Nye's: Nice, But Best?

Last October Esquire Magazine had a nice write-up on Nye's in Minneapolis. In fact, the author rated it "The Best Bar In America." Now Nye's has been around, at least at their current location, since 1950's, so the place does have legs. I, on the other hand, grew up in Minneapolis and have been around even longer. And, yes, I did frequent Nye's. Mostly for the food though. Usually their spare ribs and sauerkraut, prime-rib when I was splurging. I can't say I ever hung out at the bar that much though. My favorite bars back in those days were Broadway Bar, the original location, and Lyle's, where everyone I knew hung out. Back then Broadway Bar was much cooler, in a bit of a rough way, than Nye's, and they had the best pizza in town, maybe in the world. Now this isn't to say that Nye's isn't a mighty fine bar, because it is. But the best bar in America? That might be a stretch. Everyone has their own favorite though.

Be that as it may, when I returned to Minneapolis from my trip up North I thought it would be fun to hit Nye's for old-times sake. My buddy Rico and his wife Sandy went with The Mysterious Chinese Woman and me and we arranged to meet another buddy, Jerry, at the bar. You may remember them from the infamous Brokeback Cabin posting, among others.

Bar Man And Rico At Nye's


Needless to say, we did not heed the "Do Not Enter" sign out front.

Here are a couple of more shots to give you an idea of the spread of the place. On the corner is the bar and the other two areas have dining and yet another bar.

The Sprawl




Now, if you think a good bar is a dark bar, then Nye's meets that criteria. I don't think there is anywhere that you can see outside. In fact, their really aren't any windows except for one in the bar. But you can't see out of that one because it is pretty much opaque.

My buddy Jerry showed up so we had one at the bar before settling into our table for dinner.

Jerry, Sandy, Bar Man, Rico with Dan the Bartender


I had a Manhattan with their well-whiskey which, I believe, was Jim Beam. Usually I like mine made with Maker's Mark, but I am starting to favor some of the other bourbons now. Maybe because they are newer to my palate. They seem to have a deeper, smokier taste. Interestingly, in the Midwest, you have to specify that you want your Manhattan with whiskey. Brandy Manhattans seem to be the norm. This doesn't seem to have hit the East Coast yet, as far as I know.

The dining area, adjacent to the primary bar area, is decorated in what Esquire said was a bordello style. It is, I guess. Can't say I have seen to many bordellos though so I will have to take their word for it.

Bordello Decore


I think, with the American flag and all, this is what a bordello might look like if it was run by your neighborhood VFW or American Legion. Which gives me a great idea on how those venerable institutions could revitalize their memberships.

There is a second bar in the back, but it seems like it is more of a service bar than one at which you could actually have a drink.

Bar In The Back


If you are ever in Minneapolis I would recommend you make the effort to pop into Nye's, just so you can see what Esquire thinks is the best bar in America looks like. There are several others in the neighborhood too, so you could do a bit of a crawl if you wanted.

Oh, I had the spareribs and sauerkraut for dinner and although I liked them, the Mysterious Chinese Woman thought they were a bit bland. I explained to her that in the Midwest these were considered spicy. In the Midwest adding salt and pepper is considered a bit daring. Lutefisk rules.

Having A Wet One

Ah, even on a bright sunny day you can find a spot to have a wet one in Downtown Brooklyn.

Having A Wet One


I figured as long as I was in Brooklyn I would have one of my favorites, a Brooklyn Lager. As I am sure many of you know, I am a big fan of Brooklyn Brewery's beverages. They consistently turn out good brews and their Brooklyn Lager is a very drinkable all-around beer, especially on a sunny day in the "rain."

For those of you who have access to Beer Advocate, a great publication covering the brewing industry, Garrett Oliver is on the cover of the August 2007 issue. Garrett is the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and has done an incredible job promoting not only his own beers, but craft beers in general.

You can read more about Garrett and get a lot of good information about beers either from Beer Advocate's magazine or their website.

You can check out their website here:

And, if you want to find out more about Brooklyn Brewery, here is where to go:

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By the way, the above are non-paid-for endorsements. However, Garrett, if a case or two of your beer mysteriously shows up on my doorstep, it would not be returned.

Island View Lodge

Just a quickie post today. I've posted about this place before but one morning I took a walk here from my friends place and popped in for an eye-opener.

Island View Lodge


It is quite a big place, dining room and all, but only one part of it was of any interest to me.

The Bar


Being up north I decided to have something traditional, a shot and a snert. The shot was Old Crow, an old-time favorite of mine that you don't see much of in New York. Floyd was using it in their Mint Juleps on Kentucky Derby Day though. I have no idea what was in the snert.

It was a nice enough morning so I decided that I would take my morning libation out on the deck overlooking the lake.

A Drink With A View


Although I was perfectly content out on the deck, not everyone felt the same.

So Close, Yet So Far


A brisk morning walk and a heart stimulant. I felt oh so healthy.

Hand Model

Several readers of my blog have sent me emails asking, Is that Chris's real hand? It looks so, well, manicured. It is not. Chris, a Minnesota Gopher football fan once attended an away game at the University of Wisconsin. Bucky, the Badger, in a drunken frenzy, bit off my friend's hand.

Bucky, The Badger


Sadly, Bucky remains free while my friend Chris has to carry his burden with him for the rest of his days.

Luckily, however, great strides have been made in prosthetic hands so Chris's not only looks nice:

Lookin' Good


It functions well.

Get A Grip (apologies to Aerosmith)


Unfortunately, it took a bit of a hit with the flaming Absinthe.

Just A Flesh, er, Plastic Wound


We are hoping that either his health or automobile insurance will allow him to upgrade to the latest model prosthetic. This one does almost everything.

New And Improved


This is a vast improvement over the earlier models.

A Very Early Model


Well, there you go. But please, no more questions about prosthetics. Penile implants are strictly off-limits.

Firey Green Faerie

Several years ago while in Switzerland I ran across a liquor store that sold what I thought to be a most interesting product, an Absinthe kit. Not just a bottle of Absinthe, but a kit. How could I resist. Building a drink would be kind of like building a model airplane. One that would eventually go down in flames.

Absinthe Kit


The kit consisted of two very small bottles of Absinthe, disappointing small, two nice glasses, and a metal thingie on which you could place a sugar cube or two. Traditionally drinking Absinthe involves a bit of a ceremony. This generally consists of placing a sugar cube or two on a thingie which is then suspended above the glass containing Absinthe. Cold water is dripped onto the sugar cubes When the water drips through them it drips into the Absinthe creating neat little creamy colored droplets that gradually turn the Absinthe a milky green. This is a very cool effect.

Thingies


Actually, while getting the above picture I discovered that thingies are really called Absinthe spoons, duh!

Interestingly, the instructions on this kit called for a bit of a different procedure, one involving fire.

You do suspend the sugar cubes above a glass on an Absinthe spoon though.

The Suspense


However, step two calls for slowly pouring the Absinthe over the sugar cubes so that it drips into the glass.

The Pour


When you are through you have sugary Absinthe in the glass and two Absinthe soaked sugar cubes sitting on the Absinthe spoon which is resting above the glass.

Two Cubes Spooning


Then, and I think this is just what you want drunken people to be doing, you ignite the sugar cubes.

Ignition


Flaming sugar cubes above a glass of 124 proof Absinthe, a perfect recipe for disaster. Or, at least, a spectacle.

Simply Spectacular


Well, you might have to use your imagination a bit. We had to turn off the lights so it would look cool.

When the sugar cubes melt into the Absinthe you blow them out (very important) and then stir some cold water into the mixture. Our second attempt we let the sugar cubes burn too long and the glass cracked. Idiots that we were, we drank it anyway.

The Final Product


This process results in pretty much the same end-product as the more traditional, less hazardous, and less messy method.

Bar Man Does Absinthe


I want to give a special thanks to my friend Chris who acted as the hand-model for this shoot.

Let's Have A Hand For Chris's Hand


It was a fun experiment and the end-result was good. I am a big fan of Ouzo and Pernod. I drink my Pernod straight with an ice-cube so it is very similar. The Pernod is a lower proof then Absinthe and sweeter.

Pernod was one of the original distillers of Absinthe but switched to Pernod when Absinthe was made illegal throughout much of the world. The reason for this, not surprisingly, was based upon totally incorrect assumptions. Heavy Absinthe drinkers supposedly suffered from hallucinations and other interesting side-affects. Because animals given large doses of wormwood, an ingredient in Absinthe, suffered from convulsions it was concluded that the wormwood in Absinthe was the culprit and so it was outlawed. We now know that the amount of wormwood contained in Absinthe was far too low to have contributed to any such affect. It didn't seem to occur to anyone that because Absinthe was sweet, tasted like licorice, went down like candy and, oh, contained between 60% and 70% alcohol might have been the problem. Of course you couldn't possible outlaw all good tasting high alcohol drinks so poor Absinthe had to pay the price.

Laws have been changed though so that it is now possible to buy Absinthe made as close to the original recipes as possible, even in the United States. And, joy of joys, Pernod is back in the Absinthe business. I haven't seen it for sale yet, but you better believe I will be searching it out. This one is a nifty 68% alcohol. Don't be blaming it on the wormwood.

Bass, Fishin' not Drinkin'

Well, I did a little drinking, but just not Bass. I was up in Northern Minnesota visiting my friends Bruce and Donna and the day after I arrived it was the start of the International Falls Bass Championship festivities.

Let The Festivities Begin


In conjunction with the fishing contest there is a nice little fair and crafts show in the Smokey Bear Park. Hmm, deep fried cheese curds and Pronto Pups (Corn Dogs to those of you not from the midwest).

Smokey Bear


There is also a parade that is quite entertaining in a small-town sort of way. Particularly if you like boats. It started off with members of, well, I am not sure, presenting colors. Maybe it was the American Legion, but there might have been a few Canadians in there too.

Color Guard


This was followed by the inevitable bagpipers. I don't know why, but they just love bagpipers up here. You may remember that one even showed up when I hit bar number 777 at Woody's Pub.

Blowing Wind Bags


And, of course, every parade has to have its queen. This year Holly Strain was "Miss Fun In The Sun." There should be a pun in there somewhere, but I had my mind on a nice piece of bass. Ooh, I really had to strain for that one.

Miss Fun In The Sun


And, of course, there were boats instead of floats. But then, boats do float.

Boat Floats






There were quite a lot of boats, actually. Fifty-nine boats, each with a two man team were entered in the event. Not a huge contest, but there was $30,000 in prize money and first prize was $10,000. Most of the entrants were from around the area. There is another, much larger professional bass tournament held in Rainy Lake, but I think that one is in Canada. All the fishing for this one was done on the United States side of the lake and in the Rainy River that flows into the lake.

The kids really enjoyed the parade, largely because there was a lot of candy being thrown about. If it doesn't lay in the street for more then 10 seconds it is safe to eat.

Scrambling For Treats


Of course what is a bass fishing contest without a beer tent. And of course I was more than happy to contribute to whatever cause it was supporting.

Buying My Ticket To Paradise


Much better to buy a ticket for beer than to be ticketed for drinking beer, in my humble opinion. But I only get ticketed for drinking beer when I do it in the New York Subway. I knew that insulated back-pack with the keg of beer in it would get me in trouble.

Enjoying My Brew In The Garden


The choices were limited so I had a Miller's Genuine Draft. Not my usual choice, but it quenched my thirst.

Afterwards I headed down the street to one of the few remaining bars in town. Kind of sad, really. At one time International Falls probably had more than a dozen bars. This one is a good one though. I missed nickel night where they crack a keg and beers are only a nickel until the keg is emptied.


Viking Bar And Lounge


I noticed that nobody was drinking draft beer so I figured I better play it safe and have a bottled beverage myself. Sometimes you do get some interesting flavors if you get a draft beer in a small bar that doesn't clean their lines very often.

Playing It Safe


I had a Coor's Light and there really isn't too much I say about that except it was cold, and wet.

Now one might think that winning a fishing contest is largely a matter of luck, and I am sure that some of that enters into the equation. However the winning team this year, Dale Labelle and Karl Howells, both from Canada, took third place two years ago and second place last year. Given that this was only the third annual International Falls Bass Championship, they have done right well for themselves. I am not sure where my buddy Woody finished, I never did see the final tally, but I don't think he finished in the money. Maybe next year.

Goodbye for Now

Just time to put up one last post before heading off to catch my plane to Minnesota.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I decided to have our last meal in New York before departing at my old favorite, Peter's Waterfront Ale House. And, of course, I had a couple of beers to wash down that meal. As I may have said, Peter's does have a mighty fine selection that they change fairly often so you can always find something new.

Peter's Selection


I started out with the Popering Hommel Ale to go with my salad.

Bar Man Popping a Popering


The Popering Hommel Ale is a Belgian Ale and is reasonably strong at 7.5%. It has a nice flowery, fresh hops nose to it and the hops do come through in the flavor; kind of subtle though. Certainly not like the hopped up IPAs that are out there now, although I like those too. This one has a nice maltiness to it and a bit of spiciness as well, pepper mostly. Quite good and certainly one to keep an eye out for.

I decided to go for something a bit meatier to go with my ribs and the Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout certainly filled the bill.

No Blues With Oskar Blues


I don't know how Peter's found this one, it is brewed by Oskar Blues Grill and Brew in Lyons, Colorado. They brew a number of beers and one day maybe I will take a trip to Lyons to try a few more because the Imperial Stout was unusually good. It is a seasonal beer and not available in bottles though so it might be hard to find.

It certainly stood up to the ribs though. Flavor it had in spades. Coffee came through heavily but you could also pick up hints of chocolate and malt. It is a bit thicker than your average stout as well. I doubt if you could dump down too many of these and at about 9.5% alcohol you probably wouldn't want to either. However, I would certainly go back and have it again. They will probably be out by the time I get back from Minnesota though.

If you have this beer with a ribs like I did or with a good piece of flavorful meat like a rib-eye you won't be disappointed. It is beers like these that could give wine a run for its money in restaurants. Quite frankly, I would much rather have this beer instead of the traditional red with a lot of manly meaty dishes.

And, might I add, the ribs were flavorful indeed. The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I started out with smoked chicken wings for an appetizer. They were excellent. Then we split a single order of ribs. There were enough ribs left over to take with us to eat on the plane. Let the peasants have their banana and yogurt or whatever they get served, we shall eat like royalty.

Overdue Brasserie

A few posts back I said I would tell you about the Brasserie des Rocs Triple Imperiale that I had at a family get-together. And now I shall.

In New Jersey they have a bit more civilized approach to selling alcoholic beverages than they do in New York. In New York you buy your liquor in a liquor store. Liquor and wine and nothing else. No mixes, no beer, no snacks, no nothing. For beer you go to either a Deli, some of which have very good, if not huge, selections or you go to a beer distributor. In New Jersey the stores can sell everything, liquor, wine, beer, mixes, snacks, a bottle opener, you name it. As a result you can do one stop shopping and any decent liquor store will have a very large selection of beers. I picked up my Brasserie de Rocs Triple Imperiale at a one of these when buying the supplies needed to whip up a batch of chocolate martinis. Now, don't get on my case, my sister-in-law really likes them and I kind of like them too. I just don't think they should be called martinis. Chocolate drinkie-poos maybe. Put them in sippy-cups and give them to the kids. Makes for very mellow birthday parties.

Anyway, I picked up this beer because it had a really high rating on one of those obscure scales you have never heard of before (97 rating by the Mongolian Herdsmen at the 1999 international Yak Festival). But, as it turned out, this beer deserved its accolades.

Brasserie des Rocs Triple Imperiale


And for the observant amongst you (no religious connotation) that is indeed my brother-in-law Jim displaying the bottle.

Now you would think a brewery with a name like Brasserie de Rocs that puts out a triple would be one of those old monastery based breweries that was started by Druids or something. It isn't. It was actually started in 1979. But it is located in a small Belgian village, Montignies-sur-Rocs. The brewery is also located close to the ruins of a 12th century abbey, Abbaye des Rocs, so all is good.

The Triple Imeriale is a strong, 10%, triple ale, quite dark, thick, and hearty. The beer is unfiltered and the third fermentation is in the bottle. This gives it a nice creamy head and pretty good carbonation. It has a heavy, almost burnt, malt flavor that is offset with a nice spicy hops touch. It is a very drinkable beer even in the summer. I would imagine that it would be great sitting on a lake in September or October. The high alcoholic content does come through with a bit of warmth in the tummy, but it probably won't slow you down while drinking it. Whether that is good or bad depends.

Bar Man And Brasserie des Rocs Triple Imperiale


By the way, tomorrow I will be heading to Minnesota to spend some times with my friends up in International Falls and Ranier, both towns on the Canadian border, and my friends in Minneapolis. I may not have an opportunity to post again until I get back on the 28th so don't get concerned by my absence. Perhaps I will have some good stuff for your when I return. I think Sha Sha has re-opened so that will certainly be one place I will visit.

Interesting Coincidences

I enjoy walking around my neighborhood, sometimes a very extended neighborhood, in the mornings. Got to stay in shape in case I decide to do something really stupid again. Yesterday I was going to head up to, well, who knows, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Red Hook? So many neighborhood names, you never really know where you are. But please, no BoCoCa. A friend said he and a partner were going to be opening a new bar on 12th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues so I thought I would take a peek.

I headed up, again, hard to know what street because its name keeps changing, Adams, Boerum Place, Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard depending upon where you are. Now here is an interesting question, if you drive into Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge, how far can you keep driving before you have to turn, and what do you encounter? The answer to the first part is: Not far. In fact after about six blocks the multi-lane, let's call it Brooklyn Boulevard, with a divider and flowers intersects with Atlantic Avenue. At that point it narrows down to a one-way street that ends a few blocks later at a "T" intersection. At the "T" you find:

Vinnie's Ironworks


You have to admit, it is somehow quintessentially Brooklyn. Particularly with the Virgin Mary shrine perched on top.

Now, coincidence number one. As I am taking a picture of Vinnie's a car stops and the guy asks me if I know how to get to 4th Avenue. I guess because I was taking pictures he thought I was a local. I asked him where on 4th Avenue he wanted to go and he said, drum roll please, 12th Street. What are the odds someone would ask me how to get exactly where I was going. And it isn't like I was going to someplace significant like Borough Hall or something. Anyway, I gave him instructions that turned out to be wrong (unless he drove the wrong way down a one-way street).

After a fairly healthy hike I reached my destination and spotted what I hope was not the bar my friend was talking about, unless he was going really retro.

Commonwealth Bar


Actually, it looked like it might get interesting late at night. I think maybe the place being built next door might have been it though.

New Bar, Maybe


This is definitely going to be a bar because I looked inside and that was the one thing that was already in place. I think it will be a fairly nice place too. Might give Commonwealth a run for the money.

On the way home I passed over the Gowanus Canal and have to kvetch once again. In almost any other city in the world this waterway would have nice restaurants, probably a marina or two, hotels and maybe condos. It empties into the ocean so it would be perfect for yachts and sail boats too. But, in New York it is lined with cement factories, vacant lots, and who knows what else. And after twenty years of hearing how the canal is going to be cleaned up and the surrounding land developed, it is largely unchanged. The pace of change in New York can be pathetically slow sometimes.

Looking South


Looking North


Okay, coincidence number two. It was a pretty long walk and it was getting hot so I thought about stopping in to a Deli and buying a beer or two to have when I got home. For some reason I decided not to and patted myself on the back for showing such self-restraint. About fifteen minutes after I got home though I got a buzz from my doorman telling me to come downstairs and pick up my beer. You will never guess what was waiting for me.

10 Liters Of Heineken In Their New DraughtKeg


It even came with a nifty insulated backpack just big enough to carry one of them around. Perfect for my morning walks.

A Heineken To Go, Please


It came with a card so I called the number to find out why I got it. Apparently it was sent by the same guy who sent me the Heineken Light Beer when it was first being introduced, as a promotional item. I guess the fact that I also post about the stuff keeps me on his list and I am not complaining.

Each of these DraughtKegs holds 5 liters and, supposedly, once you cool it for a minimum of 10 hours it will keep the beer fresh for up to 30 days. Now this seems kind of neat until you figure that once you pop a 5 liter keg, what are the odds it would last for 30 days? Still, they look like they would be nice for a picnic or a Jets tailgate party, or my morning walk. I will try one of them out at the next Jets game to see how they work and will report back.

Oh yeah, I had to have the doorman explain to the Mysterious Chinese Woman that they really were free and that I hadn't ordered them. I can't understand why she didn't just trust me on this.