Chiu on This

Austin 2012 - the rapid run down

A quick list of things I did in Austin in December 2012 during my 12 waking hours in the city proper, after finishing a work-related meeting at the Travaasa Austin (FYI, had a nice quail appetizer there).

• Checked into the Hotel San Jose.
• Grabbed a Frito pie for lunch at Jo's next door.
  
  
• Enjoyed a tasty michelada in the hotel courtyard (thanks to my former colleague Erika for tipping me off to this).
• An hour later, enjoyed another tasty michelada in the company of my college classmate Grover, as we conferred about the night's plans.* We hit up the following places:**
• East Side Showroom
• Donn's Depot - I LOVE this place. Can I live here?
• Deep Eddy Cabaret
• Texas Chili Parlour
• The Continental Club
• Hmm. I didn't have dinner. I realize this when I wake up very hungry and woozy about 5 hours later. Thankfully, the South Congress Cafe is just a few blocks away. (H/t to another former colleague, Cristin, for this recommendation.) I get coffee, another michelada (just can't resist, need to try as many versions as possible), and a delectable smoked brisket hash with nice runny eggs.
  
  
  
  As I eat very, very slowly and carefully, I try not to stare at the guy in the booth in front of me. I think he looks like Elmore Leonard, but then I'm not sure I know what Elmore Leonard actually looks like.
• I walk back to the hotel very, very slowly and pack up reluctantly.

* I also have Grover to thank for this itinerary on my 2011 visit - Icenhauer's, Clive Bar, Deep Eddy Cabaret, Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, and the Gallery at the Continental Club. I see why people love Austin.

** Oops, I forgot to add this item - checking out the Christmas tree at Zilker Park. The backstory of Austin's moonlight towers made this extra interesting.

In spirit(s)

I've been dreading writing this blog for some time now, as it is my failing attempt at a tribute to my friend Rick, who died two weeks ago. He'd been ill for some time but always seemed to rally miraculously. So when his friends and family began sharing the news that Rick was not doing well, I started to get a ghastly feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Folks who have read this blog for a while know that Rick was a true FOCOT, occasionally contributing a blog and frequently providing me with recommendations for places to try on my travels. While we'd known each other for a little over a decade, I felt that we'd gotten to be on closer terms when he and his wife met my dad in 2010 when they all happened to be in Shanghai, Rick for work and my dad for the World Expo. Naturally, they got together over a meal!

On the day that I'd heard about Rick's state, I'd had plans arranged to attend a beer and spirits tasting at Beer Table with a former colleague and an acquaintance from college. While we tried out the fascinating pairings (see below), I couldn't help but think about the many times I'd said to Rick that we needed to go to Beer Table the next time he was in town, even though the Brooklyn location might be a little out of the way. I figured he would have liked the thoughtfulness, inquisitiveness, imagination, and craft behind the place, and that its uniqueness and local character would have appealed to him. I also imagined that he would have gotten to know the proprietors, asked lots of questions of then, quaffed a lot of beers, and felt like he'd found a hidden gem, something he could review in Zagat's. Then I felt angry that he'd never get a chance to enjoy such a place, or any others. Thankfully, I had more to drink.

Rick died the next day. I was thankful to have the opportunity to attend his funeral later in the week and to see his family - especially his awesome wife, Denise - and mutual friends, all of whom affirmed and told stories of his love for food, drink, and good company. Even the priest who spoke at his service referred to how they bonded over "a little bite to eat," which turned out to be a four-hour feast.

Here's to you, Rick. Thanks for sharing your feasts with me.    

1. Kiuchi No Shizuku (like a shochu) with Hitachino White Ale (a Belgian style ale with orange juice)
2. Schramel / Schenider Edelster Aventinus (unaged) with Schneider Aventinus (wheat doppelbock)
3. Uerige Stickum Plus (red wine barrel) with Uerige Sticke (altbier from Dusseldorf)
4. Clear Creek Distillery: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whisky (from Porland) with Barrier SaazSquash (from Oceanside, Rockaways)
5. Schlenkerla Rauchbierspirit with Schlenkerla Urbock (100% smoked malt)

Pickles, chorizo, sardines

I happen to love pickles. Being a sour person, I enjoy sour things. So it was a forgone conclusion that the "plate of pickles" on the menu at Magnolia Pub and Brewery was going to wind up at my table.

And quite a plate it was. Daikon (I'm pretty sure that's what the white stuff on the far left was), cauliflower, carrots with a bit of cumin, good ol' cukes, watermelon, green beans, and grapes. Nice and sour! And everything but the watermelon and grapes still had a bit of snap or resistance. I wouldn't mind another round of that right now and tomorrow, etc., etc.

The next item up was a platter of thinly sliced chorizo with bread and sliced onions, which were perhaps slightly pickled or marinated. At 3pm, they were already out of all the other cured meats - coppa, salame cotto, and salame toscano.

That wasn't too much of a loss - I went ahead and ordered the oven-roasted sardines with pickled onions (again! hooray!), romesco sauce, and toast. Very, very tasty, and definitely fishy, in a good way.

Drinks to accompany: cask conditioned Long Break Bitter and Proving Ground IPA. Thumbs up to both.

As we were winding down, a photographer started to test her camera flash, which got real annoying real fast, particularly when it became clear that she wasn't photographing anything. After a while, the flashes abated but then resumed, just when a heavenly smell of fried chicken drifted our way. Like a cartoon character floating along a scent trail, my head bobbled in the direction of the aroma, and it all became clear - the photographer was clicking away at the plate in front of her - Thursday night is fried chicken night - and I'm guessing her handiwork will go up on the "great visuals" section of Magnolia's website. I just hope she got to eat the chicken when she finished her work, and that I get to try some the next time I'm in town.

How not to do a beer tasting

Last Friday after work, I managed to round up fellow beer aficionados Arnold, Gloria, Ben, Mike, and Joe for a visit to the Blind Tiger Ale House.  After hunting for seats in the packed bar, scrutinizing the beer list, flagging down the bartender, and wrinkling our noses at the sulfurous fumes mysteriously emanating around us and just as mysteriously vanishing, we worked our way through the following bottles:

• Brooklyn Brewery's Local 1
• The Lost Abbey's Judgment Day
• Saint Somewhere's Saison Athene
• Stone's 11th Anniversary Ale
• Leelanau's Whaleback White Ale
• Dogfish Head's Chateau Jiahu
• Maredsou Dubbel

As a beer tasting, this probably was not the best sequencing - we were zigging and zagging from lighter beers to more full bodied ones, with no palate cleansers in between (kidding).  For the most part, though, the selections were good; probably the least interesting bottle was the Saison Athene, which in comparison to the super sweet and raisin-y (that's right, raisin-y) Judgment Day tasted like...nothing.  The flavor Leelanau also got crowded out, at least for me, by the Stone ale, but the fact that I couldn't fully appreciate the Chateau Jiahu, which has the most interesting back story of this bunch of beers, has probably more to do with how much I'd had to drink than anything else.

We quickly found out, though, that beer  labels could use a lot of improvement.  The juxtaposition of the Judgment Day and Saison Athene labels was good for a laugh, though.   After hitting the Stone ale, we declared as a group that we were sick of gargoyles on labels.  And the hands-down winner on beer label was the Jiahu.  What a relief.

The coldest winter I ever spent...

This year's DUCS conference took place in July in San Francisco, one city I love to be in during the summer because it can get so danged cold.  Sam's earlier site visit paid off in the selection of the Hotel Adagio, a lovely place, for our conference. (Coincidentally, the hotel is very close to Rye, the bar that nearly did me in during my last visit to the Bay area.)

The hotel's restaurant, the Cortez, was closed for renovation when Sam made his visit, but luckily was open for business when we arrived.  I ate there on two occasions - I actually had a second dinner there even after visiting Rob, Tracy, and Jeremy (yay, Jeremy!) and dining on excellent beer can chicken, ribs, and corn (yes, Rob, my stomach is cavernous) - and put down several drinks along with many handfuls of thoroughly addictive popcorn.

My second dinner was the appetizer of pan roasted octopus and monterey squid w/ fresh soybeans, teardrop cherry tomatoes, preserved lemon and warm garlic creme fraiche.  The octopus and squid were the most tender I'd ever had.  I would not have dreamed of pairing them with the lemon and garlic creme fraiche, but the flavor combo and mouth feel were outstanding.

Both Anita and Chris N. ordered the hangar steak w/ smoked fingerling potato puree, marrow braised cippolini onions, chiodini mushrooms and solera elixir vinegar. I had a sampling and was nearly ready to go for dinner #3.  Olga ordered the striped bass w/ spicy braised cabbage, buckwheat pasta, garlic chives and aromatic tomato broth. I held back from sampling but noted that Olga really liked the dish.  It smelled great.  We split the chocolate peanut butter truffle cake with caramel ice cream and peanut praline.  I didn't care for the cake (not a big PB fan) but the others sure did, so I attacked the ice cream.

For breakfast the next day, I tucked into a duck confit hash w/ roasted vegetables and poached egg.  I then wondered why I did not vacation more, why life seemed like such drudgery back in NYC, and what I could do other than move to SF to rectify the situation.  I then got an interesting customized tour of the Tenderloin and Chinatown through the Joie de Vivre's Golden Gate Greeters program.  Much thanks to Rick for being a great greeter and showing me aspects of the city that I probably wouldn't have gotten to learn about otherwise.  Let's see what Chinatown's like in the next 10 years.

Whoops, I can't forget the drinks.  I'd recommend the Elderflower # 10 (not to be confused with Cortez' elderflower cocktail, made with champagne): Tanquerey #10, lemon juice, D'Arbo elderflower syrup, orange bitters, lemon twist.  Wonderful - I could drink this all the time.  (I first encountered elderflower at a tasting by LeNell's.  I fell in love with it immediately, but it took me maybe 15 minutes to figure out what its flavor reminded me of - lychees.) Also, try the Industry: Fernet Branca, fresh mint, ginger, lemon juice.  Classic.

Great hotel, great restaurant.  I'll definitely go back to both.

Pretending to be an adult

I started writing a piece on The Pegu Club over a year ago but it was a recent trip to LeNell's, a comfy liquor store in Red Hook, that prompts me to revisit the subject.  After a sampling of 17, 21, and 23 year old Vintage Bourbons, discussions about gin-based cocktails, and the recollection of a failed attempt to visit the [now closed] Vegas branch of the Museum of the American Cocktail, the woman running the shop informed us that the Pegu Club was slated to be the new home of the museum.

Very fitting.  The Pegu Club fixes up some lovely cocktails and serves them in an environment that is upscale yet comfortable and not at all snobby.  Even my shabby self can feel like a respectable adult, sitting in a club chair, chatting with my chums, and sipping on a tasty concoction  I've been there about three or four times and each time have come away feeling relaxed and refreshed, and that's not entirely due to the drinks I've had.

On the drink list, there are the classics like the Negroni (Robin's go-to drink) and the Manhattan, along with house specialties like the Earl Grey martini (great idea that actually translates into a great drink), the Holy Roller (pecan infused bourbon served with toasted pecans on the side), and the Little Italy (a variation on the Manhattan made of rye, Cynar, and sweet vermouth).

When I first read about the Pegu Club, one of the most appealing items mentioned about it was that each table had a set of four bottles - containing simple syrup, lemon juice, lime juice, and bitters - with eye droppers so you could add flavors to your drinks and be your own mixologist.  As a big fan of condiments and of adjusting flavors (as with Thai food), I like the idea but have found that I can't really improve on the cocktails, so I just don't mess with the extra ingredients.  Maybe when I finally get around to trying the various gins in their collection, I can use the four flavorings to better effect.

The Pegu Club is on the second floor of                 77 W Houston St (between Laguardia Place and Wooster Street).  They have food, too; the smoked trout devilled eggs definitely hit the spot.
 

One day I will learn

...that I have to approach gin very, very cautiously.  While in San Francisco last week, I read about the basil gimlet served at Rye (688 Geary St. near Jones).  I like gimlets generally and this one sounded worth trying, not only for the basil twist on the classic but also because it's made with a locally crafted gin from Distillery 209.

After a fun afternoon of touring the Presidio and Fort Point with friends Rob and Tracy, I basked and dranked for three hours at the picnic tables in the backyard at Zeitgeist (199 Valencia St. at Duboce) with colleague Sara, her husband Jeremy, and their friends, I was feeling a little bit antsy.  Everyone in the hipster crowd was starting to look alike, and the beer was losing its zip.  I managed to get in touch with my college friend Sue and plotted an escape plan.