New Kid on the Block

fig. a: panna cotta with melon

Just like that, Montreal's latest little pâtisserie has joined the ranks of its best.

Owned and operated by chef Stéphanie Labelle, whose resumé includes stints with Les Chocolats de Chloé, Decca 77, Club 357, Pierre Hermé, and, most recently, a pastry chef position at La Salle à Manger, Pâtisserie Rhubarbe is a fine addition to Montreal's sweetsscape.

AEB faves already include the silky tonka bean-laced panna cotta with confited melon and pound cake that you see above, and the truly wonderful pumpkin dômes you see below.

fig. b: jack-o-lantern dômes

Just another Hallowe'en-themed meringue cookie? Not at all. Here, the tender meringue dôme (that's right, tender) is filled with a seductive caramel, pear, hazelnut concoction. The combo is totally irresistible. (Seriously. Michelle was hardly able to get a taste before I devoured it.) It also shows off a little of that Hermé touch (without showing off).

Now, we've been good friends with Ms. Labelle for years, so it's true that we're pulling for her, but that doesn't mean our critical capacities are clouded. Everything we've tried so far is simply a cut above. And it's such a cute shop, too.

Félicitations, Pâtisserie Rhubarbe! And welcome to the neighborhood!!

fig. c: rhubarbe hits the spot

Pâtisserie Rhubarbe, 5091 de Lanaudière, 903-3395 (Plateau)
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 am - 7 pm

am/km

Rocktober 30th

fig. a: genuine witch fingers*

Attention all vinyl junkies, trick-or-treaters, and witchhunters!

ONE DAY ONLY!!!

Our good friends at Backroom Records & Pastries are back and they've got plenty of treats (and just a few ghoulish tricks) on offer all afternoon, including:

genuine witch fingers (pictured above)
pumpkin pie-spiced marshmallows
skittlez vodka shotz
candy apples
pumpkin pie-spiced pepita brittle
&
The Kinks - Great Lost Kinks
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & Lash
Nico - Desert Shore
Etta James - Rocks the House!
The Kinks - Golden Hour 2x LP
Charley Patton - Origin Jazz Library
Lightnin' Hopkins - Blues in my Bottle
The Smiths - S/T
The Cure - Japanese Whispers
Howlin' Wolf - Riding in the Moonlight
and many, many more

Check it out!

Backroom Records & Pastries
5912 St-Urbain (“Back alley entrance only!”)
495-8046
(Mile End)

aj

* no witches were actually harmed in the making of these genuine (shortbread) witch fingers.

Top Ten #37

1. Chad Robertson, Tartine Bread

2. hickory-smoked pulled pork bbq + bbq chicken w/ all the fixings

3. The White Ribbon, dir. Haneke




4. Charlie Christian, Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian

5. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night

6. eating your way across Northern California



7. Kurt Vile, Childish Prodigy



8. apple season

9. Bandol/Alsace Wine Night w/ friends

10. The Trouble With Harry, dir. Hitchcock

Spys Like Us (and we love them)

Of course, for those of us who live in Quebec, another aspect of the trouble with Vermont, during the apple harvest or at any other time of year, is that you can go down and sample their apple crop, but you're not supposed to haul quantities of apples across the border. It doesn't matter if they're heirloom varieties that are hard/impossible to find in Quebec. It just ain't allowed. NAFTA or no NAFTA.

fig. a: into the orchard

Luckily for us, Quebec still has plenty of small- to mid-size orchards that cultivate some of your lesser-known and harder-to-find varieties of apple. Luckily for us, there are still orchardists like M. Safian producing top-notch Northern Spys, Ida Reds, Russets, Empires, Spartans, and Cortlands, in addition to his excellent McIntoshs.

fig. b: banana box

Visit M. Safian, and past the beaten-up old banana crates (?)

fig. c: this old barn

and the decrepit old barn

fig. d: Ida Reds, ripe for the picking

you'll find that his trees are still chock-full of perfectly formed, unusually sweet apples (it's been a good year).

fig. e: Ida Reds, up-close and in-person

You might need to borrow a ladder to get at some of the prize specimens, but the trees are so overloaded, so ripe for the picking, that you can easily fill 4 or 5 buckets in a matter of about 15-20 minutes. If you have plans to do a lot of seasonal baking or cooking with apples, or you enjoy eating about 4 or 5 apples a day (the way I usually do this time a year), there really is no better way to get the very best apples at the very best price. Throw in some fresh country air and possibly some sunshine, and you can't ask for a more pleasant, more satisfying outing.

We got ourselves a nice mix of apples, but we picked a whole bunch of Ida Reds (like the ones you see above), which have a lovely blush when cooked,

fig. f: Northern Spys

and we positively loaded up on Spys, which have a tartness that we absolutely love and that makes them ideal for apple desserts.

fig. g: M. Safian vous offre...

For directions to the Hemmingford/Covey Hill/Franklin apple-growing region (including directions to M. Safian's), look here and here.

For a recipe for Poulet à la Normande (with apples and Calvados), look here.

For a recipe for Tarte Tatin (with lots of apples), look here.

For a recipe for Huguenot Torte (with a couple of apples), look here.

For a recipe for Squash & Apple Soup, look here.

For a couple of recipes for Ketchup aux fruits (with apples), look here and here.

And if you need a recipe for the Brady Bunch Special, pork chops & apple sauce, look no further:

Pork Chops & Apple Sauce

4 meaty pork chops
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup Calvados, Cognac, or Bourbon

brine:
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 lemons, sliced in half
4 cups water

apple sauce:
4 apples, cored, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup Calvados, Cognac, or Bourbon
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

In a bowl, squeeze the lemons, throwing the four halves in when you're done, then add 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 4 cups of water, and stir until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved, making a basic brine. Add the pork chops, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make your apple sauce. Add the apples, the lemon juice, the vanilla bean, the sugar (the amount will depend on how sweet your tooth is and how tart your apples are), the Calvados/Cognac/Bourbon, and the water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 45 minutes.

30 minutes before you intend to cook your pork chops, remove them from the refrigerator, pat them dry, rub them lightly with just a bit of olive oil, and salt and pepper them. Set them out on a plate to come to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 300º F. When the 30 minutes is up, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat till the pan begins to smoke. Put the pork chops in the pan and sear for 2 minutes on each side, using tongs or a spatula to flip them (not a fork). When you've seared the chops on both sides, place the entire skillet in the oven and roast the chops for another 4-6 minutes, depending on their thickness.

Place the chops on plates. Meanwhile, deglaze the skillet with some more Calvados/Cognac/Bourbon. Pour a little of the resultant pan juices over each of the chops. Place a dollop of the apple sauce on top of the pan juices and serve. We recommend accompanying the pork chops & apple sauce with your favorite mashed potatoes and some braised cabbage (green, red, Savoy), but if you've got other ideas/plans, go for it.

You'll most likely have some leftover apple sauce. Don't worry, it'll be delicious. It won't go to waste.

Serves 4.

aj

The Trouble With Vermont

It had been weeks, possibly even months, since we'd spent any real time in Vermont, so we were overdue for a visit. It was also just about fall, so when it came time to pick a movie one night, I chose Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry,

fig. a: poor Harry

his bizarre and underappreciated dark comedy from 1955, which happens to be set in a small Vermont town at the height of autumn.

fig. b: Hitchcock's Vermont 1

fig. c: Hitchcock's Vermont 2

I could tell you all about the peculiar charms of Hitchcock's film, but others have done it much better already. Suffice to say that although the narrative has quite a bit in common with your average episode of Murder, She Wrote, Hitch's take on murder and mystery in a small New England town is a much cheekier affair. Plus, Shirley Maclaine (in her first appearance on the silver screen) positively shines, and Jerry "the Beaver" Mathers steals virtually every scene he's in. Vermontophiles are in for a special treat, however, because The Trouble With Harry's portrait of The Green Mountain state at its quaint and quirky best has held up remarkably well (even if its mid-1950s setting means that there's a distinct absence of fleece apparel and bumper stickers).

You see, the trouble with Vermont isn't that there's anything terribly wrong with it, the trouble with Vermont is that we love it so. The landscape, the mountains, the towns, the food, the beer. Apparently we're so addicted that when we can't actually be there, we watch films that are set there just to tide us over until our next visit. Sad, perhaps, but true.

Anyway, if you go there right now, you'll find that the Green Mountains are actually pretty multicolored. You'll also find that the colors are quite bright. Not Technicolor + Vistavision bright,

fig. d: AEB's Vermont 1

but bright nonetheless.

fig. e: AEB's Vermont 2

And with those colors the way they are, and temperatures at their autumnal best, now's also the great time for a Vermont hike. We're particularly fond of the Camel's Hump, but one that's a little easier and offers up some similarly impressive views is the Stowe Pinnacle hike.

You get the great views you see above, plus about 2 hours (round-trip) of lush forest

fig. f: touch wood

along a trail that ranges from easy to moderately difficult,

fig. g: VT graffiti

allowing you plenty of opportunities to look around and take in the details.

fig. h: VT heirlooms

A few hours later, after a number of pilgrimages to pick up essentials (coffee, bread, beer) from some of our favorite Waterbury-area haunts, we found ourselves at the City Market/Onion River Co-op in Burlington, admiring the apples. Michelle couldn't believe the selection of heirloom apples, most of which came from Scott Farm. And she was especially happy to see that Scott Farm was growing the infamous Fameuse apple, the original heirloom apple of New France, and an apple that was the most important Quebec variety before the arrival of the McIntosh, but one that has since faded into near obscurity and is now terribly hard to find in la belle province. Which brings me back to the trouble with Vermont--they're awfully good at showing us up.

Michelle recommends using a mix of apples for most of your classic fall apple desserts (pies, crumbles, tarts, galettes). If you can locate a mix of heirloom apples (like the one you see above), all the better. If your mix includes some Fameuses, better still. Trust me.

For directions to the Stowe Pinnacle trail and other hikes in the Waterbury/Stowe region, look here. If you're not the hiking kind, but you'd still like to take in some prime scenery, try the 108 between Jeffersonville and Stowe (via Smugglers Notch), or pretty much the entire length of the 100.

City Market/Onion River Co-op, 82 South Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT, (802) 861-9700

aj

p.s. Thanks to 1,000 Frames of Hitchcock for the screen captures from The Trouble With Harry, and thanks to Tiny Banquet Committee for turning us on to 1,000 Frames of Hitchcock in the first place.

The Young Man & the Salad

fig. a: Esca Corn Salad in 2D

You might have heard of Dave Pasternack. He's the James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef of New York City's highly touted Esca. He's the legendary New York fisherman-chef who developed a reputation for hauling the fish he'd caught himself from Long Beach to his restaurant in Midtown on the Long Island Rail Road (!).* He's the chef who, when he's not serving his own catch (a distinction that makes Esca the only restaurant in New York that serves "year-round wild game that has been personally bagged by the chef," as Mark Singer put it in a New Yorker profile in 2005), deals with somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 suppliers to score the very finest seafood for his restaurant (by comparison, the overwhelming majority of New York restaurant deal with a single seafood wholesaler, and, well, you get what they pay for). He's also the chef who's credited with having kicked off the seafood crudo craze of the last decade.

So when someone profiles Pasternack's cookbook, a book called The Young Man & The Sea: Recipes & Crispy Fish Tales From Esca, you wouldn't expect them to offer up a vegetarian recipe, but that's exactly what we're going to do. After all, by Pasternack's own admission, "this is the single most requested item on the Esca menu in the summer and early fall," and it's definitely early fall. This recipe is a great example of Pasternack's extraordinary talents and his "unaffectedly refined" approach to cuisine. It's also a great way to use up the last of the season's fresh, local sweet corn before it disappears until next year. Plus, you get three great recipes for the price of one...

Esca Corn Salad

6 ears of corn, husked
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup Rosemary Oil (recipe follows)
1/2 cup Braised Chanterelles (recipe follows)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz dry aged goat cheese or ricotta salata, grated using the small holes of a box grater
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 cups arugula, rinsed and dried

Preheat the oven to 300º F.

Prepare a charcoal fire.** Grill the corn over the fire until lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Cut off the narrow end of the cob. Hod the ear with one hand, the flat end resting on the cutting board, and cut the kernels from the cob. Place the kernels in a bowl. Repeat with each ear of corn. Set the kernels aside.

Place the walnuts in a baking tray and toast in the oven for 3 minutes, or until they begin to give off an aroma. Be very careful not to burn them, as the flavor will go bitter quickly. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tbsp of the Rosemary Oil. Slightly crush the toasted walnuts in your hand and add to the pan along with the Braised Mushrooms. Sauté for 1 minute. Add the corn kernels, stir to combine, and sauté for 3 minutes, until the corn is hot. Add the butter and 2 tbsp of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the arugula leaves in a mixing bowl. Dress them with most of the Rosemary Oil and season with salt and pepper. To serve, spoon the corn mixture into center of four serving plates and sprinkle with half the remaining cheese (or spoon the corn mixture into the center of two serving plates, sprinkle with one-quarter of the remaining cheese, and plan on repeating the process, like we did). Top with the arugula and the rest of the cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the remaining Rosemary Oil.

Serves 4, unless there's only 2 of you, and you're hungry, and the salad drives you so wild that you can't stop eating it until it's all gone.

Rosemary Oil

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary

Place the olive oil in a saucepan and add the rosemary. Heat over a low flame until the oil is war, but not hot. Set aside until the oil is cool. Strain and discard the rosemary sprigs.

Braised Mushrooms

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 sprig thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound mushrooms, such as black trumpets, morels, cultivated button mushrooms, or chanterelles, which, as indicated above, pair best with the corn salad

Trace the perimeter of a large straight-sided sauté pan on parchment paper and cut out the circle. This will serve as the pan's lid.

Heat the olive oil in the sauté pan over a medium flame until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the butter, wine, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, then add the mushrooms. Toss, then cover with the circle of parchment paper.

Cook the mushrooms at a low simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. They should be very tender. Season with more salt and pepper as needed and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Note: this recipe makes much more than you need for the corn salad, so feel free to adjust it accordingly, but I'm sure you can find another use for the remaining Braised Mushrooms--they're unbelievably delicious.

[recipes adapted only slightly from David Pasternack and Ed Levine's The Young Man & the Sea: Recipes & Crispy Fish Tales from Esca]

aj

* Don't worry, the fish were on ice and in plastic bags. This guy's a pro.

** As much as we love to fire up our grill, we cheated on this step once because we were out of charcoal. We shaved the corn raw, added 1-2 tbsp of canola oil to a skillet, and sautéd it over medium-high heat for just a few minutes, barely stirring at all, until the bottom layer of kernels began to caramelize. We missed out on that wonderful smoky flavor you get when you grill corn on a barbecue, but the recipe still turned out great.

Maybe, just maybe

fig. a: toast & jam

To paraphrase: "God save strawberry jam in all its different varieties!" Yes, but maybe, just maybe autumn strawberries are the key. At least, here in Quebec.

Michelle's been on a quasi-Proustian quest for the strawberry jam of her youth for years, desperately trying to replicate the texture and flavor of a strawberry jam made by one Mrs. Wright in Guelph, ON, back when Michelle was just a wee lass. Countless experiments with summer strawberries have produced fine strawberry jam--excellent strawberry jams, even--but never one that has fully approximated those mythical strawberry jams of her past. Then Michelle started making her strawberry jam with local fraises d'automne, and the results were dramatically different--brighter, with an absolutely perfect set. And Michelle's expression changed accordingly. It, too, was brighter.

Strawberry Jam Enthusiasts, you may want to give autumn strawberries a whirl, if you haven't already. But remember to go easy on the sugar and to cook your strawberries gently. And, remember, the autumn strawberry season is just about up--they'll only last until the first frost--so you'll have to act fast!

Thoughts on strawberries and jam, fellow Enthusiasts? Do tell.

aj

NYC 72-hour Plan, pt. 3

fig. a: Jacob Riis beach

Fort Tilden + Coney Island + Totonno’s + Franny’s

All the way down at the end of Flatbush Avenue, on a spit of land that also includes Rockaway Beach, you'll find Jacob Riis Park and, further west, Fort Tilden. Rockaway Beach you already know about (or, rather, I should say, "Rockaway Beach" you already know about). Jacob Riis Park has a big parking lot, a lovably ramshackle 18-hole golf course, a boardwalk, and some crazy, derelict architecture that reminded us more of Ostend and the North Sea than of any other beach we'd seen in North America. Fort Tilden's beaches are a bit of a walk, but things get more overgrown, a little wilder, even a little haunted, the lifeguards and the raked sand disappear, and the crowds thin out. It's a great place to commune with the mighty Atlantic, take in some sun, splash around in the waves, and share a Middle Eastern picnic from Sahadi's.

It's also just a few short miles from Coney Island.

fig. b: the original 1

Which means that when you're done splashing, it's a jump, skip, walk, and a drive to get a frankfurter or an order of clams...

fig. c: the original 2

...or, better yet, pay a visit to Totonno's, one of New York's great pizza shrines ("family owned since 1924"!), and you can sample what is perhaps the quintessential coal-oven pie and an leading exemplar of the "New York-Neapolitan" style.

fig. d: Totonno's cheese pie

I mean, just look at that thing. Two words: simple elegance. And a crust that's just phenomenal. Totonno's now has two locations in Manhattan, but the Neptune Ave. joint is the original and it doesn't get any more classic.

What better way to close out the day than with return visit to our friends at Franny's to have some more pizza? This was visit #4 for me, and every time has been rock-solid. These guys are just so good, in every category. Check it out:

1. utterly perfect crostini topped with fava beans, cranberry beans, and mullet bottarga
2. house-made maccheroni with smoked fontina, spicy sausage, a sauteed cabbage, that only read "okay" to me when I saw it on the menu, but which tasted like one of the top 5 (top 3?) pasta dishes I've ever had in my life--who knew?
3. three truly superb pizzas: tomato, anchovies, chilies, capers, and pecorino sardo; that legendary clam pie; and a cherry tomatoes, ricotta, and salami number
4. and if that wasn't enough, two truly outstanding desserts: a panna cotta with strawberries that someone two night earlier at Beer Table had told us had to be tasted to be believed (he was right: we've tasted and now we believe!) and a chocolate sorbetto that was a chocolate lovers' greatest summertime fantasy come true.
5. oh, yeah: and don't forget about their Negronis...

See what I mean?

fig. e: coffee cake, Bklyn Larder

Bklyn Larder + Pulino’s + Milk Bar

We had such a good time at Franny's on Sunday night that we decided to visit their newest addition to the family, Bklyn Larder, the very next morning. Their ricotta & wilted greens sandwich, I've already told you about, but their peach coffee cake was something new to us, and it was a thing of beauty: moist, delicious, and bursting with peach flavor. In an earlier post, I mentioned a cross-section of the offerings at Bklyn Larder, but did I mention their beer selection? Well, it's excellent, and you know that Popperings Hommel ale I mentioned the other day? You can find it here (for a fraction of the price it cost at Beer Table), along with dozens of other fine brews, both European and North American.

fig. f: Pulino's, street-side

The next day we had to leave by midday. Just enough time for one last breakfast, brunch, or lunch. How about a breakfast pizza? Seriously. Nate Appleman's Pulino's opens its doors early (8:30 am) so they can start serving their breakfast pizzas. We had the idea that this might be the right way to finish yet another one of our frenzied pizza tours of New York, but by the time we got there they'd already switched over to their lunch menu. Too bad, really, because we were looking forward to that salsiccia (eggs, sausage, bacon, mozzarella, and white cheddar). Oh, well. We soldiered on, ordering a mixed greens salad with a tangy red wine vinegar & crème fraîche dressing and a smoked ricotta, cherry tomatoes, and basil pie.

Appleman has definitely taken some lumps from New York's pizzarati for his "bar pizza," with its exceedingly thin, cracker-like crust,* and for his unconventional slicing. We had to agree about the slicing. When you slice up your pie in that tic-tac-toe grid style, what are you supposed to do with that square middle slice? But, as for the pie itself, we found the crust had a surprising amount of chew and flavor, considering how thin it was, and the toppings and the outer crust were both choice. At the very least: we'd had pizzas from three different New York pizzerias in the space of 18 hours, all of them in widely divergent styles, all of them well worth a visit.

Remember to take into consideration that while Nate Appleman is in charge of the kitchen, Pulino's is very much a Keith McNally establishment, with all that entails. This means the interior design is emphatic, to say the least (check out the sheer number of liquor bottles that line the south wall). And nights at Pulino's are said to be a mob scene. Lunch on a Monday was downright mellow, by comparison, so if you're pie-curious, that might be the time to go.

One last stop: Milk Bar, to pick up some fuel for the trip.

FIN

Totonno's, 1524 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn (Coney Island), (718) 372-8606

Franny's, 295 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn (Park Slope), (718) 230-0221

Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn (Park Slope), (718) 783-1250

Pulino's, 282 Bowery, New York, (212) 226-1966

aj

p.s.--TY, HR!

* Some have said matzo-like. Either they're being mean or they've got a line on some exceedingly good matzo, the likes of which we've never tasted.

NYC 72-hour Plan, pt. 2

fig. a: Brooklyn Soda Works soda at work

Brooklyn Flea + Saltie + Fette Sau

We've written about the pleasures of Brooklyn Flea, culinary and otherwise, before, but we were even more impressed this time around. All of our old friends were there, but there seemed to be more of everything, and virtually everything looked really good, from the lobster rolls to the smoked brisket sandwich. We were in the mood for a breakfast burrito or some breakfast tacos, but, instead, we got taken in by a big, beautiful breakfast huarache with all the trimmings.

We also got taken in by Brooklyn Soda Works' lime, cilantro, mint, and chile (reputedly inspired by the legendary Sripraphai in Queens). Now that's a soda that'll get up and talk to you.

fig. b: inside Saltie

A couple of hours later, we made our way to Williamsburg so that I could take Michelle to Saltie for the very first time. I'd fallen head-over-heels in love with Saltie on my first visit, and I was pretty sure that Michelle would be smitten too. She was. Totally. From the cantaloupe cooler right down to the Scuttlebutt. Plus, it just looks and feels right.

fig. c: inside Fette Sau

We hadn't really intended to turn lunch into a doubleheader, but we passed Fette Sau on our way to Saltie, and we found that bbq smoke ever so enticing. You know those cartoons where a delectable aroma wafts its way over to an unsuspecting soul, twists and winds its way into the poor sap's nostrils, and then literally reels him in? Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but I find it hard to say 'no' to real hardwood smoke (in this case, a blend of red & white oak, maple, beech, and cherry).

We'd already eaten, so we just ordered ourselves a tasty little sampler: some brisket, some ribs, and a side of coleslaw. The brisket was the best I'd had since Hill Country--never mind that it was the only brisket I'd had since Hill Country, it was succulent, smoky, and satisfying, and it tasted great sandwiched in those Martin's Potato Rolls. The St. Louis-style pork ribs were meaty and smoky and prepared just the way we like them, "dry." The coleslaw was surprisingly unconventional--almost hippyish--but all the better for it. Authenticity ain't the mother of invention.

fig. d: inside Bushwick

WE INTERRUPT THIS POST FOR A WEDDING

Roberta's

Imagine getting invited to a wedding in Bushwick. Imagine the wedding is a mere 1/2 block from Roberta's. Imagine the wedding is kind of a late-afternoon/early-evening affair and it lets out relatively early. Roberta's is open till midnight. Use your imagination.

Brooklyn Flea, two locations: Saturdays in Fort Greene (outdoors), Sundays in Downtown Brooklyn (indoors)

Saltie, 378 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn (Williamsburg), (718) 387-4777

Fette Sau, 354 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn (Williamsburg), (718) 963-3404

Roberta's, 261 Moore St., Brooklyn (Bushwick), (718) 417-1118

aj

NYC 72-hour Plan, pt. 1, rev. ed.

Any excuse is a good excuse to slip down to New York City, but a wedding’s a pretty great one. Especially when you’re really, really excited about the couple that’s getting married (!), you’re going to get a chance to hang out with old friends, and the weather is slated to be perfection. And if the wedding’s in Bushwick and Roberta’s is literally half a block away, well, all the better!



figs. a & b: The High Line, before and after

The High Line

The High Line was already a thing of beauty. Now, fully redeveloped, fully landscaped by our good friend Piet Oudolf,* and pedestrian-friendly, it's just a different kind of thing of beauty.

fig. c: The Standard, as seen from The High Line

It's a great place to take some sun, do some people-watching, get some amazing views of the city and the river, check out some of the city's most daring new architecture, even take in an art installation.

fig. d: an-ti-ci-pa-a-tion

It's also a great place to grab a popsicle or a shave ice, now that People's Pops are on the scene. We didn't realize it at the time, but it turns it out it was People's Pops' Day 2 on the High Line. What we did realize, instantly, is that we're definitely some People's Pops people.

fig. e: People's Pops people

We loved their bright, beautiful, refreshing watermelon shave ice. We were totally ecstatic about their golden plum & mint pop. They were reasonably priced too. Power to the people!

fig. f: outside Momofuku Ssäm Bar + Milk Bar

Momofuku Ssäm Bar + Milk Bar + Beer Table

They said it couldn't be done, but we showed up for our glorious return to Momofuku Ssäm Bar at 8:05 pm on a Friday night--a beautiful Friday night--and we got seated in under 3 minutes! A party of four, too. We were fully prepared to wait a good 60-90 minutes, too. It was almost too easy.

And, god, was it good.

Vermont quail with sticky rice, shiitake mushrooms, and mustard greens sounded awesome--little did we know that that plump, beautiful roasted quail would come stuffed with the sticky rice and mushrooms and that it would be the quail of our dreams.

But the dish that blew our minds was one that sounded vaguely mysterious. When Michelle saw the buttermilk dish under the list of seasonal specialties she knew she had to have it. I asked her why and she told me she was convinced that the buttermilk would be served lightly set, like silken tofu, and she just had a feeling that it was going to transcend. Transcend, it did. What arrived was lightly set buttermilk (!) surrounded by a Fuji apple dashi, with toasted pine nuts and a mixed-herb salad as a garnish, and the combination was otherworldly.

Everything we had was stellar--including the simple pleasures of our Kentucky country ham plate--but that quail plate and that buttermilk bowl were the work of a team that's at the top of its game.

Afterwards we paid the mandatory visit to Ssäm Bar's little sister, Milk Bar. 1 Cereal Milk soft serve and a few cookies later, we were ready to roll. Literally.

fig. g: the menu at Beer Table

We had our car with us, and this being a Bushwick wedding, we were staying with friends in Brooklyn. So after dinner, we made our way across the bridge and had a drink at Beer Table. What exactly is Beer Table? Well, have you ever been to an intimate little wine bar? One that has a good kitchen? How about one that has a good kitchen that serves 3-course meals for $25? Well, get rid of the wines** and replace them with a well-curated selection of beers--bottled, draft, and casked, European and North American.

I'm not sure I want to pay wine bar prices for my beer (at least not regularly)--I lean towards the model of countries like Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, where drinking the finest beers is a popular pastime--but the selection was definitely highly impressive. Just look at that menu. Just look at those write-ups. And I loved the honey notes of my Popperings Hommel ale.

People's Pops, various locations, including The High Line

Momofuku Ssäm Bar + Milk Bar, 207 2nd Avenue, New York, (212) 254-3500

Beer Table, 427B 7th Avenue, Brooklyn (Park Slope), (718) 965-1196

aj

p.s. Many thanks to L & T for the occasion and the inspiration.

* We wish.

** Yes, you can go ahead and drink them.