Chris Amirault

Since I'm having trouble adjusting to the hours here in the City, I thought I'd take advantage of the beautiful weather and the neighborhood I'm in to wander around the Meatpacking District (MPD) and see what remnants of the industry that built the place still exist. The most prominent components of the nearly dead industry are the bridges of the High Line, which is being renovated as a green city park (info here). The rail terminated in the MPD. Here you can see the High Line in the lower part of the photograph, with the upper part dominated by a beautiful walking bridge between two buildings (more on them in the next post). Other indicators are a bit more gritty. There are still several operating meatpacking companies here (about which I'll report more later tomorrow). As you can see, the racks and rails for the transport of whole carcasses are primarily rusted and bent. But at one time this place had hundreds of meatpackers breaking down carcasses and supplying meats for the entire city. For a much more clever pictorial history, click here.

I have to agree: Uncorked was ok, not great. I tried quite a few good wines: highlights were the Alisos Hills 2005 Syrah, a crisp Planeta Le Segreta Bianco, a Fumé Blanc from Ferrari Carano that was outstanding, and a fantastic Chateau Saint Genes Premieres Cote de Blaye. However, the lack of even simple food was a real error. At least at the afternoon tasting there were dozens of noshes to try that you could use to cleanse your palate. Fatty crab overview now. The prix fixe festival menu consisted of lamb tea sandwiches, pork fries, and clams sambal. Only the last was excellent: good heat that didn't overpower the cockles and a yuzu broth that I slurped up happily. The Pork (rind) fries were very good, but I'm not sure I'd ever be able to eat four of them. The lamb tea sandwiches -- the reason I ordered the menu -- were just ok, underseasoned and missing the crucial mint note. Back on the street, I tried going to a few more of the Uncorked events, but the places that still had wine and "glasses" (the organizers were frantically looking for more plastic cups) were jam-packed. I stood in line for a while waiting for tastes of the Wente selections, but became more interested in the packs of teenage girls who somehow figured out that this event was a wicked good way to get mightily pissed. No one checking IDs, natch.... When the fire breather nearly spit kerosene in my hair, I figured it was time to leave. ETA the Cotes de Blaye -- CA

The intrepid can click here. ETA: Here's a better shot:

In the year 2000... Humans will build coffee shops/marketing tools from steel shipping containers: In the year 2000... They will feature white modular seating that is very difficult to photograph in low light. In the year 2000... The hydraulic shafts that expand and contract the box will be design elements. In the year 2000... The coffee will really, really suck.

Meatpacking Uncorked is a rather odd affair, with hordes of festival goers trudging from one small boutique to another and annoying the staff within, who clearly didn't bargain for this barrage. The wine tastings are all set up in the backs of stores and you can't leave the stores with your wine, which means that lots of uninterested wine drinkers are wandering around the uber-expensive merchandise. I started saying "Hang in there" to the store's staff out of empathy. Wine notes to follow. However, because of a major flaw in the planning, there's no food at nearly all of the wine tastings. To avoid falling over I had to stop at Fatty Crab to get the "Festival special." More on that in a bit.

Just had a great time talking with Johnny Neill, the distiller of the remarkable Whitley Neill gin, a complex, smooth gin that's not-quite-dry but definitely London. You can read more in here.

Meet Johnny Neill, distiller behind Whitley Neill London Gin: I confess that I'm a bit of a gin nut, but this stuff is fantastic: There's a lot on the website about the product's use of unusual elements like cape gooseberries and baobab fruit, and reading the press I was worried it would be candy-like and too sweet. It's not at all (though it's less dry than, say, Plymouth): rather, the citrus oil smoothness has a terrific interplay with the juniper notes, and it is as smooth as can be. It's only been available in the US for about four months, but Johnny said that they're playing around with it in the NYC area (he mentioned Pegu Club in particular). I can imagine it being a fantastic gin for citrus-forward cocktails like the Bennett Cocktail, and if you have the right vermouth it'd make a good Fitty-Fitty with a fat twist.

The event is sponsored by (Shop Rite and) by Southern Wine Distributors, which doesn't distribute in RI. You'll have to get your wine info elsewhere, as I've been focusing on liquors. Some highlights: The higher-end cachaca market is broadening out, and while I've not had much past LeBlon and the other usual suspects, some of the bottles I've tried here have been excellent. Matti Anttila, the founder and distiller behind Cabana cachaca, chatted with me a bit about his fine product, and I was also impressed with Moleca's golden cachaca. There were quite a few good rums around, including the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, a Montecristo 12 Year Aged that I liked a lot, and the Vizcaya VZOP Cuban Formula that was 80 proof nuanced brown sugar and oak. I tried a few other interesting things that I liked enough to note: a prosecco brut from Mionetto and the Tombo Shochu with lots of fruit in it stand out. I would have liked to spend an hour at the Salumeria Rosi stall eating and asking about fermentation and pork cuts, but apparently such questions were annoying and I got the brush-off. However, I had a great conversation with one purveyor of a fine product.

Beverage Media Trade Tasting Fri Oct 10, 2-5p Pier 54, Hudson River Park (Entrance at 10th Avenue and 15th Street) Well, this one didn't start out so well. See if you can guess what Big Box Retailer sponsored the, um, opening park distribution area: Yes, it's a Target World, and we are all only passing through it. Extra credit for the Not Quite Top Chef shown above. After that red-n-white gauntlet, we crossed the street and had a rather odd walk up to Pier 54: The event itself is in two tents encasing two long aisles: Overall, there's a lot to poke fun at. Evian has dressed up models with pink skirts and white-rimmed sunglasses to hand out water; Bertolli and Ferrero Rocher and Viva paper towels are out in force. And it's clear that the beverage industry has an affinity for 80s-cut pinstripe suits. It's a fun vibe, though, with a few celebs mingling with the hoi polloi, and I think that lot of folks are ending a damned rocky week here. After all, better 80s-cut pinstripe than barrels and suspenders or sandwich boards.

Thanks, John. I think that I have something pretty interesting planned instead....

Just checked in at the press lounge at the Gansevoort Hotel and about to head over to the Beverage Media Trade Tasting at Pier 54. Abby, that Chelsea Market After Dark event looked pretty busy. The crowd around Flay makes me wonder what that burger bash will be like.... ETA: Due to a ticket mix-up, I think I'm not going to be attending the Zagat panel Sunday afternoon.

Or Barbara Tropp's first book if Chinese. But, hell, if you want the full-on experience, just do Escoffier. Guide to Modern Cookery has a few thousand recipes; at a dish a day that should keep you busy and well-larded for a decade or so.

Interesting. Worth noting that there's more than acidophilus in there: "Whey Powder - Milk, Cellulose, Gelatin, Water, Magnesium Stearate."

Yeah, I'm hoping that some of the things I'm attending are actually worthwhile. That Le Cirque event could be really interesting or a back-slapping wash, for example. I'm increasingly eager to attend the meatpacking district event. The more I read around the more interesting it seems.

citysweettooth, why did you choose those events? And what else has buzz -- and why?

I'm very interested in the "Who do you trust?" panel as well. The Zagat and Michelin NY guides are just out, and I imagine that will be part of the discussion. However, I'll be interested to know if anyone has any reliable data on where diners really go to get opinions about food and restaurants. Methinks that the Old Media types may make the case for -- surprise! -- trusting Old Media types, and Josh may make the case for trusting the democratic masses via the New Media (save himself, of course, when he publishes a book). Eric Ripert is an interesting outlier, so... who knows. Alas, I can't make it, but I'd have loved to get up to the west side for the Bourdain/Adria discussion, particularly given what John has posted about Bourdain's comments about tasting menus during his session with the very critical Marco Pierre White at StarChefs 2008. I can't imagine the Tony & Ferran Show turning into a real debate, but boy wouldn't that be interesting to watch if they did.

Welcome to the first installment of a new component of eG Features, eG Reports. I'm heading south to Manhattan's meatpacking district as the Society's man on the scene at the Food Network NYC Wine & Food Festival. I'll be at the event starting Friday and ending late Sunday, and there's a lot to cover. To do the Society proud, I'm going to need your help. Your intrepid reporter will have behind-the-scenes access to a number of different festival events (more on that in a sec), and I'd like to ask the questions and explore the issues that Society members care about the most. So let's use this topic to start a conversation about what elements of this festival would be most interesting to you. Here are the events to which I've got press access: Beverage Media Trade Tasting Fri Oct 10, 2-5p Meatpacking Uncorked Fri Oct 10 6-9p Sake Tasting at ONO Sat Oct 11 2-4p Cocktail Clinic with Dale DeGroff & David Wondrich Sat Oct 11 3:45-5p The Line at Le Cirque Sat Oct 11 5-6p Beef Tour Sun Oct 12 1-3p Everyone's Talking About Food and Restaurants - But Who Do You Trust? Sun Oct 12 2:30-5:30p Along with other events, I've also got a few surprises up my sleeves -- more on that later. As I get started, I've been wondering about a few questions of my own, some of which are related to the events themselves (what the heck happened at the railroad terminus in the meatpacking district, anyway?) and some of which are about the festival. As you can see from the website, there are going to be a lot of Food Network "personalities" at these sessions. What sorts of questions could go beyond fawning over the personalities and get to the heart of what food media is about in the 21st century? For whom are these events designed, and what purpose do they serve? Does the Food Network have a legitimate role in the serious culinary world -- and if so, what is it? I'm just getting started with my questions, and I'd love to see yours. Wondering how Dave Wondrich did all that crazy research for Imbibe!? Got a beef with Gael Greene? Anything in particular you want me to ask Dale DeGroff or Eric Ripert?

The Weeski Cocktail is one of the greatest cocktails on our fine little planet. Thanks, Dave.

Charles Sweeney, aka busboy, has stepped down to spend more time with his family. Honest! He said so! His service as a host will be missed tremendously, as will his behind-the-scenes work on the reorgs and other projects. You can thank him for his service here.

Charles Sweeney, aka busboy, has stepped down to spend more time with his family. Honest! He said so! His service as a host will be missed tremendously, as will his behind-the-scenes work on the reorgs and other projects. You can thank him for his service in this topic. Here's my two cents. Charles and I disagreed repeatedly, with good humor and no regrets throughout his time as a host. I can't ask for more than blunt honesty in a person, and Charles has that in spades. (Hard to figure, given he lives in DC, but no matter....) I learned a lot from his gregarious approach to food and drink, and one of my favorite eG Forums posts of all time is his his paean to washing dishes. He's a one-off, Mr. Sweeney, and we all benefited from his tenure. Thanks, Charles. You can carry my dishes to the sink any time.

I just split off the discussion of The Art of the Bar and its lavender honey syrup here.

Taste it for salt as well: it'll be too salty after a while.

You gotta try Dave the Cook's method outlined here.

Yeah, that first batch was all eyeballing and this-n-that: a few of the dark brown toasts spent 24 hours in rye (Rittenhouse) and bourbon (Wild Turkey 101), strain, then two more weeks with some cloves, allspice berries, a broken cinnamon stick, a few crushed cardamom pods, white peppercorns, and mahlab stones.... Next time I think I'll add some dried orange rind and bump up the cloves, at the least.

Howsabout that. Cool. I'd suggest that the weighty end of the spoon is an even better cracker.