Clearly I am a creature of habit, which is why events like Edible Brooklyn's Good Beer at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), was the perfect antidote for a rainy Wednesday evening. Restaurants from all over Manhattan and Brooklyn came out offering delectable nibbles with beer pairings from local breweries. I tried pickled beets from Great Performances caterers paired with Ithaca Cascazilla's beer. From Ici, a Brooklyn restaurant I've been meaning to try but have yet to get around to, I had cornbread with summer squash and raw milk Vermont Cheddar. Jasper Hill Farm, a family farm from Greensboro, VT, was there with their complex yet subtle Vermont Ayr and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar cheeses.
A vegetarian I am not and I nearly swooned over the weiner schnitzel with cucmber and potato salad. I had two servings but consoled myself with the fact that the servings were bite sized. Schnitzel & Things may just be my new favorite truck that has joined the food truck craze taking over the City. Jim Lahey's Chelsea pizza place, Company (Co.), was outside (also in a truck) dishing up their margherita, popeye, and flambe pizzas. I was lucky enough to get there early and secured a slice of the flambe paired with a tasting of Southampton Publick House Doublewitte beer.
I am sure I am forgetting what other nibbles I may have had (or perhaps a deliberate omission in an effort to not portray myself as a complete piglet) but overall a successful and educational event. Other than learning that I can indeed consume numerous bites of Wiener Schnitzel while simultaneously balancing a full glass of beer (finally, the multitasking skills I learned in law school came in handy) I also learned these interesting facts about beer and New York. Something to think about the next time you decide to have a beer...
- Bloomberg declared July the "Month of Good Beer"
- In 1900, Brooklyn housed almost 50 breweries.
- The last brewery closed in Brooklyn in the 1970's.
- The borough is now experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with three breweries open in Brooklyn and many in the outer regions of Long Island and Upstate New York