NYC Tastes

How many times have you been in Grand Central and grabbed a beer from the stand before jumping on your train home?  Chances are you've ended up with something crappy like a Coors Light or Budweiser.  Lucky for you Beer Table Pantry might be changing that. Now in addition to filling up growlers, they have pints to go...in jar form.   You just stop in, pick out a delicious beer they have on tap that day and they fill up the jar, seal it up and your off!  Last visit they had a bunch of local favorites like Bronx Summer Ale and Brooklyn Schorcher #366.  It's a novel and tasty way to make the long commute home a little bit better. Brooklyn Brewery The Bronx Brewery Beer Table

Everyone knows the main dining room at Gramercy Tavern offers a fabulous tasting menu every night, but did you know the Tavern also offers a tasting menu with totally different items and at a much lesser cost.  Mr T and I were intrigued by the most recent one titled A Celebration of Craft Beer. We began with a Roasted Oyster amuse bouche from the chef. This was phenomenal.  I loved how roasting gave the oyster a warm smokiness that was surprisingly perfect with the brine...even Mr. T enjoyed this and he is not an oyster fan.  Onto our first course Shrimp & Mussels in a Carrot, Coconut and Quinoa Broth. The combination of  flavors in this dish were lovely.  It had a thicker broth than one would imagine, much earthier from the quinoa but then the coconut gave it an Asian spin and really lightened it up.  The pairing with a crisp Peekskill Simple Sour was spot on too.  Second course Smoked Sweetbreads with Grilled Asparagus and Toast...

It's been a crazy week. I'm still going through my photos from a recent trip upstate but in the meantime check out our incredible Fourth of July party at Cannibal. Those are Cannibal dogs up front topped with beef heart chili and mustard.  The dog was so amazing on its own the condiments weren't even needed.  The burger in the back had a fantastic salty crunch much akin to Shake Shack. Macaroni salad and potato chips rounded out the picnic style setting. All we had to do was sit back, relax and enjoy copious amounts of delicious Bronx Pale Ale.  That's a pretty great Independence Day in my book! The Cannibal

My favorite new beer of 2011 was the delicious Bronx Pale Ale from the Bronx Brewery and they'll be pouring tonight at the brand new Growler Station.  A brand new beer at a brand new beer bar?  Sounds like a perfect Tuesday night pick to me.  The boys should be there from 6:00- 9:00 tonight.  See you there!

Saturday we returned to the annual Das Oktoberfest event at the La Venue space. They had 150 kinds of beer, schnapps and wine to choose from over the 5 hour period and food to buy on the side. I was psyched when I saw Schnitzel and Things had a table. I would finally get to try out their food! I know I probably should have gone for a schnitzel but the brat smelled so delicious I had to go for that. I don’t know how delicious the schnitzels are but my heart was pretty sold on the brat. It had a great deep smoky flavor and came with some seriously sour pickled slaw and a nice squishy bun. The fries were excellent as well with a just the right amount of salt and crunch. I started out with some Goose Island and Spatan, two of my favs, and then noticed something called the Bronx Brewery set up in the front. I tried a sample and was really blown away by the rich amber tone and bold but smooth flavors of caramel and toasted nuts. I also loved their sign and slogan. So muc...