Chiu on This

Putting the "pro" in "procrastination"

I'm supposed to be doing some writing for work but have been putting it off, partly because of a terrible seasonal allergy attack that makes it hard for me to keep my eyes open and partly because, well, I'm a very good procrastinator.

I had the same problem last week while in DC. Bad allergies left me lying on my hotel bed, napping and lolling about due to sneezing fits and sore eyes that medication would not alleviate. Not only did I have no energy to tackle the work I had brought with me (and delayed doing when I was feeling well), I had no energy or desire to eat, which is never a good sign for me. Granted, I'd eaten a good brunch courtesy of my friends John and Joan in Alexandria (two words: bacon scones!!). But I figured I should get something to eat, if only to get out of the hotel and try out a new place.

 

 

Thankfully, just a few blocks away was Birch and Barley, a restaurant I'd tried to dine at before but didn't because of a long wait. (My alternative then was the nearby Ghana Cafe, which I also recommend.) I figured I could eat at the bar, if the place was full, and do a little bit of reading, so I packed up an article and walked up 14th Street.

The beer list attracted me to Birch and Barley in the first place, but given how terrible I was feeling, I decided to take it easy. Just about every beer on the list comes available in a 4 ounce serving, which is handy if you plan to taste several items, or if you just need a small serving. I started off with a 4 ounce glass of Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale, a fruity and spicy cask conditioned ale. I picked this because (1) I like to try cask conditioned beers when they're available and (2) I planned on comparing this to the Oxbow Funkhouse Pale Ale, a version of the Farmhouse finished with brettanomyces. (That should give you an idea of the kind of beer list they have here.)

Finally learning after several years that I need to order smaller portions when travelling, since lefotvers don't work unless you've got a microwave in your room, I chose the seared halibut starter and the small portion of veal neck flatbread. (FYI, their Sunday dinner menu is a mashup of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items; I nearly got the chicken and waffles.) I pair the Farmhouse Pale Ale with the halibut and the earthy Funkhouse with the veal neck.

My beer choices were so-so - they tasted fine and went well with my dishes, but neither ale struck me as exciting or notable. The halibut and veal neck, though, I would certainly order again. The halibut came nicely seared, and the firm flesh and crisp skin contrasted texturally well with the slippery and buttery orzo, peas, and mushrooms. (Turns out the halibut also comes as an entree, but I think an appetizer portion works better.)

I expected the veal neck flatbread to be fairly small and on a crispy, toasty sort of bread, but it turned out to be a 4 by 6 inch affair on a plump dough, like an extravagant mini-pizza. Cheesy, earthy, crispy, charred, chewy, salty, fatty, and deeply aromatic - this was wonderful stuff, but very filling, so I ate half and decided to take the leftovers with me for a midnight snack. Reheating them wouldn't be necessary. My only minor criticism of the flatbread and of the halibut was that they could have used a little flavor contrast - both were very delicious but mostly unctuous: I wanted something vinegary or peppery or both to add a little spark.

At this point, I made a mistake. I ordered dessert. Forgetting that desserts in most American restaurants serve four people comfortably, I immediately say yes to the doughnut plate, thinking that the waiter said they were doughnut holes. Instead, out come two enormous doughnuts and one doughnut hole. The hole was chocolate dipped; the others are a toffee bacon creation and a poppy seed glaze. I take a bite of the hole and cut a quarter each of the toffee bacon and poppy seed doughnuts and have them with a good cuppa coffee. The chocolate dipped is fine but mostly just sweet; the toffee bacon is delicious, but it's the poppy seed that surprises. I'm not sure what else they put on that, but I wish I could get it for breakfast all the time. I eyeball what's left on the plate and decide that these, too, should come back to the hotel with me. I make a plan to have these for breakfast with a cup of hotel room coffee, and it turns out to be a good plan.

So I've eaten my way through all this food (total price tag about $45), have a "midnight" snack and breakfast ready to go, and distractedly finished one article between sips, bites, brief chats with the waiter, who seems genuinely happy that I'm happy with my meal, moments of staring into the distance appreciating my food, and occasional bouts of sneezing. The non-work to work ratio is pretty high, and only gets higher when I return to my hotel room, where I set upon reading various style magazines left for the guests and then watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones, which is when I polish off the rest of my flatbread.

I believe I've now spent 30 minutes writing this blog when I should have been working. How about that?

What I drank this week

At Saxon and Parole:

• Celery gimlet - Spring 44 gin, green Chartreuse, St. Germain, lime, celery, verjus. One of the best cocktails I have had in ages, and I don't even like celery that much. This is my drink for the summer. Having a gigantic pitcher of this on hand at all times would make me very happy.
• Corpse Reviver #3 - Dorothy parker gin, lillet blanc, combier, fennel juice. Note the root vegetable theme continuing with the fennel juice. A good drink but not entirely memorable; maybe I needed another for a true revival, versus a Walking Dead outcome. I didn't stop to think about what versions 1 and 2 of the corpse reviver would be like.

At Blaue Gans:

• The Klimt - Sekt Blanc de Blanc, Campari, Cointreau, Plymouth Gin. If you like Negronis, you'll like this. I happen to like Negronis a lot.
• Hungarian Paprika Margarita - Jose Cuervo Silver, Cointreau, Lime Juice, Paprika. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this went very nicely with my currywurst. The paprika reminded me of li hing mui powder. Second best drink this week, after the celery gimlet.

At Salt & Fat:

• No cocktails, unfortunately, so I got a Sixpoint Bengali Tiger IPA. In hindsight, I think I should have had a pilsner with my meal, which I'll review in an upcoming blog.

At Boca Chica:

• The aged cuban or old cuban? I can't find their drink list online. That's too bad. Well, there was rum and mint in it, and I had one on the rocks and one straight up. Order it on the rocks, and it comes in a tumbler; order it straight up, and it comes in a martini glass. Why? I don't know. But it tastes better straight up.

Not sure if I'll be having anything tonight. My liver could probably use a break. My wallet, too!

False memories of 2011?

After I saw the lustrous Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney Museum last year, I went down to the museum's eatery, Untitled, which at the time was still being soft-launched. (Hmm, maybe restaurants should use the term "half-baked" or "soft-boiled" instead of "soft-launched.") Either undeterred by the long line or dim-witted from hunger, I waited a short while and lucked out, scoring a seat at the counter.

I ordered a BLT, a soft drink, and a dessert. The BLT and dessert tasted fine, but what really stood out for me were the drink - an apple and ginger soda from Brooklyn Soda Works (BSW) - and the pickle from McClure's Pickles that accompanied the sandwich. The soda was crisp with lots of bubbles, sharp from ginger, and sweet, but not too apply sweet; well balanced and bright, it made me feel, well, kinda perky. The pickle was also crisp and bright, and wonderfully tart and puckery, with a bit of a garlic kick.

That was some time in April, right before the close of the exhibit. Since then, I'd thought a lot about the pickle and the soda (which, unfortunately, is not the title of a forthcoming motion picture by Noah Baumbach). Both fell into Untitled's locally sourced category but weren't local enough for me! I postponed a schlep from Queens to find the two Brooklyn-manufactured goods until mid-December. That's eight months of mulling and salivating over the remembered flavors of those foods. Finally, as I was scouting online for a used manual typewriter to purchase, I noticed that both BSW and McClure's had vendor stalls at the Brooklyn Flea.

An easy 20 minute LIRR ride from Jamaica to downtown Brooklyn, and my lazy self was finally in tasting range of the things that I'd been craving for so long. I grabbed a soda from the BSW stall conveniently located right next to the entrance of the old Williamsburg Savings Bank (aka Skylight One Hanson) and started wandering around in search of the McClure's stall. I stopped to pick up a sandwich from Porchetta; I quickly got full off half of it, which had lots of tasty porky flavor and crispy skin but couldn't quite compare to Oink. Then I sampled some wasabi pickled green beans from Rick's Picks and bought a jar. Finally, I got to McClure's and got a jar of garlic dill spears.

Once I got all the loot home (which included a new-to-me Royal typewriter; thanks or blame to college friend Eliot for stoking my typewriter interest), I got down to business. After an eight month wait, was I correct in thinking that the soda and pickles were that good? Sadly, no; they seemed flatter, less sparkly, sharp, and vibrant than I'd recalled. I've been wondering why that might be. Had I hyped the flavors in my mind, either over time or even right in the moment? Had the flavors changed, these being "artisanally" made and perhaps not as formulaically reliable as, say, Coke or Heinz 57 ketchup? Had my own tastes changed within such a short span of time? Or, maybe, just maybe, did I get at least one of the suppliers wrong, even though I made a point of writing both names down? Just now, as I've been looking up the links to add to this blog, I saw on Untitled's page that they get their pickles from Brooklyn Brine - was that true in April, and must I now hunt for those?

Sigh. Wait until 2013. Maybe your unreliable narrator will get a hold of the Brooklyn Brine pickles by then, before the pickling craze goes kablooey.

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)

Dispatch from a three hour tour

Wherein my cousin Nick from Australia, visiting NYC for a less than a week, hits the ground running while I nearly hit the ground...

Our starting point: The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District. Nice room, floor-to-ceiling window with view of the Highline.

Stop #1: Hogs and Heifers. A fine contrast, in all its biker glory, to the overwhelming hipsterdom of The Standard and its denizens. Me: a Yuengling. Nick: a Red Bull and diet Coke.

Stop #2: Old Homestead Steakhouse. We don't dine here, as we've got Friday set aside for Peter Luger's, but I figure cocktails here would provide a nice view of the old school dining room (although it looks like it's been done up since I was last there) and another kind of contrast. Me: a Hendricks gin and tonic. Nick: sparkling water.

Stop #3: The Jane Hotel. Nick stayed here the last time he was in town but did not have a pleasant experience, finding the room small and moldy smelling. He did find the hotel's bar, the Ballroom, worth returning to, although when we arrived there were only 4 or 5 people there, roughly 296 people less than when he last visited. In any case, it was quiet enough to have a chat about our relatives over a drink. Me: The Raj - gin (Plymouth?), St. Germain, and something; not as flavorful as I'd anticipated. Nick: a virgin cocktail, mostly minty.

Stop #4: The Spotted Pig.The much ballyhooed gastropub, this counts as one of Nick's favorite spots; in his words, it's like a British pub without any English people in it. We're there on a slow night and saunter right on in for dinner on the ground floor, seated next to a group of heavily bearded white men wearing glasses who all look alike and who talk about the food in Portland, Oregon (yay, Portland!). Me: the "It's Complicated" cocktail (ugh, I really had to say that when I ordered it) - Plymouth gin, cucumber, tonic, fresh squeezed lime juice, fresh cracked pepper and a dash of olive juice. The verdict: excellent. Refreshing, and the bite of the pepper makes me think this would be a good replacement for a Bloody Mary at a Sunday brunch. Nick: ...a sparkling water??? To eat:

• Radish salad with parmesan and basil - hefty helping, quite tasty; we agree that the parmesan makes the salad. I did not detect any basil.
• Pot of pickles. That's pretty accurate. So so. Considering that NYC is going thru a pickling renaissance, which causes one of my friends to roll his eyes every time he sees artisanal pickles, these are underwhelming and make me think longingly and lovingly of the one glorious pickled onion I had in a cocktail in North Adams, Massachusetts (which will be the subject of another post).
• Me: milk braised pork with some kinda green, slightly bitter vegetable. Good, reminded me of a dish I'd have in a Chinese restaurant, but too salty for my taste. Could have used more bitter veg or maybe something vinegary or spicy to cut the unctuousness; would the chef have been aghast if I'd doused this with Tabasco?
• Nick: roasted halibut with summer squash. Quite tasty. Good crunch on the fish. (Remind me to tell you of the halibut steak anecdote later.)
• Me: wedge of lemon dredged in sugar with a dash of bitters. My go-to hiccup cure, 100% effective and very tasty.
• Caramel ice cream with a shot of espresso. Freaking delicious. I wish I could have this every day, but reducing the amount of ice cream to a tablespoonful to chase the espresso. Lovely. Thumbs up also to the French press coffee.

Stop #5: Employees Only. It's hitting midnight, and I can tell this is my last stop. Me: Campari and soda. Nick: &^%~)*?@! sparkling water or an item in that category. Now he tells me that he's been staying away from drinking in order to, in my words, reduce caloric intake. Hmm. You think I'd have noticed earlier. Well, I was kinda preoccupied in ranking my cocktails and making sure I kept track of where we were and what we had. Anyhow, the bar is well occupied though not uncomfortably crowded; it's not quite the place I'd normally hang out at (where would I hang out at? if I had my druthers, the Pegu Club, Rye House, Beer Table, The Brandy Library) but one of the benefits of going out with my cousin is to try new stuff.

I'll have to check with Nick to see how he wrapped up the evening and make sure that he adds some contributions to the blog while he's here. Considering that I got home at 1, woke up at 3 wondering who had poured a bottle of gin on me, and then fully woke up at 5:30 and started writing this blog, I'm doing pretty well. More to follow...

'Nuff said

About Midelton Irish whiskey, Brown Liquor Club member Amy hit the nail on the head with this assessment: "It tastes like God."

Rounding out the rest of the March 2010 Irish whiskey themed tasting were Greenope, a vague and innocuous corn-based bourbon-like whiskey, and the more assertive and highly drinkable Redbreast.

The lazy blog

Only recently have I taken advantage of the Monday night half-price Belgian beer special at Petite Abeille. I've often gone to this cozy place for lunches with co-workers or dinner with friends and had eyeballed the signs advertising the Monday night special (along with the all-you-can-eat mussels special on Wednesdays). What does it take to go from knowing about something to following up on it? When it comes to beer, other people glomming on to the idea; in this case, my colleague Ben managed to corral a group of folks to attend.  We were happy to learn that the beer list was extensive and that the special was a true half-price special (as opposed to a two-for-one deal). Also, our bartender that evening was both knowledgeable and helpful and directed us to beers that matched our preferences of the moment.

The reason this is a lazy blog is b/c I'm going to rely on other people's reviews of the beers they tried. I recommend La Chouffe, which, as the label indicates, means "gnome." It's refreshing, aromatic and spicy, not at all what I imagine a gnome to be like...

Beer 'n' meat

An aptly named tasting sponsored by the Culinary Center at the gigantorama Whole Foods on the Bowery. Much as I want to hate Whole Foods for being gargantuan and taking up a city block, I have to admit I appreciate their fun stuff like this event, where they paired beers from the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company with a variety of tasty meats from the market and brought The Shameless Carnivore Scott Gold to lead a discussion with brewmeister/Captain Lawrence himself, Scott Vaccaro, and Tate Ramos, the meat coordinator the the market.  (Meat coordinator, huh? That's either a job I should pursue or a friend I ought to cozy up to.)

Okay, what you see here is the tasting plate.  Starting at 12 o'clock, we've got Swedish meatballs made with ground buffalo, a chicken liver and veal pate, Prosciutto d'Parma (droool), Nostrano (an Italian American salumi that evokes a different sort of droooool), and smoked duck with Wheelhouse Minor Threat mustard.  Not in the picture is a small piece of Mo's Chocolate Bacon from Vosges.

All of these items were lovely and memorable on their own, although the pate and chocolate with bacon-bits made me swoon considerably less than the other delectables.  The Swedish meatballs had the sweetness but not the dryness of buffalo meat and got paired with a cranberry - as opposed to lingonberry - sauce to display American ingredients.  The rich, savory, and definitely salty Nostrano emitted a perceptible aroma that I can't quite describe - sort of tangy, peppery / spicy, and ripe.  The smoked duck breast - how did I not wind up with a cart full of this stuff?  The dense meat and creamy fat were in perfect balance. The smokiness did not overwhelm the flavor and paired perfectly with the piquant and sweet mustard, made with habaneros and mango.  It took a lot of restraint on my part not to mop up the mustard with my fingers.

Okay, that was the meat.  What about the beer?  Like the meats, excellent on their own - I am now a fan and will look for Captain Lawrence beer whenever I go to a bar.  I'm also planning a trip soon to Pleasantville, not too far away, for their brewery tours and tastings (ah, Pleasantville, what better place to quaff a beer).

And the pairings?  They really, really worked.  I appreciate the thought put into them.  An Imperial IPA was served with the buffalo Swedish meatballs, the intense flavor of the IPA matching up but not crowding out the richness and heartiness of the meatballs.  Liquid Gold, a light on hops but flavorful and spicy brew, made with a Belgian yeast strain and coriander, served as an elegant partner for the delicate pate.  The Prosciutto came, somewhat surprisingly to me, with a brown ale, but this particular brown ale worked: not overwhelmingly malty - just enough to balance the saltiness of the Prosciutto - and not too full-bodied; a very drinkable brown ale that I can fully imagine  ordering two or three rounds of.  The Freshchester Pale Ale was poured when we hit the Nostrano.  Made with American Hops, the pale ale was fruity and citrusy, nicely balancing the salt and fat of the salumi.  (I can't recall whether I preferred the Freshchester or the Liquid Gold.  Guess I will have to compare both on a hot summer day.)  A smoked porter came out with the smoked duck meat.  (I believe that's what my esteemed colleague Ernest is drinking in the photo.)  There were some raised eyebrows in the group, wondering if the double whammy of smoky flavor would be too much.  It turned out not to be a palate calamity, but I may simply not be a fan of smoked beers period.  I would like to try one of the regular porters they offer.  Last but definitely not least was the Nor'Easter Winter Warmer, a seasonal brew aged in bourbon barrels and bottle conditioned.  This year's batch featured dried elderflowers and had a complex flavor and aroma, very sophisticated and very drinkable, a beer to mull over and sip slowly.  This was probably the least favorable pairing, because the Winter Warmer eclipsed the "eh" (that was literally in my notes) chocolate bacon.  I need to get me some of this stuff because just thinking about it has made me feel much better.

That's it from here.  Beer 'n' meat, yessir.  Go forth and replicate the tasting on your own, if you can get the ingredients.  I plan to.

Why I'm grateful to live in NYC

The going away party for Mike L., our esteemed colleague and hops connoisseur, fittingly took place at Beer Table, a small establishment with a large, well curated and revolving beer list. Like the other great booze emporium in Brooklyn, LeNell's, Beer Table features friendly, un-snooty proprietors whose jobs you'd kill for, but only til you remember that you're not supposed to drink your entire inventory - that's for the paying customers.  Also like LeNell's, Beer Table acts as one of my few sources of borough related-envy; at least it's on the F line, which gets me home with the addition of 75 to 90 minutes of nap time.

Back to the aforementioned inventory.  The beer list I encountered last week was entirely unfamiliar;  the only thing I'd heard of before, much less tried, was a Hitachino Nest ale.  Everything else - including the posted draft beers and cask - was excitingly novel, and the detailed menu served as helpful tool (unlike the chalkboards at Blind Tiger), listing the alcohol content to the size of the bottle and providing evocative albeit at times dismaying tasting notes (anyone up for the flavor of rubber and popcorn?).

I'm not sure if the accuracy of the tasting notes deserves the credit, but all of my selections turned out to be top notch beers that I would certainly order again or stockpile or ask someone else to buy for me (the lowest priced beer on the menu was either $6 or $7, with the priciest hitting the $90 range; my selections averaged $12 to $15).  My recommendations include the herbal and aromatic Prof. Fritz Briem Gut; the smoky, savory, and bitter T'Smisje BBBourgondier; and the wonderfully aroma'd, round, "antique, earth, tobacco, mineral" Gale's Old Prize Ale.

You know your co-workers are good people when each and every one of them allows you to sample their beers.  Among their selections, I'd recommend without hesitation and with much salivation the Rochefort 10 - silky, smooth, lovely, Ben called it one of the best beers he's ever had. I nearly ordered one of the beers by the glass that evening, the BFM La Mandragore, but they'd run out of the full-bodied and chocolately brew.  Another excellent Gale's beer was the bitter orange flavored Conquest Ale.

Here's what else I got to try:

• Prof. Fritz Briem "1809" - tart and effervescent
• Green Flash Le Freak - a grassy cask conditioned ale from San Diego, of all unexpected places
• Hanssen's Oudbeitje - "ultracomplex" -- that was the popcorn/rubber combo; be bold and try it
• Schlenkerla Marzen - there's an umlaut over the a in "Marzen," and a distinctively smoky/meaty flavor to the beer!
• Sinebrychoff Porter - good for the winter: bitter, dark, and heavy
• Dorothy Goodbody's Stout - fun label, but either my tastebuds had been done in by then, or the beer was only so-so compared to the others

As a quick side note before this post ends, Beer Table does have a few items to nosh on, including dehydrated fruit and vegetable chips (including watermelon, tomato and pineapple), fantastic pickled green beans, cheese and bread platters, and sausages.

Bottom line: Beer Table knocks the socks off other beer establishments, and we need to support them wholeheartedly.  I therefore suggest that you, my dear readers, take me there for my birthday, and vice versa, along with any other non-special occasion days, afternoons, or evenings that you want to make special via the addition of fantastic tasting beer and good company.  And if the Beer Table folks ever want to scout out locations in Queens, I'm here to help.  Cheers.

P.S. I forgot to mention - there wasn't a gargoyle in sight!  Phew!

FOCOT from NOLA

FOCOT* Jon provided a great review via email last month of Bacchanal, a wine shop in New Orleans, where he is currently posted.  Here's the overview:

[Bacchanal is] a wine shop in the far reaches of hippie/hip/far out Bywater (a stone’s throw across the canal from the lower ninth[). O]ne, two, or three evenings a week a guest chef (from one of the best restaurants in town) comes and cooks four or five little dishes off in the corner of the big backyard where you line up to a folding table and order and carry back to garden furniture tables and eat with a bottle of wine picked out inside. Oh, and there’s some simple hip/hippie/far out music playing too.

Jon went in June, when featured guest chef, Ian Schnoebelen of Iris, provided this menu:

• Gulf Shrimp - chilled, green papaya, citrus, peanuts
• Mussels - coconut, plantain chips, Vietnamese herbs
• Lamb Tenderloin Salad - arugula, cucumber, coriander, creme fraice
• Baby Octopus - tostados, pico de gallo
• Spring Rolls - vegetarian: avocado, cucumber
• Duck Breast - gailan, baby bok choy, ginger broth
• Yellowfin Tuna - Vietnamese greens, pickled ginger
• Pork Chop - mango, Vidalia onion
• Peach and Walnut Tart
• Chocolate Torte
• Cherry compote

Here's Jon's review:

It was packed when we arrived - no place to sit and lines both for wine and for food -- so we sat on the corner of an old cast iron bathtub (you get the picture) and listened to the music. After a bit, we decided to go to a BYO Thai place we like (Sukho Thai, very good although twice the price of good Thai in NYC) and so went inside to get a cold white wine to take along. A lovely woman (whose name sounded like "Otter"**) asked why we were leaving and I told her there was no place to sit. She, now clearly a proprietress, said she'd be able to make us comfortable. She got us set at a makeshift table of wire mesh sitting on an iron stand and gave us two bar stools - all this out in the back yard/lot of this not-long-ago abandoned building at the very corner of the Bywater, hard by the Mississippi and the tracks, across from the naval base that, along with the Canal, separates the neighborhood from the Lower Ninth.  It was near perfect; the sky turned rosy and gave us something to look at while we waited in line for maybe 40 minutes for what was left of the food. No more shrimp with green mango, but we were able to get what I wanted most (just the mango and cilantro and lime and peanuts) for just two bucks, and some nice lamb salad, and I had a so-so octopus tostada, while Micah (always looking for quantity) had a huge pork chop with hot South Asian spices. We shared a fabulous flourless chocolate cake with sour cherry sauce. The wine was a decent California sauvignon blanc. I've had better there; there just weren't the range of good chilled whites last night. The music was sweet; fun, upbeat, just the right mood for outdoor dining and chatting. And the people are always really nice (interesting and diverse in many ways - although not racially, a problem in nola and, well, the U S of A).

Okay, Jon, I'm ready to make a visit.  Never mind the heat.