Chiu on This

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)

Vegetarians, avert your eyes

Peter Luger, the classic New York steakhouse, requires little by way of introduction, so I will stick to some of my favorite moments in the 8+ times I've had the privilege to dine here over the last decade:

• After my first visit - a birthday dinner for my roommate James - staggering from the restaurant to our decrepit and ridiculously overpriced Williamsburg apartment about 5 blocks north, where I Iie prone in a food coma, a pattern that I will frequently fall into after a visit to Luger's.
• My friend Anthony picking up a still well-fleshed T-bone and gnawing on it, to the deep admiration of our dining party.
• Leaving work for a long lunch to try out their famed hamburger ("it's not chopped ham, it's chopped steak").
• Hearing that the T-bones that were taken home in a doggie bag were actually given to a dog, a giant German shepherd named, honestly, "Beef."
• Learning from the not-at-all-surly-and-actually-quite-lovely waiter on this visit that the most he's ever seen any party eat was when two skinny Swedish guys polished off a steak for 8 along with an order of tomatoes and onions, bacon, and shrimp cocktail.

Given that last item, our menu for 6 people (4 of us are of the Chiu / Chang clan, so multiply the eating capability of the group by 1.75) was not so embarrassing after all:

Appetizers

• Tomatoes and onions
• Bacon, cut extra thick

Entree and sides

• Steak for three, medium
• Steak for four, medium rare
• French fries
• German fried potatoes
• Creamed spinach

Before

 

During

After

Coffee, yes. Dessert, no. The apple strudel, cheesecake, hot fudge Sundays, and (in)famous Schlag are fine, but not compelling enough to save room for, and, personally, I would rather leave with the taste of steak on my palate than with a satisfied sweet tooth.

Bliss. Call me if you want to go.

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!

A Creamsicle for adults

Time Out New York's recent issue profiled a number of pizza places, with Franny's in Brooklyn coming in at #10.  I ate there in the late summer with a bunch of folks attending Michela's going-away-to-DC party.  The pizza was good but not that memorable. What has actually stuck in my mind were the desserts.  We shared the fiore de latte gelato, which is on the regular menu, and the special watermelon granita. As we dipped into each serving, Anita aptly described the combination as a Creamsicle for adults - the luxurious milk essence of the gelato (I had no idea milk could taste so good) and its creamy texture paired beautifully with the grainy granita, which popped with watermelon flavor, enhanced with just the right amount of salt to bring out its brightness, sweetness, and freshness.  This ranks among my top food memories of the year.