Ahhhhh it's good to be back!!!!
What better way to return than with the first ever VIDEO LOVERDICT!!!!
Check out the link below to watch my review of a great beer I just tried; Dogfish Head's Urkontinent!!
Let me know what you guys think, feel free to critique my video making skills (they are minimal haha) as well as offer an opinion on this beer if you've had it before.
Lots more planned for the future, so stay tuned!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
"Good People Drink Good Beer"- Hunter S. Thompson
My beer bottle collection at home (Every bottle is unique/a different brand/type of beer).
I couldn't have said it any better myself, Mr. Thompson. Welcome to the first ever LoVerdict of that great beverage many of us (OF LEGAL AGE OF COURSE) enjoy: Beer! For those of you who have the honored privilege of knowing me personally, you know that I am what many would call a beer snob. Plain and simple, people: I fuckin' love beer! For those of you who have never gone beyond drinking Coors or Budweiser, you need to wake the fuck up and expand your beer horizons. There are thousands of breweries worldwide producing dozens of different styles of beer you have never heard of before. This Loverdict will focus on four different beers I have recently imbibed.
Before I go into the specifics on each particular beer, let me say that I am a Dogfish Head fanboy. However, I do not blindly believe everything they make is the best beer I have ever had. Dogfish Head just happens to be my favorite brewery.
First up: Dogfish Head My Antonia.
This beer is distributed in a wine sized (750 ml) bottle and is available in limited quantities. It is identified as an imperial pilsner, which is characterized by a malty backbone, an intense bitterness and notes of sweetness and spiciness. Dogfish has awesome artwork on their bottles and the My Antonia is no exception with its examples of old world Italian architecture and more modern designs in the background. The beer was first brewed outside of Rome but has since moved to Dogfish's brewery in Delaware. I am a huge fan of this particular beer, which was very mild. It had a slight bitterness as well as a flavorful warming sweetness.
Ta Hanket is the next beer I'll be discussing.
Personally, I enjoy about nine out of ten beers I try. That means there is always at least 1 beer that sneaks its way onto my shit-list. Unfortunately, Ta Hanket is one of those beers. Also available in limited quantities, this beer is part of Dogfish Head's Ancient Ale series. The recipe is influenced by ancient Egyptians brewing techniques. Ta Hanket is brewed with several ingredients I have never heard of before. One of the main ingredients is called Za'atar spice, which is a traditional blend of spices that includes oregano and salt. Doum fruits are also used, which grow on the doum palm trees in the fertile Nile Valley. Chamomile is also a main ingredient in this beer, which I thought was only used in teas.
A strong scent hit my nostrils upon opening this beer. I could not pinpoint what the exact smell was. It was not very pleasant. The YouTube clip below shows how this beer is made:
You will see why this beer smells almost rotten. It has a very strong flavor to it, but has low alcohol content. It tastes like rotten fruit juice.
The final Dogfish Head beer I sampled was the 120 Minute IPA. Word of warning here, people - this stuff is STRONG! It clocks in at an average ABV of 15-20%! In layman's terms, one bottle of this beer is the equivalent of drinking around 4 of your average light beers. If you're looking to get drunk fast, this beer may just be your poison. I picked it up for 12 bucks at a distributor in West Hempstead. I know what you may be thinking: “12 bucks for just one normal sized bottle of beer?!” Keep in mind, this beer is very strong and very hard to find. It has a very strong flavor - hoppy but smooth. The alcohol flavor is definitely present but not overpowering. It leaves a faint rum-like aftertaste in your mouth. Needless to say, I felt quite nice after drinking this one.
The last beer I will talk about today is Troeg's Nugget Nectar. This is by far THE BEST Imperial Amber I have ever tried. For those of you who have never tried an IPA (India Pale Ale) or an Imperial Amber you can usually tell them apart by their “hoppiness” (bitterness.) Even though Nugget Nectar utilizes around four or five different types of hops, it is not ultra-bitter. It has a faint sweetness to it that offsets the huge amounts of hops present. This beer is only brewed in March, which means it's available in very limited quantities.
THE LOVERDICT
I have reviewed several different items this time and there's no overall rating I can give to this post. Each beer was unique in its own way, whether good or bad. Like I mentioned before, there are many different types of beers out there. As an avid beer enthusiast, I like to try as many different beers as possible and keep my mind open to trying new things. I suggest you folks do the same!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Hildebrandt's: Scrumptious Diner Fare with an Old World Twist
It's great to be back for my first LoVerdict in a long time! To mark this special occasion I decided to LoVerdict my most recent culinary outing: Hildebrandt's of Williston Park.
You may have seen Hildebrandt's on the well known Food Network show, 'Diner's Drive In's and Dives.' A large poster and hat signed by Guy Fieri was posted up on the dining room wall. Much like my previous Loverdict of the Golden Mall, I love visiting places that celebrity chefs have been to. I enjoy sampling the same things and seeing the same places on TV in person. As we were watching a clip from the Hildebrandt's segment of Triple D on my phone, our waiter said: "Oh look its me on TV!" Our waiter was actually the same dude that Guy Fieri was cooking with and talking to.
Upon entering Hildebrandt's you get a sense of its small size and old-school historical vibe. There's a long counter with stools you can sit at, and a handful of tables in the dining area. There is also a counter with some home-made chocolates and candies available for purchase. My girlfriend and I were greeted promptly and offered to sit wherever we liked. The place wasn't packed but had a good amount of customers already seated. A lot of the most popular menu items were written up on a large chalkboard with their prices. We were presented with a small paper menu and promptly given two glasses of ice cold refreshing water.
As I have mentioned before, this place has your standard diner fare; burgers, sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, etc. What piqued my interest was their large quantity of Italian dishes. The menu didn't describe each dish so I was a little perplexed by dishes called 'Pasta a la Mama,' and 'Chicken Alyssa.' I asked our waiter for a little more info on the dishes and he gave us the regular menu which was larger and described each dish. The Pasta a la Mama was one of the dishes Guy Fieri tried, which is rigatoni pasta with garlic, olive oil, cauliflower, and bread crumbs. While this did sound delicious, I wasn't quite in the mood for something like that.
My girlfriend and I decided to start with the homemade mozzarella sticks (another dish Guy sampled.) They arrived pretty quickly, and I was surprised on how NOT greasy they were. Most of the time deep fried foods tend to be ultra oily and greasy but these mozz sticks were nothing of the sort. The cheese was really gooey and fresh, and the homemade marinara sauce they came with was sweet and savory. My only complaint was that the outer layer was a little tough and not very crispy.
For our main course, I opted for the Chicken Alyssa, while my girlfriend ordered the Pecan Chicken. Both dishes came with a small house salad, which was very crisp and fresh. I accidentally doused mine with way too much balsamic vinegar, so it was a little on the tart side. We were also served some dinner rolls which weren't very fresh. However, just like any good Italian knows, its all about the dippin' and dunkin'. Our main courses arrived shortly after and smelled delicious. My Chicken Alyssa was a crunchy and juicy breaded cutlet smothered in a homemade marinara sauce with both plum and diced tomatoes. It was served over perfectly cooked al dente spaghetti. My girlfriend's Chicken Pecan was served in a honey mustard sauce with pecans sprinkled on top. She opted for a baked potato on the side. Both dishes were excellent, and we used the bread to sop up all the sauce.
A trip to Hildebrandt's would not have been complete if we didn't order some of their homemade ice cream. We were both pretty damn full at this point so we didn't want to go crazy and order a huge sundae. We both decided to split a marshmallow sundae with one scoop of maple walnut and cookies & cream. I've gotta say this plain and simple folks: AWESOME FRIGGIN' ICE CREAM! The maple walnut was sweet and tasted just like maple syrup, while the cookies & cream had big chunks of chocolate cookie pieces in it.
The LOVERDICT
Hildebrandt's was an awesome experience! You won't find many of these classic old-style luncheonettes anymore; they are a dying breed. It's good to see a place like this still in business while holding fast to traditions and recipes that have been handed down for several generations. The food was fairly priced, the atmosphere casual, and the wait staff very friendly. All in all, a very satisfying food outing yet again!
Hildebrandt's
84 Hillside Avenue
Williston Park, NY 11596
516-741-0608
http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/from-mozz-to-matzo-balls/index.html (Link to the Triple D episode site with recipes to a couple of Hildebrandt's dishes)
Back in Action
It's been a long time since I've written a Loverdict folks. I apologize for the hiatus, but I am finally ready to start writing again and I got some great reviews in store for you all! Stay tuned over the coming days and weeks as I have a lot of "back-ordered" reviews to resurrect and re-hash. I have also decided to move into a new category of reviewing and talk about one of my favorite topics: BEER!!! Thank you all for your patience and support, I look forward to your feedback!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)