plattetude

Note there's another piece in the NYTimes today, from the AP and not on the editorial page: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/national/04foie.html Not a whole lot said here, but it's apparently getting to be a bigger press item these days. Christopher

And how exactly would this situation be considered hypocritical? That he actually would hew to his alleged beliefs would seem to be quite the opposite of hypocritical. Instead we have the reality, as we currently understand it, that he has talked trash about another local and high profile chef in defense of his alleged beliefs, but that some more-than-anecdotal evidence indicates he tolerates the same ghastly behavior in others, and the object of his high dudgeon is sold in a market that bears his very name, some THREE YEARS after he's banned it from his kitchen. I'm quite curious how it is that you're the only one in this forum who seems to think there's something fishy in the article itself. If Trotter's quotes were fabricated as you've insinuated upthread, don't you imagine that there'd have been a major retraction in the Trib by now? Perhaps this is all part and parcel of the vast left-wing media conspiracy. Or perhaps, just perhaps, he really *did* say what was reported. Christopher

Aside from the old standby, the Negroni, I've come to really love the Old Pal. It's a marvelously nuanced cocktail. I found it a while back during a session scouring Robert's DrinkBoy.com site (an essential cocktailian resource, I tell you). My current favorite Campari drink comes by way of "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails" -- Lucien Gaudin Cocktail Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain 1 oz gin (3 cl, 1/4 gills) 1/2 oz Cointreau (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/2 oz Campari (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/2 oz dry vermouth (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz) I love the mouthfeel of this -- so unexpected in a Campari/gin cocktail. The Cointreau gives it a silky, round texture, and makes a great sweet foil for the bitter backbone of Campari. There's ALWAYS an excuse for Campari! Christopher

Another splendid use of maraschino is this Gary & Mardee Regan revision of the Brandy Crusta: Bourbon Crusta 2 ounces bourbon whiskey 1/2 ounce triple sec 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur 1/2 ounce lemon juice 2 dashes orange bitters Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel. Good stuff indeed! Christopher

Well, there was plenty of wine, and several of the guests were a bit under the weather (and my wife is 9 months pregnant, so she was only sipping), so there wasn't any major trend. There were a few Juniper and Berries, a few Fancy Frees, and a Pegu Club or two, and that was about it. Thankfully, none of my friends would even consider asking for a Cosmo from me (not that it's a terrible drink (at least not when it's made well), but it's emblematic of lazy tastes). I do try to broaden their imbibing habits, hence the menu. Christopher

Here's my drink menu from New Year's Eve... I had to bring a portable bar (first time in 15 years I wasn't hosting my own soiree!), so I had to ensure that every ingredient I brought would go in at least 2 cocktails. Audrey Saunders' ChamPino was the big hit of the night. Featured Cocktails ChamPino champagne, sweet vermouth, Campari Juniper and Berries gin, cassis, apple juice, maple syrup, lemon juice Classics Manhattan rye, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters Martini gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters Near-Classics Sazerac rye, absinthe, simple syrup, Peychaud’s bitters Negroni gin, sweet vermouth, Campari French 75 gin, Cointreau, champagne, lemon juice Forgotten Classics Corpse Reviver #2 gin, Lillet blanc, Cointreau, absinthe, lemon juice Pegu Club gin, dry vermouth, lime juice, Angostura bitters, orange bitters Tuxedo gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, absinthe, orange bitters Fancy Free rye, maraschino liqueur, Angostura bitters, orange bitters Old Pal rye, dry vermouth, Campari Vesper gin, vodka, Lillet blanc Christopher

Actually, Calvados sidecars are mentioned, and ultimately brushed off by none other than King Cocktail Dale DeGroff himself: "The don't lend themselves to cocktails," he said. "They just come through too strongly." The same paragraph then goes on to assert that the Jack Rose calls for Calvados. Seems to me I've always thought the Jack Rose calls for Apple Jack. That's how I always make 'em, anyway. Christopher

Getting back to "other uses for chipotles"... I too find they keep fairly indefinitely in the fridge, and also find them to be a great addition to a lot of things: one or two minced and tossed into a pot of tomato sauce; mixed with sour cream, mayo, lime (juice and zest), garlic and chopped scallion for a *superb* dip (courtesy Cook's Illustrated); meatloaf; chili; enchiladas; scrambled eggs; stews.... I'm gettin' hungry. Christopher

How eloquently put. Such a descriptive vocabulary. ← You're right. I may not have chosen the correct words. It sucks donkey nuts. ← So that's every beer they make? Or are you basing your reasoned blanket opinion on one particular beer?

Assuming Angostura bitters in in the mix (and if it isn't, it should be), you can toss in a Pegu Cocktail with your limited list: Pegu Cocktail 1 1/2 ounces gin 1/2 ounce Cointreau 1/2 ounce lime juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters Stir with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass. As for stocking with items your brother won't use, I offer this solution: buy a small bottle of bourbon (or whatever ingredient(s) you'd really want to add) and if you don't polish it off, bring the remainder home. As for giving the guests drinks that aren't "too strong", I think the real problem is that too many people who don't know better expect cocktails to be like soft drinks, and drink them accordingly. If it tastes good, don't knock it back in 30 seconds; savor it. Enjoy it. Oh, and let's make sure the cocktail glasses aren't the 10-12 oz. monstrosities that everyone seems to sell now. Cocktails are by their nature strong, so let's serve them in human proportions. </cranky> <holiday spirit> Christopher </holiday spirit>

I think Magic Hat makes some excellent brews. Humble Patience on nitro is an amazing Irish red ale, with a great malty profile. Blind Faith is a nicely-hopped (i.e. not overly assertive) IPA, with nice citrusy, grapefruity notes. Fat Angel is another very nice ale in the British mold. One of the more interesting special brews they've done is Jinx, which has some peat-smoked whiskey malt -- interesting melding of whiskey and beer (not exactly a good everyday beer, but nice for something different). I also really love their summer brew, Hocus Pocus, a wheat ale that has an excellent biscuity crispness to it. Interesting that you get raspberry/lemonade from #9... It's an apricot ale, but I guess it's got such a good balance of fruit, malt, and hops that the apricot sort of takes on a different character. (To my taste, it's a little too much on the sweet side, but I do think it's a good flagship beer for them.) Maybe the folks at Magic Hat get a little carried away with image and marketing, but I for one think they've got the goods to back it up. As for Harpoon, they're Boston-based, aren't they? The facility in VT is actually what they acquired from Catamount a few years back. Christopher

I'll add my thumbs-way-up for the Autumn Leaves. I had the pleasure of savoring one a couple weeks back (unfortunately on Audrey's night off), and really enjoyed the melding of flavors. The sort of cocktail where the components are similar but each highlights a different flavor profile. Very subtle, very contemplative. Put me in mind of a drink from 11 Madison from a few years back that I've kept in rotation in my home bar -- Parkhurst's Pear -- which also included Poire Williams, but rather than Riesling had as its base a vanilla/pear/peppercorn infused vodka (and to which I'd coincidentally since revised to add star anise as well). Christopher

For those in the NYC-metropolitan area who might want to try a range of piscos, I would recommend a trip across the Hudson to Hoboken and the latest *excellent* pan-Latin restaurant that opened this past spring, Cucharamama. The food leans mostly toward Peruvian influences, as does the bar (among the notable exceptions: a sublime Ti Punch with 23-year-old Barbancourt; a very nice list of Spanish and Chilean wines by the glass). The dessert menu devotes two pages to post-prandial beverages, including nearly two DOZEN different piscos, grouped by style (something like "Pure", "Aromatic", and "Blend") Extremely highly recommended.

That'd be simple syrup made with equal measures of water and sugar -- e.g. 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water (which will yield maybe 1 1/4 cups syrup, a substantial supply). Christopher

Actually, Riedel does make a cocktail glass, which looks like a pretty traditional one. Unsurprising, after all, when one considers the variety of cocktails one could put in such a glass -- how do you make a glass that's a match for such disparate beverages as a manhattan or a martini (to name but two) -- so why mess with tradition? One of the other fairly recent (i.e. the past couple years) glasses they developed was a scotch glass, which sort of looks like a shorter, stouter Irish Coffee mug without the handle and with a wider flare to the lip. I think it works quite well with all manner of whiskeys. All that said, I have a fair degree of skepticism about the vast array of choices in wine glasses they offer. I'd hoped on a recent trip to Salzburg to spend some quality time in the Riedel wine bar in the heart of the city -- they had a substantial list of wines by the glass, and presumably served each in it's "most appropriate" glassware -- but the lousy service and atmosphere had me out the door after one glass. And so, I continue to be a skeptic, but do very much appreciate the two styles of wine glass I have -- a "bordeaux" and a "sauvignon blanc". I realize this is all fairly tangential to the topic at hand, but still relevant in its way.... Are there other more learned palates with light to shed on their own Riedel experiences? Christopher

I respectfully disagree about some of the previous advice listing Belgian ales as a good starting point. While I do agree that many of them can be very approachable, they're so distinctly different from what the rest of the world calls beer as to be another animal altogether. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Belgian beer (and have a closetful of dozens of bottles aging as I type), but I consider them to be more a destination to be found by beer lovers than a jumping-off point. For instance, if someone finds they adore sour ales, or lambics, or an Abbey ale, how does that really prepare their palate for an IPA, or a pilsner, or a stout, or any other "mass-market" style? I do agree that freshest is bestest. Find a bar with a good selection of taps (not necessarily a wide selection of taps -- frequently more taps means stale kegs and poorly maintained lines), and hope it has a bartender who can give you some good advice. Actually, a great place to start would be a brewpub, since frequently they'll offer flights of their own brews. They'll typically array them in order of flavor-intensity, and you can work your way through a handful of styles in one sitting, getting a good idea about what styles appeal to your palate and where you might want to explore further. My two cents. Christopher

Why is it that some of you love to hate Bouley. Since most of you have said that you have eaten at Bouley only one time how is it that all of the sudden you are experts on what Bouley is all about. I for one (since you saw fit to lead off with a quote from me) never said I hated Bouley the man or Bouley the restaurant. I simply did not have anywhere NEAR a four-star experience, and I don't need to go there 25 times (assuming I could afford it) to know that *that particular* experience was lacking. The simple point I was trying to make was that Bruni's review struck a very responsive chord for me. At the time of my meal there, I essentially *had* written it off as an off-night for the restaurant (even though the gaffes were borne more of inexperienced or just plain lousy staffing front-of-house -- not really a one-off kind of problem). Having my experience reflected pretty vividly in Bruni's review, and in the comments about Bouley I've been reading for the past few months here, really points out to me that there are concrete quality issues -- aside from the food -- to be dealt with. Seems to me there's been plenty of commentary to that effect long before Bruni's review came out. Your own rebuttal, though, ignores the issues of poor service that I and many others have brought up. You seem to be focusing on how superb the food is, and how Bruni (and by implication, everyone who says anything negative about the place) missed the boat entirely. I find it hard to believe that there can be such a consensus among so many that there have been front-of-house issues (even Chop admitted as much) but you've only had a less than stellar experience 3-4 out of 25 times. I don't doubt your own opinion (much as you might seem to doubt those of others), but can it be that your standards may not include the same criteria as everyone else? Or that perhaps you overlook some problems because for you, it's all about the food? As I said in my original post, those problems became so distracting to me that the brilliance of the food was sadly overshadowed. Finally, my comments were only meant to be another viewpoint, not almighty gospel. I never purported to be an expert on Bouley or anything else, so please don't put words in anyone's mouth. Christopher

Infrequent poster, frequent thread-follower here. For me, Bruni's review really nailed it. Perhaps it didn't talk enough about the food highs and was more a demotion-rationale than a review, but it really resonated with me. I recently had my first dinner at Bouley a few months ago and was frankly appalled at the shoddy service -- alternatingly inattentive and inarticulate wait staff, served the wrong items in not one but two courses (and no apology for it, just a brusque whisking away and return with the correct plates), numerous other gaffes I've since been thankfully able to forget. While much of the food was indeed superb, the *experience* of dining there was a vast disappointment (shared by the other three in my party). So not only do I understand and agree with the demotion, I also understand and agree with Bruni's focus on the negative (Red Cross red herring aside); I fully expected to be wowed by dining at Bouley, and having those expectations so thoroughly dashed by things other than food made the food unforgivably forgettable. I hope it turns around. Christopher

Not only is the menu likely to have changed, according to today's Times, the chef has as well. Jason Neroni is no at 71 Clinton Fresh Food. Christopher

Actually, the article does say that Brooklyn EIPA was among the beers tasted, and that Garrett ranked it highest among all others tasting. Janet's point was that it didn't get a recommendation from the panel. I too am curious which others were tasted that didn't make the top 10. Asimov made a point of saying that he was surprised that Brooklyn's offering didn't come out higher, given how much he enjoys it; so as an experiment, he brought home a cold bottle and thoroughly enjoyed it. He attributed the poor performance in the tasting to a bad bottle, but I wonder how much that was a factor versus tasting the mellower EIPA among such hop-intensive brews as Victory HopDevil and Dogfish head Imperial IPA. Christopher

I've got to keep an eye out for OD bourbon stout! This is the first I've heard of it. My wife and I had a bourbon stout at District Chophouse in DC a few years back that was absolute nirvana. Don't know if they still do it, but at the time it was a "seasonal" brew. I should say I found it strange that they had it in the summer -- not quite the season I'd expect for a brew that warming.... Christopher

I believe I've seen the Aviation on the drink menu at Julie Reiner's Flatiron Lounge as well. I gotta say, it's one of my favorite ever cocktails, and one could argue that my first Aviation was a turning point in my cocktailian life. Some 6 years ago or so, on my first visit to the recently shuttered (and muchly missed) Grange Hall in Greenwich Village, I spied this most sublime drink on the menu and promptly ordered it. Within a week or two, I had bought my first bottle of maraschino liqueur (Stock -- I need to find a bottle of Luxardo), and by now I consider it a staple in my home bar. That experience taught me how little I knew about classic cocktails, and how much there was to learn.... I've been doing my best to catch up! Christopher

Love the beer, and the bleu The beer, the bleu, the gin (Junipero), the rye (Old Potrero), and the port (York Creek)... All fabulous!

I'll add my two cents for Magnolia. They do a pretty wide range of beers, including a few real ales, and have some pretty magnificent pub grub. Do NOT miss this place. And Anchor is a given, if you can get on the tour. Aside from getting a real soup-to-nuts walk-through of the brewing/bottling facility, you'll get a substantial tasting of every brew currently tapped. Long live Fritz Maytag! Christopher

Rosie, Thanks for the welcome! My Hoboken faves are Anthony David's and Amanda's. (I'm very much looking forward to the new casual bistro that the crew at Amanda's is planning.) For a cheap night out, nothing beats Margarita's for "comfort Italian" food. Satay is also a great low-budget Hoboken choice for Malaysian. For Mexican, Charrito's is top-notch Oaxacan. Incredible moles, excellent tableside guacamole. And coming back to Zafra, I'll have to admit that I don't get there terribly often, so some concerns I've read on this board about lousy service may well be true these days. But hopefully not! Christopher