Percy Street...Barbecue?

This past Saturday night I had a chance to get to the newly opened Percy Street Barbecue. I don't like to blog about restaurants within their first month of opening (just doesn't seem fair to the restaurant), but hey, I'm only in town about once a month. If you'd like another fluffier, and ever-so-well-written account, check out Rick Nichols' recent piece in the Inquirer.

The restaurant, a collaboration between Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov from Zahav, etc, and Erin O'Shea, formerly of Marigold Kitchen, certainly has received enough pre-opening press. Needless to say, hopes are high.

I'll add this caveat now. I am not an expert on BBQ. I'm certainly not a expert on Texas BBQ.

My brother and I decided upon a 1/2 lb. of Moist Brisket and 1/2 lb. of Spare Ribs with two sides, German Potato Salad and Green Beans. They recommend two sides per person, but I assure you, you'll do just fine with two.



A few interesting details about Percy Street: you get a carafe of water on your table (I'm a big fan of this), after you order a busser attaches a paper towel holder to your table (good to have these at hand, however, if you use too many it becomes a mess, and a poor server has to remove your dirty paper towels from your table; a trash can might be necessary too), beer is served in mason jars, all of the meat is served in a plastic basket with butcher paper and the BBQ sauce is on the side for all you "my food can't touch other food" type people.

Now, about the food. Well, first of all, it arrived about 2 minutes after ordering. I was a little put off by this; at this rate turn time will be 45 min. per table. Second, the meat itself was cold. So were the sides (yes, cold potato salad is fine, but I thought the green beans could have been warm). I've been told that this is not how Texas BBQ should be. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about this.

The brisket had a fantastically simple smokey flavor. The spare ribs were also deliciously smokey, but not memorable. I'd probably stick to the brisket and try the pork belly next time. And the BBQ sauce was just fine for me, sweet and a little bit spicy.

For dessert, we decided on the Apple Crisp. It was nicely crisp on the top, and the filling was addictingly good. However, again, temperature was an issue. The center of the crisp was still cold (yes, maybe from the ice cream on top, but it was cold at the bottom too), while the rest of it was luke warm. I'm not going to say it, but we all know what kind of device produces this issue.



All in all, while everything was flavored very nicely, the meal suffered from temperature issues. I don't want to eat cold BBQ, and I don't want to eat a luke warm dessert. This all said, I'm hoping that these are opening issues that will be worked out eventually.

I figure if the flavor is there, the rest is just proper execution.

Percy Street Barbecue
Between 9th and 10th on South St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-625-8510

The 25 Best American Breweries of the Decade (2000-2009)

Okay, so it's been exactly a month since my last post. For shame! I know!

It pains me that I can count the number of alcoholic beverages I've consumed, in the last month, on one hand. But, alas, in less than a week I'll be home for Thanksgiving. Hopefully I'll have time for a beverage or two, at a restaurant or two.

In order to stop the Femme Fermental drought, I've decided to post on Paste Magazine.com's "25 Best American Breweries of the Decade (2000-2009)"
Uncle Jack may have already said it best: "I never heard of Paste Magazine before this and know little more than what you can find at the publication’s website."

Yeah, we've never heard of Paste Magazine, but we'll read about what they have to say about beer. Here's the list

25. Great Divide Brewing Company
24. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
23. Brooklyn Brewing Company
22. Brewery Ommegang
21. North Coast Brewing Co.
20. Stone Brewing Co.
19. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
18. New Belgium Brewing Company
17. New Glarus Brewing Company
16. Oskar Blues Brewery
15. Samuel Adams
14. Rogue Ales
13. Decshutes
12. Lagunitas Brewing Company
11. Bell's Brewery
10. The Lost Abbey
9. Weyerbacher
8. Three Floyds
7. Russian River Brewing
6. AleSmith Brewing Company
5. Founder's Brewing Co.
4. Victory Brewing Company
3. Avery Brewing Co.
2. Allagash Brewing
1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Paste Magazine doesn't know much about beer. They seem to put up a "list" of some sort everyday. After their beer entry, the next list was "Top 10 Best Fashion Designers of the Decade." I don't know if they are really an authority on anything. It's quite possible they searched the New York Times, found an article revealing the Times' love for Sam Calagione, and decided to put them first on the list. Who knows.

At the very least, they got some things right.

The order? That seems to be a more personal matter.

Beer Advocate's Belgian Beer Fest - Night of the Funk

This past weekend, my best beer geek friend and I went to Beer Advocate's "Return of the Belgian Beer Fest!" Night of the Funk in Boston. My friend and I planned this trip back in July. It was only a 2 hour drive for me, but for her, it was a flight from DC. Yes, this how serious we are about beer.



We started out at 21st Amendment. We had limited time before the event started, so we were stuck with something in the neighborhood of our hotel. I wanted to get to Deep Ellum or Publick House, but they just weren't close enough.



This bar was pretty amusing. It really can't be classified as a beer bar. The only craft beer on draft was Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. So of course, we had that instead of 5 pony bottles of Coors Light for 5 dollars. We were there (fortunately, and unfortunately) during happy hour. The post-work business suit and Burberry clad crowd, crappy beers in hand, was all too entertaining. We were doing alright until they turned on the music and Michelle Branch's "Game of Love" came on.

Luckily, we were on our way out. The clam chowder was, by the way, spectacular.



Soon we arrived in beer geek heaven. It was very much like all the beer events I've been to in this format: two ounce taster glass, and lines for beer. However, I have to give BA credit, it wasn't too crowded. We were able to get to all of the best beers.



Perhaps the best and most geekiest part of the night (besides when we out beer geeked two guys while in line for the most delicious sugar coated waffles ever), was the "Night of the Funk Panel" with Tomme Arthur (The Lost Abbey), Mike McManus (Brewery Ommegang), Will Meyers (Cambridge Brewing Co.), David Yarrington (Smuttynose Brewing Co.) and my all-time favorite, I'm so in love with you, plaid-wearing Harry Potter look-a-like, Rob Tod (Allagash Brewing Co.).

For about an hour, the panelist took questions on brewing, marketing, and tasting funkified beers. The level of geekiness was fabulous. I enjoyed the home brewer question: "How can I barrel age when most wine barrels hold 50 gallons or more?" And the two part question that every brewer forgot the second part of: "When did you start brewing? And why did you start brewing?"

Quote of the night goes to Rob Tod, the man knows how to work a crowd: "It depends how you want to funk it up." However, Tomme Arthur came a close second: "I'm waiting for Bud to make Bud Lite Lime with Brett. So I can say I had Brett in a can last night."



And yes, the beers were awesome. Sour beers are by far my favorite style of beer. Yes, I love my double IPAs, but there is something so complex and titillating about sour beers. Almost four years ago, when I had my first sour, Allagash Interlude, I was hooked.

At the event we tasted the following: Allagash Vagabond, Allagash My Brother Daryl, Russian River Temptation, Russian River Consecration, Lost Abbey Cable Car, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, Lost Abbey Sangria, Brooklyn Wild 1, Ithaca Brute, Cambridge Om, De Proef Les Deux Brasseurs, Petrus Pale, and Lindemans Cuvee Renee.

The winner of the night, and not just because I love Rob Tod, was Allagash Vagabond. They are actually releasing it at their brewery on Monday. They made just 500 bottles. It's a beer aged for four years in the only barrels that moved with them into their new brewery. The nose was reminiscent of Allagash Curieux, with bourbon and port notes. The palate was winey with subtle red fruit flavors, a touch of tartness, and a smooth finish. It was classic Allagash. And, a new beer to add to my top 5.

All in all, an awesome night of beer. After this experience, I'd highly recommend any similar event done by BA in Boston. And I certainly know I'll be there again next year.

Newick's Lobster House, NH

Fall here in Massachusetts is lovely. I have to say, the foliage has been one of the best parts of moving here (yeah, certainly not the food).



Last weekend I had the chance to go out to dinner with my family up in New Hampshire. Somewhat of a tradition, whenever in Portsmouth, we end up at Newick's Lobster House.

It's a rather crazy place. It probably seats about 200 people. There service is really non-existent. They take orders, never clear plates (which by the way are all plastic and paper, this place is an environmental nightmare), and that's about it.

But, on a Friday night, it was packed with people of all ages.



I started out with classic New England clam chowder. It was very thin and unexciting. There was no depth of flavor. But, the pieces of clam were plentiful.



Next, I went with steamers. I just can't seem to get them in Philly. They aren't the same unless you're in New England. They were pretty good, but then again, you can't so much mess them up.



And then, the reason we had all come to Newick's. A 1 and 1/4 lb. boiled lobster. The lobster, was, well, lobster. But, it seemed a bit dirty, as if they don't change the water enough. The lobster was of course enjoyable, but it wasn't the perfection I had hoped for that night. It actually taught me an important lesson: you can't just put lobster on a plate and have it be wonderful. There's a bit more to it.



On the whole, Newick's is what it is. It's a New England lobster house that draws a crowd. It's unpretentious. It's simple. It'll give you what you're looking for, as far as seafood goes. But, it seems to lack the love required to make simple food good.

Newick's Lobster House
431 Dover Point Rd
Dover, NH‎ 03820
1-800-533-9027 ‎