Beer may come in many, many forms and styles but we've never seen sweet potato beer, at least not 'til now. At this year's International Restaurant & Foodservice show (running through tomorrow at Javits), the Japanese have a huge presence with booth upon booth devoted to ramen, miso, shochu, sake and, yes, beer! We stopped by Coedo's booth and tried all five beers. They were well made but the Beniaka particularly struck our fancy. Whenasked what it was made from - there was a nicely balanced sweetness - we were told "sweet potato" made from Kintoki sweet potatoes from Kawagoe in Central Japan. They say it's the only sweet potato beer in the world, which while not technically true, is besides the point. It was damn fine beer and you can't go wrong with any Coedo beers, assuming you can find them.
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Beer may come in many, many forms and styles but we've never seen sweet potato beer, at least not 'til now. At this year's International Restaurant & Foodservice show (running through tomorrow at Javits), the Japanese have a huge presence with booth upon booth devoted to ramen, miso, shochu, sake and, yes, beer! We stopped by Coedo's booth and tried all five beers. They were well made but the Beniaka particularly struck our fancy. Whenasked what it was made from - there was a nicely balanced sweetness - we were told "sweet potato" made from Kintoki sweet potatoes from Kawagoe in Central Japan. They say it's the only sweet potato beer in the world, which while not technically true, is besides the point. It was damn fine beer and you can't go wrong with any Coedo beers, assuming you can find them.
Recently we've noticed a new beer around town - Palm Beer. The name made us wonder if it was another beer from Southeast Asia and the restaurants we've seen it in, such as Co., Spina and Onda, didn't give us much of a clue to its origins. So we did a quick google and learned it was actually from Belgium.How is it beer from Belgium's largest family brewery - they've produced beer since 1747 - never made it to America? We asked the importers, Latis Imports, how this could be. Turns out they two ex InBev (the company that bought Anheiser Busch) guys who were keen to bring Palm to the U.S. It first arrived in NYC in November 2007 and started wide distribution last year. Now you can buy it at Whole Foods, Food Emporium and Gourmet Garage, as well as tons of restaurants around town.
So what makes Palm so good? For starters, the brewery is still an independent family brewery and we should support those kind of establishments. And they put out a damn good beer. Palm is an ale made in the traditional style but it's lighter and more approachable. It's also creamy, great for a hot day and drinks well with food, hence its popularity with restaurants. If you haven't tried it, we think you'll find it worth your while.
If you're looking for a good sparkler for summer, how about a Lambrusco? Our current favorite producer is fairly new to NYC - Lini, a father and daughter producer from Emilia Romagna in Italy.
They make all of six Lambruscos and they are all good. Some are much better than that. The Labrusca label Lambrusco Bianco is a good entry to Lini's wines - an easy to drink white spakler. The Rosso Labrusca is even better, a rustic but nicely balanced dry red. The Lambrusco Rose In Correggio (see right) is a terrific wine - whether on its own or with food, it's delicious. Try it with fried foods or prosciutto and parnigiano reggiano. Also excellent is the Lambrusco Scuro Rosso, a rich red that works very well with meat - try it at your next barbecue.
Lini wines are making their way around town - you can find them at New York Vintners, Vino, Astor Wines & Spirits and more. Restaurants that carry them include L'Artusi, Dell'Anima, 'ino, inoteca, Lupa and more.
They make all of six Lambruscos and they are all good. Some are much better than that. The Labrusca label Lambrusco Bianco is a good entry to Lini's wines - an easy to drink white spakler. The Rosso Labrusca is even better, a rustic but nicely balanced dry red. The Lambrusco Rose In Correggio (see right) is a terrific wine - whether on its own or with food, it's delicious. Try it with fried foods or prosciutto and parnigiano reggiano. Also excellent is the Lambrusco Scuro Rosso, a rich red that works very well with meat - try it at your next barbecue.
Lini wines are making their way around town - you can find them at New York Vintners, Vino, Astor Wines & Spirits and more. Restaurants that carry them include L'Artusi, Dell'Anima, 'ino, inoteca, Lupa and more.
If the warm weather is making you think of roséThis terrific rosé
We have one cool gizmo for you today - the iBreath Breathalizer. This handy gadget plugs into your iPod (and iPhone if the site's photos are to believed) so you can self-test your blood alcohol level after a night of drinking. They are pitching it for celebrities - you know the ones who get behind the wheel in LA and smash into things - but it should be handy for anyone who drives after imbibing. Oh, and to sweeten the pot, it has an FM receiver so you can get your iPod on your car radio.Available online for only $69.99! And no, they are not throwing in a matching knife set.
We've had sparkling sake, dessert sake, aged sake, sake in a can, and now... sake in a jar. Yup the latest craze (maybe) is sake in a 200ml jar, the perfect size to slip into your suit jacket for that long ride home. Long popular in Japan, especially among commuting businessmen, single serve sakes have slowly been making their way into the U.S. market. Wakatsuru in Toyama (Western Japan) makes one of the first to be offered in a jar, a full-bodied and flavorful Junmai Daiginjo. The sake was good but better with food than on its own. And not quite as good as our favorite single-serve sake, Funaguchi Kikusui.
Available at Astor Wines & Spirits (399 Lafayette Street, website). $5.99 per bottle.
Gran Centenario produces some fine tequila - we're especially fans of the anejo - and now they've introduced a hibiscus-infused version called Rosangel. This unique tequila is made with Gran Centenario reposado that is rested in port barrels for two months (after the initial aging process) and then infused with Mexican hibiscus flowers.The resulting tequila is aromatic and intriguing to the taste. We first tried Rosangel straight and appreciated the fragrant nose but found the flavor, while appealing, a natural for mixed drinks. Our next step was to make a margarita with it. We followed our preferred recipe - 3 parts tequila, 2 parts triple sec, 1 part fresh lime juice and served it up (no salt). The result had an appealing hue and was quite delicious.
For another, more involved option, Julie Reiner (Flatiron Lounge, Clover Club) has created a new cocktail:
Continue reading Introducing Rosangel.
Sometimes things are wrong on so many levels, it's hard to figure out where to begin. Case in point - Slender Wine. Apparently, some folks in Indiana thought it would be a good idea to make "Sweetened Wine" with a sugar substitute called Zerose. And if that isn't bizarre enough, there's this - the wine will be in the gift bags at the Oscars!The wine comes in three varieties - white, blush and red - and is produced by a winery called Chateau Thomas outside Indianapolis. Apparently, the winery itself has been around for 24 years but after 2 years of "research and experimentation," Slender Wines were born. And how did that happen? Well, check out the most surreal winery video ever...
From the website:
Sweetened with Zerose® , a natural sweetener which has zero calories, a zero
glycemic index, no carbs, no fats.
The world's only naturally sweetened wines. A wine for those who don't
want or
No Sugar
No Carbs
No Fats
No After-taste
No Kidding!
Our question is why would anyone want "naturally sweetened wine" in the first place?
Continue reading Crimes Against Wine - Slender Wine.
When is a beer too fancy? That question is a common one these days as restaurants continue to look for ways to jack up prices with obscure beers and importers bring in ever more product. Case in point, Kasteel Cru, a fairly new arrival on the scene from Alsace, France made with champagne yeast and now selling at Whole Foods for $4.99 a bottle.That's a fair amount of scratch in these times, even for a lifestyle beer which this clearly is. So we picked up a bottle to see what the hype is all about. The first taste is of a well made lager with a bit of an effervescent character. Sipping further, we found that the slight bitterness of the initial taste seemed to mellow into an almost bubbly quality. This actually counteracts the "beerness" of the beer and makes the taste less cohesive but certainly makes for a bit of lightness in the mouth feel.
We were curious how the beer held up over, say a half hour or sipping. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite hold the effervescence and gets a bit out of balance with more bitterness evident. The beer was passable with food and seemed best suited to cheese.
All in all, it's a good, not great beer, with a fancy pedigree and way-too-high price. Stick with the regular lagers unless you're showing off new found wealth for a friend.
