Entries categorized as ‘Drinks’
I know you’ve all been eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the wine saga that started with this post.
Who am I kidding? No you’re not.
But in case you’re wondering how homemade Chardonnay turns out in the hands of two suburban retirees and their food-blogging son, that picture tells it all.
Although the darn thing wouldn’t clarify (even after many attempts at filtering) it went down fairly smoothly. I swear. It tasted like a decent white wine, despite its odd coloring.
And when you get down to it, wouldn’t you rather have a better tasting wine than a better looking wine? I thought so.
* By the way, that’s my wife’s hand, not mine.
Categories: Curiosities · Drinks · Problems · Products
Tagged: chardonnay, clarify, DIY, homemade wine
Despite an inspired notion now and then, I’m not what one would call “a good gift giver.”
I tend to buy mostly gifts in boxes and I tend to buy them late. Sometimes I forget to buy them altogether.
This situation can add up to some pretty wacky gifts. Case in point: the make-your-own Chardonnay kit I got for my mom one Christmas (or birthday or Mother’s Day). It’s not that it’s a bad gift in general; it’s just that my mom really doesn’t drink too much wine any more and I don’t think she was ever a big fan of drinking Chardonnay, let alone making a few bottles worth.
Not surprisingly, the wine kit has spent the better part of a year in my parents’ garage, during which time we probably could have started a private label wine company. While combing through the aforementioned garage for stuff to sell, I came across the box, dragged it out, and decided to kick start the process myself.
The first step was sterilization of equipment. Using the included solvent, I scrubbed down every plastic piece as if each was a life-saving surgical tool. One thing to be prepared for is that there are a lot of little powders included in wine-making, so be sure you separate the sterilization stuff from the rest. This will ensure that your wine doesn’t kill you… quickly.
Next, you combine the viscous concentrate, which is stored in this funky looking space-age bag, with some filtered water to make the… let’s call it “pre-wine.” For some reason, the concentrate is really dark, which I found strange for a supposedly white wine mix. But maybe losing pigment is part of the fermentation process.
Regardless, the next step is to get the pre-wine into the plastic wine cube, as they say in the business. This involves the complex process of siphoning: putting liquid on one level and a container on a lower level, and adding a tube.
My parents’ kitchen was slowly transforming into Mr. Wizard.
To finish off the first day’s worth of activities, you screw on this other plastic doohickey, fill it halfway with water, and let the whole contraption stand for many, many moons (I think about 12 days).
The folks just today checked in on the stuff and siphoned it back out of the wine cube and back into it again. My mom reports that the liquid is now a mysterious amber color.
Check back in late August for another update.
Categories: Drinks · Products · Tools of the trade
Tagged: chardonnay, fermentation, making wine
Between the classic Standard Tap and its slightly newer, more neighborhoody cousin, North 3rd, the Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties has cornered the market on gastropubs.
I don’t know why I’m still surprised that these “bars” consistently serve as good or better grub than most of their food-focused bretheren, the restaurants. But surprised I was when my friend dragged me to north of Spring Garden for my last meal as a resident of Philadelphia.
After ordering a glass of wine - off the also surprisingly decent wine list - and my friend a pint of the day’s special microbrew, we perused past the regular menu to the specials. I began with fresh gazpacho, while my friend went for the chicken empanadas. The cold gazpacho was refreshing, though a bit heavier than I was used to. The dollop of guacamole in the center was a nice compliment to the dark and spicy soup. While I could only finish half, my friend’s empanadas disappeared in half the time.
For my entree, I chose another special: seared scallops with red pepper, corn, potato and andouille fricassee. It was beyond delicious. The scallops were humongous, but cooked to perfection, while the fricassee (which I believe was mislabeled - isn’t it supposed to have chicken?) provided ample flavor support.
Following a large bottle of some killer Belgian brew, we unfortunately had no room left for dessert. But no matter - It was still a fitting cap to my eating adventures in Philly.
Let’s hope North Jersey and New York City live up to the legacy.
Categories: Drinks · Philadelphia · Restaurants
Tagged: northern liberties, Philadelphia, seared scallops, standard tap, gastropub, North 3rd, gazpacho, chicken empanadas, fricassee
This post is woefully late mostly because, well… I was drinking. Now, before you drive yourself into a tizzy (as my cherished elders would say), let me explain:
1. It was my birthday.
2. I was at a brewpub called Nodding Head.
I figured that since the fine folks at Nodding Head went through all the trouble of brewing seven different beers (on the second floor of row house in the middle of Philadelphia no less!), it would be just plain rude for me to not partake.
I’m not sure how often they change the brew (it may be daily, although I think it’s weekly), but all of the selected seven dominate the nationally distributed stuff in color, taste, texture and any other drinking category you can imagine.
There are a few standards that seem to never leave (including 60 Shilling Ale, Grog and IPA), some utility players (like Doc, 700 Level and BPA), and the rare experiments (such as the awesomely named Hoptimus Prime, Monkey Knife Fight and Lead Pipe Lager) that keep things lively.
As for the night… it was a lot of fun. We even had the dartboard all to ourselves for the last couple hours.
And, miraculously, no one was hurt.
Categories: Drinks · Events
Tagged: bar, beer, birthday, brewpub, Drinks, grog, microbrew, nodding head, Philadelphia
Excuse me if I slobber while I write this… I just can’t contain myself.
What you see above is genuine “hot chocolate” - a drinkable concoction consisting mostly of melted pieces of finely chopped chocolate. Forget that cocoa swill that comes in a pouch - we’re talking the real deal here.
If I remember my chocolate history correctly (and I may not), chocolate was originally consumed in a liquid form, not a solid. It was not until later that chefs would remove this “drinking chocolate” from the cup, and introduce the world to the chocolate pastries and candy bars we all know and love today. In my opinion, however, they got it right the first time.
The above delicacy comes from Philly’s Naked Chocolate Cafe, a niche emporium of all things chocolate. It also functions as quite a cute little hang-out, serving coffee and all manner of chocolate and other desserts, including classics like the delectable lemon square below.
The Naked Chocolate Cafe may be exactly the kind of shop I’ve always dreamed of starting, but never really attempted. I’m not surprised that someone had the same idea, but for it to be so well executed the first time out makes me more than a little bit jealous. But I digress.
My first drinking chocolate experience was at a little shop down by the Brooklyn Bridge, called Jacques Torres. It, combined with the ridiculously amazing pizza from Grimaldi’s in the same area, put me into a food daze from which I’ve never quite recovered.
In fact, I’ve run out of words just thinking about it.
Categories: Dessert · Drinks · Philadelphia · Shopping
Tagged: brooklyn, chocolate, drinking chocolate, grimaldi's, jacques torres, lemon square, naked chocolate cafe, Philadelphia
