BK Bacon Sundae

In the past few years, McDonald's has gotten rid of "Super Size," Wendy's has expanded its salad menu - even Taco Bell has created something called the "Fresco Menu."

Burger King is giving them all the finger and introducing the Bacon Sundae. I applaud BK for having the balls to introduce a dish like this during our current "obesity crisis" climate. I believe in the consumer's right to order terribly unhealthy garbage if they're so inclined - mostly because I'm often inclined.

Hell, I'll try it. Will you?

Captain Lawrence (New & Improved!)

Back in September, FPB visited the Captain Lawrence brewery. Since then, Captain Lawrence has moved from its old digs in Pleasantville, NY, to a bigger facility in Elmsford. This provided me with a great excuse to go drink beers fresh from the source. After all, we may have reviewed the Captain Lawrence brewery, but we haven’t reviewed THIS Captain Lawrence brewery.

DIFFERENCES:

Samples:

In the old brewery, you could sample each of CL’s on-tap beers for free. In the new brewery (newery?), you pay $2 for a tasting glass (which you keep when you go home), and drink for free from that point forward. It’s definitely worth it if you can scrounge up the two bucks.

Drink beer, take home a souvenir. Hey, that rhymes!

Outside:

The outside of the old brewery was a parking lot. Parking lots are cool and all, but the new brewery has a picnic table area and a bocce court, so you can drink while getting a tan.

Joanie loves Bocce.

Food:

The old brewery had no food. The new brewery has food. You can order a selection of local meats, cheeses, nuts, and jerkies while you’re sippin’ samples.

In addition, the tasting room has more than tripled in size, and the new facility is big enough that the brewers are able to put experimental brews on tap from time to time.

With the new changes in place, Captain Lawrence is an even better spot to do a little Saturday day-drinking. Bring friends, eat, drink, and be merry. Oh, and make sure you bring a growler – at 10 bucks a fill (and $11 for their Imperial IPA), you’ll be glad you did.

Cheers,

Ryan

Sales on Sunday!

A little less than a year ago, we gave you the lowdown on the 20% hike in CT state alcohol tax, and we ended the post by raving like lunatics about the fact that Connecticut was one of two states left in the Union that didn’t allow Sunday liquor sales.

http://foodplusbeer.blogspot.com/2011/06/your-guide-to-20-alcohol-tax-increase.html

Well, it worked. Governor Dannel Malloy, having read our blog post, was so moved and enlightened that he immediately began pressing the state for change. The result was this past Sunday – the first ever Sunday for CT State liquor sales.

You’re welcome, Connecticut. 

Ryan's first Sunday six-pack. It tasted like liberty.

Cheers,

Ryan

DeCicco's Ardsley

For a beer dork, crossing the border from Connecticut to New York is akin to hopping over the Berlin wall and landing in Allied West Germany. A mere 15 minutes from the Nutmeg State, New York’s beer distribution list includes several amazing breweries you won’t find anywhere in CT. Like Founders. Green Flash. Sixpoint. Anderson Valley. You catch my drift. Lots of good stuff.

In addition, Westchester county is littered with places to get a growler filled – the only place I can think of in Fairfield county is the eternally disappointing SBC. So, when I heard about DeCicco’s, from my next-door neighbor and fellow beer-thusiast, I felt compelled to check it out.

 DeCicco's is Italian for "Yummy Happy Beer Place."

First things first - DeCicco’s is not a liquor store. It’s actually a family-owned, slightly high-end grocery store in the vein of Whole Foods. (At least that’s the impression I got while I was sprinting towards the beer section). However, I hadn’t driven to Ardsley, NY for kale.

The DeCicco’s beer selection, in terms of number of options, is on par with some of the better liquor stores in the Fairfield County area. The difference is the inclusion of the excellent breweries I listed earlier, and the 10-tap growler station.

Did I mention there's cheese at the growler station? There's cheese at the growler station.

On this day, I filled a growler with Troeg’s Nugget Nectar, grabbed a bottle of my beloved Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, and snagged a 4-pack of Founders Imperial Stout. None of which, mind you, can be purchased in Stamford. Not a bad haul for a 30 minute drive.

My only complaint would be the fact that my girlfriend’s mom’s maiden name is DeCicco, and yet I didn’t get a family discount. Very disappointing. Other than that – the store kicks ass, and you should check it out.

Cheers,

Ryan

Fat Cat Pie Co

Norwalk, CT
http://www.fatcatpie.com/ = the worst website ever. Seriously.

As we all know, and as the Stamford Pizza Tour folks constantly remind us, Stamford is saturated with pizza places. There’s a slice for every occasion – Colony when I crave that salty, greasy, deliciousness, Coalhouse when I want to enjoy my pizza with an amazing beer, Remo’s for that classic, fresh, saucy feel, and of course that place around the corner that delivers for those times when I can’t seem to pry myself off the couch. With all of these amazing choices, and many more, why would I leave Stamford for a piece of pizza? Fat Cat Pie Co in Norwalk is one reason.

I like thin crust pies. Fat Cat’s crust is about is thin as it gets. Thin Lizzy would endorse it. In fact, they probably give you the least amount of substance possible for a 13” pizza. You’d be disappointed if you tried to share a pizza with someone, as you’ll have no trouble putting one back on your own. Although small, the crackery crust gives the pies a nice snappy crunch, and just enough support for a thin layer of sauce, and a light sprinkling of cheese and toppings. It’s a minimalistic pie, and it’s not exactly a bargain.

With all of that said, you might be wondering why I just told you to venture outside the nest to try it. Because Fat Cat’s different. It feels more like a wine bar than a pizza place. It’s a dimly lit open room with exposed brick walls and a chill vibe. They have a decent selection of wine and usually a few unexpected craft beers on tap, accompanied by a decent bottle menu. Unlike most pizza places, it’s unlikely that you’ll see Fat Cat overrun with children and families. The ingredients are fresh, all organic, and they serve tasty salads, cheese, fresh baked local breads and delicious coffee. So go ahead, give it a try when you’re looking for something a little different than your old standbys.

They give you variety of Penzey's spices to top your pizza

Here’s our recommendations:

Nona Massini’s sliced meatballs – real, tasty, meatballs. Not just a clump of ground beef.
Seasonal spicy peppers – these fresh peppers add a lot of zing to your pie. Moderate heat.
Breakfast pizza – Local eggs and cheese on a buttered pizza crust.

-Kyle

Station Eats

Station Eats | Menu
Stamford, CT

Somewhere between McDonald’s and Mackenzie’s; between Burger King and Burger Bar, exists a space. Let’s call it the High End Burger Shack. (HEBS). The HEBS business model has been exploding in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why.

Say you want a nice, juicy burger. (In other words, say you’re me, at any given time). You don’t want to do the whole sit-down dinner thing with a wait staff, and a hostess, and tipping – I mean, it’s just a damn burger. But at the same time, you don’t want one of the synthetic sodium grenades you’d get at a fast food place. 

So, what’s the solution? Five Guys. Shake Shack. In-N-Out Burger (I will have it someday, dammit!). The solution is the HEBS. The wonderful little grey area between eat-in and take-out. The perfect beefquilibrium.

I love the HEBS. It’s my kind of place. So when I found out that Station Eats had opened in downtown Stamford, and had already received ringing endorsements from our comrades at OmNomCT, I just had to check it out.

High-end FoodPlusBeer photography strikes again.

The interior looks, well, like a HEBS. It’s stylishly designed, with the menu written on the wall in huge letters, so you can read it clearly, regardless of how drunk you are. The order process works more like Subway or Chipotle than Five Guys – you tell ‘em how much meat & cheese you want up front, and then walk your cooked burger through the topping station. It’s a perfect opportunity for impulsivity (OOH! I want jalapeños, too!)

I ordered a double cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, oni…wait, you don’t care what I got on my burger, do you? It’s okay, I wouldn’t care what you got on yours either. The point is, they’re made to order and you can get whatever you want. Same with the fries – you can get them with cheese, chili, Station Eats signature sauce, whatever your clogged little heart desires.

Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.

I also ordered the U-Turn, one of Station Eats’ “Hi-Octane” shakes for grown-ups. Chocolate ice cream, Oreo chunks, and bourbon - it’s like breakfast at Charlie Sheen’s house.

The burger was everything I could have expected – juicy, fresh, and tender…due in no small part to the fact that their meat is organic, and grass-fed, and locally sourced, and all that good stuff. The fries were perfectly hot, crispy and potato-ey. The shake had just the right amount of bourbon where its presence was felt, but it didn’t overpower the chocolate.

It was a perfect HEBS experience. Oh, yeah - did I mention that we were sitting on one of the picnic tables on their ROOFTOP DECK? Burgers and fresh air – what a combo. Just imagine what this place is going to look like on Alive at Five nights this summer.

It’s a good time to be a burger junkie. Long live Station Eats. Long live the HEBS.

Cheers,

Ryan

Coalhouse Victory Bacon Beer Dinner

At FPB, we love bacon. We love beer. We love dinner. So it’s no surprise that we would love a bacon beer dinner.

That’s exactly what we were treated to Monday night at Coalhouse Pizza (our review) - five delicious courses featuring everyone’s favorite cut of piggy. Five hoppy delights from the excellent Victory Brewing Company out of Downington, PA. The pairings, meticulously crafted by our blogger buddies over at OmNomCT, were a wonderful work of bacony, beery art.

In a normal review, this would be the part where I’d go through each of the recipes and each of the beers. However, on a night where we ate like Timothy McVeigh minutes before his execution, I think I’ll spare you the details. Instead, I’ll run through some quick highlights.

-The bacon blues salad gave new life to the phrase “beauty in simplicity.” It was also paired with Victory Headwaters Pale Ale, which kicks all kinds of ass.

-The Hawaiian Pizza with thick-cut bacon and habañero (Did I have to google “Spanish ‘N’ and copy and paste it just now? You bet) peppers was surprisingly delicious and balanced, and would probably be added to the menu permanently if Gerard could think of a Hawaiian blues song. (Dick Dale – Misirlou?).

-The Victory Storm King Stout Butterbeer was a really inventive, different, and delicious way to incorporate the beer into the dinner. Kudos to OmNom (and Harry Potter) for thinking outside the box on this one.

-Kyle spilled water all over Kristien from OmNom. I feel it’s my duty as a ball-buster to mention this in the post.

All in all, it was a fabulous night and one my arteries will never forget.

Cheers,
Ryan

P.S. - For nostalgia's sake, check out our writeup of the Oskar Blues beer dinner, which took place nearly a year ago to the day.

Oskar Blues Beer Dinner

Louis Lunch - The First Hamburger Sandwich

I have been to the Empire State Building. I have seen Independence Hall. I have stood on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial and climbed the Statue of Liberty.

And now, I have eaten at Louis Lunch.

For as long as I can remember, cheeseburgers have been my favorite food. I love them. I cherish them. “Super Size Me” made me hungry. So walking into Louis Lunch, the self-proclaimed birthplace of the cheeseburger, was a sort of religious experience for me. As an agnostic fat kid, Louis Lunch is my Bethlehem. Or something like that.

You walk in the front door of Louis’, and…that’s it. You’re at the counter. The interior has been carved up by generations of carnivorous drunks and college students. The tables and booths are bizarrely small, lending some support to the notion that we as Americans have ballooned up over the past 100 years. The grills are upright gas cookers that have been in use by the restaurant since 1898. You’ve never seen anything like them and you probably won’t ever again.

When it comes to ordering, the only thing you can order is a burger. The only toppings are tomatoes, onions, and some sort of cheese spread. The burger is served on white toast. Ask for ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce or anything else and you are excommunicated.

As for the taste – the burgers are super juicy and tender, and you can tell the meat is high quality as they grind their own beef in-house. The toast lends a satisfying crunch and the tomato and onion add cool, crisp texture and a little bit of extra zing.

Is it the best burger I’ve ever had? No – although it’s a damn good, freshly made, satisfying sandwich. But the real charm is in the atmosphere. The history. You’re sitting in a tiny little shack, right next to the grandson of the man who invented the cheeseburger. He’s using the weirdest grill you’ve ever seen. He refuses to use condiments or expand the menu. And yet the line is still out the door. Stubbornness in the restaurant business is refreshing to see sometimes - Louis Lunch believes in doing things a certain way, and that’s just how it’s gonna be.

More power to ‘em.

Cheers,
Ryan

Beer bet for the NFC Championship

Just a friendly football rivalry between two great brewers:

http://brooklynbrewery.com/blog/2012/01/19/bi-coastal-brewers-bet-for-the-nfc-championship/

"A friendly wager has been placed between Brooklyn Brewery and Anchor Brewing Co. that our respective hometown teams will win the National Football Conference game this Sunday.

John Dannerbeck, president of Anchor Brewing Co. of San Francisco, and Steve Hindy, president of Brooklyn Brewery in New York, have agreed to pour the other brewery’s beer and outfit their brewery tour staff in jerseys from the opposing team for a week if their team loses the title game in San Francisco on Sunday. The brewery chiefs will wear the jerseys of shame as well.

“We are very confident that the 49ers will come through for us and we will not have to suffer this humiliation,” said Dannerbeck. “We beat the Giants earlier this year, and I am sure we will do it again.”

“The Giants have come together in an impressive way since the post-season commenced,” said Hindy. “We think Eli Manning and his team are going to avenge that earlier loss and move on to the Super Bowl.”

May the best team win!"

Beach Burger

“Well, well, well, look who decided to get off his lazy ass and write a blog post...”

Whoa. No need for name-calling, anonymous snarky reader. I happen to have been going through a lot of stressful and important st…okay, I’ve been lazy. Sorry about that. Please accept this post as my apology. 

 Suck it, Ansel Adams!
I know what you’re thinking. Why am I blogging a place called “Beach Burger” in January? I’ll tell you why. Burgers are not seasonal. I like burgers on the beach. I like burgers by the fireplace. It really doesn’t matter. It’s about the beef, not the motif. (I’m trademarking this.)

We walked into the joint and were immediately greeted by steel drum music – the unique island sound featured in “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid, and of course, all the Girls Gone Wild commercials. A good start.

The interior had a warm beach-town feel to it, like something out of LBI or Cape Cod, complete with buoys, nautical ropes, and starfish. My attention, however, was turned to the four or five flatscreen TVs mounted above the register, showcasing the various menu items.

I chose the Bynum Burger, named for Marc Anthony Bynum, the celebrity chef who worked with the owner to create Beach Burger’s menu. The burger consisted of a juicy, high-quality beef patty, tender pulled pork, crunchy onion strings and tangy BBQ sauce. In a word – awesome. One of the best burgers in the area and certainly worth the trip.

Fry ALL THE THINGS!
The fries, however, stole the show for me. They’re hand-cut in the kitchen, fried perfectly golden brown with just the right about of crispiness, and topped with the right amount of sea salt. Right up there with Five Guys (note: this is a very good thing).

Looking at the menu, there are a ton of reasons to come back. They have fried seafood (filling the void left behind by Overton’s seasonality), a unique selection of homemade milkshakes, and of course, more burgers (including one with fried oysters on it!)

If you’re in the area, stop by. If you’re not in the area, stop by anyway. It’s worth it.

Cheers,
Ryan

Little Buddha

http://littlethaikitchen.com/littlebuddha.htm

Stamford, CT

Menu

I must say that Little Buddha is one of my favorite places to eat out in Stamford. They serve up authentic Thai dishes that I simply can't get enough of. But on top of that they have every beer in the world available for consumption! You just have to go find it and bring it. Yes, that's right - It's a BYOB. For me, this is a huge plus. I'm sure that you've scoured the menus and bars of many Asian restaurant's in search of a tasty brew only to find Kiri Ichiban, Asahi, Bud Lite, and dragons. In my opinion, nothing accompanies spicy Thai cuisine better than nice bitter IPA, plus you can buy a 6-pack for only slightly more than most places will charge you for a single pint.

In the many times that I've visited Little Buddha I have never found a dish that I did not like. Go ahead, be adventurous. Among my favorites are the Pad Thai Noodles, Coriander Fish, Fish Choo Chee (lightly fried red snapper in a coconut curry). But what really keeps me coming back are the delicious curries! Praise Buddha these are tasty! I've had them all, but Green Curry is surely my favorite. It's outstanding and satisfies all of your taste buds with a rich coconut taste, cilantro, and lemony spices covering zucchini, broccoli, peppers, snow peas, onions, and the meat of your choice (if you choose). The Masaman Curry follows at a close second with a deeper spicier flavor, adding peanuts and potatoes to the mix while taking out some of the green vegetables.

The best part about Little Buddha is that if you ask for it extra spicy, you get it extra spicy. There's no pussy-footing around here - they set you up right the first time. My dish was spicier than all 5 of the spice girls! The heat was relentless but I persisted, and the victory went to me, my taste buds, and my stomach although another unmentioned body part later admitted defeat.

Little Buddha, sitting across the street from the Ridgeway shopping center has a New York City feel to it. It's very small inside with an ordering window, and it seems like they do most of their business as take out. I'd guess that the place seats no more than 20 people. You could show up and find it empty. Or you could end up waiting 20 minutes for a table. The latter can be mitigated with a simple phone call. They won't take a formal reservation, but they will hold a table for 15 minutes. So just give them a call before you leave.

Don't let the atmosphere and seating deter you. Little Buddha is truly a hidden gem serving up tremendous Thai food at very reasonable prices, especially when you add in the BYOB benefit! Bring a growler for the table, order up some extra spicy curry, and you'll be smiling wider than that pudgy little Buddha on the shelf.

Newport Storm Brewery

Newport, Rhode Island is a pretty sweet place to spend a weekend. For one, it’s home to a series of mansions so opulent that you experience a strange mix of being simultaneously amazed and pissed off when you see them. (Awenger?)

Secondly, someone told us that Newport has the highest number of bars per capita in the United States. Am I going to verify that before I post it? Hell no! This isn’t the Times, buddy! Even if it’s a slight overstatement, there really are a ton of different places to eat and drink. Which works for us, because this blog is called Food Plus Beer.

And thirdly, there’s a brewery there! What’s a visit to an idyllic, coastal New England town without a good brewery tour?

There's beer in those!

We arrived at the brewery around 2 pm, which isn’t an important detail in the least. Upon entering the brewery, you pay 7 bucks, get a Newport Storm glass (which you get to keep), and you’re handed a card with the names of the 4 beers on tap which gets checked off as you drink.

The first was Rhode Island Blueberry – a Kolsch brewed with real blueberries from a local farm. As cool as that is, this beer wasn’t really our style. A bit too light-bodied for our taste and while the smell and taste of blueberry was ever-present, it wasn’t particularly appealing.

Then came their flagship, Hurricane Amber Ale. Another style that Kyle and I don’t really gravitate to, but this was actually fairly impressive. A good hop/malt balance and quite drinkable…an ideal boat beer, let’s put it that way.

Next came their Oktoberfest, which was nice and malty, refreshing, and taught me how to speak German. It was a good Oktoberfest, but in all fairness I’ve been spoiled by the excellent Brooklyn Oktoberfest this year and I’ve found that all others pale in comparison. But the star of the Newport Storm show was the last beer – an unnamed, “Experimental” Belgian beer.

You see, one of the brewery’s cooler gimmicks is their Cyclone series beers, which are one-off, single-batch brews named using the same system as we name hurricanes (i.e. running down the alphabet, alternating genders. Adam, Barbara, Carl, Denise…you get the picture).

The experimental Belgian was just something they were kicking around as a possibility for their next Cyclone beer, which will be a female “S” name (Susan? Sally? Sandra? Sasha?) and it was very impressive. It seemed like a Belgian Strong Dark Ale with a different yeast strain than you’d expect from the style, which added a bit of sweetness and removed some of the esters and “Belgian-ness” that you typically come across Delicious. We’d certainly buy a 6er of it. One more thing of note about the brewery is that it’s also a distillery. Besides being the brewers of Newport Storm, they are the distillers of Thomas Tew rum. So, we got to learn a bit about the rum-making process alongside all the science of brewing that we already knew.

There's rum in these!

All in all, Newport Storm is a nice stop in a town that has plenty of nice stops. Check it out next time you’re in the area, and tell them Food Plus Beer sent you. They’ll have no idea what you’re talking about, but tell them anyway.

Cheers,
Ryan

Sierra Nevada Tasting @ Ginger Man SoNo - Oct 19

10 Sierra Nevada Drafts? No Reservations?  Sounds good to us!

Harvest Ale, Estate Home Grown Ale, Beer Camp's Earth Day EPA, Ovila, Life & Limb and more!

Greenwich and Port Chester Restaurant Week | 10/16 - 10/21/2011

Greenwich and Port Chester Restaurant Week starts today!  Cheers!

Simple Pulled Pork in the Oven

Pulled Pork is a super food. That's right I said it. Maybe not quite the same league as the avocado or acai berry, but super in many ways. Whether you have a large group of people, or a small group of large people, pulled pork is the easiest, most satisfying, and most economical way to feed them. It's salty. It's sweet. It's greasy and cheap. You can eat it on a bun or a plate. Who doesn't like pulled pork? It may seem like an intimidating (and intimating) hunk of meat, but I assure you that no special culinary skills or tools are required to make a delicious, melt in your mouth tray of pulled pork with as little as TWO ingredients.

[If details aren't your thing, skip to the bottom for the condensed instructions]

INGREDIENTS

1. Pork Shoulder/Pork Butt (with a layer of fat on the bottom and bone in the middle)
2. BBQ Pork Rub (Buy one at the store or use the recipe below)
      1/2 cup brown sugar
      2 tbsp salt
      1 tbsp ground pepper
      1 tbsp ground cumin
      1 tbsp garlic powder
      1 tbsp cumin
      1 tbsp chili powder
      1 tbsp paprika

If you choose to make your own rub just mix all of those ingredients together. If you've bought a rub from the store, then empty it into a bowl because your hands are about to get way too messy to be fussing with the jar it came in.

You might not be aware, but a pigs life is tough. It's not easy preparing for the glorious afterlife transformation into bacon, pulled pork, and sausage. There's lots of groveling in the mud and eating out of troughs that can sure make a piggie's back sore. That's why you need to rub his shoulder real good. First, dry the skin with a paper towl and then massage that rub mixture in deep coating all of the exposed meat with a thick crunchy layer of BBQ goodness. Slide a knife in under the fatty skin layer (don't sever it completely) and stuff some of that seasoning in there too! Don't use it all though, you'll need a little more rub for later.

Set your oven to 225 degrees, plop your pork onto an aluminum tray with the fat side up and toss it in. Let this baby slow roast, with delicious fat dripping, and trickling through the meat from that fat on top for about 1.5 hours per lb. Quick math tells you that an 8lb pork shoulder is going to take 12 hours. Plan ahead. I like to put this in the oven before going to bed and checking on it in the morning. Reheating the meat for dinner isn't going to be a problem. You couldn't burn this thing if you tried (well you could, buy why would you?)

After the time has elapsed your pork is probably good to go. If you have a meat thermometer you can check the temp. You're shooting for about 200 degrees. A little bit less is OK. The hunk of meat should now be sitting in an inch of delicious juices. Let it sit for another hour or two to cool down to a more manageable temp.

When it's at a temperature that you can handle, remove the fat flap from the top and set aside. Pour the juices from the bottom of the tray into a bowl and reserve for later. Now grab two forks and have at it. Pull all of the meat apart into thin shreds, removing the large hunks of pure fat and putting them aside with the flap removed earlier.

The pork is just about ready to go. Remember that rub that you saved? Dump as much of that seasoning over the top of your pulled pork and mix until you get the taste you want. Also, add back a good portion of those juices that you set aside to make it extra moist and juicy.

There you have it! Heat that up whenever you want and enjoy mouthwatering pulled pork sandwiches. But wait? What do I do with all of that extra fat!? Ahh, we can't get that go to waste. If you want to go the extra mile, break up the fat pieces and toss them into the frying pan to crisp them up like bacon! Add the crispy peices back to your pulled pork for extra deliciousness.

Tasty note:  Pulled pork is perfect for a tail-gate!  Cover the tray with aluminum foil, reheat on the grill and you're good to go!



CONDENSED VERSION:


INGREDIENTS

1. Pork Shoulder/Pork Butt (with a layer of fat on the bottom and bone in the middle)
2. BBQ Pork Rub (Buy one at the store or use the recipe below)
      1/2 cup brown sugar
      2 tbsp salt
      1 tbsp ground pepper
      1 tbsp ground cumin
      1 tbsp garlic powder
      1 tbsp cumin
      1 tbsp chili powder
      1 tbsp paprika

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Coat meat with rub mixture.
2.  Put on tray in oven @ 225 degrees, FAT SIDE UP, for 1.5hrs per lb.
3.  Remove Pork after time has elapsed (internal temp near 200 degrees)
4.  Let cool for 1 - 2 hrs.
5.  Pour juices into separate container temporarily. Remove fat flap from top.
6.  Pull meat apart with 2 forks or 10 fingers.
7.  Add additional rub mixture to taste, add back fat juices to desired greasiness.

SoNo Restaurant Week Fall 2011

Check here for links to some of the menus

Captain Lawrence Brewery

At first, I was afraid of growlers. (I was petrified).

You see, once a growler of beer is opened, it’s basically a ticking time bomb waiting to go flat. Ideally, once it’s been opened, it should be consumed in one sitting. But what if I didn’t get around to drinking it all at once? Will I have wasted half my beer? Why would I do that when I can just buy a 6-pack and drink them whenever I want?

All these fears were of course alleviated when Kyle and I split a growler of Gandhi-Bot. Then we started to think about the good things. You know the beer’s as fresh as it gets. You can get fill-ups of beers the brewery may not even bottle. It’s a reason to get together with friends. And best of all, it’s satisfying to have a huge, bulky, brown, half-gallon glass bottle of beer in your fridge that gets in everything’s way and pisses off your girlfriend.

With that in mind, we took our empty growlers down to Pleasantville, NY, for a taste of what Captain Lawrence had to offer and, of course, to bring some home.  We were so excited on the way down, we played a little jug band music with our growlers and an old rusty washboard.

 Feel free to comment if you find yourself in this picture.

The first room in the brewery is the tap room, which is fine, because that’s our favorite room. Here, brewery workers hand out sizable free samples of everything on tap. On the day we visited:

Captain Lawrence Kolsch: Light and clean tasting, with a hint of hops. A light sipper.

Captain Lawrence Extra Gold: Sweet, Belgian-y, with a bit of citrus. If not for the obvious selection of the IIPA, this would have been my favorite.

Captain Lawrence Pale Ale: Moderately hoppy with a nice malt backbone (though I had to pick it out, as I don’t like bones in my beer)

Captain Lawrence Pumpkin Ale: Nice malts and spices, though I didn’t get a whole lot of pumpkin.

Captain Lawrence Imperial IPA: Super floral & sweet, really hoppy without managing to be very bitter. Naturally, this is what both Kyle and I got our growlers filled with.

$10.50 for a growler of Imperial IPA. It's what Jesus would have done.

We also went on the short brewery tour with awesomely-named-tour-guide Ryan, who showed us the inner workings of the brewery, all the shiny machines, and the disgusting barrels of spent yeast that they donate to local farms. Eww.

Ryan also mentioned that in the next few months, the brewery will be expanding substantially with a move to its new location in Elmsford, which will finally allow them to produce 6-packs of Pale Ale and other 12 oz. offerings. Big things coming from the Captain. Be on the lookout at your favorite bottle shop.

 No brewery review is complete without pictures of big shiny things.

We didn’t realize it before we plugged the address into Kyle’s GPS, but Capt. Lawrence is about 10 minutes closer than New England Brewing Co., making it our closest commercial brewery. It’s an awesome place to grab some samples of a year-round favorite or something seasonal, the growler prices are totally reasonable, and the staff is friendly. Next time you’re in Pleasantville (and why wouldn’t you be), definitely plan to stop by.

Grrrrrrr, (I’m growling. Get it?)

Ryan

The Best Mac and Cheese Recipe EVER!

So you've read the title and your first thought was "yeah right".  It's a bold statement I know, but true none the less.  Don't believe me?  Try the recipe, and if you still think that you have a better Mac and Cheese then feel free to cook some up for me!

Prepare for the second installment of Food Plus Beer's Sunday Football recipes.  The mouthwatering cheesiness pictured below is sure to win the hearts of your family and friends.  As always, grab a beer before you start.

The Best Mac and Cheese Recipe EVER!

1 lb curly pasta (gemelli or cellentani)

1/2 lb Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
9 Tablespoons bacon fat (reserved)
3 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons of flour
3 cups whole milk

1 lb extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese (buy a block and shred it yourself - a MUST)

2 cups cheddar crackers (like Goldfish or Cheez-It)
Salt

Fresh cracker black pepper

Boil water for pasta.  Salt the water and par-cook the pasta just shy of al dente.

Cook Bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until crispy.

While bacon is cooking grind cheddar crackers.  I find that the easiest way to do this is to just put them in a Ziploc bag and have at them with a rolling pin.

Remove bacon and reserve fat drippings in a jar, as well as leaving about 3 Tablespoons of grease in the pan.

Add butter to pan.  When melted combine flour with the butter and whisk constantly until incorporated to form a roux.  When flour begins to brown a little slowly add milk and continue whisking.  Do not add all of the milk at once.  Add a little bit at a time and combine thoroughly before adding more.

Once all of the milk is mixed in add 3/4 of the cheese.  Mix until cheese is melted and fully combined.  Add crushed black pepper and salt to taste.

Put pasta in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Cover with cheese sauce and half of the bacon then mix.  Top with the remaining 1/4 lb of cheese.  Next, combine ground cheddar crackers with 6 tablespoons of bacon fat and cover the top of the pasta.  Last, crumble the remaining bacon on top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Finish off on broil for about ten minutes for a nice crispy crust on top.

Now that is some ROCKIN' Mac and Cheese.  If you try it, post a comment below and let us know what you think.  Enjoy!

-Kyle

New York Craft Beer Week

www.nycbeerweek.com

If you like New York, love craft beer, and can’t get enough of weeks, New York Craft Beer Week is the place for you.

Every night from 9/16 to 9/25, the city will be teeming with tap takeovers, beer dinners, meet-the-brewer nights, and more. In addition, for $10, you can buy a beer “passport” that entitles you to one $3 pint at every participating bar in the city. All you have to do is use it 3.33333333333333333333 times and it’ll pay for itself.

Not a bad way to usher in Fall. (I really hope Usher falls off a stage somewhere so we get hilarious search results for this post).

Happy drinking, and don’t fall asleep on the train.

Cheers,

Ryan

Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers

NFL kick-off is an exciting weekend.  Now you have yet another excuse to drink beer and eat terribly unhealthy but deliciously fatty crave worthy food.  Each week we are going to post a Food Plus Beer original recipe that's worthy of Sunday Football.  So grab a beer, the remote, and get cookin'!

Warning: These burgers are monstrous and totally delicious and devastating to your circulatory system.  Do not operate machinery while under the influence of these burgers.  Beware of flowing melted blue cheese that not only covers, but also fills these abnormally juicy burgers.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers
1/2 lb bacon
1 1/4 lb Ground Beef
4 T Bacon Fat (reserved)
A couple splashes of Amber Beer
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 t Salt
1/3 lb Blue Cheese (divided)
Crushed Black Pepper
1 Small Onion Caramelized

Garlic Balsamic Mayonnaise
1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
4 T Mayonnaise
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
Crushed Black Pepper

Fry Bacon in a pan. Reserve 4 tablespoons of fat and dry bacon on a paper towel.

Combine Beef, Bacon Fat, Beer, Worcestershire Sauce, and Salt.

Divide beef mixture into 4 even amounts and form 4 patties, about 4 inches in diameter.

Divide half of the blue cheese between 2 of the patties.  Make sure that the cheese is in the center and leave room around the edges.

Place the empty patties on top of the blue cheese topped patties and pinch the sides together.

Generously coat each side in crushed black pepper.

Grill on high heat for the first two minutes and then lower to medium high for 8 minutes.  Flip burgers and top with the remaining blue cheese. You'll want to put the cheese on soon after you flip because it takes a while for the blue cheese to melt.

Load up each side of the buns with the Garlic Balsamic Mayonnaise.  Put the burger on, smother with bacon and caramelized onions, grab another beer devour and be happy! Your mouth will thank you.