Some Extraordinary Beers

Between sake, wine and whiskey, some beers that always manage to knock my socks off are:

Hitachino Nest: These beers are made at a micro brewery in Japan called the Kiuchi Brewery. In the autumn of 1996, Kiuchi started brewing beer with it's unique owl character logo. My favourites from this company are:

1. Red Rice Ale: made with a sake yeast along with a beer yeast, malt and red rice. Distinctive note of black olives on the palate.

2. Classic Ale: aged in Japanese Cedar, it is medium bodied with a slightly spicy aroma of white pepper. Very delicate notes of cedar on the palate. Incredible beer!

3. White Ale: mildly hopped Belgian style beer with slight flavours of coriander, orange peel and nutmeg on the palate.

Dogfish Head Brewery: is a beer manufacturer based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam Calagione. It opened in 1995 and the output tends to be toward experimental or extreme beers. The following beers from them are available year round.

1. 90 minute IPA: A big beer with a great malt backbone that stands up to the extreme hopping rate. Tastes like, brandied fruitcake, raisins, citrus.

2. Palo Santo Marron: An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means "holy tree" and it's wood has been used in South American wine-making communities.

3. Raison D'Etre: A deep, mahogany ale brewed with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian-style yeast. As complex as a fine, red wine.

Sake

Not many drink Sake or even know much about this rather lesser known beverage -but Sake can be compared to any refined spirit and can share the same delicacy and complexity as any fine wine. The word 'Sake' is a term used for all alcoholic beverages in Japan, although the legal term for Sake is Seishu, meaning refined Sake.

Sake was discovered much before the 8th century in Japan but it was only during this time period that the Imperial Palace in Nara established a brewing department within it's walls and Sake began to be produced in an assortment of styles from both sweet to dry with varying flavour profiles and brewing techniques. Around the beginning of the 19th century, there were over eight thousand breweries in Japan producing Sake.

The four most important elements of Sake

Rice: is specially cultivated for premium sake production. There are many varieties of Sake rice and the quality is observed on the basis of size, weight and quality of the grain.

Water: Most of the water for Sake comes from underground rivers, wells or from the mountains. It's purity will impart the clean flavour related to this beverage.

Koji: or the mold is crucial to the development of Sake. Koji is a fine powder that is sprinkled over the rice so that it breaks the starches in the rice into sugars that can be fermented by the yeast cells, which then give off carbon dioxide and alcohol. Without koji, there is no Sake.

Yeast: the final process which finally converts all the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The choice of yeast in Sake brewing is also very important. It can have the final effects on the flavours as well as the acidity in the Sake.

Types of Sake

Junmai shu is made of rice that has been milled to at least 70% so that the outer 30% of the grain has been removed. The flavour profile is full, rich and often slightly acidic.

Ginjo and Junmai Ginjo is more complex and delicate. It is made with rice that has been milled to 60% or more. A small amount of alcohol is added to make it more fragrant and lighter.

Daiginjo and Junmai daiginjo are the most valued quality in Sake production. Made with the best sake rice milled to 50% or till 35% which means that over 60% of the outer rice is ground. This type of Sake is very clean, complex, fragrant, extremely delicate and represents the brewer's craft to the highest level.

To be able to appreciate Sake it is important to try out different styles until you are able to distinguish between the different flavour profiles. It goes well with delicately flavoured food like light broths, fish and specially sushi. I usually aim for subtlety, balance and elegance much like in tea, a fine burgundy or in a lover.

Le Cirque

Le Cirque, the bastion of fine dining in New York City....is one of the largest restaurant operations I have seen in a while. Most diners see it as the culmination of incredible food, service and culture with it's ever changing locale from one exotic venue to another and it's always entertaining vista of 'high society.' Opened by the legendary Sirio Maccione over thirty years ago it is still operated by the family including sons Mario, Mauro and Marco and Sirio's wife Egidiana. The present 16.000 square foot restaurant located in Beacon Court and designed by Adam Tihany and architect Costas Kondylis features a main dining room, separate bar area and a private event mezzanine suspended above the bar. The all glass bar which appears and disappears like a magic circus box balances the custom designed 27 ft steel and glass wine tower.

Last night I decided to visit my friend Beata, the sommelier at Le Cirque NY, who was kind enough to take me on a private tour of the restaurant, the behind the scene operations where I met Chef Michael who recognised me after 8 years from a brief stint at the kitchens of Chef David Drake from the Stagehouse Inn. It was a lovely evening with much thanks to Beata and Anna. Two lovely and talented women in this sometimes awesome and sometimes crazy city of New York!!

Le Cirque
150 E 58th St
New York, NY 10022

Tel: 212 644-0315

Cupcake Cafe

Rain, rain
Go away...!
Please.............
Don't come back
for any other summer day!

So it was raining
and I sought refuge
at this cupcake place.
Wearing a jacket
and a frown
in the middle of
June.

I looked around
this bright and airy place
then
bought a chocolate cupcake
with some Mocha butter cream
and drowned it with a lot of
Green tea.

The best cupcakes in New York City and the coziest place to while some time away in. It shares space with a beautiful children's bookstore - bliss.


Cupcake Cafe
8 W. 18th Street, New York, NY
Tel: 212 465-1530

Strawberry Season!

They are here! Fresh, juicy, red strawberries are everywhere.....To get crispy, cruchy and very fresh produce from farms around the tri state area in Manhattan is the Union Square market which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Friday and Saturday during the summer until late fall. If you live in Brooklyn try the Fort Green market and the Green Point farmer's markets which open only on Saturdays.