Beer Battered Bacon

A friend challenged me to do this after she saw something similar. 

For the batter-Combine the ingredients and mix well. This produces a nice thick batter. Feel free to add any seasonings, dry mustard might be good, or try a different beer. 

1 cup flour

1 cup beer, I used Pabst Blue Ribbon

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground garlic

Cut the bacon strips in half, coat with flour, coat with batter and immerse in hot oil until golden brown (three to five minutes or so)

I used buffalo blue cheese dressing, but I think a home made spicy remoulade, or a satay would have been better.

Poughkeepsie Ice House

Bridge Music Burger

The Poughkeepsie Ice House is a new place on the Poughkeepsie waterfront in an old building that was once a working ice house. Harvesting ice was once a very important, and dangerous, business prior to modern refrigeration. The building spent some time as a snack bar at Waryas Park, between the Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway Over the Hudson. While the outside is unassuming, the new owners must have dropped some serious change in the interior remodel. The place is exposed brick, stone floors, wood and windows overlooking the Hudson River. I don't think there is a bad seat in the house.

They have been reviewed by North County and Hudson Valley Rambler and Hudson Valley Magazine. Having read both articles, I put it on my short list of places to visit. It was a rainy day when we went, giving an interesting view of the bridges and the ice flowing by. 

We were seated quickly and given menus and ample time to look them over. It took a while for our waitress to come. We both ordered the Bridge Music Burger at $11.50. I took the fries with mine and Teresa had the side salad. Mine was ordered medium and hers medium-well. Both came out close to well done. That said, the burgers were quite good with cheese, crispy bacon and aioli on a toasted brioche bun. The fries were really good.

They have a fairly good beer list (including Icehouse Beer), and wines, but I don't think they have a full liquor license as yet. This would be neat place to visit in nice weather to watch the boats passing by and walk along the water, which is what we intend to do. Definitely worth checking out, so pay a visit and see for yourself.

Benedict Burger, Beaver Creek Tavern, Downingtown, PA

What you see above is the Benedict Burger, a fried egg, Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce sitting on a half-pound of quality beef. It sounds like an odd combination, but it is amazing. 

I wanted to try this beast the last time we went to Beaver Creek Tavern, but I was a tad under the weather and I went with a regular burger. This time there was nothing holding me back so I went for it, as did my son-in-law. We agreed that while we both ordered with mild trepidation, it was a good decision to try it. The fried egg and the sauce gave a delightful moistness and flavor to the beef. Turned out to be a winning combination.

I would order it again, but there are a few other combinations I'd like to try first. 

PBR Onion Rings

I got this recipe from Eclectic Recipes, just click on it and you'll see how easy it is to do. She used a wheat beer, I used Pabst Blue Ribbon and the rings came out great. I think the next time I'm going to see what happens with Guinness. That might add just a bit more flavor punch, and make them darker in color.

Crew Restaurant Bar, Poughkeepsie, NY

And here's another place I've driven past for years. Actually I've parked in front of it several times as it is located next to Half-Time Beverage Store on Rt 9, one of my favorite places to buy beer. From the outside I'd always thought it was a small bar and didn't give it much thought. I decided to look it up online and found that it was quite well rated, and they'd won a few Hudson Valley Magazine 'Best of' awards. I think the category was soup.

Inside it was much nicer than I'd imagined. There is a bar in front and another section where you sit at a counter and can watch the chefs at work, tables and booths on the side. We got there at about five-thirty on a Saturday evening and it wasn't too crowded, but by the time we left almost all of the seats were taken. I did notice that the noise level was rising while we were there, so if you go at a peak time be prepared for some noise, and some crowding. 

The dinner menu is a bit pricey, the top items being in the mid-thirties, but there are some interesting offerings such as; duck breast, steak frites, a few pasta dishes and more. I was bouncing between the duck and the burger. 

I finally decided on the burger with jack cheese. The meat was Pat La Frieda's blend (a top quality meat purveyor in Jersey), grilled with fries, salad, coleslaw, a pickle and your choice of cheese for $16, I chose pepper jack. That's a bit high for a burger, but look at the photo above and see what came with it. I gave Teresa most of the salad, and some of the cole slaw because I was full. 

That burger was good, darn good, just a step below life changing. I ordered it medium, and it came a perfect medium with no grease. Clean, fresh taste with no aftertaste. It was a burger where you just feel good after eating it, not heavy and bloated. The fries were crisp, hot and good. The cole slaw was home made and fresh and the salad had a very nice vinaigrette dressing. 

Teresa got the Club Salad which was a fairly large salad with chicken, bacon and cheese for $10. I took a taste and it was good.

Overall, good food, nice ambiance (if a bit noisy) and excellent service. We'll go back again sometime. 

Main Line Diner and Pizza Company, Maybrook, NY

Many years ago this was called the Maybrook Diner and when the railroad was in town it was a hopping place. After the Railroad died out, so did the diner and it sat vacant for quite a few years. It was purchased by a couple of guys who own a pizzeria in the area and they did some renovations. They took a few years to do it, but hey, they did reopen the place.

Greek Omelet with Gyro Meat

The interior got a good cleaning and a sprucing up, but they left the charm of an old fashioned diner, especially in the front section where the chrome just glistens at you with that cool art-deco look. The back dining room is big and bright with a ceiling that pays homage to the region and its roots as a rail town and transportation hub. 

This was our second visit. The first was a couple of weeks ago after church when I did not have a camera. On that visit we had paninis, mine was a Rueben panini that was quite good. Teresa had a chicken panini on which there was a bit too much balsamic vinaigrette making it a soggy. Overall it was good, but it take some time for the food to come. Since they'd only been open a week at this point it wasn't a big deal, they just needed to get the kinks out. 

Spinach Omelet

This time we stopped by on a Friday morning as winter storm Nemo approached. We decided to get out of the house before it hit. I had the Greek Omelet with Gyro meat, shown at the top, and Teresa had the Spinach Omelet. Both were quite good and quite filling. Service was fast and pleasant. It looks like they got those kinks out.

I really hope they do well here. They have a good menu, good food and what seems to be a good staff. This is something the area needed. Stop by and give them a try, support a couple of local guys. We'll be going back again, I want to see how the burgers are.

Update- We've been back a few times since I wrote this and I have to say they are consistently good. I've tried the burgers and liked them but I think my favorite so far was on the special menu. It was a crab cake with macaroni and cheese (shown below). For $11.99 I got this huge portion as well as a salad and a bowl of soup. The crab cake was fresh and the mac and cheese got better as I ate it which tells me it was freshly made as well. No, it was not real crab meat, it was of the imitation variety. Oddly, it was an improvement over most of the crab cakes I've had as it was moister and more flavorful. 

Main Line is fast becoming my favorite diner.

Crab Cake with Mac and Cheese

Time to Eat Diner, Bridgewater, NJ

Sliders with Sweet Potato Fries

We have driven past this place many times coming home from Pennsylvania and we've wanted to stop for some time. The problem was how to get to it from Rt 202 as it sits on a parallel road off an exit. I studied it as we passed the last time we went by and figured out the road we needed to take, so we made plans to stop this time.

The parking pot was packed on a Monday afternoon. We were asked if we wanted to sit on the noisy side, or the quiet side and we said we didn't care. He seated us in what must have been the quiet side. We looked over the menus and there were some things that jumped out but the specials menu got my interest. We both decided on the beef sliders with sweet potato fries for $8.50. They came with a choice of soup or salad and included a desert. 

Teresa had the potato leek soup which was good and I got the tomato bisque which was very good. The sliders were good and the rolls were fresh and sweet tasting. The best part was the sweet potato fries, probably the best I've had. They were slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They melted in the mouth. We took rice pudding to go. 

All told a good, filling meal for two for about twenty-two bucks, tax and tip included. Service was good, bathrooms clean and we'll be back.

Landmark Americana, West Chester, PA

We went to the Landmark Americana for two reasons. One, Brian and Nicole have been there and said it was good. Two, kids eat free on Sundays. Since we had two kids with us that sounded like a good idea. 

It is a rather large place with big televisions strategically placed, all tuned to the big game. It wasn't all that crowded on a Sunday afternoon so they put three tables together for the six of us. One of those tables was superfluous but we spread out.

Really good, expensive beer

I included the picture of the beer, something I don't normally do, for two reasons. First, it was very good. It was a Union Jack IPA from Firestone Brewing in California and it was hoppy enough, yet light and crisp with a good aftertaste. The second reason is that it was seven bucks a pint so I thought it deserved a place on this page. I had two (I wasn't aware of the price) so the beers cost more than my meal.

Parmesan Garlic Wings

We tried the wings as there was a fifty cent wing special. The parmesan garlic shown above were good, but the traditional hot wings were better.

Southwestern Burger

I ordered the Southwestern Burger at twelve bucks. It had pepper jack cheese, bacon, chipotle dressing and guacamole. What it lacked was flavor. It was hard to believe that with all that good stuff on it, the burger was bland. Brian had the shepherd's pie which he said was also bland.

The service was okay, atmosphere typical sport's bar, the food mediocre. Would I go back? Maybe, but I think I'd go to the Iron Hill Brewery up the street sooner.

Kangaroo Patty from Lambertville Station.

The Lambertville Station has an interesting game menu from time to time, but it seems I always missed it when we stopped in. This visit I saw a few cool things like an alligator dish, an ostrich dish and a kangaroo patty, shown above, at fifteen bucks. It had cheese, grilled onions and sweet and hot peppers. It came in a pocket bread, presumably to keep the kangaroo theme going, with an ample supply of house made chips. It was quite tasty, but since the meat is so lean it needed something else like an aioli. I would definitely have another.

Beaver Creek Tavern, Downingtown, PA

We were visiting our daughter and son-in-law's new place in Downingtown on a Friday night during the holidays and decided to try someplace nearby for dinner. We've hit most of the places in the Downingtown area and wanted someplace different. Nicole suggested The Beaver Creek Tavern and for some reason the name rang a bell, as if someone had recommended it once. 

We got there and the place was hopping. Most of the tables were full and the ones that weren't had reservation tent cards on them. The owner knotted his brow, gave a warm smile and said, "I have a table for you." He took a reservation card from a five top and said that was our table, and that he'd rearrange the reservation. I kept an eye out through dinner and didn't notice anyone displaced, so he must have known what he was doing.

The restaurant looks old fashioned, clean and bright in a timeless style with pastoral wall paintings and plenty of wood. As I looked through the menu there were plenty of comfort foods listed, like chicken pot pie (that's what Teresa ordered) and meat loaf (what Brian ordered) as well as sandwiches, burgers and steaks. There was one thing on the menu that was simply screaming 'Try Me!' It was the eggs benedict burger. I was really tempted, but I was on the backside of the flue and my appetite wasn't all that strong yet so I went with the bacon cheddar burger (shown above).

The burger was really good. Quality meat, cooked right, on a fresh roll with just the right amount of juices flowing from it. The fries were nothing special though, I think I'll go for the onion rings the next time. Everyone else was quite happy with their choices as well. 

Overall, nice homey atmosphere, warm friendly service, good comfort food at reasonable prices. We'll be back again soon, I want the eggs benedict burger. Stop by and give them a try.

Update- I did get that Benedict Burger and it was amazing.

Cosimo's Brick Oven, Middletown, NY

Cosimo's Brick Oven in Middletown has been around since 1995. That's seventeen in human years, and close to a hundred in restaurant years where the life expectancy of a restaurant is less than five years (seventy percent of new restaurants close within the first five years). I've only been there a few times, but I was satisfied each time. 

We stopped by today after nearly walking into an Olive Garden. You see, I was in the mood to try someplace we hadn't been to in a while and Olive Garden seemed worth a visit. As we were about to enter we both had the same thought, that we were going to regret it. We got back in the car and went down the road to Cosimo's.  

I decided on the tapenade flatbread pizza shown above at $13.00. It had shrimp, olive tapenade, cherry tomatoes, plenty of cheese and zucchini. It was quite tasty with a crispy crust and just the right flavor notes. Everything had a fresh, clean taste, especially the shrimp which made me think they were fresh not frozen.

Teresa got the half Margherita pizza and Caesar salad for $9.00. She said the pizza was okay and the salad looked to be of good size. 

We tried an old favorite and we were not disappointed. What I found interesting was that there was a line inside of the Olive Garden waiting for a table while Cosimo's was not all that busy at two in the afternoon. This simply proves that mediocrity sells if the name is familiar. Cosimo's is a small chain (four restaurants of that name and Torches on the Hudson) but it is locally owned and managed. 

Restaurant North, Armonk, NY

Mussels on Flatbread

Restaurant North in Armonk owners Eric Gabrynowicz and Stephen Mancini believe in using local suppliers to create a true farm to table dining experience that should please the most die hard localvore. One of their suppliers is Sycamore Farms in Montgomery, owned by the Smith family, employers of my son Mark. Restaurant North has been on my short list of places to go for some time now, so when Mark gave us a gift card to go there that list got even shorter, it was simply a matter of finding the right time to go.

We made a five o'clock reservation on a Saturday, they open at five, because it was a bit over an hour's drive so we figured we'd eat, then do some shopping on the way home. As we entered I took a look and my first impression was of a refreshing understated simplicity in design. It looked like a restaurant that was saying, "Hey, we're nice, we can be trendy, but just wait until you try our food." It is what I call 'Up-County,' something you would have  found in Northern Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam Counties years ago. It has that Town and Country feel to it, city standards, or better, in a country setting. Well, country depends on where you're from. This part of Westchester hasn't really been country since Roosevelt was in office.

We were greeted and seated, given menus, water and offered bread. We had the place to ourselves for close to a half an hour. By the time we left at six-thirty (they do not rush you there as they believe in a relaxed and pleasant dining experience) the room was nearly full. Even though it was crowded near the end, the noise level wasn't bad. 

Steelhead Salmon

The menu is not huge, it is printed on a single page as it changes  daily depending on what is available. The size wasn't a problem, the problem was there were far too many excellent choices. We ordered appetizers to stall for time while we made our dinner choices. Teresa ordered the potato gnocchi over chicken Bolognese that was quite good (sorry, no picture) and I ordered the Mussels on Flatbread shown above which were amazing. The mussels were cooked in wine and lemon juice with garlic and spread over a grilled flatbread. It was quite savory, and quite delectable.  

I was down to the Steelhead Trout and the Seared Scallops for dinner. Our waitress suggested the salmon and she was right. It came exactly as I ordered it, just a shade less than medium, on a bed of quinoa, eggplant and broccolette (I think so anyway as the taste seemed to be a cross between Brussels sprouts and broccoli). The outside of the fish was crispy and the inside was a lovely reddish/pink. It was perfectly cooked and the flavor balanced with the rest of the dish.

Poached Cod

Teresa got the Poached Cod on a bed of lentils and beets. I took a taste and it was delightful. It was a simple dish with subtle flavor hints coming through, like the sea salt and horseradish.

French Toast Bread Pudding

As I looked over the dessert menu I took note of the French Toast Bread Pudding. I made one of those a couple of weeks ago to get rid of an excess of leftover French Toast when I was cooking on a retreat weekend and it was pretty good. I decided to order it so I could see whose was better, mine or the restaurant's. When it came I realized that it was far better than mine was, but then they did set out to make the dish, I was just trying to re-use some leftovers. Teresa ordered a pear tart and Chef Eric sent us out a cookie as well. We had a bit of sugar overload after that.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

The bottom line?

Decor- Simple, yet sophisticated with a hint of modern balanced with that Up-County feel.
Service- Impeccable.
Food- Amazing. Every dish was perfect.
Prices- Moderate to high, depending on what you are used to. Appetizer, entree and desert come to about $60.00 per person. 
Verdict- Must go!

Beers with Widgets

The beers in the gallery above have a few things in common. 

First, they are all from the same region, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Yeah, I know that some people don't want Ireland and England in the same sentence but I have ancestors from Ireland, Scotland and England. The English connection goes back to Sir William Forman, Lord High Mayor of London in 1538, knighted by Henry VIII. At least that's what I choose to believe, it may be a whole different Forman (Foreman) line. The Irish and Scottish connection gets a bit blurred and I'm not sure which country they got kicked out of first, but I'm pretty sure some of my ancestors oppressed other of my ancestors. 

Next, they are all on my patio table waiting to be sampled (over the course of a few days, otherwise writing this article would be difficult at best) so that I might share these pearls of wisdom with you. Oh the work I go through for the sake of art and truth.

And most important, they are all in draught cans which produce a taste close to a real draft. What produces this is a neat thing called a beer widget and some extra nitrogen. You see, beers from the UK and Ireland have considerably less carbonation than American beers. That's what this little story is about, and my opinions on the beers of course.

British, Irish, Scottish and Welsh beer is not as heavily carbonated as American Beer and most of the head comes from air introduced when the beer is 'pulled' from the cask to the tap. This works fine, but the problem is that when these beers are bottled or canned there is no head when poured. The good people at Guinness solved that by creating the widget.

The Beer Widget-

The widget is a plastic, nitrogen-filled, sphere with a tiny hole in it that is added before the can is sealed. It floats in the beer, with the hole just slightly below the surface of the beer. When you open the can, the pressure inside drops and the compressed gas inside the sphere is quickly forced out through the tiny hole into the beer. This increases the amount of foam, or head on the beer. 

The end result is that when you pour the beer into a glass you get that wonderful head so unlike the head on American beer. This head does not overflow the glass but rather cascades delightfully into the glass leaving a small foamy head on top of the beer. The beer remains unfettered with all of the unneeded gases and has a smooth taste.

Another method used, and a couple of the beers above use this, is a false bottom in the can filled with nitrogen. 

My opinions and commentary follow. 

Murphy's Stout- This is a low alcohol (4%) Irish cream stout from Cork, Ireland and I like this better than Guinness as it has more flavor. The can tastes very close to my memories of this stout in Ireland where most pubs have a Guinness tap and a Murphy's tap sitting side by side. 

Young's Double Chocolate Stout- I like this one better than Murphy's, but the comparison isn't totally valid as the style is a bit different. Brewed by Wells and Young in The United Kingdom it is a milk stout with 5% alcohol. It has a nice sweet bite to the taste coming from the chocolate malt. Probably one of my favorite stouts.

Bellhaven Scottish Ale- Brewed in Dunbar, Scotland since 1719, this is one of my favorite ales. The ABV is 5.2%. I first had this on the overnight train to Edinburgh and had a few more while I was in the city.  

Boddington's Pub Ale- Brewed in Manchester, England, the ABV is 4.7%. It starts out creamy when poured and has a nice simple taste.

Old Speckled Hen- This beer was originated in Abington, Oxfordshire in 1979 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the MG plant. Old Speckled Hen was the nickname of a service car at the factory covered in paint splotches. It is a bitter with a 5.2% ABV and has a very nice taste. 

Wexford Irish Ale- Brewed in Bury St. Edmunds, England, this ale weighs in at 5% and has a nice creamy look when poured. The taste is a bit lacking and is a bit closer to a lager. Not bad, but nothing amazing.

Tetley's Smooth Flow- This is an English Bitter with only 3.6% alcohol. My first experience with this was at a bar in Mold, Wales. This is a very good bitter. The term does not mean not bitter in taste, but rather not sweet. Bitter is another term for pale ale.

John Smith's Smooth Ale- Dating back to 1778 in Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, England, this smooth ale is the biggest sponsor of horse racing in the UK. The Smooth Ale is actually a smooth (hence the name), mild (3.6%), creamy English pale ale. I like it better than a Bass.

But the grandaddy of widget beers is Guinness, after all, they invented it. 

Started in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, Guinness has become symbolic of Ireland. At 4.3% it is a lighter beer and lower in calories (only 125 calories for a twelve once serving). They even tout health benefits by saying, "Guinness is good for you." I run this past my wife when she starts to complain that I've had too many beers.

I discovered Guinness nearly forty years ago when it was in six ounce bottles in the local ShopRite. I've had it on and off since then, mostly when I go to an Irish place, but occasionally at home. I enjoyed a few pints in England and Ireland and the best pint I ever had was at the source when I toured the plant at Saint James Gate in Dublin. Even though there are others that I like better, I'll fall back on a Guinness often, mainly due to availability. You can get it almost anywhere.

The list is not all-inclusive, there are probably more widget beers out there that I have not yet seen. Any beer above is better than the standard mass-produced American swill and some come close to craft micro-brews. The main thing though is the non-gassy feeling after a beer or two. Try a few and see what I mean.

Frank's Italian Restaurant, Wappingers Falls, NY

Eggplant Spinacelli

We've passed his restaurant for years, always thinking about stopping but never doing so. One of the main reasons is that it sits just before a light on Rt 9 and it kind of sneaks up on you when you're going south. I usually remember it as I pass, when it is too late, or when I'm headed north and I can't make a left to get in. The parking lot is a bit tricky to get into, and out of, but there is plenty of parking in the rear. 

Anyway, we went in and it is bright and pleasant inside with stone floors, brick walls, granite table tops and plenty of natural light. We were seated in the front overlooking route 9 by the window which was perfect for the food photography. Kayleigh was our server and she was helpful, friendly and enthusiastic. We looked through the menus and made our choices.

Salad with gorgonzola

Teresa ordered the Eggplant Spinacelli shown at top for $15.50. It was an eggplant and spinach dish with a really nice sauce. She said it was probably one of her top eggplant plates she's had, and almost as good as our neighbor's eggplant. I tasted and I agreed with her. (I polished off half of the leftovers that night and it was truly good with plenty of garlic)

Both of our dishes came with choice of soup or salad and we both opted for the salad. I added gorgonzola for an extra two bucks, well worth it considering the amount they gave me. Both dishes also came with a side of pasta and you can choose whether to use the same sauce as your main course, or use a different one.

Veal Saltimbocca

I ordered the Veal Saltimbocca at $19.50, my 'go to' dish when I try a new place. I do this as a basis of comparison, but that doesn't always work out since there are so many interpretations of it. Here they did it well with plenty of veal and used a marsala sauce which worked well. The only complaint is that they put far too much sauce on it and it was more soup than sauce. I solved that problem by putting the meat on the bread plate before cutting and drained off some of the sauce. Don't get me wrong, my meal was good, but Teresa's was so much better.

Next time, and there will be a few next times, I'll get one of the other veal dishes with a red sauce as that is what I think they do best.

Overall, nice ambiance, excellent service and very good food at fair prices. Stop by sometime and see what I mean.

Kibberia Middle Easter Restaurant and Cafe, Danbury, CT

We were headed to Danbury for some shopping and I decided to do a bit of research before going to find someplace different to eat. I wanted Middle Eastern, there is a large community of Middle Eastern people in the area, and I came across Kibberia so we decided to give it a try. I am glad we did.

The restaurant is in a mall, the same one with The Panda House, and what you do is order at the counter, pay, and take a table. They bring the food to you. We were looking at the menu and there were too many things to choose from. Teresa decided on the Lentil and Cabbage Salad, shown above, for $6.99. It reminded me of a Middle easter taco salad, minus the meat. It was quite flavorful and fresh tasting. The portion was so big some of it came home with us. 

I ordered the Kafta Pocket Combo shown above. Kafta is a slightly spicy beef and lamb patty and it was served in a pita with lettuce, tomato and a nice sauce. It came with a side of tabouleh, hummus and a small pita for $8.79. It was very good, very filling and very fresh tasting.

Overall, excellent food at good prices. Friendly people and a nice ambiance. We'll definitely be heading back for more. Oh, it is  very friendly for all of my vegetarian friends.