Month: October 2014

We’re feeling downright autumnal, and we’re showing off some German (Franconian) Gravity Casks this weekend that are perfect beers for fall that, not coincidentally, go really well with our restaurant menu (Skillet Fried Beer Sausage, Charcuterie Plate, Cheese Plate or Flying Pigs Farm “Fatback” Lardo Toasts for starters).

We’ve brought in several casks from Shelton Brothers imports and for the next three days will be tapping one right on the bar. The schedule is as follows:

*Tonight! Thursday at 5 p.m. – We’ll tap the Weissenohe Monk’s Fest -a 5% ABV hearty, amber-colored, malty, but finely balanced Märzen/Vienna lager that is refreshing and filling all at once; this traditional ‘liquid bread’ is a rare version of the true “Oktoberfest” style, which has sadly been replaced in Munich by everyday Helles.
*Friday at 4 p.m. – Weissenohe Bonifacius, a Dunkel that at 5.1% ABV is a very drinkable beer for fall.
*Saturday at 3 p.m. – Another cask of the Monk’s Fest.

It’s while supplies last, so come out and get your cask on! And as always, regular bar/restaurant service is available, too.

This weekend we’re happy to be bringing German Franconian casks to NYC! Traditionally Germans from the Franconia area of Bavaria, Germany, would put their ales and lagers in vertical gravity casks. In celebration of great Oktoberfest German beers, we’ll be tapping one of these kegs this afternoon (at 5 p.m.), Weissenohe Bonifacius, a Dunkel that at 5.1% ABV is a very drinkable beer for fall.

We’ll be bringing more casks to tomorrow’s beer and bratwurst fest, Oktoberfeast, at the Seaport (on 10/11, with two sessions starting at 11 a.m.). Among the beer offerings (subject to change) will include both cask and draught options:

• Secret Engine – Sticke Handwerker
• Rocky Point – Das Saftige
• Radiant Pig – Junior IPA, Gangster Duck
• Grimm – Bees with a Buzz
• Barrier – Oktoberfest
• Gun Hill – Oktoberfest, Gold
• Other Half – Veldrijden Love
• SingleCut – Oktoberfest (secret small batch), Jan Michael w/Coffee and Vanilla
• Third Rail – Bodega, Field 2
• Bridge and Tunnel – “Maspeth” 1600, Black Rye IPA
• Perennial – Hommel Bier
• Jonas Brock – Chocolate Stout, Jasmine Lager
• Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager
• and, of course, more Weissenohe Bonifacia

For more about tomorrow’s Oktoberfeast and to purchase your tickets, please check out this great article by Lower East Craft.

So come into the bar this afternoon and pay-as-you-go (we’ll have our famous beer sausage for the perfect peppery food-beer pairing) or join us all day tomorrow at the Seaport for great German (and German-style) cask beers!

Yesterday at Jimmy’s No. 43 we welcomed Slow Food founder and foodie icon Carlo Petrini for an intimate (in Italian!) meet and greet with this fun and fascinating man who launched the international movement almost 30 years ago. His efforts brought forth locavorism and the desire both to grow and to eat food in a sustainable way.

Carlo is a nearly messianic figure in the food world. This past Friday he was joined by another foodie icon, Alice Waters, for a special broadcast (you can catch it here) on Heritage Radio Network. (As an aside, HRN founder Patrick Martin was inspired by Carlo, having interned with him in the 90s before coming back to launch Slow Food USA, Heritage Foods, and HRN.)

Among his revelations yesterday, which he shared while enjoying our local Lardo Toasts from Flying Pigs Farm and East Village Meat Market:

• *Carlo is impressed by the change in America over the past 25 years, especially in the rise of microbreweries and farmstead cheeses.
• *He hates waste on a large-scale, commercial-food level.
• *He cares about the producers behind artisanal practices and products.
• *He appreciates simple affordable food and restaurants as much as the top, expensive, gastronomic restaurants.
• *He started out as restaurant reviewer for a communist Italian newspaper; when the first McDonald’s opened in Rome he started a “slow food” movement to fight the onslaught of fast food.

While at Jimmy’s No. 43, he paired the lardo with cider from Farnum Hill (he drank the Kingston Black; we’ll have a special tasting on October 21st of Kingston Black varietals) and Eden Dry Sparkling Cider (join Eden’s Eleanor Leger for dinner on October 29th). If you missed him on this trip, keep an eye out for his return in November. He loves Jimmy’s No. 43 so much that he promised to drop by when he comes back to NYC.

Last week, we told you about our unique relationship with old world butchers like the East Village Meat Market and small, sustainable farms such as Flying Pigs Farm. Our commitment to our menu has always been about the “slow food movement,” which was launched in 1986 by founder Carlo Petrini (who rumor has it will be at Jimmy’s No. 43 Sunday afternoon – hint hint). Slow food was initially coined as an alternative to fast food, but it has grown into an international movement that encourages farmers, food purveyors and everyone else (we all eat!) to embrace the local ecosystem and grow and raise food that fits into that ecosystem.

We’re proud to be part of the slow food movement, and we’ve extended our embrace of sustainability to many of our beers. We seek out and serve up local brewers, often before they hit “the big time.” For example, this week we’re featuring several beers from Brooklyn’s The Other Half, including:

• *Veldrijden Love Saison – a 7.8% ABV big farmhouse ale
• *Hop Showers IPA – a 7.4% ABV India Pale Ale
• *Cool Summer Bro! – the last of their seasonal (and sessionable) 5.0% ABV Summer Wheat beer

And we have one final word on slow food and the post from last week. It suddenly dawned on us that non-charcuterie-knowledgable carnivores may not be familiar with the lardo we’ve sourced from EVMM and Flying Pigs. This delicious pork cut – also known as “fatback” – can only be obtained from a free-range, grass-fed pig; commercially raised pigs don’t have this naturally occurring fat. Fatback is a “hard fat” similar to lard (which is great for frying foods!) that can be salted and cured and served up as a sandwich meat.

We’re so sure you’re going to love fatback/lardo, that starting today at 6 p.m. and every day through the weekend (also in the evenings – while supplies last!) we’ll be serving up complimentary lardo toasts for you to sample. We’ll recommend some beers (or wine or cider) to pair, and hope you’ll take your step on the journey of being a slow food supporter. Cheers!