NYC Tastes

Did I just talk about Cigar City last Friday? Yeah....well...they make some great stuff and Mr. T and I just can't seem to get enough.  We love their IPA's and decided to do a taste comparison and see which was our favorite.  Here we have the regular Jai Alai, White Oak Jai Alai (oak aged) and the Humidor Series IPA (which has it's base as Jai Alai with cedar added during secondary fermentation).  So let's compare... The regular Jai Alai has a strong tropical fruit aroma with big flavors of bubble gum and apples.  The White Oak Jai Alai smells incredibly flowery, almost perfume-like; still slightly tasting of bubble gum but now with a funky, sour taste on the end.  The Humidor smells and tastes totally different than the first two with a ton of pine on the front and a malty biscuit finish.  It's awesome to see how the same beer can change in so many different ways. Cigar City isn't in NY very often so pick some up while you can.  Good Beer and ...

After trying out the Brindle Room burger at Googa Mooga I just had to go to the original and make sure that delicious char wasn’t a fluke. The burger is only available at brunch time, a meal Mr. T hates so I was already a little nervous about a bad showing…I had no need to be. The burger came out on a huge plate piled high with french fries and some seriously enormous slices of pickle. This burger was perfect in the middle and man oh man was that char ever present.   The outside was encased in a salty, buttery shell from the griddle.   This is really not a cheeseburger for the faint of heart- it is seriously rich. I had to have a few sips of Mr. T’s house made lemonade to refresh before our dessert arrived. A piping hot Salted Caramel doughnut- also only available at brunch.  I really enjoyed the Brindle Room- it’s such a cute and cozy spot- even Mr. T enjoyed himself.   With brunch items like Potato Chip Frittata, Shrimp & Grits and Bis...

My good friend was visiting last weekend and we decided to check out a many different beers as we could on a mini beer crawl. The best way to do that is with some beer flights! We started out at one of my favorite places The Gingerman for our first. From left to right we had the Kona Wheat, Rouge Rastafari Rye, Dogfish Head Hellhound Ale and Captain Lawrence Pumpkin Ale. It was my first time having this Captain Lawrence and I really enjoyed the clean pumpkin flavors and toasty bread aroma. Price for this flight- $12.00. Onto Rattle and Hum for our next flight of beer we had the Founders Breakfast Stout, Mikkeller Jackie Brown, Kissmeyer Saison Du Fleur, Anderson Valley Bootlinger Weisse. Price for this flight- $10.00. Last but certainly not least onto Good Beer for one final flight. Here we have a Sierra Nevada Harvest, Clipper City Heavy Seas Marzen, Harpoon Pale Ale and Sly Fox Royal Weisse. Price for this flight- $8.00. Quite a good deal and made even better by t...

Truth be told Sunday is my favorite day of the week but who doesn’t love a Friday as well? Fridays are great for me since I usually get out of work early and have some city time alone before the rush of the weekend crowd sets in. Last Friday I walked home across the Brooklyn Bridge, through Chinatown and into the East Village where my first stop was Abarco for a warm macchiato. Then I hopped on over to Good Beer where I enjoyed a delicious Joan of Arc cider while I perused the shelves of beer for weekend imbibing. After getting fully stocked I lugged my haul over to Momofuku Milk Bar and picked up some more weekend treats- birthday cake truffles. And finally I ended up near home at the Madison Square Eats for their final night. Mr. T joined me and we enjoyed a hearty Imperial Black Ale from Southern Tier Brewing Company. Then shared an awesome, creamy Brussels Sprout pizza that seriously rivaled Motorino’s version. Then we retired home for a nice scary mov...

It's the most wonderful time of year again! No not Christmas- March Madness!! The next few weeks are all about basketball and beer people. I swung by Momofuku the other day and picked up some game day rations. Pretzel cake truffle with malted pretzel crumbs. Sound pretty crazy right? Crazy awesome that is!! They almost taste like a savory Graham Cracker with a hint of molasses and a long salty finish. This kind of treat begs for something more refreshing than a glass of milk. This calls for a nice cold beer. So after getting the truffles I walked over to my new favorite beer store, Good Beer and picked up a few delicious new brews to enjoy. They had just gotten some Breckenridge beers in the day before and I was psyched to try out this brewery I had heard so much about. Once home I cracked open the Amber which poured a very minimal head with slight lacing on the glass. The taste was light with some toasty notes and a bit of cherry on the end. A very drinkable beer a...

I love new openings. They promise so much but often fail to deliver the goods. Luckily here’s one opening that completely delivered in my book- Good Beer. This tiny store in the East Village is a beer lovers dream come true. First off it’s stocked to capacity with a wide range of beers from local micro brews to classic Belgian ales. On my first visit I picked up some Cigar City IPA and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. I love the fact that everything is available in single bottles. There’s nothing better than trying out a couple new beers without having to carry home caseloads of beer in order to do so! In addition to their wide bottle selection they went one step further and installed twelve taps inside as well! This is utterly fantastic for two reasons. One- you can take home growlers and two- you get to try out even more exciting beers! The first day I went inside I simply couldn’t resist. I saw the $8 flight sign and almost jumped for joy. Of course I’ll try out ...