Because this picture is awesome.....

Gettin' your grub on

Outside of the obvious holiday attributes the memorial weekend provides, most of us are engaged by eating inappropriate amounts of food and engaging in random acts of making beer disappear at an abnormal pace. Throw in a birthday to celebrate as well and it's a trifecta. But, I've noticed throughout the years that my ability to maintain a thoroughbred drinking pace has diminished and I'm just happy to be able to put a few down with some friends and family.

So, let's just get right to the food lineup for the first annual Carberry Memorial Day Weekend Birthday Feast. My family made the trek up from Elmira, NY so we decided to keep it simple because of my parent's disinterest in eclectic cooking.  I often wonder how I became involved in the food business as until I went to college I thought real cranberries were served in a disc shape from a can. True story.

Here's what we put together:

Baked sweet potato fries with maple pepper
Tangy pineapple coleslaw
Strawberry & fresh mint soup
Pomegranate glazed grilled eggplant
Grass fed, antibiotic free burgers from Mack Brook farm served on fresh ciabatta bread with Oscar's smoked Gouda 
Lake placid India Pale Ale
Magic Hat Not Quite Pale Ale

Grass fed burgers and grilled ciabatta

fresh strawberry mint soup - don't call it a smoothie

 

It ended up being a nice, hearty barbecue with some great light, tangy options. For my birthday I got a little indulgenc-ey. My wife bought me an ice cream cake which I thoroughly devoured at a professional pace which left my stomach in knots while drinking the remainder of my beer. All in all it was a great weekend of eating as we celebrated my birthday at the Olde Bryan Inn in Saratoga Springs. (Review to come shortly)

Barbecuing Begins......NOW

A full grill of goodness

Memorial day weekend for most of us up here in the northeast is generally the kick start of nice weather, shorts, flip flops and grillin'. This spring has been especially tough with the long winter and gloomy weather - we're ready to put our grills to use. I'm looking forward to putting some nice tender cuts of fish, beef, pork and veggies on the grill this summer and enjoy the time outside with family and friends.

One of the things we will try to do this summer is buy as much local and humanely raised product as possible. With some great local farms in my region such as Mack Brook farm, Flying Pigs farm,and Nectar Hills farm, we have an abundance of great local and organic options to sooth your barbecue tooth just north of the Capital region. As someone who is trying to ween off  meat as my primary protein intake, I will cherish the product I do buy and eat, but spending my money wisely on the farms who do it right. There's nothing better on a weekend in a summer than holding your grill tongs, a nice cold draught, some good tunes from your ipod and beautiful weather. This is what we live for up here in the "Great White North" of Saratoga Springs. Just give us a few nice weekends in the summer - is that asking too much?

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review: Firefly's Barbecue - Marlborough, MA

Bodacious baby...!

Welcome to another delightful Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

I like eating. It fascinates me. I sit and look at the food for hours. I often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is my tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. I eat because I'm hungry. I eat because it's my job. I go out to these establishments to consume their lineups.

I then judge it.

Firefly's BBQ
350 E Main St
Marlborough, MA
(508) 357-8883

Cuisine: Standard American Barbecue
Neighborhood: Marlborough Junction, MA
Price: Under $20


It was a Tuesday night in Needham, MA and after a long weekend in Chicago - many of us were looking forward to hitting the hotel room early for some much needed rest. No, instead we drove about 45 minutes away to grub on some hearty barbecue. Why? Because we love our country. *wink* Firefly's Barbecue in Marlborough, MA is the local icon for great American BBQ. After living in Syracuse, NY for almost ten years, my gold standard for for this category is the one and only Dinosaur BBQ. For my money, Dino is the BEST BARBECUE IN THE WORLD.PERIOD.

According to their chef and founder Steve Uliss:

We had a tradition of excellent cuisine in New England, but fans of fine home-cooked Southern fare thought you had to head down to Tennessee, Texas, or the Carolina's to find authentic bar-b-que and all the fixin's.  So I started dabbling with bar-b-que when I was working for a hotel group based in Memphis. I started entering some contests and, slowly but surely, I started winning them.

When you walk into the restaurants, you're welcomed with a Southern-style greeting and feel, along with the mouthwatering aromas of authentic American barbecue. They smoke the meats for up to 12 hours, blending apple, cherry and hickory woods to create the signature red smoke ring that identifies the genuine low-fire, slow-cooking process of good BBQ. Uniquely, they offer four different styles of ribs sauces from around the South including North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. It's definitely trying to hit your deep-seeded barbecue taste buds.

What I ingested:

Big. Ass. Plate.

As many do when they visit BBQ and rib joints, you lose all self control and order enough food to feed an NFL football team. I ordered a St. Louis ribs and pulled pork combo. I ordered some North Carolina slab sauce for my pork with cornbread, cucumber salad and sweet potato pecan pudding. I was a little disappointed with the Carolina slab sauce in that it didn't have the acidic vinegar bite that most eastern Carolina sauces denote. I know, I know - I'm an "Eastern Carolina" BBQ fan and an East Carolina University Alumni. The ribs were nice and tender and had good, rich flavor. The best part of the meal was surely the sweet potato pecan pudding. As a Bill Cosby puddin' lover, this one measured up to some of the classics.

It was a comfortable and decent experience, but like I said earlier in the post - I'm a Dinosaur fan true and true. It's a tough standard for any rib joint to meet in the world of slow cookin' barbecue. If you're ever in Marlborough, MA or anywhere nearby, it's worth a trip to taste a barbecue Tour de America right in the northeast.

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review: The Publican - Chicago, IL

You've never had pork rinds like this..

 Welcome to another delightful Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

I like eating. It fascinates me. I sit and look at the food for hours. I often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is my tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. I eat because I'm hungry. I eat because it's my job. I go out to these establishments to consume their lineups.

I then judge it.

The Publican
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9555

I can officially chop this off my restaurant bucket list.  The Publican is a beer-focused restaurant in Chicago that has had both food and draught lovers drooling since it's opening. Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a  European beer hall style dining room. The space was designed by James Beard Award-Winner Thomas Schlesser. The Publican features eclectic, crafted pictures of swine on the wall with a communal sense of hall dining. A partnership between Executive Chef Paul Kahan, Donnie Madia, Terry Alexander and Eduard Seitan, The Publican anchors the hip-chic Fulton Market District.

 The menu features pork and fish/seafood preparations and according to the restaurants website, the menu is best described as  “pristine product, simply prepared,” an approach to food Kahan has brought to all of his kitchens. The Publican heightens the awareness of simple dishes, each dish stripped of the pompous elements most high end dining theatre brings and keeps it simple with only essential ingredients. The menu is presented in easy navigating sections: Fish, Meat and Vegetables, each laid out from lightest to heaviest fare.

What I ingested:

Well, I obviously started out with a nice draught. I ordered the a Alpha King Pale Ale from Three Floyd's brewing company in Indiana. I figured I was going to go hearty that evening with food, so why not match up the beer. It was a decent, hoppy start to the evening. For starters, we dove into the renown pork rinds and a medley of fish, ham and vegetable plates that were simple with big, bold flavors. I was especially impressed with tuscan kale with preserved lemon and rice and beans. For my entree I ordered the steak tatare with grilled flatbread and poached eggs. It had a tender, smooth flavor that went great with the charred flatbread.

For dessert we split three amazing dishes. Lavender ice cream with dark chocolate and candied walnuts, blueberry elafoutis with Chantilly and lemon and a waffle with honey butter and rhubarb confit.

It was a great way to start the National Restaurant Association weekend in Chicago and an amazing experience for any beer or food lover. Definitely some of the most simple and creative food I've had in quite some time.

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review : Grahamwich - Chicago, IL

A full fledged assault on your stomach

Welcome to another delightful Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

I like eating. It fascinates me. I sit and look at the food for hours. I often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is my tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. I eat because I'm hungry. I eat because it's my job. I go out to these establishments to consume their lineups.

I then judge it.

Grahamwich
615 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654

It was another annual visit to Chicago for the NRA and Menu Masters event and we had the whole gang to parade through the Chicago streets to pillage another eatery. I coursed  everybody downtown to check out celebrity chef Graham Elliot's new sandwich shop, Grahamwich. We arrived with a fairly large group and the shop was booming with some creative, eclectic visuals and the smell of cheesy popcorn. The casual counter-service spot offers sammies both hot and cold (turkey confit with candied yams, stewed cranberries and sage mago, or grilled cheese with Wisconsin cheddar, prosciutto, tomato marmalade and cheese curds), as well as snacks such as pickled seasonal veggies, G'chips, truffled popcorn and house-made sodas. Save room for soft serve ice cream with tasty toppings such roasted apple, salted caramel sauce and pie-crust crumbles. The surroundings  here  are minimal--vintage-inspired wallpaper,chalkboad menu and a long communal table in the back. A soundtrack pumping out rockabilly, surf guitar and old-school punk was a nice backdrop for the food.

Toasted marmalade on a grilled cheese? Hell's yes.

What I injested:

After hitting The Publican the night before, (review coming shortly) I was craving a meatless lunch to hold me over until the night's events. I chose the Grilled Cheese and G'salad. The salad contains mixed greens, shaved fennel, tosted almonds, pink grapefruit and white balsamic. It was a great compliment to the comfort to the grilled cheese. I swished down the housemade Ginger Orange soda followed by the creamy vanilla bean ice cream with nutella, caramelized banana and marshmellow fluff. It was a heavy lunch that called for some one-handed pushups (Jack Palance style) after lunch.

The place was a great spin on the average sandwich shop, although a few in our group had some trouble with the service system and hospitality from the crew working the line. The crew was the hipster, artsy chic elite that often feels they are against the grain by not speaking to you and throwing around Vin Diesal movie lines because of the irony it it. Hipsters have their own way of communicating. They converse using special terms and lingo to show they are in the know. Being up on the latest slang is essential to being a Hipster.So, to basically sum it up - the service was a little sketchy, but it's definitely a must stop the next time you're craving a sandwich in Chi-town.

Starbucks fires dwarf - been there, done that?

No dwarf for you Starbucks

In a former life I was a small business owner. In that life, you had to make tough decisions daily. Even when you extrapolate that business ten fold to the size of the giant coffee company Starbucks, tough decisions are around every corner. In my previous life I had to fire countless dwarfs that worked in my kitchen and at my beverage counter. Well, Starbucks is paying for that decision now.

Via: (Reuters)

The U.S. government is suing Starbucks Coffee Company for firing a barista in El Paso because she is a dwarf. When the employee asked for a stool or small stepladder to perform her job, Starbucks denied the request and fired her that same day, claiming that she could be a danger to customers and workers, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Do you want to live in a country where you have to provide ancillary materials to dwarfs to perform their job in the food service industry? Well, if so, I'm moving to Cuba.

I kid, of course. Dwarfs should be running amok in our industries kitchens.

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review - Workin' NYC

Editors note: Sorry for the lack of sophomoric banter on here lately. Sometimes work and life just get in the way of bogging, ya dig.

A Yankee game and a lollipop tree?

 I was able to make it down to the Big Apple this weekend, thanks to my birthday present from my wife, Red Sox - Yankees tickets. Outside the world of food, I'm a bit of a sports fan and a huge Yankees fan. Unfortunately the Bombers lost miserably and my wife had a bit of a smirk the whole time. She is a Red Sox fan, so thank god for other commonalities we have!

We rode the train in on Saturday morning and decided to hit David Burke Townhouse for brunch. David Burke Townhouse is the flagship restaurant of the celebrated chef  and has been serving interestingly pieced Modern American Cuisine in an elegantly refurbished Upper East Side space since 2003. According to the website, The restaurant's design is inspired by the bold colors and lacquered surfaces on the 1930's, yet it has decidedly contemporary aesthetic. Upon entering David Burke Townhouse, guests will feel the glamour and sense of fun in the lounge with its sleek white gloss, stone bar and whimsical art installations. The volume of color and drama is turned up for the main event, the dining room, where a striking color palette of chocolate, vanilla and lipstick colors prevails. 

It's been a place I've always wanted to visit, so Katie was nice enough to spend the afternoon diving into his culinary circus. 

What I absorbed:

We both went the with three course Prixe Fixe since we were pretty hungry from the train ride in. I ordered the Burata Mozzarella, Hanger steak and world famous cheesecake lollipop tree. (That felt weird typing as a straight man) All three items were decent and had great taste. The cheesecake lollipop tree was more theatre than appealing to my hungry stomach. When the waiter brings it out, you feel as if a Ruby Tuesday waitstaff has just wished you a happy birthday during a lonely trip to Lockport, NY on a cool winter's eve. Extremely inappropriate and campy. One item that did "punch me in the face" with flavor was Katie's pretzel crusted crabcake with tomato orange chutney and poppyseed honey. It was freakin' insanely delicious. Since it was brunch, of course I had a spicy bloody mary to wash down the food shenanigans. Meh, it was ok but I would rather have ordered an $8.00 strawberry mint iced tea that Katie drank. 


All in all, it was a decent experience even if the "Eastern Block" waiter may have said two complete words to us. The service pretty much blew - sorry Sergey Israntoicvah or whatever your name was. It's ok to say hello to your guests. Best experience of the restaurant - free Peanut Butter peanut brittle on the way out. Dinner that evening we hit up Yankee stadium and were encompassed with $10 watered down draft beer and shitty burgers and limp fries from the poor man's Johnny Rockets. $100 dollars later your full, sans a buzz and angry that the Red Sox crushed the Yanks. Boo.

What type of financing do you offer for a 20 oz.?

The next morning we considered hitting the world famous Balthazar, but a one hour wait and pregnant wife nixed that, quickly. We ended up eating at a little breakfast nook in Soho called Le Petite Cafe. It was warm, simple and quick. That's basically it. During our morning walk we hit one of my favorite coffee joints, Gimme coffee. They have a few locations now in NYC, so it's nice to have a little piece of Ithaca, NY in the Big Apple. For lunch we decided to hit up the Shake Shack, but before that we hit up Eataly. If you've never been and you love food - put it on your bucket list. This may be one of the best food retail experiences I've ever seen. Picture a Whole Foods Market on steroids with a design approach of an Apple store. Simply an amazing experience and one I will make sure I dive into in the near future. We bought some bread for our train ride home and took in the sights, smells and sounds of a world class food experience. 

"We cook what we sell and we sell what we cook"

Like I stated previously we ended up at the Shake Shack at Madison Park with of course, a burger and a shake. I chose the Peanut Butter shake which was insanely Peanut Butt-ery. In the world of burgers right now, In and Out is still my favorite, but Shake Shack puts out a pretty good beef patty.  As always, a trip to NYC is a great food experience and I can mark this one as one of my favorites.

Chopbiscuit Draught Reviews - The Beast

Not for those older than 17

Heading into the summertime, along with the sound of crackin' Louisville sluggers, the smell of pine tar and women wearing those beautiful sun skirts, nothing is more gratifying than grabbing a cold one out of the igloo on a hot summer day. Since I (Poncho Sinatra) spend my days in the food and beverage development business, I figured I would add some critiques of the most popular American draughts across the country. I will not segregate premium ales, nor inferior lagers, just a straight opinion on what is on your shelf at the local grocer, dive bar or convenient store.

Bring on the BEAST:

Referred to as the BEAST nationwide with a cult like following, the Pride of Milwaukee has an underground following in the Northeast and Midwest that rivals Natural Light down in the Dirty. A beer that surprisingly can be purchased and enjoyed "40 style" by the codename Tallboy. No discrimination here, this freedom is enjoyed by hardcore thugs, or sitting in back of a Ford F-150 chasing Woodland creatures with your Uncles 30 odd 6.

I grew up with the Beast being our first choice while throwing a party after a big JV football win, or while we were sitting in the Woods in Mid-November. It calls out to the inner "American" in all of us and captures your dirty white boy style.

The Product:

Ah the beloved beast, fear the Reaper. By far one of the most sub par beers of the Macro Lager style. BUT!.., if you want a nice yellow-toned beer to warm up to, give it a try and say a prayer. Aroma is of mild grainy malt (that's why it can be placed in a brown bag) and extremely bitter hops. The BAD bitter hops. Taste is very grainy with a trace amounts of malt syrup in the mix. The mouth feel of the Beast is way to light, and airy and has way too much carbonation. I can't believe I drank about 25 cases of this beer while in my teens!??

I even had some of my friends comment on their drinking experience.

• According to Lou Score, " Is responsible for all four years of bad decisions in college."
• According to Poncho Sinatra," I now have limited mobility in my left hand."
• According to Mark," It goes great with any Jimmy Dean's product."
• According to Chris," It's why I made the decision to play soccer and not football."

Chopbiscuit Grade:

C-

Me: I only eat local and sustainable food. Guy: You're an elitist Douche.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads. For one, I try to eat and buy local and sustainable food as much as I can. I try to buy from local farms, attend as many farmer's markets as possible and inquire about where my food comes from. You can say I'm trying be a localvore in this corporate retail kingdom. As someone that's in the business, I see more people outside the world of the "food industry" that understands the world of "local food" than the so-called food experts. Why is that?

Strangely enough, I'm starting to figure this out. The food movement is still seen from the inside as this elitist, leftist, snooty movement for gals driving Subaru outbacks and writing poetry. For me, it started about improving my diet and using logic when it came to my purchase habits. It then curtailed into my sense of humanity for animals and the practices of farming. I believe this is why most folks pursued this path. The final attribute for me was the taste. Most food just tastes better when it's fresher and not handled. Tomatoes taste best in summer when they're picked from your garden soil. Fish tastes best when it's fresh and caught in the wild. Meat is far superior when it's less handled and not processed. It's pretty simple.

So, why don't most Americans pick up on this? Well, for one it's this pompous attitude that a fringe of folks portray about food. I respect that people have different priorities in life and choose to invest different amounts of time and their hard earned money into nutritional aspects. Joe the plumber is probably not going to worry if the burger he is eating comes from a grass fed cow that was raised humanely. He's concerned about the price, convenience and taste. Probably in that order.


As a part of the population that respects the food system and it's sustainable attributes, don't belittle the people who aren't participating. Don't force feed the fact that because they continue to eat at McDonald's that they are supporting a centralized food distribution system. Instead, ask them if they've ever tasted a grass fed burger from a local farm. Ask them if they've ever tasted a juicy tomato picked from the vine in late July. Tell them it tastes good and in the same breath, that your local farmers appreciate their taste buds. Keep the nonsensical attitudes out of it. Our country is consistently being pulled to the fringes. We have Liberals versus conservatives, Tax more, Tax less, Pepsi versus Coke and so on. Nobody ever wants to find a middle ground. Food is where we can maneuver that viewpoint and make some progress. Listen, you can't force feed your views to a group that won't budge. Instead, make sustainable, organic and local food more appealing to them. Not, from a Mass marketing approach through the grocery stores, but through local networks. Make it feel more mainstream for people to embrace CSA's and visit farmer's markets. Some people feel excluded walking through a market if they're not dawning their hemp shirt, Birkenstock sandals and gritty beard. It's got have to have an appeal to them that they can walk around and buy some great food and no feel as if they joined a PETA protest or liberal think tank.


Right now most food experts state that industrial food is needed to feed the world's starving masses – even though it has been documented time and again that small-scale organic farms are far more productive per acre than their industrial counterparts. Most people know that until we change the health and safety regulations that are currently strangling small, local producers and businesses, small-scale farming will never make it through this mess. Most of these have been enacted because of the abuses of large-scale businesses, they can make it almost impossible for smaller businesses to survive. In any case, it is usually not a shortage of food that leads to hunger globally, but development and trade policies – largely designed to benefit those same big businesses – that pull people away from self-reliant village economies and consign them to poverty in urban slums. Folks, we have a case and it's the centralized big business of food. So, in actuality the big business commodity food buyers are the ones that are elitist in it's rightful terminology. And, it's customers are the folks that us "elitists" push away. 


So, find some common ground with people. Talk about your interests and passions. Point out the fact that if you support a healthy food community, it's not this "we're against the establishment" mentality. Show them that, you're in fact, supporting the little guy.