
In my quest to attend a game at each Major League Baseball stadium, I took a quick trip up to New York City for a Mets game, staying with my cousin in Queens. This was just a Friday to Sunday trip, but I managed to get to a few different places, including one old favorite restaurant in Flushing, and a couple great beer joints in Astoria.
Friday night, we headed to the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, a Czech style beer hall with a huge outdoor courtyard. Their beer list is not incredible, but both times I have been there I had no trouble finding good beer options. The food is primarily Czech, or at least Czech inspired, which is similar to German. There really is not a great deal to say about the Beer Garden, other than that both times I have been there I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, as everyone is friendly, the outdoor area is great if it is not too cold, and the inside has a handful of televisions showing various sports games, including association football. It is one of those places I wish existed right in my backyard, though my wallet appreciates that is does not.
Saturday before the game, we grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant in New York, Joe's Shanghai in Flushing. Known for their soup dumplings, Joe's has locations in Chinatown and Midtown in Manhattan, and in Flushing's Chinatown, with menus featuring both Americanized and authentic food. Following a shared order of the shrimp and pork soup dumplings, I had the Crispy Whole Sea Bass. The dumplings have a spoonful of broth in them, so when you bite into one you get a little bit of hot soup along with the wrapper and the filling. I have occasional cravings of these, but I should be okay for a little while now.
The order of the Crispy Whole Sea Bass is a bit of a tradition for me, going back to the first time I ever ate at Joe's Shanghai as a young teenager; very slightly spicy, thoroughly crispy on the exterior and light and flaky on the inside, this fish is incredible. The sauce, which is where the spice comes from primarily, has a little bit of a sweetness to it, and goes well with the fish, on rice, or anything else really. Everyone else at the table had a bit and absolutely loved the sauce, even if they did not necessarily try the fish. The bass itself is very lightly battered and deep fried, so you get the delicious flavor of the fish and that classic fried flavor that really just makes everything better. This is among my favorite restaurants, period, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
After the Mets game, my cousin, her boyfriend, and I adjourned to Mosaic Cafe & Lounge. This place has an incredible beer list, comfortable chairs and a great atmosphere, along with knowledgeable, friendly bartenders. Their menu also includes several delicious looking items, though I was still pretty stuffed from the dumplings and fish. For beer, I went with the bartender's suggestions; one was a new item on tap for them, Hop Knife from Troegs Brewery. A fresh hopped IPA, it is among the best beers I have ever had. Incredibly drinkable (it comes in at a more than manageable 6.2%, but really feels like 5%; to quote the bartender, it is "completely sessionable") yet complex, the hops are very subtle, but flavorful, with a background note of lemony citrus and wheat. The beer had very little nose, surprisingly, but the aroma that was present was of hops and mild fruit. I look forward to having this beer again, though I suspect it is best on draught, rather than in a bottle, so I will be a little wary if I find it in bottles. All in all, this is actually one of my favorite beers now for the combination of flavor, drinkability, and the fact that it is out of the ordinary for me. Highly, highly recommended.
The second beer I had that evening was from Bell's Brewery, a fairly new-to-me brewer, but one that has impressed me significantly and that has received raves elsewhere (they have a 96 rating overall on BeerAdvocate). The beer I had was called The Oracle, and according to the bartender it should not have been available; someone shipped a few cases accidentally to their supplier, despite it not being released in New York State, and I am pretty pleased it happened. This beer is probably the most hop-forward beer I have ever had; from the first sniff I was blown backward by the aroma of the hops, and the first sip was legitimately intense. While I had to hold back on the Hop Knife so I did not devour it in just a few minutes, I had no choice but to nurse The Oracle. Every little bit of the alcohol (and there is a lot, at 10% ABV) is in each sip, and so are the hops, the malted notes, and some spicy flavors that I could not identify. I think I drank this beer (and it was just a 12oz) over the course of nearly an hour, so it is really the opposite of Hop Knife. It also was not as good; while I was very glad to have tried it, and I actually did enjoy it overall, I would probably not go for it again unless it was to pair with an incredibly powerful--and spicy--meal, as it is absolutely not the sort of beer that suits itself well to sitting around drinking.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Matt the Miller's (Columbus, OH)
This will be the final post I make from Massachusetts for quite some time; from here on out, I will be in the DC area. I could use some restaurant recommendations in Arlington and Washington!
*****
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*****
Day one of a five day road trip with my friend Forrest was, to say the least, long. I worked a 12 hour shift the night before that concluded at 7am, leaving me with less than an hour at home to attempt (unsuccessfully) a nap before Forrest arrived and we took off for Columbus, Ohio. Thus, when we finally arrived in Columbus, late for the baseball game we were going to attend (we went the next day, which was fine), we were both starving and exhausted. Eleven hours on the road will do that to you, I suppose. Thankfully, a little internet searching found us Matt the Miller's Tavern, a small local chain with a lot of good beers, and some damn fine steaks.
Forrest and I both ordered beers, then each went with the 10oz Flatiron steak, a piece of meat that came out looking far larger than its listed weight. Each steak comes with one of three "toppers" (garlic butter, Gorgonzola, or fried onion strings), and one side from a list of about ten. Forrest had the fried onion strings and mixed vegetables, and I went with the Gorgonzola and horseradish mashed potatoes, with mine ordered rare of course.
The steaks came out fairly quickly, so clearly the kitchen is on their game, and our waiter did not dawdle with putting in the order, something we greatly appreciated in our near starvation. Both steaks came liberally topped with our respective choices, with mine having so much Gorgonzola that I actually had to scrape some off, though I used it to mix into the mashed potatoes, which made them better. My steak was cooked perfectly, with a cool, deep red interior and slightly crusty exterior. The beef itself had almost a blackened flavor from the spice mixture that had been rubbed on it, which was unexpected but pleasantly spicy and salty, and the steak clearly of high quality. My mashed potatoes were fine, nothing incredibly special, and the horseradish flavor was non-existent, but the addition of the Gorgonzola was delicious. Both of us powered through our meals and, despite how insanely hungry we had been, were quite full and pleased with the meal when we left.
The draught beer list was not huge, but was well stocked with both local and national level brews, including Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale. I was looking for a lower alcohol content beer, and was feeling decidedly anti-IPA that day, a rarity for me, so I went with the Grunion, a 5.5% light-in-color-but-not-flavor type. It definitely is what you go for with a pale ale, very lightly malty, very lightly hopped (contrary to what their website says, quite frankly), and just incredibly refreshing. I think Forrest went with a local beer, but I cannot recall.
The beer was not cheap, but the steak was reasonably priced, just $16.99 for a large piece of very good meat, a side and a topping. The setting is nice, and I suspect sitting on their patio is pleasant when the weather is better, but sitting in the bar area was just fine, as they have a few high tops with real chairs in addition to booths and stools at the bar itself. It never got too loud, was well lit, and there were several televisions showing everything from bull riding to the World Poker Tour to the Crossfit Championships, and some more mainstream options as well. I would definitely go back if I find myself in Columbus again, and I immediately recommended it to my friend who moved there the day we left.
*****
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*****
Day one of a five day road trip with my friend Forrest was, to say the least, long. I worked a 12 hour shift the night before that concluded at 7am, leaving me with less than an hour at home to attempt (unsuccessfully) a nap before Forrest arrived and we took off for Columbus, Ohio. Thus, when we finally arrived in Columbus, late for the baseball game we were going to attend (we went the next day, which was fine), we were both starving and exhausted. Eleven hours on the road will do that to you, I suppose. Thankfully, a little internet searching found us Matt the Miller's Tavern, a small local chain with a lot of good beers, and some damn fine steaks.
Forrest and I both ordered beers, then each went with the 10oz Flatiron steak, a piece of meat that came out looking far larger than its listed weight. Each steak comes with one of three "toppers" (garlic butter, Gorgonzola, or fried onion strings), and one side from a list of about ten. Forrest had the fried onion strings and mixed vegetables, and I went with the Gorgonzola and horseradish mashed potatoes, with mine ordered rare of course.
The steaks came out fairly quickly, so clearly the kitchen is on their game, and our waiter did not dawdle with putting in the order, something we greatly appreciated in our near starvation. Both steaks came liberally topped with our respective choices, with mine having so much Gorgonzola that I actually had to scrape some off, though I used it to mix into the mashed potatoes, which made them better. My steak was cooked perfectly, with a cool, deep red interior and slightly crusty exterior. The beef itself had almost a blackened flavor from the spice mixture that had been rubbed on it, which was unexpected but pleasantly spicy and salty, and the steak clearly of high quality. My mashed potatoes were fine, nothing incredibly special, and the horseradish flavor was non-existent, but the addition of the Gorgonzola was delicious. Both of us powered through our meals and, despite how insanely hungry we had been, were quite full and pleased with the meal when we left.
The draught beer list was not huge, but was well stocked with both local and national level brews, including Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale. I was looking for a lower alcohol content beer, and was feeling decidedly anti-IPA that day, a rarity for me, so I went with the Grunion, a 5.5% light-in-color-but-not-flavor type. It definitely is what you go for with a pale ale, very lightly malty, very lightly hopped (contrary to what their website says, quite frankly), and just incredibly refreshing. I think Forrest went with a local beer, but I cannot recall.
The beer was not cheap, but the steak was reasonably priced, just $16.99 for a large piece of very good meat, a side and a topping. The setting is nice, and I suspect sitting on their patio is pleasant when the weather is better, but sitting in the bar area was just fine, as they have a few high tops with real chairs in addition to booths and stools at the bar itself. It never got too loud, was well lit, and there were several televisions showing everything from bull riding to the World Poker Tour to the Crossfit Championships, and some more mainstream options as well. I would definitely go back if I find myself in Columbus again, and I immediately recommended it to my friend who moved there the day we left.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Peter Havens (Brattleboro, VT)
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*****
*****
For my birthday, my mom and step-father took me out to dinner up in Brattleboro at Peter Havens, a fine dining establishment that has been around for twenty years, but I somehow had never been to. They went to a special dinner there the week before, and were quite impressed, so when our first choice, L.A. Burdick's The Restaurant at Burdick was unavailable to us (they only serve brunch on Sundays, not dinner), we ended up in Brattleboro. While I definitely still want to go up to L.A. Burdick, I could not have been more pleased with the dinner we had.
The restaurant itself is small, with over half of it devoted to the bar area, which consists of a large wooden bar in a rather open area and a few tables, and a second area that is separated by a partial wall that has another half dozen tables. It is lit just right, not so much that it seems bright but not so little it feels dark (an unfortunate trend in higher end restaurants these days), and it does not seem to be overly loud even with several groups together. Our waitress was nice, but I like to have wait-staff that are very confident and have strong opinions on the menu; if asked "which do you recommend," there should be an answer, and "well, that depends on whether you're in the mood for X or Y" does not count. That said, when she finally made a decision it turned out to be the right one.
I started off with the Escargot ("Brandy & vermouth marinated escargots sautéed with garlic, butter
and parsley, served in a puff pastry shell and finished with a touch of cream") at the recommendation of the waitress, who I tasked with choosing amongst that, the house Caesar salad ("Romaine lettuce. tossed in our classic house-made caesar dressing, topped with warm duck confit and croutons"), and the special soup for the day, a gazpacho that sounded completely delicious. In the end, while I am sure the soup and salad would have been very good, the escargot was spectacular. The snails themselves were just the right mix of chewy and tender, the sauce was tangy and creamy, and the puff pastry was a great vehicle for both. I just had raw escargot in Valras Plage, and while this restaurant lacked the ambiance of being located fifteen feet from a Mediterranean beach, eating them here was pretty delightful as well.
We also split the Duck Liver Pate ("House made duck liver pate prepared with a hint of brandy, served with whole grain mustard, red onion jam, cornichons and toast points"), and I have one big complaint: I can't have it every day. Oh my God, that was good. Creamy, smooth, decadent pate beautifully served in a small jar alongside some pieces of toast, a little pile of cornichons, which I love, really great rustic mustard that was distinctly German tasting, and the red onion jam, which stacks up really well to the pickled onions on the Pulled BBQ Duck Nachos at The Dirty Truth, which are legitimately crave-worthy. I just wanted more and more and more of this; probably one of the three or four best appetizers I have ever had.
My entree was switched up at the last minute, as I had intended to go with the Roasted Statler Chicken Breast ("finished with two-mustard sauce and served with truffle mashed potatoes") since my step-dad was going with the Pan Roasted Duck Breast ("with French green lentils, caramelized apple, and sauce bigerade"), but when he switched to a swordfish special, I went with the duck. Thank God I did. The duck was gorgeous, a thinly (app 1/4 inch) sliced breast laid out and smothered in a dark, rich sauce that was incredibly savory, though I did not really taste any of the citrus I would expect from a Sauce Bigerade. The duck itself was maybe the tiniest bit overcooked, but because of the sauce it was not a problem, and it was reasonably moist still. I am not a huge fan of lentils typically, though when prepared properly they are really awesome, and the French green lentils were not only tasty on their own, but great eaten with the sauce. The caramelized apple was really delicious, but kind of lame, in that it was just a single small piece about an inch wide and two inches long; it would have been greatly appreciated if there were a couple more pieces. I am nitpicking here; the entree was awesome, and the meal all in all was one of the best I have ever had. This is definitely a new favorite.
I had a McNeill's Brewery Dead Horse IPA with dinner, which is definitely a top ten in the category for me. One of the smoothest IPAs I have had, it was just hoppy enough to make you aware of what it is, but not nearly like many of the other great (and terrible) IPAs that are on the market now, which seem to emphasize the hops to the max. A great beer, it will get its own review soon enough I am sure.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
The Fat Cat Restaurant (Quincy, MA) and Patron's Mexican Kitchen (Allston, Boston, MA)
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*****
Two of my best friends from college got married this weekend, and we had the bachelor party for the groom Thursday. We went for laid back, going to the F1 Boston kart racing track in Quincy, which was a blast, followed that with lunch, then went climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, and finally drinks and some food in Boston at Patron's Mexican Kitchen. Both F1 Boston and Central Rock were a blast, though I highly recommend you have some cold water on hand for the kart racing, as it is pretty easy to get overheated in there.
Lunch was at The Fat Cat Restaurant in Quincy, a superb little pub with some of the best bone-in chicken wings I have ever had. I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, which was well made, on pretty standard bread, but with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, smoked shiitake mushrooms, and both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The steak was perfect, still juicy and delicious, and the vegetables were spectacular. It also came with hand cut french fries, which were really good and insanely crisp, but which I did not end up having much of because I was so full from the sandwich and a few wings.
Those wings were really the key to the meal; we ordered 50 for the table, as three people were having them for their primary meal, and one other person and I were just having a couple each. The wings are big, but not gigantic, cooked perfectly so the skin was crispy and crunchy, but the meat did not seem overcooked or dry. The exterior held the sauces well, so it did not just slough off and leave just a small amount on the wing or drumstick, but instead coated them completely and evenly. Those sauces were the best part, and we picked three: XXX, Cajun, and Qcity. The XXX is a buffalo style, made with house-infused habanero vodka; it had far, far more flavor than any other sauce of an equivalent heat level that I have ever had, including the Mango Habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, a personal favorite. The Cajun comes as either a sauce or a dry rub, and we went dry; it was good, a little spicy, but nothing super incredible. Qcity was my top choice, and it was also probably the simplest; essentially, it was just honey and pepper, and it was just absolutely awesome, with intense honey flavor without being overly sweet.
For dessert, I had bread pudding, which was served in a giant ramekin. Essentially just big pieces of bread with a slightly sweet sauce, but so, so much more in flavor. It also had a giant mound of delicious homemade whipped cream, which was closer to clotted cream than the stuff that comes in a can, both in flavor and texture. By this point, I was so stuffed that I could not finish the bread pudding, which was very disappointing considering how incredibly good it was.
Fat Cat had a couple good options on draught, including Belhaven Scottish Ale, which I love, and Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. They also have a handful of interesting looking cocktails and alcoholic coffee drinks. They do their own infusing, including the aforementioned habanero vodka. Since Dan, the groom, is obsessed with insanely spicy things (the table gifts at the wedding were bottles of various hot sauces) we got him a shot, and the waitress (an awesome Irish lady) added a second on the house to congratulate him on getting married. We each tried a tiny bit, and as soon as I took a very tiny sip, I felt an incredible burning sensation in my mouth and began to hiccup instantly, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. I think Dan enjoyed the vodka, but if not, it was at the very least a very cool concept and it makes one hell of a wing sauce.
All in all, this was a really good meal, and pretty reasonably priced at under $130 for 50 wings, my sandwich (only $7, which was insane considering how much food there was and its quality), an order of fish and chips, four desserts, plus about a dozen drinks between the five of us. I highly recommend it.
*****
Not so long ago, Allston's Sunset Grill and Tap was topped by Big City, one of the greatest beer bars in the northeast, with about 130 taps, good food, and great ambiance. Sadly, it is now Patron's Mexican Kitchen, a mediocre bar with a couple mediocre pool tables and seriously lacking staff. Our waiter was acceptable at best, but the manager was a major asshole, making rude and snide comments about a couple members of our party to some employees who were playing pool next to us. We ordered wings again (they were also served the following night at the rehearsal dinner, and ordered at Amherst Brewing Company when we went out after that...Dan really likes wings), which were decent, but nothing special. I ordered nachos, and instead of nachos, we received the $7 bowl of multicolored chips; absolutely pathetic. The beer list has been cut tremendously, to only a couple dozen options on draught and a similar number in bottles. I do not know what the reason for this is, as downstairs still offers over 130 taps and 380 bottle varieties. All in all, this is no longer worth going to; just have drinks and food down at Sunset Grill and Tap. That said, we had a good time, but only because it was a great group of people.
*****
Two of my best friends from college got married this weekend, and we had the bachelor party for the groom Thursday. We went for laid back, going to the F1 Boston kart racing track in Quincy, which was a blast, followed that with lunch, then went climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, and finally drinks and some food in Boston at Patron's Mexican Kitchen. Both F1 Boston and Central Rock were a blast, though I highly recommend you have some cold water on hand for the kart racing, as it is pretty easy to get overheated in there.
Lunch was at The Fat Cat Restaurant in Quincy, a superb little pub with some of the best bone-in chicken wings I have ever had. I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, which was well made, on pretty standard bread, but with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, smoked shiitake mushrooms, and both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The steak was perfect, still juicy and delicious, and the vegetables were spectacular. It also came with hand cut french fries, which were really good and insanely crisp, but which I did not end up having much of because I was so full from the sandwich and a few wings.
Those wings were really the key to the meal; we ordered 50 for the table, as three people were having them for their primary meal, and one other person and I were just having a couple each. The wings are big, but not gigantic, cooked perfectly so the skin was crispy and crunchy, but the meat did not seem overcooked or dry. The exterior held the sauces well, so it did not just slough off and leave just a small amount on the wing or drumstick, but instead coated them completely and evenly. Those sauces were the best part, and we picked three: XXX, Cajun, and Qcity. The XXX is a buffalo style, made with house-infused habanero vodka; it had far, far more flavor than any other sauce of an equivalent heat level that I have ever had, including the Mango Habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, a personal favorite. The Cajun comes as either a sauce or a dry rub, and we went dry; it was good, a little spicy, but nothing super incredible. Qcity was my top choice, and it was also probably the simplest; essentially, it was just honey and pepper, and it was just absolutely awesome, with intense honey flavor without being overly sweet.
For dessert, I had bread pudding, which was served in a giant ramekin. Essentially just big pieces of bread with a slightly sweet sauce, but so, so much more in flavor. It also had a giant mound of delicious homemade whipped cream, which was closer to clotted cream than the stuff that comes in a can, both in flavor and texture. By this point, I was so stuffed that I could not finish the bread pudding, which was very disappointing considering how incredibly good it was.
Fat Cat had a couple good options on draught, including Belhaven Scottish Ale, which I love, and Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. They also have a handful of interesting looking cocktails and alcoholic coffee drinks. They do their own infusing, including the aforementioned habanero vodka. Since Dan, the groom, is obsessed with insanely spicy things (the table gifts at the wedding were bottles of various hot sauces) we got him a shot, and the waitress (an awesome Irish lady) added a second on the house to congratulate him on getting married. We each tried a tiny bit, and as soon as I took a very tiny sip, I felt an incredible burning sensation in my mouth and began to hiccup instantly, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. I think Dan enjoyed the vodka, but if not, it was at the very least a very cool concept and it makes one hell of a wing sauce.
All in all, this was a really good meal, and pretty reasonably priced at under $130 for 50 wings, my sandwich (only $7, which was insane considering how much food there was and its quality), an order of fish and chips, four desserts, plus about a dozen drinks between the five of us. I highly recommend it.
*****
Not so long ago, Allston's Sunset Grill and Tap was topped by Big City, one of the greatest beer bars in the northeast, with about 130 taps, good food, and great ambiance. Sadly, it is now Patron's Mexican Kitchen, a mediocre bar with a couple mediocre pool tables and seriously lacking staff. Our waiter was acceptable at best, but the manager was a major asshole, making rude and snide comments about a couple members of our party to some employees who were playing pool next to us. We ordered wings again (they were also served the following night at the rehearsal dinner, and ordered at Amherst Brewing Company when we went out after that...Dan really likes wings), which were decent, but nothing special. I ordered nachos, and instead of nachos, we received the $7 bowl of multicolored chips; absolutely pathetic. The beer list has been cut tremendously, to only a couple dozen options on draught and a similar number in bottles. I do not know what the reason for this is, as downstairs still offers over 130 taps and 380 bottle varieties. All in all, this is no longer worth going to; just have drinks and food down at Sunset Grill and Tap. That said, we had a good time, but only because it was a great group of people.
Friday, May 2, 2014
DC Metro Area Trip #1
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*****
Having three days off every other week gives me the opportunity to do a little more traveling than I used to, so in preparation for a major lifestyle change this fall, I headed down to Arlington, VA to look for apartments and visit some friends who live down there. A few meals and a trip to the National Gallery later, I was soaked to the bone after three days of non-stop torrential rain, but very excited at the prospect of moving to the DC area.
I arrived Monday early afternoon and immediately headed out to the Courthouse neighborhood where my friend Joe, who I was staying with, lives, and after dropping my bag at his apartment we grabbed some lunch at Astor Mediterranean. A little Greek/Middle Eastern joint that has two locations, one in Courthouse and one in Adams Morgan, they offer the typical food you would expect at a restaurant of this type, served quickly and without fanfare, at surprisingly good prices. I ended up going there twice, needing a quick bite to eat on Tuesday as well. Both times, I got a lamb gyro, which with a drink cost only about $9, a good deal considering how large, and good, they were. Served wrapped in a large, delightfully chewy grilled pita, the lamb was carved directly off a large upright spit, and the vegetables (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion) all tasted fresh and appeared to be of good quality. The tzatziki was very good (though who has ever had bad tzatziki, really?), and everything meshed nicely. All in all, it was a good lunch both days, enough food to fill me up but not enough to make me feel overstuffed, and it did not break the bank, something I was rather pleased about on a trip that was definitely more expensive than I had intended for it to be.
Monday afternoon and early evening were spent checking out five different apartments, and this involved a great deal of walking (in the rain...seriously, I was drowned by the end of the trip), so by the end Joe and I needed beer badly. Thankfully, the bar Carpool in Ballston was near the last one we saw, so we stopped in for a couple drinks. They do not have the best beer list ever, but with some Sam Adams and some Peroni on tap, we were reasonably satisfied. Better yet, they have skeeball! They also have a few dart boards and some pool tables, the former of which we took advantage of.
Following Carpool we headed to Clarendon, where we met an old friend from college at Fuego Cocina y Tequileria, an upscale Mexican restaurant which is part of a local restaurant group. I am typically wary of the whole upscale Mexican concept, as typically it just means more expensive food that is no different than what you get at a little neighborhood joint, except probably not as good. Fuego actually does it quite well, not trying to gussy up the food too much, but instead just serving really tasty, well thought out and well executed food in a nice atmosphere. They provide endless baskets of chips with two salsas, a red and a green; the chips are made fresh, and you can actually still see the grease from it being fried on some of them, while the salsas taste freshly made. All in all, a nice starter. For my meal I had the Pollo en Mole Poblano (chicken with a green mole sauce), which was extremely good. Chicken, especially boneless and skinless chicken breast, is among the more boring, tasteless foods on this earth, but Fuego's kitchen prepared this dish very well, perfectly seared on the flat top (a la plancha), and the sauce was spectacular, with just a little heat to it and a ton of flavor from the spice mixture and peppers they used to make it. While I prefer moles that are darker and have the little bit of sweetness that is more traditional to the Yucatan and several other parts of Mexico, this was extremely well done and a nice change from the norm. Entrees are also served with a side, and I went with the Platanos Machos, caramelized maduros deglazed with tequila topped by a "Latin crema," they were sweet and savory all at once, and reinforced my love of this particular fruit. My companions were too full for dessert, but Joe said they have great churros. I highly recommend this restaurant.
Tuesday night I met some more old friends at their apartment in DC, right next to the Washington Nationals' stadium, and then headed to dinner at Bluejacket, a new brewpub part of yet another local restaurant group. This was some of the better food I have had at a brewpub, while the beer was also quite solid. They offer about twenty five beers on draught, including five or so cask ales at any given time. The menu is both extensive and limited at the same time, offering a fairly small number of options in each of its six categories (plus sides), but with ingredients that are both out of the ordinary for a brewpub and extremely high quality. The food was very upscale, more befitting a trendy bistro, though I suppose gastro-pubs are becoming more popular as well. We started by splitting an order of the house-made pretzels, which are really whole wheat pretzel sticks. They were delicious, warm, soft and with just the right amount of chew on the inside, and a slightly crisp exterior; they were great on their own or with the dark, slightly spicy beer mustard they were served with. For an entree I had Braised Lamb Belly, which came with fava beans, orzo, and some dollops of herbed ricotta. This was perfect, except for one thing; it was too damn small! We realized afterward that you are probably intended to order a side to go with your main dish, but honestly, I just wanted more of everything on my plate. Even the fava beans were good, and I hate fava beans. The lamb belly was fatty, juicy, succulent and just all in all delicious, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. Orzo, a simple pasta that I can typically take or leave, was elevated by whatever the chefs did to it, and combining the orzo with the ricotta, or the lamb with the ricotta, or...hell, anything with the ricotta, was spectacular. This was, without a doubt, one of the best meals of my life, and I simply wish I had had more. The beer I had, Lullaby, was pretty good as well, a casked Witbier made with lemon zest, lavender, and basil that was brewed in concert with a Swiss company I had not heard of. It was light in body, but not flavor, and had a fruitiness that was surprisingly pleasant considering my general antipathy towards fruity beers. My friends had the The Wake, a powerful coffee stout that tasted like an alcoholic espresso (aka, fantastic), and The Stowaway, a dunkleweizen that was only okay, though that could be just me, as I am not a huge fan of the variety. This was by far the best meal of the trip, and I cannot recommend going there highly enough; I am beyond thrilled that it is so close to my friends' apartment, and I will be returning the next time I am in DC.
That was really the end of my culinary and/or beer adventures, but I did get to go to the Pentagon Wednesday, which was quite an experience; sadly, they do not let you keep your guest passes as a souvenir. I did get to see the 9/11 Memorial, which is in the exact spot where the plane that struck the building actually impacted the Pentagon. It is simple, understated, and quite well designed; like the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, I was very impressed by it. Joe and I grabbed lunch there (Popeyes, one of the few fast food places I truly enjoy) after he gave me a brief tour, which included seeing just how many shops there are in the place. I have also never seen so much brass in my life; we were in line at Popeyes just behind a two star general!
I followed my trip to the Pentagon with one to another American landmark, the National Gallery, which I wandered around for an hour or so until my feet started to hurt. There were a great many beautiful works of art, and far more that I did not particular see the appeal of, but it was interesting to see the different styles and the progression of art over the last few centuries. Below are a couple of my favorite pieces that I saw, though some that I really like had signs banning photography, most likely because people using flashes had degraded the artwork already. The Smithsonians are a legitimate national treasure, and while I am firmly in the libertarian camp when it comes to politics, I am more than happy to have tax dollars spent on them, and I wish more people, especially children, had the opportunity to visit them.
*****
Having three days off every other week gives me the opportunity to do a little more traveling than I used to, so in preparation for a major lifestyle change this fall, I headed down to Arlington, VA to look for apartments and visit some friends who live down there. A few meals and a trip to the National Gallery later, I was soaked to the bone after three days of non-stop torrential rain, but very excited at the prospect of moving to the DC area.
I arrived Monday early afternoon and immediately headed out to the Courthouse neighborhood where my friend Joe, who I was staying with, lives, and after dropping my bag at his apartment we grabbed some lunch at Astor Mediterranean. A little Greek/Middle Eastern joint that has two locations, one in Courthouse and one in Adams Morgan, they offer the typical food you would expect at a restaurant of this type, served quickly and without fanfare, at surprisingly good prices. I ended up going there twice, needing a quick bite to eat on Tuesday as well. Both times, I got a lamb gyro, which with a drink cost only about $9, a good deal considering how large, and good, they were. Served wrapped in a large, delightfully chewy grilled pita, the lamb was carved directly off a large upright spit, and the vegetables (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion) all tasted fresh and appeared to be of good quality. The tzatziki was very good (though who has ever had bad tzatziki, really?), and everything meshed nicely. All in all, it was a good lunch both days, enough food to fill me up but not enough to make me feel overstuffed, and it did not break the bank, something I was rather pleased about on a trip that was definitely more expensive than I had intended for it to be.
Monday afternoon and early evening were spent checking out five different apartments, and this involved a great deal of walking (in the rain...seriously, I was drowned by the end of the trip), so by the end Joe and I needed beer badly. Thankfully, the bar Carpool in Ballston was near the last one we saw, so we stopped in for a couple drinks. They do not have the best beer list ever, but with some Sam Adams and some Peroni on tap, we were reasonably satisfied. Better yet, they have skeeball! They also have a few dart boards and some pool tables, the former of which we took advantage of.
Following Carpool we headed to Clarendon, where we met an old friend from college at Fuego Cocina y Tequileria, an upscale Mexican restaurant which is part of a local restaurant group. I am typically wary of the whole upscale Mexican concept, as typically it just means more expensive food that is no different than what you get at a little neighborhood joint, except probably not as good. Fuego actually does it quite well, not trying to gussy up the food too much, but instead just serving really tasty, well thought out and well executed food in a nice atmosphere. They provide endless baskets of chips with two salsas, a red and a green; the chips are made fresh, and you can actually still see the grease from it being fried on some of them, while the salsas taste freshly made. All in all, a nice starter. For my meal I had the Pollo en Mole Poblano (chicken with a green mole sauce), which was extremely good. Chicken, especially boneless and skinless chicken breast, is among the more boring, tasteless foods on this earth, but Fuego's kitchen prepared this dish very well, perfectly seared on the flat top (a la plancha), and the sauce was spectacular, with just a little heat to it and a ton of flavor from the spice mixture and peppers they used to make it. While I prefer moles that are darker and have the little bit of sweetness that is more traditional to the Yucatan and several other parts of Mexico, this was extremely well done and a nice change from the norm. Entrees are also served with a side, and I went with the Platanos Machos, caramelized maduros deglazed with tequila topped by a "Latin crema," they were sweet and savory all at once, and reinforced my love of this particular fruit. My companions were too full for dessert, but Joe said they have great churros. I highly recommend this restaurant.
Tuesday night I met some more old friends at their apartment in DC, right next to the Washington Nationals' stadium, and then headed to dinner at Bluejacket, a new brewpub part of yet another local restaurant group. This was some of the better food I have had at a brewpub, while the beer was also quite solid. They offer about twenty five beers on draught, including five or so cask ales at any given time. The menu is both extensive and limited at the same time, offering a fairly small number of options in each of its six categories (plus sides), but with ingredients that are both out of the ordinary for a brewpub and extremely high quality. The food was very upscale, more befitting a trendy bistro, though I suppose gastro-pubs are becoming more popular as well. We started by splitting an order of the house-made pretzels, which are really whole wheat pretzel sticks. They were delicious, warm, soft and with just the right amount of chew on the inside, and a slightly crisp exterior; they were great on their own or with the dark, slightly spicy beer mustard they were served with. For an entree I had Braised Lamb Belly, which came with fava beans, orzo, and some dollops of herbed ricotta. This was perfect, except for one thing; it was too damn small! We realized afterward that you are probably intended to order a side to go with your main dish, but honestly, I just wanted more of everything on my plate. Even the fava beans were good, and I hate fava beans. The lamb belly was fatty, juicy, succulent and just all in all delicious, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. Orzo, a simple pasta that I can typically take or leave, was elevated by whatever the chefs did to it, and combining the orzo with the ricotta, or the lamb with the ricotta, or...hell, anything with the ricotta, was spectacular. This was, without a doubt, one of the best meals of my life, and I simply wish I had had more. The beer I had, Lullaby, was pretty good as well, a casked Witbier made with lemon zest, lavender, and basil that was brewed in concert with a Swiss company I had not heard of. It was light in body, but not flavor, and had a fruitiness that was surprisingly pleasant considering my general antipathy towards fruity beers. My friends had the The Wake, a powerful coffee stout that tasted like an alcoholic espresso (aka, fantastic), and The Stowaway, a dunkleweizen that was only okay, though that could be just me, as I am not a huge fan of the variety. This was by far the best meal of the trip, and I cannot recommend going there highly enough; I am beyond thrilled that it is so close to my friends' apartment, and I will be returning the next time I am in DC.
That was really the end of my culinary and/or beer adventures, but I did get to go to the Pentagon Wednesday, which was quite an experience; sadly, they do not let you keep your guest passes as a souvenir. I did get to see the 9/11 Memorial, which is in the exact spot where the plane that struck the building actually impacted the Pentagon. It is simple, understated, and quite well designed; like the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, I was very impressed by it. Joe and I grabbed lunch there (Popeyes, one of the few fast food places I truly enjoy) after he gave me a brief tour, which included seeing just how many shops there are in the place. I have also never seen so much brass in my life; we were in line at Popeyes just behind a two star general!
I followed my trip to the Pentagon with one to another American landmark, the National Gallery, which I wandered around for an hour or so until my feet started to hurt. There were a great many beautiful works of art, and far more that I did not particular see the appeal of, but it was interesting to see the different styles and the progression of art over the last few centuries. Below are a couple of my favorite pieces that I saw, though some that I really like had signs banning photography, most likely because people using flashes had degraded the artwork already. The Smithsonians are a legitimate national treasure, and while I am firmly in the libertarian camp when it comes to politics, I am more than happy to have tax dollars spent on them, and I wish more people, especially children, had the opportunity to visit them.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
The Red House (Cambridge, MA), Machu Picchu (Somerville, MA) and Farmer Brown's Farm Stand (Middleton, MA)
 |
| Oysters and 18yr Glenfiddich |
The Red House is located a short walk from my other Cambridge favorites, Charlie's Kitchen and Crema Cafe (where I also stopped afterwards for a coffee to help wash down the beer and Scotch I had just consumed), down narrow Winthrop St. During the six hours after noon, your first dozen oysters per person cost just 50 cents a piece, and while that limit is not advertised, I suspect most people do not have more than a dozen by themselves. No worries for those of you like me who only stop eating oysters after you run out of money or stomach space; they are only one dollar apiece after that first dozen.
The oysters are currently Island Creek's, out of Duxbury, MA, and while they are no Kumamotos or Damariscottas, they are pretty damn good. Their failing in comparison to those two varietals, which are my favorites, is their lesser quality (and quantity) liquor, which is only a little briny in the Island Creeks. That said, you could never get Damariscottas or Kumamotos for this cheap even in a good fish shop like Harbor Fish, much less in a restaurant. I paid $12 for the dozen and a half oysters I ate, a tremendous deal beaten only by J's Oyster's freebies, but for those you have to wait until the waiter comes to you with more on their timetable, instead of just ordering them up as you want. They are served with some mild horseradish and a very ketchup-y cocktail sauce, along with a large slice of lemon and some mixed greens; not sure what the deal with the greens is, since they do not give you a fork. Maybe they are supposed to be eating with the oysters, but I have never heard of such a thing.
I sat at the small bar, which has maybe eight or nine seats; there are also a small handful of tables for about another dozen people in the bar area, while the dining room seats another 65 according to their website. The oyster deal is only available in the bar or on the patio (weather permitting, of course, which in New England means about four months out of the year), so do not go expecting to sit in the dining room and receive these prices. You can start out at the bar and then migrate to the dining room though, or eat from the dining room menu at the bar if you want. They have a solid list of draft beers available, including the ever more popular Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier from Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, one of the highest rated beers on BeerAdvocate. I went with a Founders Brewing Company Breakfast Stout, which has a perfect rating. One of the best beers out there, it is strong, dark and heavy, without being overwhelming. It has a definite sweetness and the malt flavors are huge, with some oatmeal flavors that are just plain delightful. I do not taste quite as much coffee as some other people in it, but that could just be my palate. They serve it a little too cold, so I let it warm up for a couple of minutes before drinking it; as it warmed the flavors opened up a great deal, and it became better and better as I took my time drinking it.
After finishing my beer, I moved on to Scotch, since they have ridiculously good prices; the 18 Year Glenfiddich I had was just $11, much, much cheaper than I have ever seen it. Now, this is not the same as the 18 Year Ancient Reserve I reviewed at the beginning of January, but it is a very good, very smooth Scotch. It lacked the character of the Ancient Reserve, and seemed not to have taken on a great deal of flavor from whatever wood it was aged in. All in all, a good single malt, and worth trying, especially at such a reasonable price, but there are far better options out there, especially for those of us who like peaty, smoky whiskys, which this was certainly not.
*******
It is always a good sign when you show up at an ethnic restaurant to find a family who appears to be representative of the culture having a meal or event there; upon entering Machu Picchu in Somerville, MA, that was exactly what I saw, a giant table filled with what I deduced was several generations of a Peruvian descended family. My expectations were immediately raised, and eventually well met.
I went with my best friend from high school, and we decided to split the Yaquitas a la Huancaina (fried yucca with a creamy, slightly spicy sauce) and the Palta Primavera (halved avocados filled/topped with a chicken and nixtamal, or hominy, salad). Both were delicious, as the yucca was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, not unlike very good steak fries, and the avocado was firm but creamy, with a simple chicken salad topping it. My only complaint was the abundant use of mayonnaise in the salad, which was unnecessary. The hominy was a great touch, and definitely needs to be used more.
For my entree, I had the Bisteck a lo Pobre (poor man's steak, essentially; a large steak served with white rice topped by a sunny side up egg, french fries, and a few pieces of sweet plantains), and it was just flat out awesome. The steak was slightly more done than I like (which is basically not at all), but was a fine medium rare, incredibly tender, perfectly seasoned, with beautiful cross-hatched grill marks. The rice was fine, nothing special, but once the egg yolk was broken into it it definitely got more interesting. French fries are among my favorite things, but these were the only real miss for me, being rather limp and unseasoned; the platanos more than made up for that though, and they proved yet again why they are among my favorite things ever.
They have a few beers on the menu, including a couple from Peru, one of which I had, though I cannot remember its name; it was pretty good, but nothing super interesting, reminding me of a Czech pilsener. They also had a pan flute band playing, which, once I got over my initial reaction of amusement (thanks to South Park's Pandemic episodes) was actually kind of nice. All in all, this is a pretty great restaurant, and I look forward to going back in the future.
*******
I spent three days in Middleton, MA this past week as part of a training, and since it was close and cheap, I went to Farmer Brown's Farm Stand each day to pick up some lunch. They offer a large salad bar that appears to be filled with fresh vegetables and lettuce, as well as nearly a dozen soups, which is what I decided to partake in. Over the course of three days I had the Hungarian Mushroom, Cream of Broccoli with Aged Cheddar, and finally the Italian Wedding Soup. That last is served every day, one of four such, while they rotate through a dozen or so others; all are homemade, and you can really tell. The Italian Wedding Soup was my favorite, with delicious little meatballs in it, but all were great. Prices were spectacular, as a bowl of soup and a roll (all the soups were also good for dipping bread) ran about six bucks.
They also have some specialty items, including olive oils, balsamic vinegar, and dried pasta from Italy; I picked up a bag of cavatelli that looks great. Their deli is stocked with Boar's Head, which is about the peak of normal deli meats, and there was plenty of meat and fish portioned or marinated and ready for the grill or oven. If I lived close to this place, I would probably be a lot poorer and a lot fatter (the soups were pretty fattening) but it made my training days a lot better.
******
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Maine Trip #2
Needing a few days away from western MA and work, and with the promise of raw seafood, I hopped in my car for the not quite four hour drive to Edgecomb last Thursday. I grabbed a beer, some cold sake, and an order of the addictive Brussel's sprouts at continual favorite Pai Men Miyake with my sister's boyfriend on the way, before arriving in Lincoln County just in time to take a very brief nap before my step-mom finished making a creamy broccoli soup and a platter of croque monsieur sandwiches. I highly suggest this combination, as it bears a lot of similarities to my personal specialty.
I spent a lazy day in Edgecomb before heading south to meet up with my step-mom to select oysters and clams for the night. Harbor Fish has been featured on just about every television show that filmed an episode on food or fish in southern Maine, and for good reason; it is where the locals who know fish go, because they have the best, freshest, and most reasonably priced fish you can imagine. We grabbed 18 oysters deriving from Maine to Massachusetts, along with six clams. If you like cooked clams, you should try them raw; not everyone enjoys the texture, but the flavor is incredibly powerful and delightful. If you do not like them cooked...well, then you definitely won't raw.
Thankfully it was cold enough to just leave the oysters with some ice in the car for a couple hours, so we adjourned to J's Oyster, a bar on the Portland Pier that, during the month of February, offers free oysters to its customers beginning at 4:00pm until they reach a certain amount. They are initially given away three on a plate per person, then it drops to two per plate as more people pack the bar, and are served with a wedge of lemon, some oyster crackers, and a dollop of cocktail sauce. The oysters are by no means top of the line, and they don't do much more than open them (in fact, the oyster meat itself is still attached to the shell), but hey, they're free, and they're fresh, and they taste good. We left before they ran out of the freebies, so I can't tell you how many you can end up getting, but I would definitely suggest going with someone who either does not like raw oysters, or at least likes them in limited quantities. My step-mom likes them, but not more than a couple a night, so I had the majority of hers, ending up having 18 myself. This was, of course, just the prelude to the couple dozen other raw mollusks we had when we got back home.
After polishing off the oysters we got at Harbor, we went to dinner at The Cockeyed Gull, but the experience was nowhere near as impressive as on the Fourth of July. I liked my meal (sesame crusted salmon with a Wasabi aioli, seaweed "garni" aka seaweed salad, mixed vegetables, and white rice), but I was really the only person who was not completely disappointed. We started with a scallop appetizer that was actually pretty successful, and reasonably well cooked, but things went downhill from there. My salmon was tasty but overcooked, the white rice was beyond boring, and while the seaweed salad was good it was nothing better or worse than what you could get in any sushi joint in America. In fact, the best part of the meal for me were the carrots in the mixed vegetables, which consisted of them and some broccoli florets. Their beer options were very limited, with a Baxter Brewing Company Stowaway IPA being the only really local and craft option. It was good, but nothing special; I have had better from Baxter before. The beer was canned, not on tap, and while this is one of the many breweries doing the canned thing right, it is just not the same as a good draft beer. Apparently during the winter the Gull loses some of its staff, and the owner does the cooking; she is a nice lady, and has some interesting ideas, but is not as creative as some of her summer chefs and not as talented either. I would say this is still a great summer destination, but I will be avoiding it during the off-season.
******
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I spent a lazy day in Edgecomb before heading south to meet up with my step-mom to select oysters and clams for the night. Harbor Fish has been featured on just about every television show that filmed an episode on food or fish in southern Maine, and for good reason; it is where the locals who know fish go, because they have the best, freshest, and most reasonably priced fish you can imagine. We grabbed 18 oysters deriving from Maine to Massachusetts, along with six clams. If you like cooked clams, you should try them raw; not everyone enjoys the texture, but the flavor is incredibly powerful and delightful. If you do not like them cooked...well, then you definitely won't raw.
Thankfully it was cold enough to just leave the oysters with some ice in the car for a couple hours, so we adjourned to J's Oyster, a bar on the Portland Pier that, during the month of February, offers free oysters to its customers beginning at 4:00pm until they reach a certain amount. They are initially given away three on a plate per person, then it drops to two per plate as more people pack the bar, and are served with a wedge of lemon, some oyster crackers, and a dollop of cocktail sauce. The oysters are by no means top of the line, and they don't do much more than open them (in fact, the oyster meat itself is still attached to the shell), but hey, they're free, and they're fresh, and they taste good. We left before they ran out of the freebies, so I can't tell you how many you can end up getting, but I would definitely suggest going with someone who either does not like raw oysters, or at least likes them in limited quantities. My step-mom likes them, but not more than a couple a night, so I had the majority of hers, ending up having 18 myself. This was, of course, just the prelude to the couple dozen other raw mollusks we had when we got back home.
After polishing off the oysters we got at Harbor, we went to dinner at The Cockeyed Gull, but the experience was nowhere near as impressive as on the Fourth of July. I liked my meal (sesame crusted salmon with a Wasabi aioli, seaweed "garni" aka seaweed salad, mixed vegetables, and white rice), but I was really the only person who was not completely disappointed. We started with a scallop appetizer that was actually pretty successful, and reasonably well cooked, but things went downhill from there. My salmon was tasty but overcooked, the white rice was beyond boring, and while the seaweed salad was good it was nothing better or worse than what you could get in any sushi joint in America. In fact, the best part of the meal for me were the carrots in the mixed vegetables, which consisted of them and some broccoli florets. Their beer options were very limited, with a Baxter Brewing Company Stowaway IPA being the only really local and craft option. It was good, but nothing special; I have had better from Baxter before. The beer was canned, not on tap, and while this is one of the many breweries doing the canned thing right, it is just not the same as a good draft beer. Apparently during the winter the Gull loses some of its staff, and the owner does the cooking; she is a nice lady, and has some interesting ideas, but is not as creative as some of her summer chefs and not as talented either. I would say this is still a great summer destination, but I will be avoiding it during the off-season.
******
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Monday, December 30, 2013
Maine Trip #1
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! This is my favorite time of year, despite my recently acquired aversion to cold, because I absolutely love Christmas. I am, without a doubt, the worst Jew ever, but since I grew up celebrating Christmas in Portland, ME with my step-family, I came to love it not as a religious holiday, but instead as a time to get together with family and friends, exchange gifts, tell stories, and of course, eat lots and lots of great food. This year, in addition to the great food we had at family dinners, I went out and tried a few new places in Portland and the surrounding area. I also hit up an old favorite, Pai Men Miyake, which has become a requirement for my Portland trips over the last year.
*****
First up was Local 188, a fairly high end restaurant that specializes in fresh, local ingredients. Now, before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure my sister and her boyfriend are both managers there, front and back of the house respectively, and this meal was essentially comped. That said, I did greatly enjoy it, as I had a classic favorite of mine (steak tartare), a classic Maine dish (mussels), and an innovative take on a true Italian classic (gnocchi with lobster).
I started off with a cocktail, the "Bergeron Sidecar," made with house infused vanilla and fig bourbon, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Ordinarily I am not a big cocktail person, preferring either to drink beer or straight spirits, but at my sister's suggestion I went with this, and it was really tasty. The bourbon did not overpower me, nor did it entirely mask the other ingredients, though it was definitely the dominant flavor. I do not know what kind of bourbon they used, but it was at least decent, though I doubt it was tremendously high end. The lemon juice added a nice citrus note to it, but since I have no clue what Cointreau tastes like on its own, I could not tell you whether it added anything. It would probably have been a better option as a pre-dinner drink, but it was fine during the meal as well.
Since I had never been to Local 188 before, despite my sister having worked there for quite some time now, I decided to sample a few different dishes, and they were all successful, though one clearly stood out above the rest. The mussels in red sauce were incredible, perfectly cooked (and cleaned, which even in a restaurant is no small measure of success) and delicious. They are plump, juicy, slightly briny delights that on their own would have been delicious, but when served in the incredible red sauce were legitimately delectable, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a restaurant. I have no clue what they put in the sauce other than that it is tomato based, and according to my sister Moroccan inspired, but my lord, it is delicious. I ended up using the endless supply of bread my sister kept grabbing for us (also really good) to sop up all the sauce, because there was no way I was letting any of it go to waste. Everything else could have been terrible, and this dish would have made going there worth it.
Next up were the gnocchi, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I am used to, and partial to, light, pillow-y, but deceptively dense gnocchi, which soak up sauces and provide just a little bit of a bite, that perfect al dente. These were definitely not that; they were absurdly light on the inside, but because they are pan seared, they have a little bit of crispness to the outside. They were extremely flavorful, and the lobster cream sauce they are served in is great, with a pretty significant amount of lobster piled on top of the gnocchi. All in all, I liked this, but it definitely was unlike any gnocchi dish I've ever had, and I think I would have liked it even more if they were not seared. That said, it is nice to see a restaurant do something a little different, and the sear was perfect on each of them.
The final dish, the steak tartare, was both awesome and disappointing. The steak itself was perfect, uniformly diced and formed beautifully into a classic disc, with capers and truffle oil mixed in that gave it the perfect saltiness and umami flavor to go with the clearly high quality steak. My issue, however, was the quail egg on top; rather than serve it traditionally, with a raw egg yolk on top, they fried the whole egg sunny side up; this created a textural and process issue for me, as I neither enjoyed the texture of the fried white or having to cut through it while trying to get a bit of the egg with the steak. Soft egg on top of malleable steak does not cut easily or cleanly. Additionally, who is eating steak tartare, but has an issue with raw egg? I would rather have just had the steak itself and no egg on top, because the steak itself was amazing, but that egg was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, I had a great experience, I really enjoyed my food, and I look forward to going back in the future to try some more things. The paella gets raves from the variety of people I know who have tried it.
Local 188 is relatively vegetarian and gluten-intolerant friendly, with several items on the menu that are one or both already, and the ability to retrofit some others to meet dietary restrictions.
*****
Saturday, after a delicious lunch at Pai Men, my sister and I took a quick trip up to Freeport, a town best known for the Maine staple L.L. Bean, but also now the home to Maine Beer Company. While they do not offer a brewery tour, they do have a small tap room that overlooks the heart of the brewery. They offer eight beers on tap at a time, and sometimes (including when I was there) have beers that are "Pilot" brews, not offered for sale anywhere else. Offering 5oz and 10oz glasses, or four and eight beer samplers of 5oz pours, you can try an old favorite or some new specialties. I went for the four beer sampler, trying three new-to-me beers, and of course, my all time favorite, the Lunch.
The new beers I tried were Weez (7.2%, American Black Ale), Lil One (9.1%, American Strong Ale), and Pilot 5 (5%, American Lager). The Weez was dark, heavy and very hoppy, but like all of MBC's beers, that hoppiness did not manifest in much bitterness. The Lil One was anything but, an absurdly strong, vibrant ale that even in a 5oz glass nearly knocked me on my ass. I would not want to have more than one of these at a time, but it is very, very good. The Pilot 5 was a nice, light, hoppy lager, and I hope they end up producing it, because I think it would be a great session beer, in a craft world sometimes too crowded by higher ABV offerings. Lastly (and I did save it for last, so I could savor it), the Lunch, that perfect, delightful, hoppily bright and effervescent IPA; as much as I love Ballast Point's Sculpin, Dogfish Head's 90 Minute, or any of the other truly great IPAs I have had in my life, none of them quite match up to Lunch. I keep saying it deserves its own review, and it does, but its so hard to find, and when I do, I end up just drinking it without taking the time to sit down and write a review because it is just so freaking good.
FYI, just down the street a short ways is Maine Distilleries Inc, the producer of Cold River Vodka.
*****
I always try to grab lunch or dinner with one or more of my dad's old friends when I make it up to Maine, people who have been very, very good to me in my life and were dear to him in his, and this trip I was able to make it to brunch with his old friend Doug and his wife Ann, who are some of my favorite people in the world. We tried initially to go to Flatbread, a small chain restaurant that Doug swears by, but they had actually had a small fire that morning and were not opening up until after I needed to leave town, so we ended up at Ri Ra Irish Pub, another small chain that has ten locations throughout the east, plus a new Las Vegas restaurant. Somehow I had never been there, despite their proximity to the Casco Bay Lines terminal, but since they are right next to Flatbread as well, we decided to pop in.
They are definitely a bar heavy restaurant, and with a pretty decent drink selection at that. We were there right around noon, so we ended up, at the suggestion of our waiter, ordering brunch. I had the Irish Benedict, an interesting play on the traditional dish wherein the English muffin is replaced by potato cakes (essentially home fries mashed together and then pan seared) and the Canadian bacon with a large rasher of regular bacon, with house-made Hollandaise on top. It was served with very unremarkable home fries and a thick slice of grilled tomato (a concept from the British Isles that really needs to catch on more here). The food took a long time to come out, but our waiter did come over and apologize for that and offered us some soup, on the house, to make up for it; as it turned out, the food arrived almost immediately after the soup came out, but it was nice of the restaurant (or just him?) to do that, and the soup, a tomato bisque, was pretty decent, though I make it better. The Benedict was quite tasty, albeit kind of difficult to get all the components into one cohesive bite, but that was not a big deal. The potato cakes were tasty, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like good home fries would be, and the bacon was cooked just right, as were the poached eggs. I would definitely have it again, or the Lobster Benedict that Doug ordered.
I firmly believe that the average restaurant customer goes in thinking they care primarily about the food, but in reality, people return for the service. With that in mind, and having had some great waiters, waitresses and bartenders in my life, I have to say that the waiter at Ri Ra was one of the best. I initially ordered the Irish Benedict, then immediately changed my mind to the Crab Cakes Benedict, a special for the day, and instead of just letting me get the (slightly) more expensive meal, he informed me that the crab cakes were not something that the restaurant does well, and encouraged me to stick with the Irish version. Not many waiters would do that, and he saved me (and Doug, who was also going to have them) from a poor experience. Combined with his general friendliness and professionalism, I was very, very impressed by him; even if the food had been only mediocre, rather than actually pretty tasty, I probably would still have written a positive review just because of his service.
******
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*****
First up was Local 188, a fairly high end restaurant that specializes in fresh, local ingredients. Now, before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure my sister and her boyfriend are both managers there, front and back of the house respectively, and this meal was essentially comped. That said, I did greatly enjoy it, as I had a classic favorite of mine (steak tartare), a classic Maine dish (mussels), and an innovative take on a true Italian classic (gnocchi with lobster).
I started off with a cocktail, the "Bergeron Sidecar," made with house infused vanilla and fig bourbon, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Ordinarily I am not a big cocktail person, preferring either to drink beer or straight spirits, but at my sister's suggestion I went with this, and it was really tasty. The bourbon did not overpower me, nor did it entirely mask the other ingredients, though it was definitely the dominant flavor. I do not know what kind of bourbon they used, but it was at least decent, though I doubt it was tremendously high end. The lemon juice added a nice citrus note to it, but since I have no clue what Cointreau tastes like on its own, I could not tell you whether it added anything. It would probably have been a better option as a pre-dinner drink, but it was fine during the meal as well.
Since I had never been to Local 188 before, despite my sister having worked there for quite some time now, I decided to sample a few different dishes, and they were all successful, though one clearly stood out above the rest. The mussels in red sauce were incredible, perfectly cooked (and cleaned, which even in a restaurant is no small measure of success) and delicious. They are plump, juicy, slightly briny delights that on their own would have been delicious, but when served in the incredible red sauce were legitimately delectable, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a restaurant. I have no clue what they put in the sauce other than that it is tomato based, and according to my sister Moroccan inspired, but my lord, it is delicious. I ended up using the endless supply of bread my sister kept grabbing for us (also really good) to sop up all the sauce, because there was no way I was letting any of it go to waste. Everything else could have been terrible, and this dish would have made going there worth it.
Next up were the gnocchi, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I am used to, and partial to, light, pillow-y, but deceptively dense gnocchi, which soak up sauces and provide just a little bit of a bite, that perfect al dente. These were definitely not that; they were absurdly light on the inside, but because they are pan seared, they have a little bit of crispness to the outside. They were extremely flavorful, and the lobster cream sauce they are served in is great, with a pretty significant amount of lobster piled on top of the gnocchi. All in all, I liked this, but it definitely was unlike any gnocchi dish I've ever had, and I think I would have liked it even more if they were not seared. That said, it is nice to see a restaurant do something a little different, and the sear was perfect on each of them.
The final dish, the steak tartare, was both awesome and disappointing. The steak itself was perfect, uniformly diced and formed beautifully into a classic disc, with capers and truffle oil mixed in that gave it the perfect saltiness and umami flavor to go with the clearly high quality steak. My issue, however, was the quail egg on top; rather than serve it traditionally, with a raw egg yolk on top, they fried the whole egg sunny side up; this created a textural and process issue for me, as I neither enjoyed the texture of the fried white or having to cut through it while trying to get a bit of the egg with the steak. Soft egg on top of malleable steak does not cut easily or cleanly. Additionally, who is eating steak tartare, but has an issue with raw egg? I would rather have just had the steak itself and no egg on top, because the steak itself was amazing, but that egg was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, I had a great experience, I really enjoyed my food, and I look forward to going back in the future to try some more things. The paella gets raves from the variety of people I know who have tried it.
Local 188 is relatively vegetarian and gluten-intolerant friendly, with several items on the menu that are one or both already, and the ability to retrofit some others to meet dietary restrictions.
*****
 |
| The heart of the brewery; those tanks are filled with delicious, delicious beer |
 |
| Clockwise from front righ: Pilot 5, Lil One, Lunch, Weez |
FYI, just down the street a short ways is Maine Distilleries Inc, the producer of Cold River Vodka.
*****
I always try to grab lunch or dinner with one or more of my dad's old friends when I make it up to Maine, people who have been very, very good to me in my life and were dear to him in his, and this trip I was able to make it to brunch with his old friend Doug and his wife Ann, who are some of my favorite people in the world. We tried initially to go to Flatbread, a small chain restaurant that Doug swears by, but they had actually had a small fire that morning and were not opening up until after I needed to leave town, so we ended up at Ri Ra Irish Pub, another small chain that has ten locations throughout the east, plus a new Las Vegas restaurant. Somehow I had never been there, despite their proximity to the Casco Bay Lines terminal, but since they are right next to Flatbread as well, we decided to pop in.
They are definitely a bar heavy restaurant, and with a pretty decent drink selection at that. We were there right around noon, so we ended up, at the suggestion of our waiter, ordering brunch. I had the Irish Benedict, an interesting play on the traditional dish wherein the English muffin is replaced by potato cakes (essentially home fries mashed together and then pan seared) and the Canadian bacon with a large rasher of regular bacon, with house-made Hollandaise on top. It was served with very unremarkable home fries and a thick slice of grilled tomato (a concept from the British Isles that really needs to catch on more here). The food took a long time to come out, but our waiter did come over and apologize for that and offered us some soup, on the house, to make up for it; as it turned out, the food arrived almost immediately after the soup came out, but it was nice of the restaurant (or just him?) to do that, and the soup, a tomato bisque, was pretty decent, though I make it better. The Benedict was quite tasty, albeit kind of difficult to get all the components into one cohesive bite, but that was not a big deal. The potato cakes were tasty, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like good home fries would be, and the bacon was cooked just right, as were the poached eggs. I would definitely have it again, or the Lobster Benedict that Doug ordered.
I firmly believe that the average restaurant customer goes in thinking they care primarily about the food, but in reality, people return for the service. With that in mind, and having had some great waiters, waitresses and bartenders in my life, I have to say that the waiter at Ri Ra was one of the best. I initially ordered the Irish Benedict, then immediately changed my mind to the Crab Cakes Benedict, a special for the day, and instead of just letting me get the (slightly) more expensive meal, he informed me that the crab cakes were not something that the restaurant does well, and encouraged me to stick with the Irish version. Not many waiters would do that, and he saved me (and Doug, who was also going to have them) from a poor experience. Combined with his general friendliness and professionalism, I was very, very impressed by him; even if the food had been only mediocre, rather than actually pretty tasty, I probably would still have written a positive review just because of his service.
******
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale
"Wow."
That was the first thing that went through my head, and came out of my mouth, after my first taste of Ballast Point's Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale. It is not so much that Tongue Buckler is a great beer--it isn't--or that it is bad--it definitely isn't--it is just that it is the kind of drink that makes you think "wow." I do not really know how to explain it, because I do not love this beer, though I do like it, but it is incredible nonetheless. The amount of flavor packed into it is kind of bizarre, and I think it is the wide range of tastes that threw me off and also keep me from putting it into the pantheon of beers that I crave.
The first thing that hits you is malt, which you smell as the glass approaches your face, and the fact that it is a 10% ABV beer never comes into the equation, from either sense. After the malt comes the wheat, then a burst of hops, powerful and a little citric, which takes over from everything else. Finally, the sweetness of the malt comes back in the aftertaste, while the hops do not really linger. There is a spicy (not hot spicy, but spices kind of spicy) note as well, though I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly from what. It is an easy drinking beer, which is good because it is not cheap, but bad because, again, it is 10% ABV, which means that if you drink a 22oz bottle on your you may need to wait a few before driving anywhere.
It is a kind of strange looking beer; a few people on BeerAdvocate have remarked that it is not a "red ale" in the traditional visual sense, a dark, cloudy, only slightly reddish pour that has a solid head of deep tan. I think it looks good, or at least kind of cool, but it is not quite as "pretty" as some other red ales, like the Founders Red Rye PA. When all put together, it is definitely a beer I will buy again, but I will not crave it the way I do some others.
*********
On a related note, Ballast Point is rapidly approaching "favorite" status, potentially overtaking Maine Beer Company. The highs (Sculpin, a top three IPA; Fathom, a truly special pale ale; Sea Monster, a beautiful and inspired imperial stout that I did not know was 10% ABV until I just looked it up; and Victory at Sea, one of the most interesting beers I have ever had) are barely behind MBC's Lunch, and tied with or ahead of the rest of the offerings. Neither company offers a bad beer, though the Serrano Pale Ale from Ballast Point was just plain weird, albeit in a way I can appreciate. I see Ballast Point becoming what Dogfish Head has been for so many years; a company with a few tremendous year round offerings, some limited/seasonal beers that people seek out whenever they are released, and a revolving stable of "experimental" brews. Hopefully, those experimental types are a little more successful than Dogfish Head's, but I see a similar level of creativity out of Ballast Point. I really love this brewery, though, and classy San Diego should be proud of them. Thank you to my friend Sean for introducing me to them.
******
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That was the first thing that went through my head, and came out of my mouth, after my first taste of Ballast Point's Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale. It is not so much that Tongue Buckler is a great beer--it isn't--or that it is bad--it definitely isn't--it is just that it is the kind of drink that makes you think "wow." I do not really know how to explain it, because I do not love this beer, though I do like it, but it is incredible nonetheless. The amount of flavor packed into it is kind of bizarre, and I think it is the wide range of tastes that threw me off and also keep me from putting it into the pantheon of beers that I crave.
The first thing that hits you is malt, which you smell as the glass approaches your face, and the fact that it is a 10% ABV beer never comes into the equation, from either sense. After the malt comes the wheat, then a burst of hops, powerful and a little citric, which takes over from everything else. Finally, the sweetness of the malt comes back in the aftertaste, while the hops do not really linger. There is a spicy (not hot spicy, but spices kind of spicy) note as well, though I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly from what. It is an easy drinking beer, which is good because it is not cheap, but bad because, again, it is 10% ABV, which means that if you drink a 22oz bottle on your you may need to wait a few before driving anywhere.
It is a kind of strange looking beer; a few people on BeerAdvocate have remarked that it is not a "red ale" in the traditional visual sense, a dark, cloudy, only slightly reddish pour that has a solid head of deep tan. I think it looks good, or at least kind of cool, but it is not quite as "pretty" as some other red ales, like the Founders Red Rye PA. When all put together, it is definitely a beer I will buy again, but I will not crave it the way I do some others.*********
On a related note, Ballast Point is rapidly approaching "favorite" status, potentially overtaking Maine Beer Company. The highs (Sculpin, a top three IPA; Fathom, a truly special pale ale; Sea Monster, a beautiful and inspired imperial stout that I did not know was 10% ABV until I just looked it up; and Victory at Sea, one of the most interesting beers I have ever had) are barely behind MBC's Lunch, and tied with or ahead of the rest of the offerings. Neither company offers a bad beer, though the Serrano Pale Ale from Ballast Point was just plain weird, albeit in a way I can appreciate. I see Ballast Point becoming what Dogfish Head has been for so many years; a company with a few tremendous year round offerings, some limited/seasonal beers that people seek out whenever they are released, and a revolving stable of "experimental" brews. Hopefully, those experimental types are a little more successful than Dogfish Head's, but I see a similar level of creativity out of Ballast Point. I really love this brewery, though, and classy San Diego should be proud of them. Thank you to my friend Sean for introducing me to them.
******
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The Roost (Northampton, MA)
The Roost is one of many cafes in Northampton, MA, fighting for supremacy in a market that should be able to support them all. Similar to last week's review, this is a place that I had seen a few times but never thought to drop in, as I did not really appreciate what it was and what it offered. My friend Sean and I were going out to grab a beer, but wanted somewhere different than our normal haunts, so he suggested The Roost.
Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Foundry (Northampton, MA)
Located across the street from my favorite Northampton spot, The Foundry is a sandwich/coffee shop, which also offers a few craft beers on tap, including a local brew or two. I had wandered by many a time since The Foundry opened, but never stopped in, thinking it more of a coffee bar than a place to have a meal or a drink, and figuring that if I were getting expensive coffee, I'd go to La Fiorentina, Western Massachusetts' best coffee and pastry shop. This past Tuesday, however, I found myself with a solid hour or two of down time while I waited for Town Fair Tire to put my new tires on my car, and, wanting to try something new that was not too heavy, I decided to stop in and have a sandwich and a beer. (**Shout out to Town Fair Tire; those guys rock. Great deals, good customer service, and nice people in general**)
I ordered one of their hot pressed sandwiches, The Anvil, which includes turkey, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese. This was a very simple sandwich, but was quite tasty, with pretty decent turkey that did not taste like the processed crap you get at the supermarket, sun dried tomatoes that provided a great combination of sweet and savory, and a subtle spice from the cheese. It did not suffer from the standard issue I find with paninis, where the sandwich is pressed into an homogeneous blob with no character or ability to differentiate between textures and flavors. The sandwich was served with a small salad of micro-greens that was quite good, and a balsamic vinaigrette that was no better or worse than the ones I make when I'm in a rush or not motivated enough to make a good dressing.
The Foundry also has a few decent beers on their list, and I had a glass of Maine Beer Company's Mo, a great beer that deserves its own review. They also had something from The People's Pint, a fine local brewpub (though their service sucks horrifically at the restaurant), so it is good to see them supporting local breweries.
All in all, I will almost certainly go back, and I would say it is a good place to check out if you need a quick, light bite to eat.
******
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I ordered one of their hot pressed sandwiches, The Anvil, which includes turkey, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese. This was a very simple sandwich, but was quite tasty, with pretty decent turkey that did not taste like the processed crap you get at the supermarket, sun dried tomatoes that provided a great combination of sweet and savory, and a subtle spice from the cheese. It did not suffer from the standard issue I find with paninis, where the sandwich is pressed into an homogeneous blob with no character or ability to differentiate between textures and flavors. The sandwich was served with a small salad of micro-greens that was quite good, and a balsamic vinaigrette that was no better or worse than the ones I make when I'm in a rush or not motivated enough to make a good dressing.
The Foundry also has a few decent beers on their list, and I had a glass of Maine Beer Company's Mo, a great beer that deserves its own review. They also had something from The People's Pint, a fine local brewpub (though their service sucks horrifically at the restaurant), so it is good to see them supporting local breweries.
All in all, I will almost certainly go back, and I would say it is a good place to check out if you need a quick, light bite to eat.
******
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Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Miami Trip (Miami, FL)
I took a trip to Miami this past weekend to take care of some family matters, but with them looking rather less bleak upon my arrival than anticipated, I took advantage of some of the happier aspects of this ridiculously hot city. I should just mention first though that the people at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach are incredible, and anyone who goes through that hospital should be thankful.
My second night in town, my uncle and I went to a whiskey tasting event, which included Scotch, bourbon, rye and even Japanese whisky, which I had never had before. Ten dollars got you a tasting glass (which you were welcome to keep), samples of about fifteen whiskys, and paella, plus ten percent off any of the bottles being sampled. The paella was good but not great, featuring a variety of meats, which I enjoyed, though my uncle was thus forced to pick through it. The liquors varied from terrible to amazing, but the real treat of the night was meeting a couple of the people who work for the distributors.
The folks from Beam Inc., best known in this country as the producers of Jim Beam, were the first I sampled from. They brought Laphroaig 10 year, a Scotch that my mother loves and that I cannot stand. They also brought Jim Beam Honey, Knob Creek 9 year (a very good bourbon, but one I have had enough times not to need to try it that night), and Basil Hayden's, which I had never had before and was very pleased to see, having heard very good things about it. It was not quite as good as I was expecting, but that is simply an issue of expectations being raised unrealistically high; in fact, it was a very solid whiskey, and I really enjoyed it.
Second up were the offerings from Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., which included some really spectacular and unique spirits. This is the home of Evan Williams, one
of the best drinks for your money out there, so I figured they would be
decent, but I was really taken aback by a couple of things. The
Rittenhouse Straight Rye was exceptional for a 4 year old whiskey,
having an insane amount of flavor and smoothness despite its short aging
period, nearly equal to Redemption Rye. The really incredible drink though, was the Bernheim Straight Wheat Whiskey, made in the same way as bourbon or rye, but with wheat as the primary ingredient, was like nothing I've ever had before. It was not my favorite, but it was definitely the most interesting I had all night, and I can see that it would work perfectly for its primary intended purpose, as a utilitarian but flavorful cocktail whiskey. They also brought what they called "Kentucky Powerpoints," bottles filled with the ingredients of the individual liquors, in the proportions that each contains. It was a neat and clever way to show what is actually in the different drinks.
Following a little paella, I moved on to Bowmore 10 year. It sucked. Avoid at all costs. Enough said.
Dewars followed that, with their Aberfeldy 12 year; it was not my thing, but they made up for it with a drop dead gorgeous young woman presenting it, and they gave out free flasks. The Aberfeldy was a bit too harsh and biting for me, without providing any of the really wonderful oak-y, vanilla-y flavors that I look for to balance that out.
The final company represented was Anchor Distilling Company, and they were by far my favorite of the night. Bringing some that I had already had and loved, including Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace bourbons, each of which I brought to a couple weddings over the last few months and
which led to some seriously impressive hangovers--worth it--and which are classics at a very reasonable price. Macallan 12 was present, a classic Scotch, as were Templeton Rye Small Batch and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve Barrel Select, the latter of which was less impressive than I was expecting. The real winners of the evening, however, were the two Japanese whiskys and the Hirsch Reserve Small Batch Straight Kentucky Bourbon. The Hirsch was deliciously smooth, oak-y and sweet in the most pleasant way imaginable, a truly spectacular example of what bourbon should be. The two Nikkas, however, were just really cool to try, as it was my first foray into the Japanese interpretation of Scotch whisky. The 12 year, which is labeled as a "pure malt," a blend of malts from Nikka's two distilleries, was really good, but once I tried the 15 year old single malt that was the only thing I could think about. It was as good as almost any Scotch I have ever had, with a character and smoothness that showed the true craftsmanship of the master distillers.
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Saturday evening was spent with my cousin and her friends at Grovetoberfest, an annual beer festival in Coconut Grove, Miami's oldest neighborhood. Far more of a festival than a beer tasting event, this was a lot of fun, but definitely targeted a different audience than the American Craft Beer Fest, where almost no one is trying to get drunk; at Grovetoberfest, that seems to be the predominant intent among attendees. There were some very good beers there, including some local options that I had never had, but the best were from Founders Brewing Company, which was no surprise whatsoever. All in all, it was a fun event, and I really enjoyed myself, but I prefer the ACBF.
Following the festival, which concluded at about 7:00pm, our group headed to Sandbar Grill, a ridiculously loud and over-crowded tourist bar that nonetheless was a pretty fun place to hang out, as it was loaded with televisions tuned to various sports; plus, they had Yuengling on tap, and that's...well...awesome. (Yuengling is coming back to Massachusetts!!!) An old friend of mine from college who lives in the area joined us there as well, along with his best friend from childhood, and after a while of shouting at each other to be heard, the three of us, plus a friend of my cousin's friend adjourned to Vinos in the Grove, where we had a glass of wine each. Their wine list is pretty impressive, including some really good by the glass options, and they also serve a few cheese platters that sounded pretty damn good. Next time I am in Miami, I will definitely head back there, and it seems like a great place to take a date if you do live in the area.
******
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My second night in town, my uncle and I went to a whiskey tasting event, which included Scotch, bourbon, rye and even Japanese whisky, which I had never had before. Ten dollars got you a tasting glass (which you were welcome to keep), samples of about fifteen whiskys, and paella, plus ten percent off any of the bottles being sampled. The paella was good but not great, featuring a variety of meats, which I enjoyed, though my uncle was thus forced to pick through it. The liquors varied from terrible to amazing, but the real treat of the night was meeting a couple of the people who work for the distributors.
 |
| (L-R) Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Jim Beam Honey, Laphroaig 10yr |
The folks from Beam Inc., best known in this country as the producers of Jim Beam, were the first I sampled from. They brought Laphroaig 10 year, a Scotch that my mother loves and that I cannot stand. They also brought Jim Beam Honey, Knob Creek 9 year (a very good bourbon, but one I have had enough times not to need to try it that night), and Basil Hayden's, which I had never had before and was very pleased to see, having heard very good things about it. It was not quite as good as I was expecting, but that is simply an issue of expectations being raised unrealistically high; in fact, it was a very solid whiskey, and I really enjoyed it.
 |
| Heaven Hill Distilleries |
 |
| "Kentucky Powerpoints" |
Following a little paella, I moved on to Bowmore 10 year. It sucked. Avoid at all costs. Enough said.
 |
| Dewars' Aberfeldy 12yr |
The final company represented was Anchor Distilling Company, and they were by far my favorite of the night. Bringing some that I had already had and loved, including Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace bourbons, each of which I brought to a couple weddings over the last few months and
 |
| (L-R) Hirsch Bourbon, Nikka 12 yr "Pure Malt," Nikka 15 yr single malt |
 |
| (L-R) Templeton Rye, Macallan 12 yr, Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace |
 |
| (L-R) Buffalo Trace, 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, Four Roses Bourbon, Four Roses Single Barrel |
***********
Saturday evening was spent with my cousin and her friends at Grovetoberfest, an annual beer festival in Coconut Grove, Miami's oldest neighborhood. Far more of a festival than a beer tasting event, this was a lot of fun, but definitely targeted a different audience than the American Craft Beer Fest, where almost no one is trying to get drunk; at Grovetoberfest, that seems to be the predominant intent among attendees. There were some very good beers there, including some local options that I had never had, but the best were from Founders Brewing Company, which was no surprise whatsoever. All in all, it was a fun event, and I really enjoyed myself, but I prefer the ACBF.
Following the festival, which concluded at about 7:00pm, our group headed to Sandbar Grill, a ridiculously loud and over-crowded tourist bar that nonetheless was a pretty fun place to hang out, as it was loaded with televisions tuned to various sports; plus, they had Yuengling on tap, and that's...well...awesome. (Yuengling is coming back to Massachusetts!!!) An old friend of mine from college who lives in the area joined us there as well, along with his best friend from childhood, and after a while of shouting at each other to be heard, the three of us, plus a friend of my cousin's friend adjourned to Vinos in the Grove, where we had a glass of wine each. Their wine list is pretty impressive, including some really good by the glass options, and they also serve a few cheese platters that sounded pretty damn good. Next time I am in Miami, I will definitely head back there, and it seems like a great place to take a date if you do live in the area.
******
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