Friday Afternoon

Time for a Manhattan:

2 oz. Phillips Union whiskey
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
several liberal dashes Angostura bitters

A Cruel Sad Joke

I love organic markets - good attitude, nice atmosphere, friendly people, etc. But I was looking for tortillas yesterday - eventually I found some passable facsimiles at Shaw's, for apparently there're no bodegas in the Cambridge-Somerville area - and found only the above on offer. Flax, oat bran and wheat flour: all acceptable ingredients. Not suitable for tortilla production. And again, I say this as someone who lived (happily!) the last two years in a vegetarian co-op, but - stuff like this makes me understand why Anthony Bourdain hates hippies.

Oats and Beans and Barley Grow (Hops, not so much)

This article in Wired picks up on something I've noticed recently - the reaction of brewers to the worldwide hop shortage and skyrocketing hop prices. Most of the new beers I've had and reviewed here in the last few months have been maltier, less-hoppy beers (the Hopfen-Weisse an exception, but that's a special case, in production for two years previous), and most of the "seasonal" and specialty beers I've seen recently - from everyone from Trader Joe's to Carolina Brewery to Bell's - have been the same. Now - I love me a Double IPA or a bitter, but as a fan of local and situational cuisine, I don't find this altogether unsettling. Excellent new beers will be produced out of adversity, more hops planted in more places to stabilize supply-routes, and in the end - this is a difficult situation because of the success of good beers. Good beers will out.

Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse

The German product of the Brooklyn Brewery-Schneider-Weisse collaboration, this Hopfen Weisse packs a punch both with a very full flavor and deeper golden color than most hefes, and clocks in at 8.2%ABV. But it's not syrupy or overly alcohol-tasting, the banana flavor is not cloying and it is overall simply a superb late-afternoon summer beer. Highly recommended.

The Spice That Wasn't There

I made an absolutely beautiful spicy potato curry tonight - soft, well-cooked potatoes, bright red cherry tomatoes in a lovely tumeric-infused yellow. A lovely afterburn, coming from the roasted serrano and two roasted jalapeños. But... it wasn't that good. Fine. But it was missing something - mostly I think I just didn't put enough spices in as I added the potatoes and more milk to simmer. A minor disappointment, given how lovely it looked and how nice it smelled whilst cooking, but - a learning experience, non?

Okocim Porter

Dark, thick and sweet with lactic sugars. Not saccharine, and not too alcohol-tasting. Not bad. Polish.

Bonne Soireé

V. won her NCAA pool, so it was time for a really nice dinner out. Our first thought was of course Lantern - always a good bet for "pricier meal than normal." Calling ahead we were assured that arriving after 8 o'clock would result in a minimal wait. The word at the door, of course, was 1.5-1.75 hrs.' wait. So. Around the corner we went to Bonne Soireé, which I'd only heard good things about, and... well, simply no offense meant to Lantern, but this experience placed it on the "good for Chapel Hill" list, and Bonne Soireé solidly on the "best meals I've ever had" list.

To begin with, and most impressively - after placing our orders and asking for a recommendation on wine, we settled on our server's first choice, the Sono Montenidoli Vernaccia di Carato 2003. I hesitate not for a second in saying that this was the best white wine I've ever had: not too sweet, or tart, or dry, or sulfuric - notes of fruit and anis and an unparalleled (in my experience) depth of body for a white. Simply astounding, and paired perfectly with our meals. Which were:

JKD -
asparagus with cream sauce - the first crop of the year, tender, tasty, and very much of the "asparagus I could eat forever" school.
Rockfish with roasted root vegetables, yam, and red wine reduction - a perfectly done piece of fish, tender, flavorful, and complemented beautifully by the sweet, savory, rich-but-not-overpowering vegetables.
creme bruleé - perfect. Creme bruleé is a test of any great restaurant, and this passed with flying colors.

V -
mixed green salad - with candied walnuts, pears, bleu cheese, onions and a vinegarette - the walnuts balanced out the cheese well, onions not overpowering, dressing just enough.
scallops - and now I'm forgetting what else was with them, but they were excellent. Tender, not rubbery at all.
creme bruleé - see above.

Just exemplary, and the service was unpretentious and among the best I've ever had. Not cheap to be sure, but unbeatable enough on so many levels that I can guarantee multiple return trips when the wallet allows.