donbert

New soft-serve flavors: Pumpkin and Cream Cheese New crumble: Carrot Cake

ask and ye shall receive: (or were you asking for pictures of the interior?)

I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations but someone else is putting an everything bagel inspired hot dog on the menu that will include fresh scallions, cream cheese, and everything bagel spices.

We went through a lot of different version while we were testing that drinks and the fruit shrubs are really versatile ingredients and can be used with a variety of spirits. The concord grape shrub also works really well with fresh ginger and gin.

Gelatin clarification is definitely something we're already playing around with but so far it is huge pain with very low yield. (Especially when you need 5 gallons of finished product.) Using a sub 100 micron filter is usually good enough for our purposes of removing sediment and even that is a slow and tedious process. We're both regularly bartending on Monday nights and Jim Meehan is going to be taking Wednesdays going forward but we're usually around in some capacity early on most nights.

You can definitely expect some non-traditional purees and such but besides seasonal market ingredients we want to have a slot on the menu to showcase a variety of other drinks. Some may be drinks that would be too difficult to produce in volume for a whole season, drinks we're working on for the next menu, or experimental ideas that we want to share. Here's a couple teaser photos of some stuff we're playing with to whet your curiosity:

A few new places: Hill Country 30 W 26th St, New York, NY (212) 255-4544 Opened: 2007 Owner: Robbie Richter and Marc Glosserman Specialties: TX style brisket and sausage Fette Sau 354 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY (718) 963-3404 Opened: 2007 Owner: Kim and Joe Carroll Specialties: Rack & Soul 2818 Broadway, New York, NY 212-222-4800 Opened: 2006 Owner: Charles Gabriel and John Wheeler (?) Specialties: pan-fried chicken and waffles Pies-N-Thighs 351 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY (347) 282-6005 Opened: 2006 Owner: Stephen Tanner (?) Specialties: edited to add Rack & Soul

You might want to try contacting a retailer like LeNell who regularly holds off site tasting events like her Bourbon Class. Also you might want to try contacting Reidel to see if they'd be willing to partner with you and let you use their glasses. I was fortunate enough to attend a tasting they had to show the difference the glass makes and it was shocking. Trying a scotch in a whiskey vs tequila vs brandy glass really had a huge effect on your experience.

I think I remember you from the picture in your blog. Weren't you in Monday evening sitting at the bar? I believe you introduced yourself as a Mixologist and a friend of "Crif's" then seeing our cordial bottles asked for all 12 syrups, 6 bitters, orange flower water and olive brine mixed in a glass with 2 oz of liquor of my choice.

(212) 614-0386

Hey neighbor. You should come have a drink when Johnder and I are bartending after you close your store sometime. Is that the 2" ikea ice cube tray i spy?

I too am a Stock detractor but I'm also not a fan of Maraska either. Sure I'll take it over Stock any day but to me Luxardo is THE Maraschino. There's nothing wrong with a cocktail being a Luxardo forward drink and if you find that more than 1/2 an oz is overpowering the obvious answer to me seems to be dial down the amount rather than reach for a different brand of maraschino. John, do you prefer Maraska over Luxardo in a Last Word or Final Ward? [edit for clarification]For those not familiar with the Last Word or Final Ward. This drink is equal parts Gin:Marashino:Chartreuse:Lime or Rye:Marashino:Chartreuse:Lemon respectively. Traditionally the recipe is 3/4oz each but since it's equal parts it can be scaled down to 1/2oz each or up to 1oz each. Therefore it really is a question of if Maraska or Luxardo balances better against the citrus/spirit/Chartreuse when all things are equal.[/clarification]

I stopped by the soft opening last week and got to try a few of the drinks. Junior has an amazing knack for using fruits in his drinks and was putting his skills to good use. I tend to order bitter spirit forward drinks but Junior's drinks are perfect for the summer and the space. Sadly I didn't get to try any of the food that was being passed around.

Here are a couple pictures before the soft opening of PDT. (Full disclosure: I will be bartending here.) Also here is the opening cocktail menu designed by Jim Meehan : Aperol Sprizz - Aperol, Prosecco, and Fresh Orange Juice Gin & Tonic - Gin with a house made Tonic Syrup Trident - Aquavit, Cynar, and Sherry Astoria Bianco - Gin and Bianco Pisco Sour - Pisco, Lemon, and Egg White Royal Bermuda Yachtclub Cocktail - Lime Juice, Cointreau, and Falernum East India Cocktail - Cognac, Rum, Pineapple juice, and Orange Curacao Up To Date - Rye, Sherry, and Grand Marnier Pimms Rangoon - Pimms, Lemon Juice, Ginger Ale, Strawberries, Min, and Cucumber Hemingway Daiquiri - Rum, Lime Juice, Grapefruit Juice, and Maraschino El Diablo - Tequila, Crème de Cassis, and house made Ginger Beer [edited to include one more picture]

I also plan to try using the same technique to "infuse" salts. I was able to make a candy cap mushroom tincture to which I added salt and dehydrate by leaving it over night above a pilot light.

The folks over at the DrinkBoy forum have been discussing dehydrating various liquors and bitters and grinding them down to make powders to rim glasses. Damon Dyer (bartender at Jack the Horse in Brooklyn, NY) has successfully made Campari powder in the oven for a drink he's doing at his bar but was complaining about the time and effort it takes. After throwing out obvious solution that would require specialized equipment like a lyophilizer, vacuum evaporator, or rotory evaporator I remembered that Thomas Keller suggests using the microwave for making vegetable dusts for garnishing in the French Laundry Cookbook. As a proof of concept we tried evaporating 1/2 a cup of Campari in the microwave. It took about 6 minutes but then we weren't able to get the result off the pyrex bowl without potentially breaking the bowl. On the second attempt after 4 minutes we poured out the liquid onto a silpat pressed into a larger bowl which resulted in this: Once ground down Damon verified that the taste and texture were identical to what he was doing in the oven in 6 hours: A look in On Food and Cooking revealed a few more considerations: Based on this and more experimentation I have a more streamlined process. 1.) Use a silicone baking mold, it can handle temperatures up to 400F and is much easier remove the final product. For experiments I've been using a cupcake mold which is good for a 1/4 cup sample. 2.) Heat in short increments at the beginning (more violent boiling at a lower temperature due to the alcohol first boiling off) and at the end (sharp increase in temperature as the sugar concentration rises). 3.) When experimenting constantly take the temperature between short heatings (20-30 seconds). This will give you a good idea of how long it takes to evaporate the liquid. For Maraschino (Luxardo) I had to use 20 sec intervals for the first 1.5 minutes, then could let it go for 3 mins straight before going back to 20 sec intervals until 303.5F was reached. The result when cooled is an easily removable "puck" of Maraschino: A quick grind in my mortar results in a fine powder: Thus far this technique has worked for Campari, Angostura Bitters (with added sugar), Green/Yellow Chartreuse, and Maraschino. Sloe Gin didn't work so well but I think I can add more sugar to make it work. I plan to go through the rest of my liquors to see what else can be made into powders. One outstanding question is if the high temperature changes the flavor/aroma of the liquor. The Green/Yellow Chartreuse lost most of their more floral aroma about half way though the process and ends up tasting more vegetal (not unlike the Elixir Végétal). Disclaimer: Your results may very depending on your microwave and elevation edit: spelling and pictures now link to higher resolution pictures on flickr

They've been doing that on and off since '05. Blueberry was the best! ← I believe that it was just the filling before. Now it has the crust as well.

SHAKE SHACK 2007! Now with vibrators... I mean electronic notification! Also featuring organic fries and custards with a whole slice of pie mixed in!

Damn, just when I was starting to be productive again. Oh well, at least I won't be thirsty anymore.

Actually the owners addressed this issue at the CB3 meeting. During the renovation they added multiple layers of foam, sound proofing boards and plywood to the ceiling and walls. Furthermore from what I understand the chief opponent who lives directly over D&C has lodged noise complaints with the NYPD only to have them dismissed by officers who came into his apartment as were unable to hear any noise. Have you been inside D&C and heard the volume of the music being played? Have you been inside any of the apartments and heard the music coming through the walls? Have you walked down 6th St? It is nothing at all like Ludlow (which I live on) and the clientele of D&C is not the same demographic that frequents establishments on Ludlow. Also when people who have been there refer to the 'bar' I believe that they're refering the the phyiscal bar as opposed to a table. When I go to the Gramercy Tavern I usually sit at the bar and have great cocktails but that doesnt make the establishment a bar.

I've been using demerara that I grind down to superfine consistency. It adds more flavor than just white sugar, it's a lot more effort but worth it I find. I prefer my caipirinha with less sugar generally suggested, more cachaça flavor and better balance in opinion. MdO is the only way to go. Mail order it if you have to.

Are you suggesting tonight or in general? (We need to start making tshirts that say "Got Bo Ssam?")

Okay, you have my attention now. Can't wait to follow your week.

This is actually a cocktail that Johnder has been working on. He had brought in the jam earlier last night to get feed back form the bartenders and try it with the Los Amates Mescals.

How about black truffle (oil) potato gnocchi in a black truffle (butter) cream sauce and a faux porchetta made by using an overlapping sheet of bacon to roll chicken and cabbage (+ spices) before roasting?