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Showing posts from April, 2019

New Brew Friday- Belt Line Brewery

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It's New Brew Friday and today we're drinking a delicious Double IPA from the new Belt Line Brewery in Buffalo, NY. This frothy orange DIPA give off delightful aromas of fresh mango and pineapple with more juicy citrus fruit flavors on the palate of orange, mango and lychee with a bitter  finish.  This is a fantastic summer beer; full of fruit goodness but low enough abv (6.7%) to crush all day long. In addition to beer, Belt Line has a full kitchen serving up a doughy  Breadhive Everything Pretzels with white beer queso, a hefty Diner Double Cheeseburger and a few great veggie options like the Beyond Meat Chicago Dog loaded with  Barrel + Brine  pickles,  Weber's Mustard , tomato and onion jam. If you're headed to the  Shelton Brothers Festival  this October, Belt line is a great place to add to the beer weekend itinerary. Belt-line Brewery & Kitchen 545 Swan Street Buffalo, NY 14204

The Queens Night Market

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The Queens International Night Market returns to Corona Park for it's fifth season this Saturday, with an incredible line-up of food vendors representing over 80 countries.  Since it began in 2015, the market has welcomed nearly one million visitors; many drawn to diversity and affordability of the event where all food is capped at just $5 dish.  The price cap continues today with only a handful of $6 exceptions.   This year the Market is selling a limited number of tickets   to two "Sneak Preview" nights on  April 20th & 27th.  Guests can purchase a $5 ticket here for market entry before the public opening on May 4th, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit The New York Immigration Coalition and City Harvest. Here's a run down of some of the fantastic food you can expect this year: Native Noodles   Singaporean Laska Noodles- rice noodles, prawn and laska leaf in a coconut curry sauce Joon Rice   Pomegranate Walnut Chicken- a sweet

La Barra at Little Spain

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The new Hudson Yards opening has completely changed my quality of life at work.  What was once a desolate wasteland of crappy bodegas and a lone Subway sandwich shop, has now exploded into an actual food and drink destination.  Restaurants by world renown chefs Thomas Keller, David Chang and Michael Lomonaco dot the upper floors of the mall while the incredible Chef Jose Andres took over the basement with Mercado Little Spain.  I've heard this space being referred to as the Spanish Eataly as guests can eat, drink and shop as they peruse the different market stalls. However the focus here is much more on the prepared foods than bringing separate ingredients home to cook on one's own.   I was solo on my first visit so I focused on the tapas bar La Barra, where I could sit and order food and drink without moving around from kiosk to kiosk.  My glass of Spanish Rose was absolutely delicious but at $17 a glass the meager pour I received was disappointing to say the least.

Wine Time~ Camille Braun Sparkling Brut Rose

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It's beginning to look a lot like Rose season and I'm kicking it off with one of my favorite pink bubbly wines, the Camille Braun Sparkling Brut Rose.  This beautiful cremant comes from the Braun family whose roots in Alsace date back to 1523. It's made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes with aromas of red fruit, cream and biscuit with flavors of ripe strawberry, cherry and honey.  It's absolutely bursting with fruit but completely dry with delicate bubbles a lovely creamy finish. This is the perfect wine for celebrating Spring, Summer or just sitting on the couch.  Corso Wines Domaine Camille Braun 16 Grand Rue Orschwihr, France

Spicy Village

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There's not much to see on sleepy Forsyth Street in the Lower East Side.  In fact, one might pass by this tiny, florescent lit Chinese spot if it weren't for the crowds of people standing outside, looking hungry and often carrying a six pack of beer from the nearby bodega. These people are all waiting for the same thing, a tiny table inside to sit down and devour some Spicy Big Tray Chicken.  This dish is exactly as it sounds; big chunks of chicken doused in spicy chili oil sauce loaded with cumin and peppercorn, usually served with fresh cilantro on top and a suggested order of hand pulled noodles. This chicken has the perfect amount of heat, just enough to leave some lingering flavor on your tongue but not enough to start sweating.  The noodles also add a cooling element to the dish as do the BYOB beers you hopefully brought along for the meal.  There are other items on the menu worth trying out like the crispy pancakes stuffed with pork and the Scallion Sauce du

NY Drinks NY Grand Tasting

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The annual grand tasting of NY Drinks NY  took place last week, high atop Rockefeller Center in the gorgeous Rainbow Room. This NYC landmark was absolutely buzzing with local winemakers, trade and professionals seeking out the best of  New York state wine.   There were so many great producers on hand it's impossible to name them all but here are a few of my favorites. Anthony Road Art Riesling - This beautiful Riesling from Seneca Lake was spontaneously fermented using native yeast giving it bright peach, pear and a slightly funky flavor. The entire winery is family owned and operated down to the very last touches, like the beautiful artwork on the bottle painted by winemaker, wife and mother Ann Martini. Dr Konstantin Frank Sparkling Brut Rose - I love pink, bubbly roses and this might just be my favorite from the NY area.  It's made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from the 2nd oldest vines in the United States using classic methode champenoise, giving it a cr