First Green Certified© Restaurant in the Hudson Valley, Ellenville (Ulster County) NY. New American menu with grass-fed steaks, seafood & vegetarian. One of the best stocked bars in the Hudson Valley with 300 craft beers, 300 wines & independent produced spirits. Hudson Valley Magazine “Best Of” winner 10 years in a row. Awards include: Best Beer Menu, Best Chef, Best Bistro, Best Vegetarian, Best of County & Best Wine List. Trip Advisor's Number 1 restaurant.
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By Kelly Rossiter
Toronto, Canada | Thu Apr 23 14:30:00 EDT 2009
Now is the time of year for seasonal farmers' markets to start opening and if you've been curious about going but have never tried it, here a few pointers to make your experience a good one. I hope you do take the time and go to a market. It's a wonderful experience and the quality of the produce is so much better than anything you can get in a grocery store.
But why “Old Speckled Hen”? Well, the name is actually derived from the name “owld speckled un”, a term used to describe an old MG car used as a factory run-around. Over time, this unusual, canvas-covered saloon became covered with flecks of paint and was dubbed the “owld speckled ‘un” by locals.
Old Speckled Hen is a great choice for those who enjoy a rich, strong beer to drink. In the UK premium bottled beer sector, Old Speckled Hen even outsells Newcastle Brown Ale!
There are now 15 London “black cabs” sporting distinctive Old Speckled Hen livery. All 15 cabs operate within the area surrounded by the Central underground line- ideal for tourists, residents and business people alike. The cabs have all been painted in Old Speckled Hen’s eye-catching colors and feature the famous fox character.
Old Speckled Hen has a superb rich malty and fruity aroma. When tasting it you will experience a wonderful warming flavor that is bursting with body. Malty (malt loaf) toffee flavors from the pale and crystal malts combine with bitterness on the back of the tongue to give balanced sweetness which is not cloying. This is followed by a dry finish, surprising for ale of this strength.
Bornem Dubbel is a 'living' abbey beer with 8 % alcohol by volume. This means that after the primary fermentation in the keg, the beer also continues to evolve during the second fermentation in the bottle or in the keg after packaging.
This typical double with its warm dark brown color and bordeaux red undertones, has a fruity flavor that immediately makes you think of grains. You'll also find a hoppy aftertaste in this velvety soft beer. Its creamy, rich and robust head crowns this jewel of a beer. Few other dark doubles can rival this Bornem Dubbel.
A 'double' means that the brewer uses twice as much malt as for a regular beer. That gives this beer its full round and rich flavor. It is said that the monks ate or drank nothing other than their Dubbel during Lent. So you can survive very well on this special beer. Delicious.
Dark doubles are often served with meat dishes, such as steaks, grilled meat, wild game or even sausages. Bornem Dubbel also does the body and soul a power of good after heavy physical exertion.
8 % alcohol by volume, 16 ° Plato
dark beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 75 cl; kegs 30 l.
Bornem Tripel is a 'living' abbey beer with 9 % alcohol by volume. This means that after the primary fermentation in the keg, the beer also continues to evolve during the second fermentation in the bottle or in the keg after packaging.
Abbey triples are usually blond or light amber in color. That is a centuries-old tradition. The Bornem Tripel is a party beer, hoppy and full of flavor, soft in the mouth, with an outstanding sweet-bitter balance, a pleasant aroma and a good head. And finally, it leaves a long aftertaste to enjoy to the fullest.
A 'triple' means that the brewer uses three times as much malt in the brew kettle as for a regular beer. A Triple used to be reserved for the Bishop or for Father Abbot. And you can bet they knew a good thing when they tasted it.
Bornem Tripel is a beer to be enjoyed as a dessert or aperitif. Some people combine Bornem Tripel with mussels or other shellfish but this abbey beer also goes very well with a hearty cheese dish or simply as a refreshing strong beer with a meal.
9 % alcohol by volume, 18.5 ° Plato
blond beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 75 cl; kegs 30 l.
New Paltz Regional Chamber of Chamber
New Paltz Regional Chamber of Chamber Second Vice Chair Chris Drouin, far left, and chamber President Joyce Minard, far right, present a certificate of appreciation to Marcus and Jamie Guiliano of Aroma Thyme Bistro, which hosted the April After-Hours Mixer, in Ellenville.
The stadium pushes the usual mass-market brews, which is to be expected of any big venue. It also has a beers-of-the-world stand that sells brews like Heineken, from the Netherlands; Beck’s, from Germany; and Stella Artois, from Belgium — all from nowheresville, if you ask me.
It has a retro-beer stand that sells — give me strength — Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schaefer. If you look really hard, you can find Guinness, which is an acceptable fallback. But with all the great craft beers available nowadays, why aren’t any of them at Yankee Stadium?
Citi Field, the new home of the Mets, sells a selection of beers from Brooklyn Brewery. That’s encouraging — and frustrating to a Yankees fan.
Look, I don’t even know if I can afford to go to these two fancy new ballparks, much less pay for the beer. I have children about to go to college, and paying $9 for a can of Pabst, even the 16-ounce can at Yankee Stadium, is one of the least enjoyable ways I can think of to blow their college fund.
But if I do go to Yankee Stadium, I want some beers worthy of the team. I offer you now my solution to the big beer wasteland in the South Bronx: American pilsners.
While any number of styles would make an enjoyable companion to a good ballgame, none, I think, could do better than a crisp, zesty, refreshing pilsner. It’s a style that has long been associated with American sports, though in its bland mass-market form in which the barley-malt core of a great pilsner is diluted with adjuncts like corn or rice. Budweiser may trace its roots to the Czech birthplace of pilsner, but it is no longer a true representative of the style.
With their dry citrus and floral flavors, augmented by a lively, bracing hop bitterness, great pilsners snap you to attention. They are subtle beers that rely on finesse and clarity rather than broad complexity. And they are fairly low in alcohol, so you can drink with gusto rather than sip.
For great American pilsners, though, you have to go to the major leagues of brewing, which to my mind are the small craft breweries that have so thoroughly revitalized beer drinking in America. To inaugurate the new baseball season, the tasting panel recently sampled 18 pilsners from American craft breweries.
For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Colin Alevras, beverage manager for Daniel Boulud’s forthcoming downtown outpost, DBGB, which is scheduled to open in May with 22 beers on tap, and Matt Stinton, the bar manager at Hearth in the East Village.
Now, 18 is fewer than our usual complement of 25, but it’s still a significant amount. When we last tasted pilsners from around the world four years ago, we could come up with only four from American craft breweries. Why would one of the world’s leading styles of beer have been so poorly represented?
My guess is that pilsner’s popularity was exactly what caused craft brewers to look elsewhere. With so many other styles of beer and ale that were largely ignored and in danger of disappearing, it was far more exciting to recreate India pale ales, porters and wheat beers than it was to dip into the ocean of wan pilsners and other lagers that dominated the American beer marketplace.
Pilsner presented challenges, too. Unlike ales, which are ready to drink shortly after brewing, lager beers like pilsner ferment more slowly and require time to mature before they are ready to drink. Storage space for aging lager beers was not always easy to come by for cash-poor brewery startups. What’s more, ales tend to offer a more complex array of flavors, which can sometimes hide a flaw or unintended note in a beer. Pilsners are stark and exposed, glorious in their lean, pared-down simplicity. They demand disciplined, precision brewing, which can be initially daunting.
It seems, though, that craft brewers are now embracing the pilsner style. American brewers have been known to take liberties with classic Old World formulas, but we were all impressed by how closely these beers adhered to the pilsner protocol.
That said, both of our top two beers were livelier and more vivacious than some of the great Czech and German pilsners I’ve had. The Victory Prima Pils, which was our No. 1 pilsner four years ago, again came in on top. It seemed to be alive in the glass, with wonderfully refreshing bitterness to balance the floral and citrus aromas. Likewise, our No. 2 beer, the Kaiser Pils from Pennsylvania Brewing, was bracing in its refreshment. Perhaps the Americans are brewing with particular élan, or maybe the American brews have the advantage of freshness as against the imports.
The pilsner flavor profile is a strict one, without a lot of diversity aromatically or in the mouth. What set apart the beers we liked best from those lower on the list was, for lack of a better term, a sense of liveliness, focus and clarity. The Lagunitas Pils may have had a bit more obvious malt flavor to it, while the Lakefront Klisch Pilsner had a tropical fruit aroma that we sensed in no other beer. But by and large few obvious differences separated the beers.
That’s the nature of pilsners. The good ones don’t demand the spotlight. They enliven and refresh without diverting your thoughts from the game, or whatever else is at hand. And like good aperitifs, they stimulate the appetite — take note, stadium vendors — not for fancy foods but for the straightforward pleasures that you could once take for granted at a ballpark.
Nowadays, who knows? I hear you can get sushi at the ballpark, and a steak, too, and even fresh fruit. Fair enough. But the great thing about pilsners is they taste just as good right in your home, in front of the television.
#1 Victory Prima Pils, Downingtown, Pa. *** ½
Crisp, floral and wonderfully refreshing with a lively, lingering bitterness.
#2 Pennsylvania Brewing Kaiser Pils, Pittsburgh *** ½
Clean and crisp with snappy, lively citrus flavors balanced by bracing hop bitterness.
Zesty and refreshing with floral aromas and bitter hop flavors that linger.
#4 Brooklyn Pilsner, New York ***
Clean, crisp and pleasantly bitter with toasty citrus and floral flavors.
Earthy floral and tropical fruit aromas balanced by hop bitterness.
Maltier than a typical pilsner but spicy, floral and refreshing.
Sedate and somewhat quiet with balanced citrus and floral aromas.
#8 Stoudt’s Pils, Adamstown, Pa. ** ½
Lively hop bitterness balances flavors of lemon and orange zest.
Straightforward, correct and pleasing.
#10 Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Longmont, Colo. **
Crisp and balanced with herbal and citrus flavors.
The unfiltered, unpasteurized beer still contains live yeast, which continues conditioning the beer in the cask (known as 'secondary fermentation'); this process creates a gentle, natural CO2 carbonation and allows malt and hop flavors to develop, resulting in a richer tasting drink with more character than standard keg ('brewery-conditioned') beers.
Real ale is always served without any extraneous gas, usually by manually pulling it up from the cellar with a handpump (also known as a 'beer engine'). This is the traditional way of brewing and serving beer; only a few decades ago did filtered, pasteurized, chilled beer served by gas become normal.
The only place in the world where cask-conditioned beer is still commonly available is Britain.
In many common brands of keg beer, cheap ingredients ('adjuncts') such as rice or maize are mixed with the malt to cut costs, but resulting in a 'light' beer with hardly any aroma or flavor. Chilling and the absorption of extraneous gas jointly mask the lack of flavor - with carbon dioxide you get an unnaturally fizzy pint; with nitrogen (or mixed gas with a larger nitrogen ratio) you get a pint with an unnaturally smooth and creamy head - either way these beers are always refreshing but usually taste of very little. Micro-breweries generally avoid the use of cheap adjuncts, so their keg products usually taste far superior to the nationally available brands. Also, all beers imported from Germany are required by that country's laws to be free of non-traditional ingredients.
I'm not criticizing all keg beers, simply outlining the often little-known qualities of real ale by comparison. There are many really tasty ales which are 'keg' (but plenty more which aren't tasty!), though well-kept cask versions of the same brands would undoubtedly be found to be even more flavorsome if compared side-by-side.
Piraat is a 'living' beer, which means that after the primary fermentation in the keg, the beer also continues to evolve during the secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg after packaging.
This is a world-class amber colored beer. American beer connoisseurs give it 98 out of 100. No other beer scores better. The flavor is so complex and so rich that every swallow conjures up new associations. Note the spicy light sweetness, which is richly balanced with the robust bitterness of the hops. It is an adventure of a beer, a treat.
A strong beer like the Piraat has been brewed for a thousand years to be taken out to sea. The Vikings in particular were well acquainted with this type of potent beer. Piraat has a high nutritional value, keeps well for years and strengthens the body and morale of pirates and other seafarers. It is a healthy energy booster.
Piraat is excellent with both meat and fish dishes, or can simply be enjoyed as a relaxing drink, alone or together with friends. Piraat is also enjoyed as a delicious beer with which to finish a tasty meal. Cigar smokers swear that there is no better beer to enjoy together with a good cigar.
Did you know that there used to be no drinking water on ships? People did not drink water on land, so why would they take water out to sea? Some 1200 years ago, at the time of the Vikings, people first dared to go out to sea for longer periods so they needed a strong and nutritious beer that would keep well for a long time. A daily pint of Piraat gave the pirates and other seafarers the courage to face the rough weather at sea and the many other dangers, such as the boarding of another ship.
9 % alcohol by volume, 18.5 ° Plato
amber colored beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; kegs 30 l.
10.5 % alcohol by volume, 23 ° Plato
amber colored beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 75 cl, 1.5 l; kegs 30 l.
In the second half of the 16th century, Bruegel was the best painter of his time and for a long time thereafter. Today Bruegel is the best amber beer of Belgium and beyond. In contrast to the many popular beers of its type, Bruegel is a 'living' beer, with a second fermentation in the bottle or in the keg. And you can taste it. Its full-bodied flavor, refreshing aftertaste and aromatic head make it easy to order the next Bruegel. And you can do that because Bruegel is actually a light beer. It's a great party beer - a beer for good times.
Bruegel is a great-tasting alternative to the traditional lager and can be enjoyed at all kinds of get-togethers, in the bar with friends, or alone with a book or in front of the TV. Bruegel is also the ideal drink to have with lunch. This beer combines well with all spices, from a hearty warm meat dish to a spicy salad to a traditional pot of Zeeland mussels. The low alcohol content will enable you to then continue with your day's work without a problem.
Did you know that amber beer was the daily beer of our forefathers? Not too dark and not too light in color; somewhere in between. At the time, every brew differed slightly in color compared to the previous brew because they didn't yet have the precise measuring instruments used by brewers today to perfectly brew the same beer time and time again.
And did you know that doctors and scientists all over the world recommend drinking a glass of beer or wine with meals? It is proven that moderate alcohol consumption - two to four glasses per day - specially with meals, prolongs life, strengthens one's zeal for life and protects us against all kinds of illnesses.
Technical file for Bruegel:
5 % alcohol by volume, 12 ° Plato
amber colored beer with secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg
shelf life: at least 2 years after bottling date
available in: small bottles 33 cl; bottles 1.5 l; kegs 30 l.
The Hudson Valley Beer & Fine Food Festival, Inc. invites all to TAPSM New York at Hunter Mountain. Craft breweries and brewpubs from across the state will be participating in the most prestigious beer and fine food event in New York. Admission to TAPSM New York includes your special souvenir tasting glass for trying out the over 100 beers representing many styles. You'll also get to sample gourmet foods, plus cooking demonstrations and much more.
Join us at TAPSM New York and be a part of the most prestigious beer and food event in New York State.
You must be 21 years of age or older to attend TAP New York. No infants or children will be permitted to enter the event. This includes infants in strollers or carried by a parent. For the benefit and safety of your child and all other attendees, please make arrangements to leave your children at home or with friends or relatives.
Presented by Hunter Mountain and The Hudson Valley Beer & Food Festival
We reserve the right to refuse alcohol to anyone who appears to be intoxicated.
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gordon Ramsay’s flagship London establishment dropped out of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list tonight and kept falling. The three-Michelin-starred venue failed even to make the Top 100 after coming 13th last year.
To add to the woes of the British chef, known for TV shows such as “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares,” his former friend Marcus Wareing’s new venue came in at No. 52. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley -- on the site of the old Ramsay- owned Petrus -- also won the Breakthrough Restaurant award, meaning it’s most likely to enter the Top 50 next year.
El Bulli, Ferran Adria’s experimental restaurant north of Barcelona, topped the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck came second for the fourth year in a row. Noma, chef Rene Redzepi’s venue in Copenhagen, jumped to third from 10th and also took the Chefs’ Choice award.
Ramsay’s empire spans the world, with establishments in Asia, the U.S., the Middle East, Africa and Europe. In London alone, the chef has eight restaurants, plus Foxtrot Oscar and three pubs. He plans to reopen Petrus and Savoy Grill this year. Ramsay came under fire last week when the Sun reported that a central kitchen supplies dishes in bags to Foxtrot Oscar and the pubs. The highest Ramsay venue in the Top 100 is Maze, at 91.
“Gordon takes all these sort of surveys with a pinch of salt,” according to an e-mailed statement issued by his public- relations company, Sauce Communications. “As always, Gordon regards his thousands of customers as his most valued critics. They are his judge and jury.”
New York
The top placed U.S. entrant was Thomas Keller’s Per Se, in New York, which came sixth. The same chef’s French Laundry, which won in 2004, came 12th this time. Other U.S. winners included Alinea (10th), Le Bernardin (15th) and Jean Georges (19th).
Wareing split from Gordon Ramsay Holdings last year. Ramsay kept the name Petrus and Wareing held onto the site at the Berkeley hotel, retaining the business he had spent nine years building.
The awards were announced at the Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden. The World’s 50 Best is one of the foremost gatherings of chefs from around the world. Among those planning to attend were Adria, Blumenthal, Daniel Boulud, Joel Robuchon, Tetsuya Wakuda and Wareing. Ramsay wasn’t planning to be there, the organizers said.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay came second to El Bulli in the inaugural list in 2002, which was dominated by U.K. restaurants, It placed fifth in 2003, eighth in 2004, fifth in 2005, 14th in 2006, 24th in 2007 and then 13th in 2008. The list started life as a way of promoting “Restaurant,” a U.K. magazine.
Five Votes
The S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards and List is organized and compiled by “Restaurant,” and sponsored by S. Pellegrino. The winners are chosen by a total of 837 food writers, critics and commentators around the world, organized into 26 panels. Each panelist has five votes, of which a maximum of three can go to places in his or her region.
For the first time, I was a member of the U.K. and Ireland panel, chaired by Jay Rayner of the Observer. I voted by post and don’t know who else was on the panel or how they voted.
Noma knocked Pierre Gagnaire from third place. El Celler de Can Roca, in Girona, Spain, was the biggest gainer, jumping 21 places. The other notable change this year is the presence of Asian restaurants in the Top 50. Les Creations de Narisawa, Tokyo, ranked 20th. Iggy’s, in Singapore, which the new “Miele Guide” named Asia’s best restaurant last October, came 45th.
The Fat Duck, which topped the list in 2005 and now comes second each year, was closed for more than two weeks earlier this year after 529 diners reported falling sick. Health officials later said the cause was norovirus Winter Vomiting Disease.
The Top 50:
1 El Bulli, Spain (=)
2 The Fat Duck, U.K. (=)
3 Noma, Denmark (+7)
4 Mugaritz, Spain (=)
5 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain (+21)
6 Per Se, U.S. (=)
7 Bras, France (=)
8 Arzak, Spain (=)
9 Pierre Gagnaire, France (-6)
10 Alinea, U.S. (+11)
11 L’Astrance, France (=)
12 The French Laundry U.S. (-7)
13 Osteria Francescana, Italy (New Entry)
14 St. John, U.K. (+2)
15 Le Bernardin, U.S. (+5)
16 Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville, Switzerland (+11)
17 Tetsuya’s, Australia (-8)
18 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, France (-4)
19 Jean Georges, U.S. (-2)
20 Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan (New Entry)
21 Chez Dominique, Finland (+18)
22 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (+21)
23 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany (+12)
24 D.O.M., Brazil (+16)
25 Vendome, Germany (+9)
26 Hof van Cleve, Belgium (+2)
27 Masa, U.S., (Re-entry)
28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16)
29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13)
30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry)
31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry)
32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16)
33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4)
34 Nobu U.K. (-4)
35 Mirazur, France (New Entry)
36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17)
37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13)
38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry)
39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5)
40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry)
41 Daniel, U.S. (=)
42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry)
43 Le Louis XV, France (-28)
44 Tantris, Germany (+3)
45 Iggy’s, Singapore (New Entry)
46 Quay, Australia (New Entry)
47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2)
48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25)
49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13)
50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)
51 Zuma, China
52 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, U.K.
53 Spondi, Greece
54 L’Arpege, France
55 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, China
56 Hibiscus, U.K.
57 Aqua, Germany
58 Le Gavroche, U.K.
59 Chez Panisse, U.S.
60 Les Amis, Singapore
61 El Poblet, Spain
62 Maison Pic, France
63 Cafe Pushkin, Russia
64 Le Meurice, France
65 Bukhara, India
66 Varvari, Russia
67 Schauenstein, Germany
68 RyuGin, Japan
69 La Maison Troisgros, France
70 Wasabi, India
71 The River Cafe, U.K.
72 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
73 Le Cinq, France
74 Allegro, Czech Republic
75 Quintessence, Japan
76 Restaurant Dieter Mueller, Germany
77 Geranium, Denmark
78 Caprice, China
79 Jardines, South Africa
80 Amador, Germany
81 Biko, Mexico
82 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon U.S
83 Fasano, Brazil
84 Mozaic, Bali
85 Obauer, Austria
86 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, France
87 L’Ambroisie, France
88 Maison Boulud, China
89 De Librije, Netherlands
90 Babbo, U.S.
91 Maze, U.K.
92 Zuma, U.K.
93 Manresa, U.S.
94 Pier, Australia
95 De Karmeliet, Belgium
96 Aubergine, South Africa
97 Bo Innovation, China
98 Rust en Vrede, South Africa
99 Del Posto U.S.
100 Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, UAE
Figures in brackets indicate change on last year.
(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News Opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.
