emptyage

The Brutally Honest Pint

If you're a beer drinker, you've probably heard about the brouhaha (oh snap) over the 14 ounce "pint" glass. If not, the twenty-five cent summary is that in order to compensate for inflation without raising prices, some pubs have begun serving beer in 14-ounce falsies--glasses that look like a pint but aren't. It led Jeff Alworth to start the Honest Pint Project, and even got the attention of the Wall Street Journal.

Given that debate--over 14 or 16 ounce pints--it was really refreshing (double snap) to read the following in an email from Magnolia Pub's owner Dave McLean today:

We do remain 100% committed to the 20-ounce, English pint glass as the base by which we calculate all of our beer pricing. And that means, priced per ounce, you'll always get a slightly better deal here. Most places are basing their pint on a 16-ounce, U.S. pint. And aside from price and volume, we will always prefer the quality of an English pint glass, particularly the thin lip that makes for a nicer sip. So, the 20-ounce pint is here to stay, as are the premium ingredients that we think make our beer so unique and delicious, especially Maris Otter barley, which costs more per pound than any other barley but is worth every penny. These aren't easy times in the craft beer community but more people than ever are discovering the joys of locally brewed, unique, artisan beer. The only direction available is forward and we'll keep making beer the best way we know how.

How to Cook: A Guide For Gentlemen

1. A meal is not easy to cook unless it is also easy to clean.
If a recipe calls for more than three pieces of cookware, total—that includes anything you use for preparation as well as what goes in the oven or on the stove top—fuck it, it’s too complicated. Always cook with an eye on cleaning. This has nothing to do with making KP easier. Rather, if something doesn’t require much clean up, odds are it’s not going to require much work to prepare and cook either.

2. Treat your cookware correctly
Metal baking pans? Put down foil or you’ll ruin them. Iron skillet? Add lots of oil first, then seasoning, then your main ingredients, and always cook over low heat. Not only will this keep you from ruining your expensive cookware, but it will also keep you from ruining your meal, and making a mess.

3. Mix and cook in one step
If a recipe calls for you to mix wet and dry ingredients in a bowl; it’s probably not a weeknight dish. The only time you should use a separate mixing bowl is when you have more than an hour budgeted for meal prep. Instead, look for dishes where you can combine ingredients in the same pot that you’re actually going to cook in. It will make clean up easier and cooking faster. There’s a broader corollary here: combine steps whenever possible. Why use a colander if the sink works? Oh. The sink’s nasty you say? Well, there are exceptions to every rule.

4. You only need three ingredients
It’s true. Even the most complex meals tend to be based around three core ingredients: salt, garlic and oil (or butter). Add these three Super Ingredients to any dish to max out your flavor. Looking for something a little different? Other flavors to try include onions, honey, hot sauce, lemon, miso, or Italian dressing. Mix and match these basics and you’ll never go wrong.

5. First, find the time
Plan your meal so that all your dishes will be ready at once. Start on the dish that’s going to take the longest first. You may or may not want to do al your prep work ahead of time based on cooing times. For example, if one dish will take 30 minutes and another 20, you probably want to do all the prep initially. But if the latter is only going to take ten, it’s probably best to do that prep after you’ve dropped the first in the oven.

6. Have fun
Enjoy what you’re doing and it will show up in the finished meal.

How to Eat a Pomegranate

They're deliciously tricky. Puzzling, even, with their tough skins and all those little red seeds. But splitting one open and getting all that fruit is actually pretty easy. Here's how to do it.

STEP ONE

Find yourself a Pomegranate. If it's an organic one from your local CSA, all the better. But any will do.

STEP TWO

Begin by cutting off the top part of the fruit, called the crown.

I am fast, like a ninja.

STEP THREE

Slice the skin into segments. When you finish it should look something like this:

STEP FOUR
Soak the pomegranate in a bowl of water for a few minutes. How many? Let's say ten. That should do.

STEP FIVE
Break up the fruit in the bowl, you'll notice that the fruit sinks to the bottom while the rind floats up to the top.

STEP SIX
Once the fruit and rind are separated, you can skim the rind off of the top of the water. You can agitate the water to help get everything split up.

STEP SEVEN
Strain and drain, dude.

STEP EIGHT
Eat it. Or juice it. Whatever you'd like. I like it with a little yogurt. You may not.

Finally: If you liked this post, you'll love my book.

2007 Wired Rave Awards

Once again, I had a great time at the Rave Awards. Once again, I became as unto a ridiculously drunk person.

Bonus Six Apart / Typepad/ Voxery trivia: I saw the esteemed Mr. Anil Dash there (Look! There's Anil Dash), but could not talk to him due to loud Girltalkery. And I believe I saw a glimpse of the Trotts, but I'm not positive about that one as I didn't say hello and then never saw them again.

St. Regis Lobby

Rebecca, Danny, Harper

The Open Bar

GirlTalk

Angele and Adrienne get crazy onstage with Girltalk

Papasan

A New Place to Get Sloshed and Eat

I (usually) love Magnolia, my neighborhood brewpub. The food is usually first rate--though it can certainly suffer at times, and i'm talking to you, poached eggs!--and the beer is always amazing.

Amazing.

I love having fresh, seasonal grog right up the street from me--though my liver may be less enthousastic.

So, I'm really psyched that The Alembic is finally opening. It's going to do for liquor what Magnolia does for beer. Phew! And just in time too, as my tolerance was making me pile on the pounds in order to get good and lubricated. The food looks to be just as good, if not better as what Magnolia has on offer, while the interior sounds really cool. In any case, here's the official announcement. See you there.

At long last, the big announcement we've been dying to tell you about for many a month now: Magnolia has a sibling! We are very pleased to announce the opening of the Alembic Bar, located at 1725 Haight Street between Cole and Shrader. What is it? Well, we hope it will be many things, and you will make it so. But we have lovingly assembled an library of small-batch, artisan distilled spirits, domestic and imported craft beers, premium sakes, and unique, limited production wines, creating a temple to the diverse and delicious world of alcohol.

As you might expect, Magnolia's own house ales play a key role in the draft beer selection, and we throw a little local love toward our fellow companions in the Bay Area beer world. We're excited to pick up where Magnolia leaves off, celebrating the way in which artisans near and far dedicate their lives to crafting magical elixirs and the freshest, best food.

Our bartenders are craftspeople in their own right, marrying the flavors of these wonderful spirits with juices squeezed fresh daily, soda from small bottles (no gun), premium (and in some cases housemade) bitters and other ingredients, and fresh garnishes. The renaissance that has cocktail culture picking up where it left of before Prohibition is firmly a part of the Alembic's mission.

Not to be outdone, Chef Eddie Blyden has pulled out all the stops for the Alembic's menu, with an eclectic array of small plates. Eddie's menu has regional American and global influences, all prepared with local products from folks we know, as much as possible. Chef Blyden has risen to the challenge of pairing food with the assertive flavors of our spirits list and his sourcing here at the Alembic is a continuation of his philosophy at Magnolia. Seasonal, local and sustainable remain the key elements of our vision at both places.

Building the Alembic was an extension of our sustainability philosophy, with the use of as many reclaimed building materials as possible. The wood that lines the walls was salvaged from a 150+ year old barn in Wisconsin while the floor was similarly saved from a 100 year old Pennsylvania barn. The ceiling is an historically reproduced tin pattern and the light fixtures over the bar are historical reproductions with 1890-style Edison bulbs. The highlight of the space, though, is the bar itself, lovingly crafted from the original bleacher seats from Kezar Stadium, built in 1922 from old-growth Douglas Fir. We've left the seat numbers intact for your amusement.

The name, since you may be wondering, comes from the 1200 year- old Persian word, al-ambiq, which was the name of the first distilling apparatus. It was adopted by the alchemists of the Middle Ages where it assumed an additional meaning of refinement and coaxing the purest essence from something rough and raw. Today, some distillers continue to work with so-called alembic stills and the word remains a metaphor for a place where refinement and magic intersect.

Together, Magnolia and the Alembic proudly carry on a tradition of nourishing the community, providing gathering spots for the neighborhood while turning folks on to some of the best and most interesting tastes of the local food and drink renaissance. As with Magnolia, we look forward to all of you adding your own energy to the Alembic.

The Alembic is just four blocks west of Magnolia next to the legendary Red Vic Movie Theater. Public parking is 4 blocks away at Stanyan and Beulah and the Alembic can be reached by Muni (the N-Judah stops 4 blocks away at Carl and Cole) and Bus #'s 7, 71, 33 and 43 stop within one block of our front door.