Captain Lawrence Beer Dinner

What: 5 course pairing menu featuring Scott Vaccaro from Captain Lawrence
When: Friday September 9th, 7pm- 10pm
Where: Aroma Thyme Bistro 165 Canal St Ellenville NY

 

Meet Owner and Brewer Scott Vaccaro at Aroma Thyme for a 5-course beer dinner.  Scott will be on hand to explain all about Captain Lawrence Brewery.  Find why they are one of the best NY state breweries.

Mussels in a Leek Cream Sauce
Kolsch

Local Greens, Peaches, Goat Cheese & Macadamia Nuts
Liquid Gold

Fluke Sashimi, Local Fruit & Tomato Gazpacho
Imperial Captain Reserve IPA

Local Beef & Potato Stew, Smoked Porter Caramelized Carrots
Smoked Porter

Hazelnut & Chocolate Macaroon Torte
Brown Bird

To make reservation please call 845 647 3000. Price:$49 per person.We gladly will accommodate vegetarian/vegan and food sensitivities. Please let us know when making the reservation. 


Aroma Thyme is know for their "stealth health"(Zagat). The Bistro has an award-winning wine list from Wine Spectator Magazine and over 200 beers. Aroma Thyme is certified green by The Green Restaurant Association. Marcus Guiliano is the chef & owner of Aroma Thyme Bistro located in the bountiful Hudson Valley of New York. Chef Guiliano has been an advocate for over 10 years on healthy, sustainable, local & real food. He found his mission in cooking when he reversed over a handful of medical conditions including 28 years of asthma. For more information visit http://www.chefonamission.com.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company is an award-winning craft brewery located in Pleasantville, NY. The brewery is owned and run by head brewer Scott Vaccaro. Vaccaro, a homebrewer since 1995, trained in brewing science at UC Davis. He interned at Adnams Brewery, in the U.K. Before founding Captain Lawrence in 2005, he worked at Sierra Nevada and Danbury, CT's short-lived Colorado Brewery.Many of Captain Lawrence's offerings are strongly influenced by traditional Belgian styles of beer, although often with an American twist. Barrel-aging and beers with sourness or flavors contributed by wild yeasts, such as Brettanomyces, and bacteria have also become part of their repertoire.

The brewery takes its name from Captain Lawrence Drive in South Salem, NY - the road on which Vaccaro's childhood home is located. The street is named after Samuel Lawrence (1733-1796) who was a Captain in the Westchester County Militia, 3rd Regiment during the American Revolution.

The 8 Dumbest Restaurant Laws

by Emily Rothschild sourced from http://www.zagat.com/

Want to enjoy a Bloody Mary with your eggs and bacon? Or pair your happy-hour beer with a handful of pretzels? In the words of Sally Struthers – sure, we all do. But if you live in a state with ridiculous rules on the books, you may be prevented from behaving just how nature intended. Here are the eight stupidest statutes that we could dig up.

1. No booze before noon: Early-risers in NYC hoping to enjoy a mimosa or Bloody Mary at Sunday brunch are, to put it bluntly, SOL. A holdover blue law – a regulation meant to limit activities on Sunday (when you should be in church, ahem) – prohibits restaurants and bars from serving drinks until noon on Sundays. Of course, those most in need of a little hair of the dog are those least likely to be anywhere before noon anyway. But morning lushes, you have now been warned; plan accordingly.

2. No buying drinks for female bartenders: Lonely men looking for the hot lady bartenders of their dreams are at a distinct disadvantage in Maryland, where state law makes it illegal to send female barkeeps a cocktail. Note to lovelorn dudes: we are not aware of any law restricting large tips.

3. Beer and pretzels can’t mix: We have some bad news for pretzel lovers in North Dakota. State law prohibits restaurants and bars from serving the popular bar snack and beer at the same time. This might be the reason God invented corn nuts and wasabi peas.

4. Security guards are required: An ordinance proposed by the city council but rejected by the mayor would have required, restaurants in Newark, NJ, that serve 15 or fewer people and want to stay open later than 9 PM to hire armed guards. At least it would have been the safest sandwich experience you’ve ever had (then again, it is Newark, so we suppose it’s better than the patrons arming themselves).

5. You can’t be drunk in a bar: This one seems way too dumb to be true, like airport security frisking babies, or banning raisins in cookies, but true it is. A broad law in Texas makes it legal for cops to go anywhere – including a bar or restaurant – and arrest people for public intoxication. The sad truth about this one is that less-than-ethical officers are using the protection of this law to target minorities they suspect of being undocumented immigrants. Stay classy, Texas. Oh wait, that might be easier said than done.

6. You can’t drink on Election Day: Positively sick about the state of the union? (Tell us about it.) Even sicker to learn your candidate is trailing in the polls on voting day? Well, if you live in South Carolina, don’t expect to drown your sorrows at your favorite bar or restaurant. An archaic law initially meant to prevent slimy political operatives from plying voters with drinks and then escorting them to the polls makes it illegal for restaurants to serve alcohol on Election Day. It’s also illegal for stores to sell alcohol on that day too. It is not, however, illegal for people to stockpile beer, wine and liquor on the day before Election Day. Just sayin’.

7. You can’t take it with you: Many states agree that allowing diners to take home their unfinished bottles of wine rather than overimbibing leads to responsible activities like walking without stumbling and driving home sober. Not so in Mississippi, where re-corking is not allowed. Lame.

8. If you drink, you must eat: Utah has come a long way from the days when bartenders had to be separated from patrons by a partition (so that they wouldn’t be tempted by the mere sight of alcohol) and would-be drinkers could only gain entry to a bar if they had a previously purchased membership. But it’s still illegal to serve restaurant diners a drink if they’re not also ordering food. Also illegal? Drink specials of any kind. The silver lining? Las Vegas is right next door.

Honorable mention: In Massachusetts, happy-hour deals are illegal. If frat boys could ever shake those hangovers from their keg parties, they would so organize and protest this. 

Bread Alone Bakery

Bread Alone Bakery-Made By Hand, Each and Every day!

Everyone love our bread the we serve at Aroma Thyme.  We use a 100% whole wheat bread from Bread Alone Bakery.

Bread Alone - an Organic European-style bakery serving New York's Hudson Valley.Bread Alone has been baking with organic flours since 1983 and has always been conscious of the quality of our ingredients. With a growing concern about the source of food, they  have worked to make their hand made breads and pastries contain even more locally grown products. Their flour is milled in Quebec by Lily Vallières and Robert Beauchemin of La Meunerie Milanaise, who have been producing high quality organic flours since 1977. Many of Bread Alone's dairy products are from Boice Brothers Dairy in Kingston and  eggs are from Feather Ridge Farm in Elizaville.Butter is from Cabot Dairy in Vermont, and much of our fruit is from local orchards and fields, which we can and freeze during the summer months.

Bread Alone believe in hand-crafted breads that contain little more than grains, water and salt, and we have been baking with organic flours since we opened in 1983.

Today, Bread Alone bread is:

    * Handcrafted
    * Organic
    * Local
    * Healthy

They bake and deliver fresh bread seven days a week to  cafes, farmers’ markets and grocery stores throughout the Hudson Valley and New York City.

 A complete list of breads, ingredients and nutritional information is available in Bread Alone

BREADS:

BAGUETTE
A richly flavored classic golden crumb French loaf.
(Unbleached white flour, water, organic whole wheat flour, sea salt, yeast)

BRIOCHE
A rich, buttery French specialty loaf.
(Eggs, milk, unbleached white flour, butter, yeast, sea salt, sugar)

CHALLAH
A classic Jewish braided egg bread.
(Unbleached white flour, water, eggs, sugar, soy bean oil, sea salt, yeast)

CIABATTA
A bubbly crumb and flavorful Italian flatbread.
(Organic unbleached white flour, water, olive oil, sea salt, yeast)

HERB FOCACCIA
An open-crumb Italian flat bread.
(Unbleached white flour, water, rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil,sea salt and yeast)

ONION AND OLIVE FOCACCIA
An Italian flatbread infused with herbs, studded with green olives and topped with roasted onions.
(Unbleached white flour, water, rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, olives, onions, sea salt and yeast)

MULTIGRAIN (Baguettes, Rolls, Multigrain Kaiser)

Our multigrain dough is delicious and healthy!  Try our baguettes, rolls, or for a special burger...our multigrain kaisers
(Unbleached white flour, water, organic millle, organic flax, organic barley, organic rye, oranic corn, organic corn, organic wheat, organic sunflower seed, organic sesame seed, organic oat, honey, yeast and sea salt)

ORGANIC FRENCH SOURDOUGH (LEVAIN)*
A traditional French style sourdough blending organic white and organic whole wheat flour.
(Organic unbleached white flour, water, organic whole wheat flour, sea salt)

ORGANIC HARVEST GRAIN
We gathered whole grains and mixed them with organic flour to make a bread that tastes of the first harvest.
(Organic whole wheat flour, organic unbleached white flour, organic rye flour, water, organic sesame seeds, organic rolled oats, organic flax seeds, organic millet, organic wheat berries, organic honey, organic canola oil, salt, yeast)

ORGANIC NINE MIXED GRAIN
A healthy mix of organic whole grains and seeds.
(Water, organic unbleached white flour, organic whole wheat flour, organic millet, organic flax, organic cornmeal, organic barley, organic sesame seeds, organic cracked wheat, organic cracked rye, sea salt, yeast)

ORGANIC RAISIN NUT*
Our Organic French Sourdough studded walnuts and raisins.
(Organic unbleached white flour, organic whole wheat flour, water, raisins, walnuts, sea salt)

ORGANIC SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH*
A light deliciously sour bread in the West Coast tradition.
(Organic unbleached white flour, water, sea salt)

ORGANIC SOURDOUGH RYE WITH CARAWAY SEEDS*
Bread Alone’s traditional Jewish Rye bread is a balance of sour and rye flavors.
(Organic unbleached white flour, water, organic rye flour, organic caraway seeds, sea salt)

ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN HEALTH
A honey and whole wheat loaf filled with seeds and whole grains.
(Organic whole wheat flour, water, organic honey, organic organic sesame seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic flax seeds, sea salt, yeast)

ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT CATSKILL
A simple one hundred percent whole wheat sandwich bread.
(Organic whole wheat flour, water, organic rolled oats, organic honey, yeast, sea salt)

ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH (MICHE)*
A yeast free whole wheat sourdough with a moist, dense crumb.
(Water, organic whole wheat flour, organic unbleached white flour, sea salt)

ORGANIC SPELT*
A low gluten bread that boasts a slight nutty flavor.
(Organic spelt flour, water, organic barley malt, sea salt)

PEASANT BREAD
A simple country-style white bread reminiscent of the breads of pastoral France and Northern Italy.
(Organic unbleached white flour, water, organic whole wheat flour, sea salt, yeast)

SESAME SEMOLINA
Reminiscent of the breads of southern Italy made from durum wheat flour.
(Durum wheat flour, water, organic sesame seeds, sea salt, yeast)

Southern Tier Flights or Pints!!! Southern Tier Appreciation at Aroma Thyme !

What: Southern Tier Flights or Pints!!! Southern Tier Appreciation at Aroma Thyme
When: August 15th to August 25th
Where: Aroma Thyme Bistro
165 Canal St Ellenville NY 12428
www.aromathyembistro.com
845 647 3000

 On tap:
IPA
Harvest
Mookah
Porter
Plus in bottles:
Back Burner
UnEarthly

All tap beer available in flights or pints!!!

In operation since late 2002, Southern Tier Brewing Company of Lakewood, New York, has grown to produce over 30,000 barrels of beer annually. The hand crafted ales are now available in more than half of the United States, as well as parts of Australia, Denmark, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Ontario, British Columbia, and the United Kingdom.

Founders Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn started the brewery with the vision of reviving the practice of small batch brewing to a region rich in brewing tradition. In 2002, with equipment gained from the purchase of the Old Saddleback Brewing Co. in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the Southern Tier Brewing Company began production in the Stoneman Business Park just outside of Lakewood, New York. By 2003, select varieties of small batch ales were locally distributed, and by 2005, sales covered the majority of New York State and Pennsylvania. Before launching a successful roster of seasonal beers, the brewery produced Pilsner, Mild Ale, and an India Pale Ale.

Southern Tier immediately garnered regional attention and demand for the product was quickly outgrowing their modest facility. In 2009, a new 20,000 square foot building was built for the purpose of brewing innovative, high-quality beer to accommodate an expanding customer base. In this new facility, the small brewery was able to grow and offer the product both nationally and internationally, while still satisfying its loyal hometown fans.

Steadily growing, throughout 2010 it became clear that more beer needed to be produced to satisfy a growing customer base. 800 barrels of fermentation vessels has been added to the production area and a 7500 square foot addition has been added for use as a conditioning room. The constantly running brewhaus has also been expanded and updated. In early 2011 the company replaced its bottling line with the most high-tech, state of the art bottling line of its size in North America. It fills, caps and labels an impressive 8,000 bottles per hour, with the ability to package 12,000 per hour at full speed.
Awards & Press

As it expanded, Southern Tier began to bolster more national recognition. BeerAdvocate magazine listed the brewery in their top 50 American breweries in their June '07 issue. One of the small brewery's very big beers, 'Unearthly' Imperial India Pale Ale boasts awards for "Best Beer in NY State" by the 2007 Tap New York Beer Festival, and the 81st "Best Beer in the World" by BeerAdvocate in their May '07 issue. The October '07 issue of Bon Appetit magazine featured a beer pairing article complementing "Hoppe" Imperial Extra Pale Ale. With 12 beers given an 'A' score by BeerAdvocate, it's easy to understand this small brewery's big success.

More recently, Southern Tier's classic India Pale Ale ranks amongst the seven top beers of 2010 as declared by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. In an article describing the 2010 American Craft Beer Festival, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian declared Southern Tier's Oak Aged 'Unearthly' Imperial IPA to be their favorite brew at the event. October hails the seasonal Pumking ale, with Beverage Underground saluting it, and the Chicagoist naming it "Beer of the Week" for its robust pumpkin flavor.
Internationally, Phin and Matt's Extraordinary Ale won a silver award amongst other Pale Ales at Singapore's Beerfest Asia 2010.

Oktoberfest 2011 September 17th to October 3rd

What: Oktoberfest 2011
When: September 17th to October 3rd
Where: Aroma Thyme Bistro
165 Canal St Ellenville NY 12428
www.aromathyembistro.com
845 647 3000

Celebrate Oktoberfest at Aroma Thyme!
 

On tap for Oktoberfest

Ayinger Oktoberfest
Hofbrau Weiss
Celebrator
Victory Fiest Beer
Plus we have Paulaner HefeWeiss and Weihenstephaner Dunkel (My favorite) in bottles
 

Some of the food specials for Oktoberfest
 Bratwurst
Pork Schnitzel & Blue Cheese Spatzle
SauerBraten

History of Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a 16–18 day festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest originally took place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival would go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the first Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. In 2010, the festival lasted until the first Monday in October, to mark the 200-year anniversary of the event. The festival is held in an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called Wiesn for short, located near Munich's center.

Only beer which is brewed within the city limits of Munich with a minimum of 13.5% Master Spice is allowed to be served in this festival. Upon passing this criteria, a beer is designated Oktoberfest Beer. Oktoberfest Beer is a registered Trademark by the Club of Munich Brewers. Those Breweries are members of this exclusive Club. In alphabetical Order -Augustinerbräu -Hacker-Pschorr Bräu -Hofbräu -Löwenbräu -Paulanerbräu -Spatenbräu

Large quantities of German beer are consumed, with almost 7 million liters served during the 16 day festival in 2007. Visitors may also enjoy a wide variety of traditional fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinebraten (roast pork), Schweinshaxe (grilled ham hock), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages) along with Brezn (Pretzel), Knödel (potato or bread dumplings), Kasspatzn (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a spiced cheese-butter spread) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 12, 1810.

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World.In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria.15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and the Far East.

OOgave Soda

We, AromaThymeBistro is proud to have Oogave Cola and Oogave Watermelon cream in our stock.The idea for Oogavé organic sodas first came to Esteban Anson while running his small natural foods restaurant in downtown Denver. As a fanatic of quality, and a devotee of delicious and wholesome handcrafted foods, Esteban used only the best natural ingredients in his restaurant. From the fresh baked breads to the home-made salad dressings, nothing artificial or commercial made it past Esteban. And that’s what his customers kept coming back for.

But when it came time to order sodas, Esteban and his customers were still frustrated by the lack of quality and choice in the world of soft drinks. Wanting to offer a variety of fountain sodas, Esteban was dismayed at the treatment and options available through the traditional “evil empire” soda companies. He didn’t want to sign his life away in iron-handed contracts, and he especially didn’t want to serve his customers anything made with processed sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup. What to do? Esteban thought, "Why not make my own organic soda that is all natural?"

Esteban was already a huge fan of agave nectar, using it in much of his baking and as a sugar substitute in many sauces and recipes. He loved using it in recipes because it was delicious, all natural, easy-to-mix, and was much healthier than the traditional commercial alternatives. Esteban thought this wonder nectar just might make a delicious and healthier soda. And he was right!

After many months of intense research, wild mixology, and copious tastings with friends and family, Esteban was sure he had found a better way to make soda. His inspired new agave creations were obviously healthier, but now he could mix a variety of fun and delicious flavors that his customers could get excited about. Esteban knew he was onto something, and on April 13th, 2005 he began serving Oogavé sodas in his restaurant.

What happened next was a complete surprise. Esteban knew the delicious agave sodas would help him sell more of his food, , but he never expected that the sodas would become his most popular dish. People started talking about these yummy new soda creations, and fans of Oogavé started coming to the restaurant just for a drink of natural soda.

As soda sales continued to grow, and other quality restaurants began to covet these Oogavé creations, Esteban realized he should be sharing these delicious and natural sodas with as many people as he possibly could.

With the help of two close friends and the Small Business Administration, Esteban built his own little soda plant right here in Denver, Colorado. The operation was certified Kosher and Organic by Scroll K and the Colorado Department of Agriculture. In January of 2009, the ribbon was cut and the first delicious bottles of Oogavé organic soda rolled off the line heading for natural grocery stores and restaurants around Colorado.

Today, Oogavé is available in natural grocery stores and thoughtful restaurants in 47 states. With your help, people all across this great land will be able to enjoy the fun and delicious goodness of Oogavé. Cheers!

Oogave's Mission Statement

"To create fun, healthier, more thoughtful alternatives to traditional sodas. To share delicious sodas made from the amazing agave plant. To show the world that there are better-for-you beverage choices that are organic, natural, and made with socially and environmentally forward-thinking choices."

The Mussel Tussle at Belgium Comes to Cooperstown

Wow what a fun weekend Jamie and I had at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown.  I am putting up some pics to recap the weekend.

Upon arrival at Brewery Ommegang all of the chefs did interviews.  Of course it was all about beer and our restaurants. Ommegang had us sampling all of their beers while we were waiting.

Chef Teddy Folkman cooked us an eight course meal paired with beer.  The camera were rolling to get our comments on food and beer.

After dinner we drew out of a hat to see what beer we were going to cook with.  We all had different Ommegang beer.  I picked Rare Vos.  It was perfect for the dish I had in mind.

 

Saturday morning they shuttled all six chef to the Cooperstown farmers market. It is an inside market. 

We had a budget of $125 for the market.  Keep in mind we were feeding 400 people.  This event was for all of the VIP's for Belgium meet Cooperstown. I was after Chorizo sausage, which is not cheap. I knew I had to shop very wise.  Tomatoes were also my main ingredient.  Tomatoes were $3 a lb.  I already spent $70 on Chorizo. I need at least 20 lbs of tomatoes.  Yea I was already over.  So I asked other chefs if they needed tomatoes.  Ric Orlando was in need too.  I negotiated a case price for $50 which was 40 lbs.  This was a major score! So Ric and I split the case. 

  I also got the last few heads of fennel.

All of my stuff from the market.  Grand total $109.  I had a few buck left just in case I needed anything from the grocery store.  I took a look around at Price Chopper and bought a couple heads of fennel as a back up.

My stock cooking for the mussels.

The Savuer Magazine staff was following us around too.  Hopefully there will be something in print or on their website.

We had four hours to make our dish.  It was plenty of time.  It was actually a fun enviroment with all the chefs.  We were laughing and relaxed.  Ric & I had our wives helping us. 

I always bring my own high quality salt.  

These are my pickled jalepenos and garlic cooking in Rare Vos beer.

 I cooked Mussels, Local Grassfed Beef Chorizo, Tomatoes, Fennel and of course Rare Vos!!!

Expect this to be on our menu very soon!!!

 The camera crew came around and got descriptions of our food and more clips.

Simon Torpe the boss at Ommegang Brewery announcing the winners.  I came in third place. 

Ric Orlando and I celebrating on stage with our big bottles of Ommegang Abbey.

Teddy Folkman & I in the kitchen cooking a late night snack