brooklyn brewery

Finally! I made it out here. If you're not aware, I love a lot of the Brooklyn Brewery brews, especially Local 2, their Belgian Strong Dark Ale.


The brewery is located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Just northwest of the Bedford stop on the L. They offer tours hourly from 1pm - 5pm Saturday and Sunday and a happy hour on Fridays starting at 6pm. Me and a couple friends went to the brewery for a tour and to hang out. They clear out a large room during the weekends and place chairs and tables as well as a bar.


The tour was interesting, though not quite what I expected. For the tour, they bring you to a room with a bunch of the machinery and tanks they use for brewing the beer. I was expecting more of a walking tour of the facility, but it's no big deal, it was still interesting. The guide spoke about the history of the brewery, the current location, the different beers, and so forth.


beer tokens
Afterwards we hung out in the large room with the bar. You have to buy tokens in order to get beer. Each token is good for one beer, unless stated (Locals 1 & 2 were 3 tokens each). Tokens were $4 individually (I think) and $20 for 6.

cooking: lamb steak over polenta w/ oven roasted veggies

What to do when you're feeling bummed out? Eat a great meal of course...or at least one that you know will make you feel better!

After work, I made a quick stop at Wegmans to pick up lamb sausage a lamb steak, and a couple veggies. I also attempted to try to find the Vosges Gianduja Bar to no avail. Wegmans please carry this variety soon please? It may be my favorite Vosges bar.

Anyway, during my drive home the dish came together in my mind. Serve the steak medium over polenta with a side of roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. Perfect.

Lamb Steak over Polenta w/ Oven Roasted Veggies
Steak serves 1; Polenta and Veggies serve 1+

-1/2 lb. leg of lamb steak
-vegetable oil
-salt & pepper

-1/2 c polenta
-1 c milk
-1 c water
-1/2 c pecorino romano, grated
-salt, to taste

Preheat grill.

Season steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Next, rub oil over both sides of steak.

Start making polenta.

In a saucepan, whisk together polenta, milk, water, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and shift the lid over so it's cracked. Leave for 15 minutes.

Place the steak on the grill. You should hear a nice sizzle. If not, your grill is not hot enough. Close lid of grill. If you want to achieve grill marks, rotate the steak 45° after 2 minutes. After another 2 minutes, flip the steak over and repeat.

Once finished and cooked to your desired doneness (I was going for medium), set aside to rest, covered with foil, for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Whisk the pecorino into the polenta and mix well.

Place a serving of polenta on a plate, then top it with the steak. Serve with roasted veggies.

Enjoy!

central park brunch picnic w/ h&h bagels & zabar's cream cheese

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning in NYC and we were hungry. Meg has constantly raved about H&H Bagels and I've always wanted to try em. I've also read a lot about H&H and they definitely have a following - they were mentioned by Dwight Schrute in The Office! So we decided to take a run (literally) to H&H then stopped by nearby Zabar's to pick up some scallion cream cheese (since H&H's cream cheese selection didn't look too appealing).


We took our food to the northern section of Central Park to bum out and have brunch in the beautiful weather. I slathered some scallion cream cheese over my H&H everything bagel. It was yummy, but I feel that it did not live up to the hype. I can't quite put my finger on what it was missing though. Sorry Meg and other H&H faithfuls, but Murray's Bagels is still my go to place for bagels in the city.

H&H Bagels
2239 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
212.595.8000

Zabar's
2245 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
212.787.2000