Gin and such

So here is the link to the article in the Washington Post. To sum up it's talking about Dutch gin (genever), the differences in taste and how hard it is to get in this country. The gin that I had at pounds and pence last week was one of the few Dutch genevers you can get in this country. The article is interesting if you are you know obsessed with gin and spirits as I am. The author also recounts his trip to Amsterdam to pick up some more genever. Any man that would travel 7 hours over an ocean to pick up some booze is marriage material in my book. My sad sad book.

In other news, went to The Hideaway in Fort Greene. The bartender (sorry mixologist) is a friend of a friend and the drinks were superb. People who know me know that I love food that tastes like perfume (anything with rose, lavender, or orange blossom), so the first drink I had The Poisoned rose hit the spot. Rose flavored simple syrup, hendricks gin, citrus juices and some other stuff (sorry, reports on bars are not going to be as lucid). The bartender put a little wooden block in front of me, on top of said block he put the empty martini glass, next to the box was a glass of rose buds and a container of some kind of herb. He poured my drink in the glass and garnished it with a rose petal and some herbs. The presentation was a bit much but the drink was heaven. I followed that with something called an American beauty which is bourbon muddled with raspberries and blackberries. So tasty and i feel like a good whiskey drink for people who don't like whiskey. The bar is basically a converted three car garage, no sign just a bouncer with an eye patch (yes an eye patch) sitting outside. They are going for a Milk and Honey vibe in Brooklyn it seems (isn't everyone going for that now a days, while i appreciate the speakeasy vibe, sometimes i just want to know where the bar is). It's really cute, the cocktails are a bit pricey ($12-16 a pop), so this is more a special occasion place rather than a i'll be here all the time place.

In mostly unrelated news Drew Barrymore was just on Oprah giving a million dollars to the World Food Programme. Obviously she should be commended for such a generous donation to a cause that people often forget about (I always find it sad that causes get press because a celebrity is involved, i mean people were starving before Drew Barrymore wrote that giant check). In the midst of all the good causes that vie for our philanthropic dollars, it is easy to forget that so many people in the world have nothing to eat. In many ways it seems frivolous for me to be sitting here with a fridge full of food dissecting the food and service at restaurants when so many don't have this basic necessity. This maybe why am so interested in food and how things relate to it, seeing how basic sustenance can be elevated to high art, instantly bring comfort, or insight into other culture is just fascinating to me. I also like to eat. That may have something to do with it. If youre interested in donating to the World Food Programme click here.

Les Halles (Downtown)

So last night was Nadine's birthday. For those of you who are randomly reading this (who are you people anyway), you'll be hearing alot about Nadine, we eat out alot together, she is one of my most precious friends. Yesterday was her birthday so a large group of us went to the Les Halles in the financial district.

Before dinner I must note we went a bar called Pound and Pence on Liberty Street. The thinking behind this was the following, we wanted (Marsha, my other most precious of friends, Nadine and I) to go have some nice happy hour drinks and wouldn't it be ironic if we went to some pub establishment filled with Wall Street types. The bar was actually very spacious and warm. The reason I'm mentioning it is because they have a really extensive gin selection. To know me is to know my love of gin. I sampled a Dutch gin Bols Genever, in a gin and tonic. It was clean and really refreshing.

On to dinner

We were seated in a back room there about ten of us. Nadine, Marsha and I got there and met Nicole and DR inside. Our waiter was french, which i have no problem with (I work with a bunch of frenchies), but I usually expect good service coupled with the haughty attitude. I can take you thinking you're better than I am as long as the service you provide is of high quality, unfortunately that was not the case. Only half of our party had arrived and our waiter was continuing to ask us if we wanted something to drink, even after we had said we were going to wait for everyone else to arrive. Then once everyone arrived our waiter was no where to be found. I ordered my steak Bearnaise with mashed potatoes instead of fries, and they brought it with fries anyway. When I pointed this out there was no apology to be found. I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but i do this for a living, we were a fun and nice group of people, common courtesy should apply. There was visible annoyance when we repeatedly asked for drinks we had ordered and asked for the wine list. Sigh. Someone flunked french waiter school it seems.

The food, I started with escargot, which was delicious. To be fair anything slathered in garlic butter is going to be delicious, but god damn it i love me some escargot. Other appetizers floating around included the crabcake (pretty standard, nothing special), mussels with tomato and chorizo (fantastic) and pate (once again pretty standard, good but nothing earthshattering).
For dinner my steak which i ordered medium rare was pretty unevenly, cooked but otherwise satisfactory, the Bearnaise sauce was a bit thick but had a nice shot of vinegar cutting the fat deliciously. Nadine got a seafood choucterie which was very nice, not particularly my taste but well executed. Nicole had some sort of massive mixed grill plate with bacon, lamb chops, and sausages, which was fantastic. Nothing beats a giant wooden board filled with meat. NOTHING. All around the food was well executed, but I must say I prefer the kitchen at the Les Halles uptown.

In spite of the crappy service and the underwhelming kitchen we had a good time and Nadine had a great birthday which is all that matters. After dinner the four of us (Nadine, Marsha, Nicole and I) headed to Souths to have some birthday pie from the little pie company. Here's what I learned. Pie always tastes better with coffee, that has Jameson and Baileys in it.