Category: Drinking

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Drinking Recipes The Chef

Eggnoggin’

The holidays are upon us, and seeking out the right wines to serve with holiday meals become my primary focus, as well as some well deserved proper cocktails at some of my favorite city haunts.  Recently at Apotheke, located in Chinatown, whose cocktail list is designed by a Venezuelan consultant known for aggressive flavor profiles, I imbibed on a tomato basil libation, which sounds like a salad, but was understated.  Clean tomato, then a hint of fresh basil, surprising and effective.  I am no mixologist, save for a proper sidecar, so I need to make a holiday drink for me that is not too taxing and for the masses.

Enter eggnog, a milk and egg drink spiked with brandy or Madeira, one of the true gifts from our neighbors across the Atlantic.  Eggs and milk were very expensive during the 18th century, brandy too, so rum from the Caribbean became a natural, cost-effective substitute.  But New Americans soon switched to whiskey and bourbon, anchoring the eggnog of present day.

Good recipes travel fast, as our Mexican neighbors have a version called rompope. Originally made by the nuns of Puebla, vanilla flavoring is added and extra egg yolks, imparting a more yellowish color.  In East Harlem, at a cakery called Pasteles Capy, the Dorado family have a rompope flavored version that would sweeten any holiday table.

Heading to El Caribe, the center of rum production, variations of these eggnogs became traditional national beverages.  In Puerto Rico, the Borinquen version resides in the coquito, made with coconut and condensed milk, spiced by cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In Haiti, the drink is called kremas, comprised of creamed coconut and often evaporated milk, which is less expensive than condensed or regular milk.  Aside from cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, anise is also added.  The following is my family recipe:

Kremas Recipe

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
2 cans evaporated milk
4 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream of coconut
1 Vanilla Bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 star anise
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
2 cups Haitian rum like Barbancourt

Instructions:
In a large sauce pot, add all ingredients. Whisk until well incorporated. Bring to a simmer and stir until mixture thickens. Cool down mixture for 15 minutes.  Add mixture to blender for thirty seconds.  Pour into large glass container with a lid and refrigerate for 24 hours.  Serve cold.

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Drinking Eating Experiences Food The Chef

Tribeca Falling

Having spent a week in my second adopted neighborhood in New York, Tribeca, I have noticed some subtle changes in the restaurant landscape.

More than ever, at night, it is quiet, and that can be directly related to the Triburbia effect, meaning the rising number of stay at home moms with strollers who have traded in late night dinners for lunch/shopping.

Many restaurants have closed, most notably Chanterelle and Danube, and there are more empty spaces now than I can remember, testifying to the rising rents everywhere.  The quality of some existing restaurants have slipped too. Old standbys like Tribeca Grill and The Odeon have not kept up with the times, serving mediocre food for unjustified prices, and the basic grub stops such as Edward’s or Petite Abeille, or Max, might as well be located in the Upper East Side.  It’s a bad sign when a chain comes along, like Dean’s pizza, further signifying a changing of the guard.  More Duane Reades, banks and chain stores like Subway.  I had a few recent meals at Bouley Upstairs and Blau Gans, and although the meals were fine, they were not up to par compared to past experiences.  I am still wondering about Nobu’s consistency.

The Little American Place, Kitchenette, Mangez avec Moi have all had changes in their food, I feel, and the void for cuisine ethnic and exciting has not been filled.

There is still a proliferation of Italian restaurants, mostly overpriced and antiquated.  This is pasta better off made at home.  There isn’t a decent burger in sight, maybe Landmark, and the steakhouses Wolfgang’s and the Palm, are not first choices for a fab cut of beef. Megarestos like Megu, Matsugen, and Ninja, still seem to stay open somehow.  Thank goodness Chinatown is so near.

Newcomers like Bar Artisanal and Locanda Verde are trying to fill the void, but my recent trips to these bars proved fatefully malserviced, coupled with uninspired, small portioned food.  The perennial brunch pleaser, Bubby’s is trying to become a late night destination.  Alas early on a Sunday night, they were out of the ribs.  I guess they are trying to fill the void left by Florent’s closing, picking up a weary Soho crowd.  Bouley Market is trying to be a wine bar at night, but the space is simply not conducive to this conversion.  I still enjoy the Japanese small plates at B Flat, a jazz mecca with fine cocktails, and have yet to give Macao Trading Co. a second chance.  Visits to Macao upon opening left me confused.

At the moment Tribeca still seems like a good destination for lunch, from the Bangladesh eateries closer to the courthouses to the Korean fried chicken at Bon Chon, including several pubs that are open for lunch offering good pub fare.  There are a couple of bars on the clandestine side, not speakeasy, but hard to find.  77 Warren might have the right vibe and feel, but their hours are not set in stone.

Pastries are still good at Duane Street Patisserie and Bouley Market, but when will real artisanal coffee arrive?  Stumptown, Counter Culture, anyone?

I still enjoy Tribeca, and will continue too seek out good quality food there, but in the meanwhile, it’s Winnie’s, NY Noodletown, Big Wong, Fuleen’s, and Grand Sichuan for me.

Categories
Drinking Experiences The Chef Wine

Beer Please?

Every other week there is a hotly debated discussion about beer vs. wine.  The beer advocates feel beer gets an unfair shake in terms of craftsmanship and are further looked down upon by wine drinkers.  The wine advocates think it is more difficult to make wine and feel beer consumers are what the commercials portray them to be, uneducated drunkards with zero palate.  Perhaps this attitude is not shared by the winemakers or workers in the industry.  Peek at the beverage that any one of these folks have in hand during leisure time and you can be all-in that the drink of choice is beer.

As Mr. Asimov pointed out in his blog, The Pour,  beer and wine need not be adversaries, merely complimentary choices.  The horrific marketing ads for beer made without quality paint beer consumers as dolts, and after any real discussion with an avid beer lover, you will discover the same passion and knowledge as a wine geek who casually spouts out malolactic fermentation and indigenous yeasts.  It begs the question, why the divorce?  Why not a reconciliation? If one can have several courses during a meal, why not several different beverages?  Why all the rules and animosity?

I like to start with Champagne, or beer or cocktail, then move towards wine, including sherry, ultimately returning to beer or champagne at the end.

Last week I had much to celebrate.  I received I high rank in Aikido, I was a guest on a cable tv cooking show, and I attended the JETS game.  My drink of choice is Champagne, but I opted for beer at the Burger Joint, located in the Parker Meridien Hotel (still my burger of choice in a burger mad city).  The Sam Adams Boston Lager was on tap and in pristine form, full of body and frothy, perfect for the occasion, having just finished my Aikido exam.  Later in the week I found myself at the underground (literally) pizza shop speakeasy at 6th and Avenue B, although I ordered a bottled beer that was much less satisfying.  Finally on Sunday, I celebrated the Yankees victory while watching the JETS, reaching for old standbys Bass Ale and Guinness on tap, which after those two kickoff returns by Ted Ginn Jr.,drowned my sorrows appropriately.

I look at beer as a mini Champagne, a tiny split if you will, and the only decision you have to make is to choose a good one, or at least one to your liking, much like I prefer drinking vintage over non-vintage, except that the cost comparison is recession friendly.  Six packs work just as well as a bottle of wine.  Two people or four can share.  At my favorite Cantonese place, Phoenix Garden, which has a BYOB policy, I often bring a six pack of lager, and then esoteric white wines, just to try different flavor combos and pairings, returning to beer throughout the meal.  But there is no need to quarrel over which, I say choose both.

This week I will be heading at Minetta Tavern for a celebratory black belt meal.  Will it be beer, Champagne, or cocktail to start?  Maybe all three.  The beauty is in the choice and my mood, no rules or arguments.  It all fits.  It’s all good.  It’s all celebration.

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Drinking Eating Experiences Wine

A Spanish Rain Delay

There was a rain out on Friday, preventing the Yankees from clinching the series against the Angels, but as of today, we know the delay could not prevent the obvious outcome.  This did not deter the wine drinking family of Tempranillo, Inc., the Jorge Ordonez company that have placed more 90+ point wines on Parker and Wine Spectator’s radar than any other Spanish wine importer.

This was the annual staff party, winemakers invited and included, selected clients chosen, for an evening of wining and dining, Tempranillo style. My good friend Ramon del Monte invited me, and despite a busy evening at Pata Negra, I could not resist a driveby. The event was hosted at Solera, and with the seasoned chef Danilo Paulino putting out arroz negro and sliced aged beef, there was plenty of Spanish grape juice to match.

A lot of suits and Spanish testosterone for the bi-level restaurant, and only the gracious maitre d’hotel and wine savant Ron Miller can handle so many egos with such ease and care. There were lovely ladies present as well, wielding an intoxicating combination of beauty and wine savvy, such as the darlings from Tinto Fino, and my accompaniment for the evening, one of my managers, Chris, the fashionable Brooklynite whose thirst for knowledge about wine reminds me of my youthful discovery days.  If only I could have been exposed to such extravaganzas in my early twenties.

Everyone was in great spirits, buoyed by the glistening selection of oysters and clams not three feet from the entrance.  This paired gloriously with a cava from the house of Muga, Conde de Haro.  The jovial Juan Muga was present, ambassador for his family winery which need no introduction.  The Prado Enea 2000 was singing that night, having had the benefit of air, and mixed in with a line-up of heavier hitters than the middle of the Yankee batting order.  Aro, Malleolus, El Bosque, El Nido, and the list goes on and on, a battery of wines that have paved the way for New World style soon to be classics that can be laid down for the next generation.

A quick chat with Jorge Ordonez himself, wearing a detective hat indoors, perhaps shielding himself from the hordes of fans and clients, who took time out to tell me he knew nothing of my beloved Yanks, our conversation feeling like two old men playing dominoes on a street corner with Mahou beers, enjoying the pleasantry of differences and a shared love for life, as impressive a first meeting as any for me, a real character.

I was informed that the Moro brothers were missed, not only for their guitar and singing acumen, but also for their boisterous spirit.  The air about the evening was a bit subdued.  This did not suit Juan Muga, and so off we were to the Dream Hotel nearby (we might as well have been in Cleveland), for dancing and mischief.  In this respect New York should be like Madrid or Barcelona, with select bars and clubs open until mid-day.  Four in the morning just doesn’t give anyone enough time to get your groove on, especially if you work in the industry.

This made for a tough 7:30 am wake up, but I just look at it as pre-celebratory Yankees toast, as well as kudos for a bright future of Spanish wine at every table.

Categories
Drinking Experiences The Chef Wine

Great Match Wine & Tapas

Once again this fall, Wines from Spain organized the Great Match in an effort to create greater awareness of Spanish wine in the U.S. marketplace.  Although this fall’s turnout was not as large in the paste, there were still plenty of wines to taste and vintages to track.

The event was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea, and was more fun for me this time around, hauling my friend Chris, a Williamsburg native, who works for me at Pata Negra four nights per week, eager to soak up some Spanish wine knowledge.

My primary goals were to ascertain how vintages are drinking, and also to find some gems that may be hidden in the deep rough.  We tasted over 100 wines, slowed down by some friendly industry conversation.  There was no real time to eat; the lines were long.

The wines of Ribera del Duero were drinking well, as well as the verdejos, crisp whites from the Rueda.  I finally found a winery from Toro which I actually liked, from Bodega Palacio de los Frontaura y Victoria, who was pouring a 2005 Frontaura and Dominio de Valdelcasa.  Both wines were plush and bloody, what I expect from tinto de Toro.

Of the Riberas tasted, Torremilanos crianza 2005, Astrales 2006,  Federico Roble 2007, Arrocal 2004, Valduero Reserva 2004, and Figuero Roble 2006 were all drinking well.  It proved that the 2005 and 2006 vintage can be trusted.  Usually wines from the Ribera need time in the bottle, and most of these could benefit from that time.

Of the verdejos sampled, I enjoyed the Villa Narcisa 2008 from Javier Sanz most, followed by Blanco Nieva and the bestselling Naia.

Priorat made a small splash, represented by Vall Llach’s Embruix 2005, Solanes 2005, and Nita 2007.  The wines were plush and rich, deeply berried and round.

I have to shout out the sherries, but then again these are always the wines of these tastings.  The value from La Gitana and Solear cannot be overstated.

The wine of the tasting for me came out of left field, a cava named Rimarts done in the style of brut nature.  It was delicious, refreshing, and organic, full of minerality and bubbles, a serious effort from a small producer.

Perhaps the hidden producer of the tasting award goes to some ecological wines from Navarra.  The most curious of the line-up being a boxed tempranillo/bobal blend named Charla from Valencia.  This 2003 three litre quaffer hopes add to the boxed wine comeback, and I am listening.  Earth 3.0 Tempranillo  2008 and Casita Mami garnacha/graciano from 2004 were drinking very well.  These wines were aromatic and funky in the right barnyard sort of style.

It was a bit disappointing that some of the wines showcased exhibited similar flavor profiles, a sure sign that winemakers are listening to critics like Parker and Penin.  If the wines taste similarly, leading to higher scores and inflated prices, the same epidemic could occur in Spain as to Australia, and to certain extent California, where consumers lose faith in the market value of homogenous tasting wines, and refuse to pay the exorbitant prices.  Winemakers need to stick their guns, and consumers need to start really assessing what critics are saying.

I am still pleased with the increased awareness in Spanish wines and foods, and am encouraged in a more educated consumer market here in the U.S.  Enjoy Spain!