More than Beer Brewing at Wrecking Bar Brewpub

steak tar tare, house pickles, Wrecking Bar whole grain mustard, crusty bread

Chef Terry Koval just sealed a fresh barrel of Wrecking Bar Brewpub whole grain mustard in a Collier and Mckeel Tennessee Whiskey barrel.  After a month of aging, the blend of yellow and brown mustard seeds, apple cider vinegar, and spices will have a hoppy kick, melding with the Wrecking Bar beer of the season and the smoky richness from the barrel. It will then be used as an ingredient in dressings, German-style potato salad, hollandaise on house made pastrami hash, accompanying Bernhard's Bakery Bavarian pretzel and with beer brats made by Rusty Bowers at Pine Street Market. It pairs well with the new addition to the menu- the steak tar tare and pickled veggies slate with crusty bread.  As fresh, local peppers (including those in the Wrecking Bar garden) start coming in, Terry plans on starting some hot sauce in barrels as well.

Yard 54 Brunch

The notion of an underground brunch club is a brilliant niche to tap into. Underground supper clubs have been a rage of sorts around the Atlanta food scene for a few years, undoubtedly due to the rise in social media networking. The brainchild of  James Martin of The Burger Coalition and Twelve Supper and Chef Rawle Fraser of Muss and Turner's and previously Commune Supper Club, Yard 54 is a brunch-based twist on the pop-up underground restaurant that brings together people and fresh ingredients to one of Atlanta’s great neighborhoods. The meals are limited to 6-8 people and are intended to be as much about making new acquaintances and opening new conversations as they are about new tastes.

Print from TwoCardinalDay

This past weekend Yard 54 had a soft launch at the home of Chef Rawle Fraser in Reynoldstown. The awkwardness of entering an unknown experience quickly passed as guests were handed tiny Mason jars of bubbly. Conversation flowed much like the prosecco as the collection of six guests arrived and mingled. Yard 54 always begins with a reception until all guests have arrived.

Almost immediately talk turned to local food. A train rushed by and we discussed the Yard 54 logo. “Yard” reflects fresh--the freshest ingredients possible, perhaps from one’s yard. The lettering emblematizes the nearby train yard. "54" references the address of Chef Rawle's home on the corner of Wylie and Chester. Such careful attention to detail heightened interest in the forthcoming menu.

 

The first bite was placed on the table as soon as everyone was settled. Two gorgeous wooden platters of deviled eggs with dill and anchovies nestled in a bed of arugula. Not only was the plating clever and lovely, the deviled eggs were perfection with the addition of slivers of anchovies.

 

The next plate was a veritable symphony of tastes and textures. Luscious, tender beef carpaccio, crusty grilled sourdough, Mache salad with shallots, Parmesan, a charred meyer lemon vinaigrette, smoked mustard seeds, and thin slivers of candied meyer lemon. The candied meyer lemon gave this dish the sweetest zing.

When the bowl of Nieman Ranch sweet tea braised pork cheeks was placed before each diner, heads bowed to take in the wafting but subtle smokiness emanating from the smoked Logan Turnpike grits. It was at this moment that one of the perks of an intimate brunch experience was evident. Chef Rawle heard us asking "I wonder how he smoked them?' and gave us step by step instructions on how to recreate them. Bowls were soon emptied of the tender pork, smoky grits and jus, lacinato kale chips, and vanilla pear compote. This dish was a triumph. When asked about pairings, Chef Rawle noted a favorite book, The Flavor Bible, as the most helpful resource for unexpected flavor pairings. He wants to be able to explore and introduce patrons to new and different things, perhaps with offal or under utilized cuts of meat with Yard 54.





Our sweet course was a beauty: Lemon bar with raspberry sauce, house made fromage blanc, and lavender honey. The individual ingredients were tasty and fresh and once combined, proved heavenly. The perfect buttery crust really stood out. Again, Chef Rawle stepped from the kitchen and went through the steps of how he made the fromage blanc and then his technique used when infusing honey with lavender.

 

Yard 54 launches April 20th. To sign up for the mailing list go here or email eatatyard54@gmail.com. You can also find Yard 54 on Facebook and Twitter (@Yard54). Expect interesting and original menus (never eggs and sausage) and a guaranteed convivial atmosphere. Also expect to build a relationship with who is cooking your food. Yard 54 will alternate between coursed menus and family style menus. Sporadically they will do dinners as well but brunch will be the focus initially. Yard 54 wishes to bring back communal conversation to dining with the freshest ingredients and sometimes unconventional dishes in an intimate atmosphere with accessibility to the chef  while he is prepairing courses. 



Trout Lily

Hiking through the woods this week, I came upon a field of trout lilies. Not only was the spectacle beautiful, but it signals the imminence of spring. The bright yellow trout lily is among the first flowers to bloom in spring.

Trout lilies thrive in damp, open woodlands with moist, rich, and loamy soil and bloom just long enough to usher in spring. The flowers open up in the morning and fold their petals in at night. The perennials disappear by early June and lay dormant until late winter when they return.

Photo from NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation

The name "trout lily" comes from the resemblance the mottled-with-purple leaves have with the speckling of brook trout. Some call them dog's tooth violets because of the shape of the tubers--like, well, a dog's canine. The emerge at around the same time as violets. My photo on top shows a wood violet flowering at the same time.

Trout lilies live in colonies spread vegetatively underground. The colonies can be large and very old and often form dense groupings of which only some flower in a given year. Trout lily flowers don't bloom until about the seventh year. Seed dispersal occurs by myrmecochory, which, in simpler terms means, by ants. Each seed has a small appendage called an elaiosome attached. This protuberance contains a food like substance that is super attractive to ants but has nothing to do with germination. The ants carry the seeds, eats the elaisome, discards the rest, and a flower grows. A symbiotic relationship with bumblebees also exists. This early start of the trout lily enables pollinators like bumblebees to begin establishing their underground nests and colonies. When I took the photo of the lily, a bumblebee was on the flower nearest to it.

Many wildflowers have edible underground parts, including the trout lily.The leaves can be eaten in a salad or as a pot herb. I am not a fan but would eat them in an emergency. The corms, or tubers, however can be eaten raw or any way you would treat a root vegetable. Slice them over a salad or parboil them for a mini potato-like experience. The only way I have tried them is fresh from the ground. They taste a bit like a water chestnut to me. Keep in mind harvest sustainability when foraging for things like these tubers. It wouldn't take many foragers to wipe out a colony.



Erythronium Americanum illustration from my journal



Trout lily lore holds many stories of medicinal uses. It has been documented as a fever reducer, a preventer of swelling, poultice, and even used for contraception in Cherokee and Iroquois histories. A tea of the leaves was made for fevers. Even Roman soldiers were said to have used parts of the spring beauty to treat corns and foot problems.

I am happy to just gaze at the nodding bright yellow flowers and dappled leaves and smile for the coming of spring.

 I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. ~John Muir

Hoppy Valentines Day

Need a last minute Valentine for your beer lover? Attach one of these adorable vintage-style beer- themed Valentines from Crafbeergirl.com (printing is permitted) to a craft beer or a selection of singles. Boom.

Maybe you were lucky enough to snag some Hopslam? Did you read this great piece on the hard to find goodness?

Vieux Carré

my nerdy notebook doodle

 

With Carnival season coming to an end today, why not celebrate Fat Tuesday with a New Orleans inspired cocktail? Nothing captures the essence of the French Quarter in a glass more than a Vieux Carré [view-ka-ray]. Vieux Carré, which translates as "old square," the official name of 4 by 11 block area neighborhood on the crescent bend of the Mississippi river known as The French Quarter. The now classic cocktail was concocted by head bartender, Walter Bergeron, at the Swan Bar in the Hotel Monteleone in 1938 (now home of the revolving Carousel Bar).

Vieux Carré at Sprig

The Vieux Carré is a spirituous cocktail, a kind of Louisiana cousin of a Manhattan. Like the city of New Orleans itself, the cocktail is emblematic of the extensive blending of traditions and cultures within the city. The early inhabitants of New Orleans were Native American, French, African and Caribbean. Perhaps Mr. Bergeron meant this to be a tribute to the extensive blending and borrowing that influenced the food, music, language, culture, and architecture of this distinct city- The rye for the American influence, the cognac and Benedictine for the influence of the French, sweet vermouth for the Italian (I am sure there are plenty of Italians), the Angostura bitters for the Caribbean, and Peychaud's bitters for a homegrown ingredient.

Seven Lamps

Cocktail books differ slightly on ratios but most agree that the Vieux Carré is a cocktail meant to be built over ice in the glass in which it will be served. I have been ordering the classic cocktail around Atlanta and find it delicious on a winter evening whether built in the glass or strained into it. What is important is the vermouth. Using a high quality, sweet vermouth like Carpano Antica will temper the strong base spirits and not allow the blend to become too sweet. The herbaceous Benedictine further rounds out the flavors.

Vieux Carré at Empire State South

 By tasting the same cocktail at many places, you really get to know the balance and see the bits of individuality mixologists put in the glass. I have learned that many bartenders do not know this drink and those who do smile when you order it. Marc Caballero of Sprig Restaurant and Bar in Decatur did. I like it in a Manhattan style coupe glass, just as Bradley at The Optimist served it in, best.  It doesn't matter if the glass is chilled or not. I prefer it "up," but those large chunks of ice are always nice. David Chapman of Empire State South served a perfect version over a giant cube that never seemed to melt. His lemon twist was pretty incredible too. Next time Nate Shuman of Proof and Provision makes me one, perhaps he could include on of his lapsang souchon infused cubes. I like it with a flamed orange peel as garnish very much. The oils released bring very nice aromatics. The best garnish is a brandied cherry. Arianne Fielder of Seven Lamps made me a play on a Vieux Carré with walnut bitters and it was astonishingly good. I haven't had one made by Thomas McGuire of Prohibition yet but I look forward to it. I always get a history lesson with each cocktail (and I like it). Hands down favorite on my quest was from Mike Satusky at The Family Dog. He served it with High West Rye, Carpano Antica vermouth, tasty Cognac (I know nothing of cognacs), Angostura & Peychaud's bitters, Benedictine, and a brandied cherry on a stick "up" and in a rocks glass, no ice. We talked about Casablanca. A Vieux Carré goes very well with Casablanca.

A Proper Valentine

This is how I send Valentine's love--with Pine Street Market Applewood Smoked Bacon.

Signs of Spring

I spotted this patch of blue on my run this morning. Veronica penduncularis or 'Georgia Blue' was growing on the side of the road, poking through dirt, rocks, and debris. Its presence made me ever aware of the signs all around me. Squirrels were chasing each other and searching for food buried before it grew cold. Birds were chirping and gathering bits and pieces for nest building. Daffodils were blooming and trees buds were beginning to swell.

This is the time of year I like to pick up Thoreau's Walden and read about how excited he was for things to start budding and blooming. "Walden was dead and is alive again" he wrote. The rebirth of our landscape ushers in a rebirth for our souls.

Soon, very soon, the landscape (and our dinner plates) will be augmented by ramps, morels, and fiddleheads, those harbingers of springtime.

Places and spaces I look forward to in early spring:

Empire State South-- foraged spring ingredients always sing on the spring menu.

Seven Lamps-- Drew Van Leuvan created the most spectacular spring menu while at One Midtown Kitchen. I had ramps, morels, and fiddleheads in one meal. I have no doubt early spring will be nothing shy of dazzling at Seven Lamps. The winter menu has thrilled me over and over.

100 Mile Dinner-- the next dinner is in March. I anticipate lots I local foraged early spring arrivals or some of Nick Melvin's pickled ramps from last spring.

No. 246-- Drew Belline is an accomplished forager which makes No. 246 extra dreamy in early spring.

Ecco-- Remember last spring when chef Craig Richards covered a pizza in wood violets? It was stunning and, I heard, delicious. Morels with fish; ramps with rabbit; a pasta with both?

Miller Union-- The menu at Miller Union always revolves around the week's harvest. Wasn't there a ramp sabayon on the menu one spring? I could see morels in chef Steven Satterfield's creamed rice dish. I swear I have ordered the dish 10 times.

Hot and Hot Fish Club-- Tasting some of chef Chris Hasting's food during early springtime is worthy of a road trip from Atlanta. He has a large network of foragers that make possible incredible plates like "A forager's walk"- a dish I saw him tweet about. Beautuiful. His foraging seminar at last year's Atlana Food & Wine Festival was the reason I purchased my pass. It is my favorite session since the festival's inception.