donbert
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Posts posted by donbert
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Somebody start taking some pictures, I want to see.
ask and ye shall receive:
(or were you asking for pictures of the interior?)
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I know this has got to be Donbert's doing!
My question is: why not the green scallion sauce?!
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.
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It's really good. (Although for some reason I thought that cocktail was made with gin and not rum; did you change it from the "test" version, John, or am I just remembering incorrectly?) Regardless, it's darn good.
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.
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The squash idea is interesting (even though I abhor squash). I wonder if a good technique to get flavors out of something like squash might be the gelatin method.
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.
Wow, you guys are making things better and better. When, if you don't mind me asking, are you (johnder, donbert) usually tending bar there?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.
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But I'm wondering what you all will be able to come up with in the dead of winter - hope you can use butternut squash, onions, carrots, or potatoes!
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:
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Would love to get this list updated. What are we missing? Has anything closed? Anything coming down the pike?
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
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Hi,
I represent a wine- and spirit-oriented club that is aiming to put on a scotch or whisky/whiskey tasting event for our members. What I'm trying to do now is find some qualified person with the knowledge and experience to guide the tasting.
How would eGulleters approach this problem? How likely is it we could get a distillery or distributor to sponsor the event? Where does one look for these kinds of people? We are affiliated with an educational institution, so we have a finite budget. I have considered doing a "communal" tasting event, where everyone brings a bottle or something, but I think our group would really benefit from some guidance.
This would be in Brooklyn, NYC, and our group is about 300 young professionals interested in wine & spirits. I expect we could easily get 50+ to attend the event if I got everything hashed out.
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.
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great spot
i had one cocktail with some friends tho - and there was way too much bitters in this thing - like probably 10 shakes. i couldn't even taste the fruit or the alcohol.
goes to show you......
just because they are ambitious and claim to do all the trendy things (ice cubes, fresh juice, gins, classic cocktails, bitters)...doesn't mean the execution is flawless.. i guess they are imitators?
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.
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obvious:
phone number?
(212) 614-0386
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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?
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Personally I don't like Stock too much, but I know it does have it's place in a few cocktails. I know D&C has all 3 maraschinos and uses stock in one of their house cocktails on purpose.
Personally for me if I have a drink that calls for more than 1/2 oz or greater of Maraschino I will use Maraska, otherwise I will use Luxardo. I find any more than 1/2 oz of Luxardo and the drink turns into a Luxardo drink.
John
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]
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Has anyone tried Rayuela? A lot of what I've read mentions the cocktail program (managed by Junior Merino from The Modern) as much as the food. I've considered stopping in once or twice since they've opened, maybe to try and beat the crowds before the restaurant gets 'discovered'.
But I hesitated when I learned the chef was from Lucy Latin Kitchen, a restaurant I wasn't too fond of from my last visit.
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.
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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]
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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.
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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:
When we dissolve sugar or salt in water the boiling point of the solution becomes higher than the boiling point of pure water. This increase in the boiling point depends predictably on the amount of material dissolved... so the boiling point of a solution is an indicator of the concentration of the dissolved material. ... sugar syrup that boils at 250F/125C is about 90% sugar by weight ... at 300f/149C and above, nearing 100%as the sugar concentration passes 80% [240F/116C], there's so little water left that both the temperature of the syrup and its boiling point rise more rapidly. As the concentration approaches 100% , the temperature rises very fast, and can over shoot the desired range and brown or scorch the sugar.Above 330F/165C, the sugar syrup is more than 99% sucrose. It no longer boils but begins to break down and caramelize.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
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SHAKE SHACK 2007!
Now with vibrators... I mean electronic notification!
Also featuring organic fries and custards with a whole slice of pie mixed in!
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I have just been told that D&C will be open again tonight serving drinks. Since they have been closed for 2.5 weeks, food will start up again Monday or Tuesday once they get their orders in.
John
Damn, just when I was starting to be productive again. Oh well, at least I won't be thirsty anymore.
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That is no indication of what it sounds like inside. Sound travels through cavities in the walls, etc.. Unless you've been in one of the apartments above it, you can't extrapolate that they are lying because you can't hear the music outside.
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.
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My only options here are Pitu and 51. I find Pitu a bit better. What do you think?
I like using Billington's molasses sugar (see the Specialty sugars thread). The deep vegetal character combines nicely with the vegetal properties of cachaca, though some may find it overpowering. Also, this results in a dark brown drink which may be off-putting to those expecting the crystal clear version.
It kinda trips me out to add molasses to cachaca, both products of the noble sugar cane. Maybe I should also add a sugar cane swizzle.
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.
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Anybody up for a Bo Ssam?
Are you suggesting tonight or in general?
(We need to start making tshirts that say "Got Bo Ssam?")
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...
Or expressed in SQL:
SELECT Ethnic_group, Hobbie_interest, Profession FROM All_population
WHERE Ethnic_group = ‘Chinese’ AND
Hobbie_interest = ‘foodie’ AND
Profession = ‘computer geeks’
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Okay, you have my attention now. Can't wait to follow your week.
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For Don, a blueberry creation (made with my favorite - Bonne Maman jam) that the bartenders have been playing with.
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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.
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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?
Momofuku Noodle Bar (2004–2009)
in New York: Dining
Posted
New soft-serve flavors: Pumpkin and Cream Cheese
New crumble: Carrot Cake