She was raised out in Brooklyn
Made my way over to the Mile End in Noho a couple times since its opening two weeks ago. This is the sister location to the one in Boreum Hill. It’s best known for its amazing bagels(flown in from Montreal, proper), poutine and roast beef sandwiches. I’d never been to the location in Brooklyn, because, well it’s in Brooklyn and we all know my disposition for going to Brooklyn. Since this location opened, I’ve been, twice. It’s that freaking good. Twice. I even brought my workmates with me the second time. They all loved it too.
I got the smoked meat deluxe package, which came with a sandwich, fries, coleslaw and a pickle. And not just any pickle, but quite possibly one of the best pickles I’ve ever had. Sandwich was just ready to explode it had so much meat in it. Tasty, juicy and just perfectly seasoned. Just enough bread, with the right amount of spicy mustard dabbed on. Fries were delicious and just crisped to the right spot. Even the coleslaw, which I usually hate, was delicious. It was a little pricey, about $18, but totally hit the spot. I know, I know, purest will say that there are places that are better. But to be honest, I lived a block away from Katz’s for 6 years and never, ever wanted to go in there. Not once. Those sandwiches which are so big you can’t eat it all in one sitting, not for me.
This was impressive and just the perfect amount of food and seriously tasty to boot. Overall, a great new spot that I will visit again and again, especially to try the Grandpa sandwich and the poutine. Incredibly friendly staff, they even gave me some meat scraps for Lulu(yeah, that’s a plus). Nice looking location, but no seats, which I thought was a little weird. The menu is expansive and has lots and lots to try. If you’re in the hood, check it out. Definitely worthy of a visit or two, or even three.
Make me an offer that I can’t refuse
Last week, I hit up the new St. Marks spot, Proletariat. It’s pretty cool that it’s located at the back of a cupcake shop. It had been billed as a place with rare, new and notable beers. It didn’t disappoint. They had 12 beers on tap, 30+ in bottles, and a couple of beer cocktails, Edward Forty Hands and Brooklyn Squall. I tried both and they were fantastic. One made with Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout. I had a couple different beers, most notably the Mikkeller Room 603, Carton’s amazing Boat Beer, which I could drink all day long. Also was able to try a fantastic brown ale from White Birch, the Tavern Ale and the Hofstetten Kubelbier.
It’s a great spot. Tiny and cozy, with only 10 seats total. The beer board is this awesome copper board with magnetic letters spelling out the draft list. The night I was there, it was packed to the gills with probably about 25 people in the cramped beer little heaven. But it was worth it, great beers, great cocktails and hey, if you get hungry, head up to the front and grab some cupcakes. The only warning, for those shoddy people that don’t drink beer, this establishment, only serves beer and the beer cocktails. If your company needs a cocktail, take them to Death and Company, the owners other location, which makes sick cocktails and is quite possibly one of the best date spots in all of this lovely city. Our buddy Chris does a much better write up at his site, BrewYork, NY. So just read that to get the full scoop.
Listening Pile: Body Language – Sandwiches.
I mean, come on, does this one need an explanation. It’s a hot dance jam, by a fantastic up and coming Brooklyn band. It’s also about doing it, but you know, they used sandwich metaphors and all. Sneaky.
Wow, what a week. I’m very sorry I haven’t written anything on here, in ages. Life gets in the way of progress, right? But I’ve been thinking about mortality a lot the last few days with Junior Seau’s passing. I’ve been thinking about living life to its fullest. Living life, enjoying life, breathing life the way Junior Seau did while we watched him go from sideline to sideline. I remember thinking, there is no one that is having as much fun as him playing the game. No one.
Now years, later we learned that for all that flying around, and there was a lot of flying around, I mean, he makes Troy Polamalu look pedestrian, there was a lot of damage he took, that we probably never knew about. I hope his death doesn’t come in vein. I hope that if he did suffer from brain trauma brought on by that fearless style of play, his case helps others get through theirs. I loved watching you bro and will always remember that spirit. Cheers to you in the afterlife.
And…as I was thinking about that I got the news that Adam Yauch, MCA, from the Beastie Boys had passed. This on top of the news last night that one of my favorite baseball players of all time’s, Mariano Rivera’s, career may be over. Just makes me sick today. Literally, I almost threw up in the bathroom earlier today. Mo, you were legendary. The Greatest Of All Time, without a single doubt. I hope it’s not the end, but if it is, you’ve had an amazing ride and I’m glad I got to come along for the journey.
But now, I’m sitting here thinking about all the times I’ve had with MCA and the Beastie Boys. Great times with great friends. I think you’d be hard pressed to find that some part of your life hasn’t been touched by the Beastie Boys. They impacted culture, hip hop, punk rock, lifestyle, sports, video making and recently activism.
For me, the moment I know they changed my life was seeing the video for Whatcha Want. It was life changing. The video with the weird grainy, pixelated footage of them jumping around a park. Think about that video for a second. They literally made being a nerd, being alienated and being punk rock, cool. They gave nerdy white dudes swag. Vintage t-shirts, plaid shirts, vans, dickies and wool caps haven’t been the same since. That video literally formed the way I would dress for the next twenty years. That was literally the moment that I said, you know what, fuck it. I’m gonna be me. I’m gonna do shit my way. I’m not gonna give in to the other bullshit people are doing. And for that, I’m thankful. And for that, I’m going to miss Adam Yauch, aka MCA, the illest.
(by the way, if anyone ever finds that Knicks ringer tee, hook a brother up. been pimping for one, for twenty years)
So, til next time, you know. Before we get back to regular scheduled programming, just want to leave you with this. I started this website to talk about food, beer, the Yankees, my dog, music and whatever else I was passionate and happy about at the moment. So, whatever your thing is, whether it be food, antique pillows, beer, hello kitty, basketball or whatever. Love it. Enjoy it. Breathe it.
As a wise man once said, “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”
Growling
Made my way over to the Growler Station in the West Village a couple times now. It strikes me as a little odd that you can’t actually drink beer in the place unless it’s a brewery or tasting event. You are expected to fill those growlers of yours based on descriptions(which they actually do quite well, with lots of big screens and an upcoming ipad app w/ recommendations and sortable by style). You can fill your 64 or 32 ounce growlers, or pick up one of their Beasts, a 32-ounce recyclable soda bottle, with one of 20+ craft brew options. They told me the beast has all air pulled out and can stay fresh in your fridge for up to 3 months. I was skeptical, but heard from a couple friends they tried it a week later it tasted ok.
The selection was impressive, a lot of local stuff, as well as regional American and International craft beers. Bottles were a little more limited, but with a name like Growler Station, you’d come to expect them pushing the stuff on draft a bit more. There was also a fridge with some artisanal cheese, I believe I even saw some recommendations for pairings. I was a little surprised to see the prices. I don’t think I saw any 64 oz growler fill for less than $11.99 and some going for as much as $49.99. I’ve always had a problem with paying a lot for a growler, because in my opinion is just doesn’t stay fresh and true to the brewers intention. Either way, if you’re gonna get it, drink it fast. That stuff doesn’t keep well once oxygen hits it. The place had a lot of good stuff on tap and from what I’ve read, this is the first of a chain hitting other US markets.
Angelhair of Harlem
On Sunday evening, I made my way up to Harlem to try out Jin Ramen. Conveniently right off the 125th St 1 train stop, it’s a quick trip to the neighborhood. The last few years, I’ve been big on Ramen, eating at a various places across the city. I have a local place near my apartment, Naruto Ramen, that I consider my go to, but I always like to venture out to try something new. I came across this review from J.Kenji Lopez-Alt on Serious Eats and he always is on the money.
They greeted me as I walked in the door and sat me down right at the bar, where I had a front row view to the kitchen. The staff was super friendly and talked me through everything I ordered. Started off with the Nankotsu Kara Age, which is fried chicken cartilage. It was delicious, having almost a calamari type consistency to it. I then had the Shio Ramen, a combo chicken/pork broth. It was good, a little lighter than I usually get. The handmade noodles were thin, but well-cooked and seasoned, as was the pork. The egg, which is one of my favorite parts, was perfectly cooked after being soaked in soy sauce overnight.
Overall, a great new spot that I will visit again. Very friendly staff, they greet everyone as they walk in and out, which is always nice to see. The menu will continue to expand and feature more items, including gyoza, which is a personal fave. Not much in terms of beer, but they had a couple different selections of sake, plum wine and Sapporo. If you’re in the hood, check it out. Definitely worthy of a visit.
Lin-Sanity
I am checking out my first game at the renovated Garden tonight. This is first time in close to 20 years, since the Finals run of Ewing, Starks and Oak, there’s this much excitement in the Garden. I love it as a Knicks fan. I’m not sure people see this for the real story that it is. We’ve already seen one over-zealous editor at ESPN get fired for a bonehead headline. And there was the hilarious, but completely boorish sketch on SNL last weekend. As this wonderful article on Salon.com points out. The kid transcends race. I think the real story here is that of an underdog, a kid that was never given a shot, surfing on his brother’s couch, almost getting cut by his third team this year, then stepping up out of nowhere and doing the great things he did.
I think more people that don’t know a thing about basketball, can relate to this and aspire to do the same thing some day. It’s a story about perseverance in a time when this country needs it. If Jeremy Lin can do what he’s doing, why can’t anyone chase after their dreams in life. It’s a sentiment that truly does transcend race, basketball and sports. It’s a attribute of his life that touched us all. So, I say good for him. Hopefully Coach D’Antoni can figure out how to make this team put it all together and give the Bulls, Heat and Celtics a run for their money in the playoffs this year. Knicks fans could use it. Talk about some tortured fans.
Listening Pile: Memoryhouse – The Kids Were Wrong
Memoryhouse formed some five years ago in Southern Ontario, Canada as a sort of art/music collaboration. Their new album is named after the effect when you zoom and pan out of still images to give them a sense of movement. I think that’s awesome. The song above rocks a bit more than the rest of the album, a dreamy, hazy lo-fi indie-pop album. The one thing about this album I really like are all the tiny little flourishes that ad a wonderful nuance to the songs.
A Night of Stars
Finally made my way over to Birreria at Eataly a few weeks back. Should have mentioned it or written a post about it, but alas, time slipped away. I was thoroughly pleased with the experience. The food was good. I enjoyed a fantastic pork shoulder with a side of potatoes, a yummy simple arugula salad and some fried shitake mushrooms. I had one of the house beers, the Wanda, a casked chestnut mild ale. Followed it up with a Del Borgo Reale Anniversary, a delicious and crisp, Italian IPA. Good stuff! Cool atmosphere, staring at the stars through the closed roof. I went in the middle of winter, but I bet it’d be a great place to sit around and sip on beer with a cheese plate on a warm Spring night. Check it out if you can. Lots of beers, a couple housed ones on cask, lots on tap and bottles, plus tons of wine and lots of Italian, but German inspired fare.
My Future Looks Bright
With Spring Training just about ten days away, it’s great to see that the Yanks have a couple prospects on all the top lists. This one from ESPN has ManBan pretty high. There were all those comps to Johan Santana last year in Spring Training. Pretty awesome to see kids lower in the minors make the list as well, that bodes well for the short and long term of the team. Hopefully guys like ManBan and Dellin Betances contribute this year or next, then those other kids come help out a few years down the line, when some of our aging veterans need to be put out to pasture. Though, everything I’ve read and seen about Dellin Betances, makes me start to think of Daniel Cabrera. Truly one of the most frustrating pitchers to watch in recent memory. He’re hoping he’s more AJ Burnett(the good years) rather than Cabrera.
Pliny The Sixer
Picked up a four pack of the newly release Sixpoint Resin yesterday, Resin has been labeled as a “double IPA,” but you know how those crazy cats at Sixpoint’s operate. Nothering ever fits neatly into a particular style. From what I’ve heard it’s a hop-bomb with a sweet citrusy taste. Makes sense, from the description, it’s supposed to have double the hops of normal DIPA’s, with resin secreted from the glands of the hop cone. Resin will also have the distinction of being the first craft beer available in a 12-ounce “redbull” type can and will be available for a limited time, if you can find it. Don’t fear, two more canned arrivals coming soon, The Harbinger, a canned Saison and Apollo, a summer wheat.
Half Full
The British government seems to think Britain’s binge-drinking problem could be as simple as mandating laws to water down alcoholic drinks. Sounds like a horrible idea. Seems like a problem as old as time. Ask the US how that whole Prohibition thing panned out. Leave it alone and tax more, that’s what they’ll probably do anyhows.
Listening Pile: Twilight Sad – Another Bed
Great new video from a song on their stellar new album, No One Can Ever Know. While the video is disturbing in that, “wait a second, those are pretty good looking corpses” kinda way, the song is pretty awesome and the video is very well executed. Also, keep in mind, he has a wedding ring on. So, next time you make small chit chat with that hipster video clerk you think is kinda cute, just remember this video. But, I digress. The song is awesome, the record is as well. They play Bowery Ballroom at the end of the month. I’ll be there, sad at the fact that the best beer I’ll be able to get will be a Sierra Nevada.
The Queens Kickshaw is run by a husband and wife team that have lived in the area for a couple years. Their site says they wanted to create a place and community that reflected their love for the neighborhood and passions for good food and drink. They serve specialty coffee, teas, sodas, pastries, and fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. The grilled cheese menu is a nod to the food and cultural diversity of Queens, and features fresh, quality ingredients.
Made a quick little trip over to the shop in Astoria last weekend, the day of the year’s first snowstorm. I’d read something about it in the past and my friend wanted to grab a quick bite. She had mentioned it seemed like a place I would like with a huge selection of craft beer and grilled cheese sandwiches. Needless to say, once I perused the menu, I agreed.
It’s an unassuming little spot right off Broadway near the Steinway stop in Astoria. I actually walked right past the entrance, twice. But once inside it was a quaint comfy little spot, blasting out some old school hip hop and indie rock. It had charm and a friendly little staff. We ordered a couple beers, I believe I had the Empire Amber and my friend the Captain Lawrence Kolsch. I say I think because I’m not entirely sure. I actually forgot to note down what we had and just remember being so overwhelmed and excited by their selections, I think I just went with what I thought would go well with the grilled cheese.
The food was pretty good. It’s pretty hard to go wrong with a tasty grilled cheese. They certainly had a couple interesting combos on their menu, including my selection, the Great Hill Blue, blue cheese with prune jam, pear and cranberry walnut bread. I really enjoyed it with the side salad. My friend had an open faced marinated mushrooms and basil pesto on focaccia. It was almost reminiscent of a Sicilian slice of pizza the way it was presented. Overall a good meal with some great beers. The only thing that I thought was strange was no meat on any of the sandwiches, nor any fries or chips on the menu. Not sure if that’s deliberate, but thought it was interesting. They are well known for their coffee and hot chocolate too, which would have made a great close to that chilly evening.
Just seems like the right song for this post. I keep thinking Kickshaw and want to say Rickshaw. Oh well, learned something new that day. Kickshaw means fancy food, delicacy, not those little pull carts like in Central Park.
Wanted to put out some quick thoughts on Top Hops, the new beer bar/store in the LES. It’s obvious once you walk into the place that they are still ironing out their set up and look of the store. There’s a lot of open, unused space in the front, bare walls and some empty space in the fridges. They were also still adding beers into their system while I was there. The bar is set up on one side and features a huge amount of taps, I counted what seemed like 2 dozen, including stuff from NY State breweries like Ommegang, Captain Lawrence, Defiant and Greenport Harbor. There was also some stuff from Bear Republic, Stone and Stillwater on tap during my visit. The strange thing was, they also had Budweiser on tap. The bartender even mentioned people coming in and getting growlers of it. That seemed odd to me, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right?
You walk into the back and that’s where all the beer is stored, cold. There was no beer at room temperature, which seemed very odd to me. I couldn’t quite tell what the order was either, but they had a small amount of imports, mostly seemed like Belgian, Danish and British from what I saw. I’ve seen in places, they are looking to have over 800 types of beer, with a mix of imports and domestic craft and a few macro beers. Seems like you can buy a beer in-store and drink it, while paying a cappage fee. They also do growler fills, both 32 and 64 ounce sizes from what they told me.
They mentioned to me to not mind the look of the place. They still don’t know what they are doing with the extra space. However, they did mention doing brewery nights, food pairing sessions and other beer enthusiast type events. Seems like they are off to a good start. I believe they said they stay open til midnight on Friday and Saturdays, 11 the other days of the week. So if you’re in the hood trying out one of the many great restaurants or seeing a gig at the Bowery Ballroom, it’s a great spot to stop by and pick up something for the rest of your night or sample something on hand.
Great song from a great band. Tops Hops motto is merchants and advocates of great beer, which is sprawled across everything in the place. Made me think of this song for some reason.
What a year. 2011 came and went faster than any other year of my life. Where to start? Should we start with the shocker of the year, the Katy/Russell split? Am I the only one who thought they broke up a while back. And they were married? Shall we chat about the death of Kim Jong Ill or Osama Bin Laden? Um…good riddance, I guess. How about the retardation of Ashton Kutcher? Nah. Someone told me the other day, stick to what I know, baseball, beer and music. So, here goes. This is a quick(hopefully) rundown of 2011 as it mattered, to me.
A Couple Things I Think I Think about 2011
High and Inside
Baseball, another great season, highlighted by the utter collapse of the Red Sox in the last month of the season. It was almost OK to have the Yanks make a quick exit in the playoffs, seeing the collapse in Boston and the subsequent fallout. Eating chicken and watching porn will never be the same again. And now they brought in Bobby Valentine to lead that club. It’s like firing Chief Wiggum and then bringing in Krusty the Clown to take over. It’s either going to be a monumental failure or huge coup by the Sox. Either way, it brings a great new element to the rivalry, the inventor of the sandwich wrap.
As for the rest of baseball, it was a fantastic season. Justin Verlander was great, maybe not MVP great, but just down right filthy on the mound. The Cardinals were basically one game away from going home and losing Albert to the Angels, when faith intervened with them. They went on a great roll to capture the World Series. How the Yanks won the division with the ghosts of Bartolo Colon and “Sweaty” Freddy Garcia making so many starts is pure witchcraft. Cashmoney must’ve made a pact with the devil. Hopefully A-Rod makes the same pact and gets his career back in order this season. Both the Yanks and my fantasy team need it dammit.
The offseason has proven to be quite entertaining as well, with the huge free-agent activity, trades, the NL MVP getting busted for PED’s, the continuing drama with the Mets, Dodgers and Oakland’s stadium bid. How many people are now slapping their knee wishing they voted for Matt Kemp to win the NL MVP? What the hell are the Mets doing? They let Jose Reyes walk to their division rival, getting nothing in return. Their team is a mess. It would make sense to trade David Wright and get a boat load for him, while he’s still young, cheap and relatively healthy. At least the Dodgers are one or two key pieces away from being legitimate contenders in their division. Hopefully those teams get their stuff in order. The owe it to their fans.
I think the one thing that we as fans have to look forward to is all the youth that has been infused into baseball the last few years. I love seeing young guys like King Felix, Clayton Kershaw, Evan Longoria and Matt Kemp dominate the league. Maybe it’s been said before, but we’re witnessing a baseball renaissance these days and we the fans are the benefactors of what’s truly a golden age in the game. Enjoy kids, it won’t last forever.
The Foamy Stuff
Beer, hmmm. I had a great year of beer. So, so, so many great beers had. Tried Pliny the Elder for the first time, also tried a couple other beers from the Russian River crew. Believe the hype. Also got to try Westvleteren 12, not once, but twice this year. It was very, very good, but sorry, I just don’t think it’s considerably better than the other trappist beers. Certainly not for how impossible and pricey it is to get. If you can get your hands on it, try it. Don’t miss out on that. Just saying, don’t expect the world to stop. Actually, that would probably be really bad if the world stopped. But you know what I mean.
Also got to try the Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, which was quite delicious. The vanilla and chocolate flavors are balanced so well with the oak flavor. Good stuff. Hopefully, they continue to make great one offs like this even after the AB/InBev acquisition, probably the craft beer story of the year. Loved really getting into some great casked beers this year. One that sticks in my head vividly was Troegs Nugget Nectar. Flavors were intensified and it finished so nicely from the cask. Founders did it again with their KBS and CBS. Both outstanding when you could finally track some down, which was like trying to find that cousin of yours that has your dvd’s of The Wire.
In terms of other beers I’ve enjoyed, really loved that Sixpoint found their way into cans. I always thought they made great beers and I was happy to finally be able to take some home with me. Weyerbacher is another brewery I’ve really come to enjoy this year. Love their double simcoe hopped IPA. Firestone Walker is another I’ve really gotten to like a lot. Their Union Jack IPA is probably now my go to IPA. Their 15th Anniversary Ale, was a truly magnificent beer, a blend of 8 of their beers, prominently featuring a barley wine, stout and double ipa. Another brewery I really liked a lot was Montreal’s Dieu Du Ciel! There Peche Mortal, an imperial coffee stout is amazing. Also, at the Brewer’s Choice event this year, they had this unreal sour wheat beer made with plums, called The Plum Shiso. It was one of the most interesting beers I tasted all year.
In My Belly
Gotta say, this was a great year for food. My thing this year was poached eggs. I never knew they could be so goddamn good. You could do so much with them, put them over toast and bacon. Drop it into some ramen noodles. You could put it on mashed potatoes. I don’t know what took me so long to figure this out, but I’m downright upset at myself for not realizing this earlier in life. It’s like the whole avocado thing all over again.
As for new places to eat and drink, this year I was really psyched to get some new spots closer to home in the Upper East Side. Earl’s Beer and Cheese is just what this hood needed. My friend the other day described it as a hipster bar transplanted to the UES. Yes, sorta. They play good music, have great beers and make awesome food. They also have tattooed guys with beards in plaid shirts pour you beer. The mac n’ cheese is sick, so is the kimchee grilled cheese. Hell, it’s all pretty damn tasty. Shake Shack up here is great. I know, I know, it’s not the greatest, but it’s still better than any other fast food and far less expensive than other burger joints. You get a burger, fries and beer for $12. 12 bones. You don’t even get a burger for that price in most places. They also make rootbeer floats with beer, which you may or may not be able to walk off with. Just saying!
Other great eats this year include the Duck Lunch at Momofuku’s Ssam Bar. This was by far one of the most gluttonous meals I’ve ever had in my life. I mean, it’s duck and lots of it, perfectly cooked, with a ton of sides. I don’t know if I could say it any better than, it was off the hook. The Dutch was a pleasant surprise. Had a couple really great meals there, though the first time was a little rough as they were still working out their kinks. Upon my return I had the rabbit pot pie, which was as delicious as it sounds to say. Who knew Bugs Bunny would come to be so delicious. I don’t know if I can say I had one truly amazing meal at this next place, but lots of really good ones, particularly breakfast and lunch at Peels on the Bowery. Somehow, Torrisi in Soho became one of my favorite sandwich shops in the city. Their homemade turkey and chicken parmesan sammy’s are just great. And I cannot say enough good things about the East Village’s amazing, Porchetta. Pork stuffed with more pork and spices and other bits of goodies. And they have these potatoes with pork ends rolled into them. If you haven’t had this place, do yourself a favor and go, go now. In fact, bring me back something.
In One Ear
Music, all in all a good year. However, I’m going to start with some of the records that I think are good, but really don’t deserve the insane amounts of hype. Indie darlings Feist, Cults and Bon Iver. Bon Iver is a Mark Kozelek cover band in my opinion. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, but the guy’s getting way too much credit for something that’s been done already and significantly better. Cults record is good, but it’s also been floating around the interwebs for a long time now. Was expecting more new stuff on the album. Feist, well. She is darling, but her music just isn’t that awesome. When did she become Norah Jones? She’s got some big hits, a couple good solid years, but at the end of the day, just so many more artist doing better stuff.
Ok, ok. You want to know the good. Well, The Horrors continue to develop as one of the most outstanding British bands around now. Skying is pure genius. Languid, lush, adorned with heavy synths and basslines. It’s the record equivalent of waking up in the morning with a dense, hazy hangover that just makes you pour yourself another pint and start reflecting on the magnificent evening you just had. You know what I mean?
My second favorite album of the year can be summed up in a few words, the combination of dramatic synth, gothy overtones, 80′s new wave, and it’s what makes Cold Cave’s Cherish The Light Years their best work yet. Neon Indian kills it on his sophomore album, vintage chill wave. Listen to Hex Girlfriend and tell me dude doesn’t know what he’s doing. M83 put together a double album that might be the best double album since Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs, there is also a song titled Steve McQueen that just kills it. Steve McQueen, the “King of Cool.” Look it up. Pains of Being Pure At Heart figured out being twee doesn’t get you laid. They kicked up the guitars and production and made a stellar second album. I don’t necessarily know if they get laid more, but it’s something I always wished Belle and Sebastian would do, Stevie/Stuart, take note.
From there, so many great albums from old mainstays, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, TV On The Radio, The Kills, Gruff Rhys, the Battles and Stephen Malkmus. The return of one of my favorite songwriters, Walter Schriefels and Rival Schools. New stuff from upstarts and newer acts Holy Ghosts, Friendly Fires, Sbtrkt, Grimes, Class Actress and Pictureplane. So many more, check the full list below.
the horrors – skying
cold cave – cherish the light
neon indian – era extrana
m83 – hurry up we’re dreaming
the pains of being pure at heart – belong
beach fossils – what a pleasure
rival schools – pedals
pj harvey – let england shake
radiohead – king of limbs
friendly fires – pala
sbtrkt – sbtrkt
the antlers – burst apart
the kills – blood pressures
tv on the radio – nine types of light
pictureplane – thee physical
lykke li – wounded ryhmes
grimes – darkbloom
gruff rhys – hotel shampoo
telekinesis – 12 desperate straight lines
wild beasts – smother
cults – cults
battles – gloss drop
holy ghosts – holy ghosts
st. vincent – strange mercy
ume – phantoms
class actress – rapprocher
still corners – cuckoo
washed out – within and without
stephen malkmus and the jicks – mirror traffic
girls – father, son, holy ghost
the drums – portamento
Listening Pile: The Horrors – Still Life – A truly great song from their Jools Holland session. Not only have they become a great band, but they’ve taken that next step and become a truly great live band as well. I was lucky enough to catch them twice this year, including once in a small intimate setting.
A Wintery Mix
Up until this past week, you wouldn’t be able to tell by the weather around the East Coast so far, but the Winter and holiday season of beers is upon us. You tend to see a lot of really great, small batch and limited seasonal brews during this period between November and February. Winter and holiday beers are usually malty, dense and complex in both taste and ingredients. Many are made with fruit(dates, figs, apples, cherry) or spice(all spice, nutmeg, juniper, mint, coriander).
I’m a hop head, so trying something different and hoppy is always a treat. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is dry hopped and just a great aromatic and flavorful beer. Very different from most winter or holiday beers. The Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale is similar, but with a slight sweeter and citrusy taste. The Rogue Santa’s Reserve is similar to their red ale, but with double the hops.
The Weyebacher Winter Ale was one of the best of the more traditional variety, with a deep-roasted chocolatey flavor. It doesn’t overdue the roasted flavor which I think hurts a lot of these beers. The Samuel Smith and Sam Adams proved to be pretty good go to winter brews. Both amber in color and lighter in flavor. Seems like they could both go well with lots of different holiday meals.
The Scaldis Noel was the highest abv, a Belgian Strong Ale kicking it up to 12%. The nose on it hinted at what was to come. It’s got a sweeter, almost sherry taste to it. It definitely is a beer that needs to come down to room temp to be truly appreciated. The Troegs Mad Elf was the other high abv beer, sitting at 11%. Also a Strong Ale, it has a beautiful, sweet, cherry like flavor to it. It also tasted considerably better closer to room temp.
Pretty much the entire group agreed, the least favorite was the Harpoon Winter Warmer. It was overly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. For the most part, we all differed on what we liked. For me, the hoppy and Belgian style rained supreme. There were beers others hated, I loved and vice versa.
Here is the full list of what we sampled that day:
Saranac Big Moose Ale
Troegs Mad Elf -fn
Scaldis Noel
Weyerbacher Winter Ale
Peak Organic Winter
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Smuttynose Winter Ale
Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale
Goose Island Winter Wit
Ithaca Winterizer
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Magic Hat Odd Notion Winter
Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser
Sierra Celebration
Blue Point Winter Ale
Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve
Full Sail Wreck The Halls
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome
Sam Adams Winter Ale
Listening Pile:
Fucked Up – Jingle Bells
As was seen on No Reservations Holiday Special. Because really, who doesn’t love a punk rock version of Christmas Songs? Who?
Boogie Down Midtown?
Last week this item was discovered by the NY Post. The 1915 letter from team co-owner Colonel Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston, begs American League brass to help keep the then-financially struggling franchise afloat and to help them consider a midtown NYC location for their new stadium. It’s pretty interesting to think what would have become of not only NYC, the subways and Manhattan’s landscape if the Yankees had set up home in Manhattan as opposed to the Bronx. It’s also interesting to think of the impact it would have had across baseball, which as this article suggests, could have meant maybe the Dodgers and Giants wouldn’t have left, or maybe the Mets wouldn’t exist. The butterfly effect on that possible move some 90 years ago would still be happening. Crazy stuff huh?
Lagunitas Doesn’t Suck
The Beer and Whiskey Brothers talk about the recent holiday release from Lagunitas, The Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale. Saying it’s a good beer, but not a good holiday beer. With that said, I’m really happy that The Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale is completely different from most Holiday beers. I did a tasting of winter/holiday beers a few weeks ago(someone needs to write that up, hmmm) and it was my favorite beer of the day. It was refereshing and hoppy, completely different from just about all the other beers that were drenched in spices like nutmeg, coriander and cinnamon or overly smokey/chocolatey. It was a great change of pace. It gets my highest level of recommendation.
Oooooold Rasputin
Definitely jealous of Lori from 100beers30days drinking this North Coast Brewing Co.’s Old Rasputin XII. It was aged in bourbon barrels and then cellared for two years. Old Rasputin is one of my all-time favorite stouts. Great to hear her thoughts on how it tastes after the aging. Liquid chocolate ganache. Hmmmmm…
Beer Happenings
Our friend Mary takes a look at the hot beer events going on this week. It’s a doozy, topped with the Beer Bar Fest going on at the 404 space. Tonight’s event at Rye House sounds awesome with some Dogfish Hell Hound on My Ale and Robert Johnson blues going on. The Blind Tiger holiday beer sampling sounds fun. Idle Hands has one on Friday.
Listening Pile:
Still Corners – Into The Trees
Don’t know a whole lot about this band aside from them being on Sub Pup. Their bio is pretty uninformative. They make dreamy lo-fi pop gems with girl vocals. Reminds me a little bit of Broadcast, which is a good thing. Check it!
Beer Things in NYC Here is a link to a bunch of beer happenings here in NYC for the week. Good stuff including: Dogfish Takeover Night at Stags Head tonight and The chilli cookoff w/ Empire Brewing on Sunday. One not listed on there is the Dieu du Ciel! night at Blind Tiger this evening. These guys from Montreal make some of the most amazing beers I’ve ever tasted. They had an amazing cherry sour at the Brewers Choice event earlier this fall.
Non-stop Biking REI opens in NYC. Just checked out the popular West Coast store today. The new spot is in the historic Puck Building and it’s massive. All types of bike services including initial set-up and full-service repair. Tons and tons of gear for not just bikers, but skiing, camping, hiking and more outdoorsy type stuff.
Six Diesel
Really psyched to try my first Sixpoint Diesel from a can today. Just picked up a few this afternoon. Diesel is the winter round of their seasonal canned beers, which debuted Autumnation earlier this fall. If that was a sign of what’s to come, I’m gonna be really loving the Diesel.
Exploding Cocktails
Really, does this need an explanation. A bunch of videos at 5,000-8,900 frames per second, Phantom Cocktails shows all kinds of drinks just blowing up. The highlight could the can of Coors Light or the Irish car bomb.
Mmmhop
So…this is happening. The Hanson Brothers, known for their super infectious and rage inducing hit song Mmmbop are creating their very own IPA. I remember my nephew being about 6 or 7 and playing the song non-stop when he was a kid.
Listening Pile: M83 – Midnight City (live on Jimmy Fallon)
Just an awesome song from their new album, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. This song features the sexiest and baddest sax solo I can recall. Bummed I missed the live show in NYC last week. Check it out.
She was raised out in Brooklyn
It’s a great spot. Tiny and cozy, with only 10 seats total. The beer board is this awesome copper board with magnetic letters spelling out the draft list. The night I was there, it was packed to the gills with probably about 25 people in the cramped beer little heaven. But it was worth it, great beers, great cocktails and hey, if you get hungry, head up to the front and grab some cupcakes. The only warning, for those shoddy people that don’t drink beer, this establishment, only serves beer and the beer cocktails. If your company needs a cocktail, take them to Death and Company, the owners other location, which makes sick cocktails and is quite possibly one of the best date spots in all of this lovely city. Our buddy Chris does a much better write up at his site, BrewYork, NY. So just read that to get the full scoop.
