Coffee Confession Number Three
Good coffee is one of life’s great pleasures.
I am so grateful that we have more and more small coffee shops that focus on bringing some of the best beans from the best roasters to the Capital Region. And I salute the locals who are roasting their own and sourcing directly from small estates around the world.
The baristas of the Capital Region are also getting better and better. It’s easy to see whenever there is a latte art throwdown. I remember judging one of the first ones out here, and the level of improvement and growth in participation is off the charts.
That said, sometimes I go to Starbucks for black coffee when I’m out and about. And more often than not, at home I drink crappy supermarket coffee. But those are just coffee confessions number one and two, respectively.
Coffee confession number three is worse, for it has broader implications to our food culture.
16 Hours
Two nights in a row I was up until 2am working on the same cooking project. In my heart of hearts I knew it was a bad idea from the get go. But I’m on the Adventure in Food Trading mailing list, and a while back I saw they were running a special on a berkshire pork leg.
For the past several months I’ve wanted to try my hand at making Raf’s Cuban lechon. So when there was an opportunity to get a whole pork leg, I jumped on the opportunity.
Even though it was over twenty pounds. And frozen.
Today’s post is delayed thanks to two nights of too little sleep. But I think it was worth it because this morning I woke up to bites of piping hot overnight lechon. Breakfast pork was never part of the plan, rather it was just a happy accident.
Home Cooking Show
There are all kinds of perks and perils about being able to work a flexible schedule from home. Some days I love being able to work from the bed in the clothes I slept in. Other days I miss having an office, a commute, and coworkers.
One of the best parts of this arrangement is being able to cook my own lunches. Frankly, it frees me up to do a lot of cooking projects during the day.
Which isn’t to say that some of my cooking isn’t done at night. In fact, some of it is done quite late at night. Like last night for example, when I didn’t finish my lechon preparation until 2am. The recipe came from Raf, and the pork leg is marinating right now.
This was super late. Even for me. There was one time sensitive work thing I had to take care of before I could begin. Work still takes priority over cooking, even with a flexible schedule. Which also means, I can’t stay home and roast this joint all day today. I won’t be able to start it until mid afternoon.
That means, this incredibly aromatic dish is going to fill the house with its tempting scents, but won’t be ready in time for dinner. Fortunately, I have a plan.
Eat Dangerously
Calculated Risks is a much less catchy title.
There is nothing safe about eating a deep fried buffalo burger from Swifty’s. Especially when you order it as rare as humanly possible. Think of all the saturated fat in that butter soaked, deep fat fried, mound of melting beef tallow. And on top of it, you need to put a little blue cheese dressing, which at Swifty’s I suspect is a combination of cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. All of that comes on a refined grain bun, and served alongside french fries.
But when you bite into it, the explosion of fat and flavor is simply marvelous. All of the pleasure centers of my brain light up with pure joy. And I feel as if its existence is a sign that God wants us to be happy.
I shudder to think how many calories it has. Especially if you pair it with a beer. Plus, we should never forget that alcohol is like poison. That’s not safe either. Which is why I only have one of these per year. Maybe two. It’s more likely I’ll die in a car crash on the way home than from this terribly unsafe meal.
Here’s my concern about people who want to make everything safe.
Brooks Saves the Day
Day trips can be a killer. Last week I made two separate drives to central Massachusetts, and another one to Binghamton. Spending four hours behind the wheel of a car really eats through the day. But these are just some of the things we do for family.
As much as I can, I try to make the most out of these situations. In Millbury I got to explore the sweet, savory, and coffee menus of Cake Shop Cafe. There my mom also brought me a stash of meatballs from Venda Ravioli in Providence, for which we’ve found no equal in the Capital Region. And on the way back I was able to stop at Tree House Brewing’s newer facility in Charlton.
That was nice.
Ordinarily I would be jazzed to take a day trip to Binghamton and explore another one of New York’s small cities, on the hunt for interesting foodstuffs. Heck, I just recently found out one of my old friends lives around there. But instead, I was condemned to sit in a hall—all day—surrounded by cubers.
I even ended up doing the unthinkable. That’s right. I bought a couple of things from Dunkin Donuts out of sheer desperation. Please allow me to explain.
Suntory Time
Before this week, the only thing I knew about Suntory whisky I learned from Bill Murray. Or maybe I should say Sophia Coppola? Regardless, one could argue that the movie Lost in Translation had at its centerpiece a commercial shoot for Suntory whisky.
You could also argue that the movie was all about Bill Murray singing More Than This. Man. That scene still gives me chills.
Here’s a funny coincidence. In the end credits of the Bill Murray movie Stripes, there’s a thank you to Jim Beam. And now Jim Beam is owned by Suntory, which Murray made famous in this indie flick.
Small world.
Well, now I know Kyle. He’s the rep for the full line of Beam Suntory brands through much of New York, and not only did he give me an education on Japanese whisky, but he was also one of my co-judges in Monday’s Battle of the Bartenders at Savoy Taproom. Which just so happened to be George Fiorini’s last hoorah before leaving the region.
Yes. That’s sad. I was crying tears into my whisky all night long. But the good news is that he’s leaving behind a lot of talented bartenders to fill his shoes. And I know that too, because I got to try some of their drinks.
The Growing Fame of Mozz and Melba
Maybe you saw the news earlier this week? Mozz and melba was featured on Atlas Obscura!
If you prefer reading about it on Facebook, and seeing the scores of shares and comments on this regionally specific food, that link is here. Just be warned, you may see more than a few comments from me, as I get very excited about these things.
One of the things I’m most excited about is that the photo used at the top of the story is from Vicky who used to be eatanddrinkalbany on Instagram, but now that she’s moved her handle is eatanddrinkhouston. Now her feed is all about Texas foods. But once upon a time it was all about the Capital Region.
She was also part of the Yelp Elite Squad out here, and I got to spend some time with her. Her background was fascinating. And I don’t want to reveal too many personal details, but let’s just say Vicky has a long history in Albany.
But that’s not all.
The Difference Between Slices and Pies
The Tour de Slice is coming. We’ve got a date. The floor is open to nominations. People are sharing their thoughts.
Burnt My Fingers is one of those people, and he brought up an interesting point regarding slices, and his concerns about the entire venture:
It is as if, when we had the Italian sub tour last summer, you had restricted it to establishments that had pre-made sandwiches wrapped in the deli case.
Would you not agree that a slice is a convenience product, and likely inferior to a custom made pie? If so, why not just order and taste whole pies?
Steve N. came to the defense of the slice, and did a great job at succinctly getting to the heart of the matter. But I wanted to take a few more minutes to talk more about pies versus slices and the elevation of convenience foods in general.
Schenectady Tour de Slice: Nominations
Would you believe it’s time for the winter tour? I wouldn’t believe it either. Except it’s true.
Look. Sometimes we run behind. But the last FUSSYlittleTour was all the way back in September when we ran through the gauntlet of the best apple cider donuts one can find at our regional farms.
The time for the winter tour is upon us. The fact that it may feel like spring is a fluke of nature. Dammit, this is still supposed to be winter.
Fluctuations of the seasons aside, the next FUSSYlittleTOUR is scheduled for Saturday, March 17 and it’s going to be an evaluation of the better New York style pizza slices one can find in Schenectady. Let me say this now, Schenectady is a strong pizza town. I don’t know what it is about the electric city. But the pizza is strong within its borders.
So it’s very possible that the best pizza of Schenectady is the best in the Capital Region. And it’s the goal of the FLB to put it to the test. However, before we put pizza place up against pizza place, it’s only fair to open the floor to nominations.
But before you do, here are a few thoughts on the matter.
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