An Unusual Turn Of Events

Yesterday I read an interesting article about Julia Child in the most recent edition of Vanity Fair. I have always been a big fan of hers. I loved it when she was on the Emeril Lagasse's show and complained about the scrawny chickens she had to cook with. I did find out a few things about her that I did not know, though. Good article, and you can read it online if you go to http://www.vanityfair.com/

One thing that I learned, she never dropped a chicken or anything else on the floor during her cooking show. When flipping some kind of a potato cake it fell into pieces on the stovetop. She picked up the pieces and put them back into the pan saying "You see, when I flipped it I didn't have the courage to do it the way I should have. But, you can always pick it up, and if you're alone in the kitchen, who is going to see? Of course, this episode got embellished to her dropping everything from the aforementioned chicken to a whole roast on the floor.

Also, because she cooked with wine and did, admittedly, appear a bit tipsy, and then toasted the audience with what appeared to be a glass of wine at the end of the show it was often assumed that she was a bit inebriated. The truth is that she didn't drink on the show and the apparent glass of wine that she toasted the audience with was Gravy Master mixed with water. Remember, those shows were in black and white.

Finally, the skit with Dan Akroyd portraying her on Saturday Night Live (Save the liver) was co-written by Minnesota's (finally) junior Senator, Al Franken.

Anyway, the turn of events. I mentioned to the Mysterious Chinese Woman that the next time she wanted to buy me a gift she could get me Julia's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. She pointed out that we already had a cookbook by Julia Child (she wrote 11) Julia Child's Menu Cookbook. Somehow this conversation led to me being responsible for making dinner tonight. Not sure how it happened, but I will let you know what I prepare and how it turns out.

Oh, you probably already know that Julia was in the O.S.S. and learned how to cook at the Paris cooking school Le Cordon Bleu.

The other night the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I had dinner with a couple of friends of ours, Frank and Kathy, at a lovely old Italian restaurant, Trattoria Spaghetto on Bleeker Street in the West Village.

Trattoria Spaghetto


It is right across the street from a little park with a fountain.

A Pleasant Place To Sit


It is a fairly small place with an old, homey feel to it.

Not Too Crowded, Yet


There is probably more seating outside than inside, and on this lovely day those tables were full. Luckily, we were able to score a seat at a window where we could watch the people just outside eat.

Window Seating


The ambulance outside had nothing to do with the quality of the food. Not sure just why it was there, though.

Because we were talking so much and having such a good time I got distracted (the wine might have contributed to that) and didn't take anymore pictures, or even notes. I had the calamari in a red sauce over linquini and it was very good. Large portions too, much more than I could eat.

Frank had one of the specials, chicken with raisins, and who all knows what else. He said it was very good. He used to work in the neighborhood and went here for lunch all the time.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman had the sea bass and Kathy had another special, the shrimp with black linquini. They were also pleased with their selections.

The service was very good and everyone was friendly. I will have to try to get back here again, maybe couple it with a visit to the nearby Blind Tiger. It is definitely a place worth visiting.



It was a lovely evening so we took a little stroll around the West Village and then sat for awhile in Washington Square Park and enjoyed the view.

Views From The Bench




All and all a lovely evening with good friends, good food and, of course, good wine.

This evening might be a different story altogether.

Not Your Father's 4th Of July BBQ

Normally I am a big fan of doing a barbecue for the Fourth of July: Pork Butt, Ribs, Chickens, Ducks, something weird that my brother-in-law Jim drags in. This year, for a variety of reasons, the family gathering was a bit smaller than normal so we just gave up on that idea. Instead the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed out to New Jersey where we hooked up with the Mysterious Sister-In-Law, the Mysterious Mother-In-Law and Jim.

The first thing we did was hit a Chinese restaurant and had a nice little dim sum. Then we went to a Chinese market and did some major shopping. After that we went home where some of us watched a few episodes of Band Of Brothers while the Mysterious Mother-In-Law wielded her cleaver and did some major cooking to produce a lovely and delicous birthday feast of chicken, a noodle, pork and egg dish, vegetables and mushrooms, and the centerpiece, the lobster, shrimp, and pork dish.

Just A Little Something She Threw Together


Take another look at that lobster and shrimp dish. That would cost you a fortune if you got it in a restaurant, and I can assure you, it wouldn't be nearly as good.

Lobster Supreme


There were also bowls of winter melon and mushroom soup, another traditional dish.

Soup's On


The Mysterious Chinese Mother-In-Law is an excellent cook so this really was a great feast. Better, in my opinion, than anything you could get in any restaurant. Just good old traditional home cooking.

Then next day we headed to a Staten Island Yankees game and stopped on the way for, you guessed it, dim sum.

A Happy Chef


I hope you all had a fun-filled Fourth of July, I know I did. The Staten Island Yankees actually won a game for a change. They won't be so lucky this Friday when I go see them play a double-header against my team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Boys Day Out

My friends Bernie and Bob thought it would be fun to get together and have lunch and a few beers at good and very old McSorley's Old Ale House. This is considered to be New York's oldest continually operated pub and everyone from Abraham Lincoln to John Lennon have quaffed a brew in here. When I first started going here the beers were two for $1.25 which wasn't too bad a deal. Now I think they are two for $4.25 and, considering the size of the mugs and the fact that they are half foam, it isn't such a bargain anymore.

McSorley's Old Ale House


But you go here primarily for the ambiance. It is kind of like stepping into a time warp. And it is always fun to order up a couple dozen beers. And beer is all they serve here, light or dark, on draft.

Ready To Drink Up


The hash here is still very good and that is what we had for lunch. It comes with some nice red cabbage as well as carrots and green peas.

This was supposed to be a boy's day out, and it almost was, except for Bob's wife, the Lovely Loretta. It seems she was trying to exercise to some video but couldn't figure out how to get it going. She ended up calling three times and Bob, very patiently, in my opinion, tried to walk her through the procedure. He said they only had the system for about four years and he thought she might be starting to get the hang of it. Thank goodness.

They Could Dust A Bit More Often


Actually, there is a story behind the wishbones having to do with neighborhood boys going off to fight in the Great War and getting a free turkey dinner before they left. They would hang up the wishbone and then come back and claim it when they returned. The wishbones that are still here are the one's that were never reclaimed.

Not too far from McSorley's is one of my favorite dive bars, Continental, so we decided to stop in. Despite what the sign says, the are not open all day. They open at 4:oo PM so we were a bit early.

Not Quite All Day


We decided to go around the corner and kill some time by having a beer at St Mark's Ale House. Not a bad bar at all. I was going to take a picture of the bartender but he said that the owner didn't allow it. You could take pictures in the bar, just not a picture of the bartenders. Go figure.

A Place To Kill Time And A Pint


The Three Amigos, Bob, Bernie, Bar Man


After finishing up our beers we headed back to Continental, which was now open.

At Long Last


This is a professional drinking establishment, no lightweights allowed. And at five shots of whatever they pour only costing $10, you can do some serious damage here.

Starting Our Odyssey


Two fisted drinking requites two barmaids. It was Dea's first day on the job and apparently she hadn't been instructed in the ordering five shots at once thing. She quickly got the hang of it, though.

Dea


The other barmaid, Taylor, was well versed in the procedure, however.

Taylor


I thought we showed a great amount of restraint, limiting ourselves to five shots each and a single beer. We started out with Bushmills and then switched to the 100 proof Rumplemintz, to freshen our breath. Bob also switched hats. He just couldn't resist buying this natty number.

Taking Its Toll


As you might imagine, anyplace that encourages mass consumption of alcohol tends to get a bit rowdy so they have a couple of heavily muscled bouncers to keep control.

Bob Being Controlled


It was a fun day but, alas, as all days must, it came to a dark and lonely end.

The Dark Tunnel Of My Soul


Ah, not really. The Mysterious Chinese Woman would be waiting for me and tomorrow we are heading out to the Mysterious Sister-In-Law's house for the Fourth of July. Dim Sum and then the Mysterious Mother-In-Law will be preparing a traditional Chinese birthday dinner (lobster and chicken, for sure) for the aforementioned Mysterious Sister-In-Law. Should be a lot of fun.

Back To Braeburn

The last time I was here was last January, shortly before I left for Mexico. I really liked it, especially the margritas. The Mysterious Sister-In-Law's birthday is coming up so I thought this might be a good excuse to come here again. She was with me the last time I was here and I knew she liked the place.

Braeburn


I got there early to indulge myself with a margarita or two. Surprisingly, they have a very limited selection of tequilas. Very limited. In fact, they only had one blanco, Sauza. Not a bad tequila, and it was there well tequila. There other well tequila was Herradura, and that was the reposada. Now I like Herradura, but I like my margaritas made with a blanco. I was perplexed.

The bartender, Kasey, recommended a clear mescal. Hmm, no worm in the bottle, no color, worth a try. And it was very good. Kind of a smokey margarita.


Kasey, The Mixologist


As I was discussing the dearth of tequilas Jean Paul O'Neil, an owner, showed up. We started talking and it turned out we had a lot in common. Like me, he goes to Mexico every year, and loves it. When I mentioned how much I like Paris he said his wife came from there. And he lives in my neighborhood so, of course, we talked about how much we loved living there, the restaurants and bars, the little shops and street vendors. He is more familiar with the Smith Street scene and we had a couple of favorite restaurants in common, Bar Tabac and Robin des Bois Sherwood Cafe. He hadn't been to the Waterfront Ale House, Brazen Head, or Atlantic Chip Shop though, and he said he really liked beer. We are going to get together one day soon and I will give him a little bar crawl and beer tasting.

After about a half an hour of chit chatting with Jean Paul my brother-in-law Jim showed up and, of course, the debate about whether I lived in Downtown Brooklyn or Brooklyn Heights started up. Jean Paul took my side and then beat a hasty retreat. Soon after the Mysterious Chinese Woman and the Mysterious Chinese Sister-In-Law showed up.

The mixologist, Kasey, took a lovely picture of us at the bar but, of course, Jim had to spoil it. He is so childish.

He Does Look Innocent, Though



After a couple of more cocktails we headed to our table where Jim had to spoil yet another picture.

He Is Jealous Of My Hair



We had a lovely bottle of Riesling, a 2007 Kar Tau Ser Hof. It was $43 so not cheap. However, compared to the other Riesling that was $100 it was a bargain.

Kaila, Our Sommelier


I was a bit disappointed in their new menu. It didn't have the same French bistro look to it. I suspect that they may have a new chef, although their website doesn't indicate a change. At any rate, the duck confit, which I really liked the last time, was no longer available. On the other hand, they did have a decent $30 prix fixe menu which, for whatever reason, nobody chose.


The Mysterious Chinese Woman ordered skate, not one of my favorites. She thought it was a bit bland, but then that is the nature of skate

Skating On Thin Ice



The Birthday Girl and Jim both ordered the lamb, and it was done to perfection. Again, not overly flavorful, but it couldn't have been cooked any better. Pretty much melt in your mouth tender, and for a medium rare lamb, that is difficult to accomplish.

They All Had A Little Lamb


I went for the beef brisket, something you don't often see on a restaurant menu other than in a barbecue sandwich. Again, a bit lacking in seasoning, for my taste, but very tender. Another difficult to prepare cut of meat that they really nailed it. Maybe their philosophy is to prepare the meat to perfection and let the natural flavor of the meat predominate. If so, the did a very good job of it.

A Most Tender Brisket


The dessert menu had also changed and the best Key Lime Pie I have ever had was not available. I consoled myself by drinking port with an espresso.

Jean Paul may not like this, and I hope we can still go out for a few beers, but I rather liked the menu better the last time I was here. Bring back the duck confit and the key lime pie. Oh, and get a few more tequilas, although I would probably have that mescal one again anyway. They do make dynamite margaritas here, some of the best I ever get in a bar.

A Rant

The new version of Explore, in my opinon, sucks. I am generally a supporter of Microsoft products, but this is just too much. For starters, when you open Explorer now it automatically opens Bing, one of the most worthless search engines I have ever seen, in a separate tab. Maybe there is way to disable this "feature." If there is, I don't know about it.

Second, I have to try to open Explorer numerous times because it usually is just trying to connect but somehow can't do it. And, of course, it is trying to open both its homepage and Bing at the same time.

Maybe it is just me, I don't know. But this is infuriating and I am now using Mozilla Firefox.

Popcorn Machine Back In Business

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I took a little walk the other day and, surprise, surprise, popped into the Waterfront Ale House for a couple of beers and a quick bite to eat. Happily, the popcorn machine is back in working order.

Like An Old Friend


We had a couple of beers at the bar, the Brooklyn Cuvee de Cardoz for me and the Weimenstephaner Weisse for her. Then we checked out the specials of the day.

Always Something Interesting


The wild boar and duck meatloaf sounded interesting, but the Mysterious Chinese Woman said it sounded like something you would make out of leftovers. Well, her leftovers. Very seldom do I have wild boar and duck leftovers in my refrigerator.

We both opted for the tuna sandwich with the ginger and scallion mayo. As you can see, it was a big hit.

Sheer Ecstasy


Okay, this was a short blog so I will add some trivia for filler. If you live in New York the name Henry Hudson is very familiar to you. We have the Hudson River, the Hudson Parkway, the Hudson Valley, and more. But did you know that Henry Hudson really wasn't a very good sailor?
He was hired twice by Russia's Muscovy Company to find the Northwest Passage, but, of course, failed. Not really his fault, there isn't one. Then the Dutch East India Company hired him to sail around the Artic Ocean north of Russia, into the Pacific, and then on to the Far East. He disobeyed those orders and revised the routed and accidentally sailed into what is now New York Harbor. Kind of like Columbus stumbling onto Guanahani, which he renamed San Salvador, while he was looking for India. These guys could have been New York taxi drivers. On his fourth voyage his crew mutineed and set poor Henry and his son adrift on a small boat and they were never heard from again.

And what prompted this, you might ask? Well, the Staten Island Yankees lost to the Hudson Valley Renegades the night I went to the game and then, on Tuesday, I watched the Cyclones beat that very same team. I should have a few pictures of the game posted in a day or so. Oh, the Renegades are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays. Just thought I would pass that along.

And it rained and the game was delayed, but only for twenty-five minutes.

Return To Red Hook

Prior to going to the Waterfront Ale House and the Atlantic Chip Shop on Saturday I had already suggested to the Mysterious Chinese Woman that we visit Kevin's in Red Hook for a Sunday brunch. You may remember that we had planned to go there a few weeks ago but called it off due to the nasty looking weather. That was the day we ended up at Rocky Sullivan's later on after the weather cleared and we got a call from Ellen.

Anyway, while I was in the Waterfront Ale House the friendly and gregarious bartender, Gaid, introduced me to Gene, whose brother owns Kevin's. Actually, I was being reintroduced because I had already met Gene one time in here when Gaid wasn't working. Anyway, I told him of my plans for Sunday and he said he would probably see me there because he helps out in the kitchen. Small world.

We headed out fairly early and were going to catch the Ikea shuttle. But, it was too early for it, it doesn't start its route until 11:00 AM. No problem, we just headed to Atlantic Avenue and caught the B61 bus which has a stop right across the street from Kevin's.

Kevin's In Red Hook


It is a fairly small place, but nice and cozy on a sunny Sunday morning.

Plenty Of Light


No bar or anything. In fact they don't have a liquor license so you can bring your own bottle. They charge a reasonable $5 corkage fee. I had planned on picking up a bottle of bubbly on Saturday so we could make mimosas. Sadly, it totally slipped my mind by the time I made my way home from my beer drinking binge, er, I mean, ah, Who are we kidding? Binge it was.

A Little Counter With Kitchen In Back

They just have a fairly small, but interesting, brunch menu.

The Chinese Dish Wasn't On The Menu


I ordered a small pot of their French press coffee and we both got a free small apple, yogurt, cinnamon appetizer.

A Little Something To Start With


The Mysterious Chinese Woman had said she was hungry, and I guess she meant it. She went for the seafood stew, probably the least brunch-like thing on the menu.

Skip To The Stew My Darling


It was not only large, but delicious. The shrimp were big and juicy and the scallops were really good. It also came with a garlic baguette. The waitress said that Kevin had caught the clams himself somewhere out on Long Island. You can catch a glimps of Gene just over the Mysterious Chinese Woman's shoulder.

I had the Eggs Chesapeake which was like Eggs Benedict but with crab cakes instead of Canadian bacon. Very good, and very filling. Especially with the generous serving of potatoes.

A Chesapeake In Red Hook


Kevin's is just a casual kind of place with friendly, laid back service and what I thought was excellent food and generous portions. I will have to pop in here for dinner one night, and not forget the wine.



Afterwards we headed to Ikea, the Mysterious Chinese Woman to do a little shopping and me to catch the shuttle back home. On the way we passed a place where they must like Betty Boop even more than I do. Or, at least, are willing to spend a lot more money on her.

A Shrine To The Boopster





All and all a very pleasant morning. And I really didn't need the bubbly.

Sunny Day, Wet Nose

Saturday the Mysterious Chinese Woman went to visit the Mysterious Chinese Mother-In-Law. It was one of the nicer days we have had lately so I decided not to spend it cooped up in my apartment. Hell no, I would spend it cooped up in a couple of bars.

My friend Gaid works the Saturday shift at the Waterfront Ale House and it is always fun to visit him and get his cheerful and uplifting views of life.

The Old Watering Hole




I am not sure who the apparent health worker taking a cigarette break is, but if ever there was a case where "physician, heal thyself" was called for, this was it. Not that I am a poster boy for healthy living.

Sam And Gaid (Archive)


Entering the Waterfront Ale House I was saddened to see this sight.

OH NO!!!


The broken popcorn machine meant that I wouldn't be having lunch today. On the other hand, if it is true that when it comes to beer there is a porkchop in every bottle, I didn't go hungry.

I started out with a Weihenstephaner 1809 Berliner Style Weisse, brewed by Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany. It was a really intense flavor with a lot of citrus and cloves. Really delicious and, at a relatively mild 3.7% alcohol so you could enjoy this all afternoon on a hot summer day.

This beer is reputed to have originated with the Huguenots as they traveled through France to Flanders. In 1809 Napoleon thought so much of it he called it the Champagne of the North. He preferred drinking it with a bit of syrup to cut the tartness but I prefer it straight.

I followed this up with a Sam's Serious Pilsner. This is another one of Sam's custom brews. I have to say that it didn't compare to his Serious Maibock. It is another collaboration between Sam and Greg Zaccardi, owner of High Point Brewing Co. I will give this another try because my palate may have been compromised by the overly flavorful Weishenstephaner.

My final brew here was the Brooklyn Brewery Cuvee de Cardoz. Wow!!! Another hit by Brooklyn Brewery. This beer easily stood up to the Weishenstephaner. Plenty of spicy and peppery flavor. Just dynamite. And it went down every bit as easily as the Weishenstephaner but be cautious, it is a hefty 8.5% alcohol and is considered to be a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. By all means, get your hands on one if you get a chance.

Well, that was my usual three beers for an afternoon and I really should have headed home. But the night before I saw a segment on the Travel Channel about the Atlantic Chip Shop, a place I have visited before because they have a dynamite selection of British beers and ales, and decided to stop by.

Just A Hop And A Skip To Chip




Depending on your point of view, Bar Man's or the Mysterious Chinese Woman's, things either started to get rolling here (Bar Man's view) or went seriously downhill (Mysterious Chinese Woman's view).

I started out with a York Bitter that they had in a cask. This had a nice balance between the malt and the hops, but it remained true to its name by being a bit, well, bitter. It was a reasonable 4.2% but I wouldn't be drinking it all day. It was a bit warm, in my opinion. Now I know, cask ales aren't meant to be served cold, but they should be cool. Room temperature really means cellar temperature, not the temperature of a bar on a warm summer day.

There was a nice couple sitting at the bar and I got into a conversation with them. They, and I don't remember there names, said they were just recently married and about to move to Charlseston. The fellow recommended that I try the Lagunitas Brown Shugga.

Hey, It Was Their Fault, Really


Too bad they are leaving the neighborhood, though. They were a lot of fun to talk to.

Anyway, the Brown Shugga is a deadly 9.5% and this probably wasn't exactly what I needed at that point. Went down as smooth as, well, brown shugga. Major maltiness and virtually no discernable hops. Certainly one I would have again, under close supervision. It was a bit heavy though, so to cleanse my palate before toddling (I call it toddling, the Mysterious Chinese Woman calls it staggering) home I had an Old Speckled Hen.

Cleansing The Palate


Old Speckeled Hen is one of my favorite beers and you seldom find it on tap. It is an ale and comes in at 5.2% so it is quaffable. Kind of a caramel and honey nose to it and very smooth. Not overly sweet, though. This is a beer I can easily drink all day long. Glad to know that this place usually has it. Of course it is still hard for me to make it past Waterfront Ale House. Usually I have to circle around and approach it from the other side.