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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!

Here at Jimmy’s No. 43, we love a good story, and one of the better stories can be told about our neighbor around the corner, East Village Meat Market. Our special relationship with them came out of Pig Island, the annual pork fest that takes place each September, which we sourced this year from Flying Pigs Farm. We needed to break down our pig and the team did it for us. To quote from our upcoming Pig Island Cookbook:

“The East Village Meat Market, started by Ukrainian expat Julian Baczynsky in 1970, is one of Manhattan’s special places, a store that manages to straddle past and present by serving truly great product. It is one of the last of what used to be many butcher shops in the neighborhood specializing in Eastern European smoked and cured meats, as well as fresh cuts of pork, beef, lamb or chicken. Today it is managed by Andrew Ilnicki and a staff that includes workers like Anthony Tychanski, Jersy Kossakowski and Sudolia Vasil who hail from both Poland and the Ukraine have had many years of experience smoking, curing and cutting meat on two continents.”

Now, whenever we have a whole hog we need broken down, we take it around the corner to get all the amazing cuts we can to use the meat sustainably.

And things have come full circle, as EVMM is making one of its traditional products with pork sourced from Flying Pigs Farm. This weekend we have their special fatback, or “lardo,” a rich, fatty, prosciutto-like meat that we serve on open face dark-bread sandwiches. It’s a great small plate to pair with beer.

Speaking of which…

Tonight we welcome Brooklyn’s latest brewery, along with their cool collaborators from upstate for a mini-tap-takeover and meet the brewer event. From 5 p.m., we’ll be pouring several brews from Rocky Point Artisan Brewers (from Long Island) and gypsy brewers Secret Engine (from Brooklyn) during this themed event. Beers to include:

• *Rocky Point Artisan Brewers / Secret Engine – Sticke Handwerker on cask – An American Amber/English Mild (6.7% ABV)
• *Rocky Point Artisan Brewers / Secret Engine – Das Saftige
• *Rocky Point Artisan Brewers – Motueka Pilsner

Plus the brewers from both breweries will be on hand to talk about their beers. As always, while supplies last, and regular bar/restaurant service is available.

We hope you’ll be dropping in this weekend to enjoy our craft beer and kitchen.

We kicked off fall with our Smoked+Smoked dinner featuring some of the world’s most traditional smoked beers, including Schlenkerla and Evil Twin Cowboy, which we will continue to feature this week as the days begin to shorten and the temperatures beckon heavier brews.

We asked B. United founder Matthias Neidhart about his great smoked beers, and here’s what he had to share.

How did you get involved with importing Schlenkerla?

From the start in 1995 our company has zeroed in on the classic examples of as many beer styles as possible. The late Michael Jackson served as our “guide” as follows: “The most famous Bamberg Rauchbier is Schlenkerla, made for the tavern of that name by the Heller brewery… Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen , is made entirely from smoked malt…the resultant beer has a smoky aroma and a dryness the moment it hits the tongue, and a full, smoky flavor that lingers in a long finish.”

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen, a world classic is the definitive example of this style.

Is there a thriving market for smoked beers in the US?

From our first day of importing the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier portfolio until today, about 19 years later, the portfolio has grown every year. Every year it has attracted new friends to this extraordinary style of beer. All other “smoke brews” we have added over time follow the same trend!

What are some of the other smoked beers that you import?

• *De Dues “Tocatta” from Spain – a dessert brew at around 11.5% ABV that uses peat smoked barley malt for extraordinary complex flavors and aromas.
• *Grodziskie by Prof. Fritz Briem from Germany – a sour smoke wheat ale historically created in the Polish town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski.
• *Fumigant by Birrificio Montegioco from Italy – a peat smoked sour ale aged in Barbera wine barrels.
• *Torbata by Birrificio Almond 22 of Italy – a peat smoked barley wine that adds honey.
• *BrettPeat DayDream by Birrificio Del Ducato from Italy – a Scotch Whiskey barrel aged sour ale made with peated malt!
• *Charbonniere by Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or from France – a peat-smoked amber ale!

In addition to smoked and rauchbiers, we’ll also be featuring Saison d’Erpe Mere on draught (Brouwerij De Glazen Toren brewmaster Jeff Vandersteen will be a special guest on today’s Beer Sessions Radio at 5 p.m.). And several of last night’s dishes will be on the menu all this week, including Potato Soup with Shiso and Smoked Bacon and Grilled Tamari Pork Skewers.

If you were here in the spring, you might have been dropping by on Thursdays for special keg launches. Well, today, we have a great one as Thursday Tap returns: We’ll be tapping Cluster’s Last Stand, a special limited release IPA by Smuttynose with Stone Brewing. Inspired by Stone brewmaster Mitch Steele’s comprehensive book on India Pale Ale, this recreation of the original Ballantine IPA recipe was brewed for research purposes and sold out quickly last year.

While still in limited distribution, the 8.8% ABV beer will be tapped this afternoon and available while supplies last. You can read more about the beer here, or just come down to Jimmy’s No. 43 after 5 p.m. today and try it yourself! As always, regular bar/craft beer kitchen service is available.