Condiment of the Week: Wasabi Mustard

Remember the days when there were only a few types of mustard? You had your regular yellow mustard, the deli mustard, dijon, and honey, but now you can pretty much find a mustard made with almost anything one can imagine. Peach and jalapeno mustard anyone? With that being said, some of these newer mustard inventions are actually quite good and can add an unusual and satisfying flavor to sandwiches and sauces. One of my favorites is Stonewall Kitchen's Wasabi Mustard. I already love wasabi for the strong distinct heat and flavor it lends sushi and other Japanese dishes, but mixed with a light dijon style mustard it makes for an odd, but delicious pairing. The wasabi is a bit muted in the mustard, lending more flavor than nostril clearing adrenaline rush heat. Perhaps it is also the clear addition of sugar, or apparently "pure cane sugar" in the ingredient list. Either way, I love to use this mustard for as many unusual things as possible. It can be used just as a dipping sauce for fresh vegetables like carrots and celery, added as a chicken marinade, or with fish and herbs. Limiting it to just sandwiches is a mistake, and I think that is part of the problem with gourmet mustard. One needs to get a bit creative to really use the full potential of a mustard made with wasabi and treat it less like a condiment and more like a sauce or dip.

Favorite Use: Grilled chicken marinade
Strangest Use: Sauce over grilled carrots

Gourmet Mustard

Restaurant: Hill Country

Meat by the pound. I could probably just end this post right now, but I guess that isn't fair to anyone else given that just typing that made my tongue moisten. BBQ in New York has become the latest trend, like noodle bars, dessert chefs and other such eating establishments. At Hill Country, like a number of other BBQ joints, they take the less is more approach with nothing but Texas decorations or "memorabilia", wood, cafeteria trays and meat by the pound wrapped in butcher paper. Don't let the decor and style of ordering fool you, however, because the food is top notch, New York priced, and has a great Texas style bar selection.

When three beefy boys walked into Hill Country on a Friday night, we were all business. We took the menu's and without even sitting down discussed the plan of attack. It was quickly decided that all meats should be in the half pound range, with each of us ordering 1 type. Then on to sides, where the debate was heated between medium or large. In the end we decided on medium, and each of us were responsible for 1 of these as well. Having noticed my favorite bourbon while waiting at the bar, I ordered an Eagle Rare on the rocks. It is a great bourbon that is aged for ten years and passes along the oak, sweet caramel and fire that you expect in good Kentucky bourbon.

After waiting in line and placing our orders we returned to the table with an assortment of meats that included 1/2 pound of moist brisket, 1/2 pound of beef ribs, and 3 jalapeno cheese sausage links. All of the meat comes with slices of white bread, which my fellow eaters enjoyed, but I stayed away from knowing it would just take up space in my stomach that could be filled with meat. In the sides category we ordered mediums of the mac & cheese and the cucumber salad, but someone broke our agreement and got the largest container of Texas chili I had ever seen in my life. I couldn't complain, since I also snuck in an order of chipotle deviled eggs. Not having had deviled eggs in a long time, I forgot how delicious and satisfying of a taste they can be, and the chipotle mixed in added a smoky kick that jump started the entire BBQ meal. The brisket was indeed extremely moist, with great smoke rings and a flavor that balanced the fat of the meat with a fall of the bone tenderness. My one complaint was that to keep it moist, the brisket ended up having a lot of fat around the edges, and I am never a fan of eating the fat on any type of meat. You just need to be careful when adding the hot sauce and the BBQ sauce to distinguish fat from tender meat.

Moving onto the beef ribs, we discovered that the reason one person was not a fan of ribs, chicken wings, chicken legs/thighs, bone in pork chops, etc was not due to the fat, the messiness, or anything else. It was entirely due to "not liking bones". As in, he didn't like eating meat that had a bone in it. I think I will leave that statement alone and let you ponder it for a second...Despite our initial shock, we trimmed the meat off of the ribs and portioned it out for the three of us. I myself am not a big ribs fan (because it is minimal meat), and found that the ribs, while full of smokehouse goodness, felt a little overcooked, stringy and tough. Maybe the brisket had spoiled me, but the ribs were far and away the biggest disappointment. Luckily the sausage was still left on the plate, and it may be the greatest sausage I have ever eaten. After first slicing into it I knew I was in for a treat. I stared in awe as the cheese oozed out of the meat just by gently pressing down on the link. This specific type of sausage is made in Texas and shipped to New York, which I found out later, but at the time all I could do was gobble it up and wish we had doubled up on the sausage and skipped the ribs. It had a strong smoke to it, but the meat was distinctly flavored to the point where the smoke was more of an undertone than a primary flavor. The cheese couldn't really be tasted, but the oozing gooey texture added to the overall delight. After the final bite, which probably took about 20 seconds in total to eat, I realized that I needed water very quickly, as the jalapeno snuck up on me when I least suspected it. Overall though, the sausage was the highlight of the meal, and can't be missed.

As for sides, I have never seen such a big tub of chili before. It both turned me on and disgusted me, particularly because I was still really hungry and knew I could eat at least half of it if given the opportunity. Luckily (I think) someone else at the table took it upon them self to eat nearly half. The chili was tasty, like real Texas chili (no beans), but it could have used a bit more heat for my taste. Luckily, hot sauce was at the ready. The mac & cheese was tasty, made with ziti and oozing cheeses everywhere. The cucumber salad was a surprising hit, perhaps because it was cool and sweet, with a bit of tang from the vinegar. Compared to all the other dishes it made for a nice palate cleanser and cut the hot, spicy, smokey food we were consuming like madmen.

Topping off the meal my friends got banana pudding like you would remember at camp or the school cafeteria, except good. I went for the PB & J cupcake, which started falling apart after almost the first bite. The cupcake was stuffed with grape jam, and the frosting was made of peanut butter with reeses pieces topping it. After a few futile (and messy) attempts to finish eating it, I gave in and finished every last crumb with a fork. Needless to say, I was both happy with the fun desserts, and shocked that we all had room for it.

I will definitely be back to Hill Country, maybe for their all you can eat specials, and would recommend it to anyone that likes Texas BBQ, with a no frills attitude. Of course, don't forget about the New York prices.

Meat by the pound, from Texas

Beer of the Week: Long Trail Ale

Long Trail Ale was first introduced to me during college when one of my roommates brought a case back from break. He was from Vermont, and that's where this tasty treat of a microbrew originates. Long Trail Ale is a dark amber ale, almost as bitter as some IPA's that I've tried, but not as harsh on the tongue. I'd almost compare it to Samuel Adams, except it doesn't make me gag with every sip. In fact, it reminds me of some of the German ales that I have tried that are full bodied, full of flavor, with a strong sharp and tangy finish. Tasting each sip, one gets a range from subtle sweetness, almost caramel, to a slight roasted flavor that I would imagine means the hops are roasted before being used. Maybe it's the association with Vermont, but this is the kind of beer I would picture an outdoorsmen or mountain climber enjoying after a long day out in the woods or hanging by a carabiner. Perhaps these guys would be cracking open a Long Trail, and eating a nice hearty meal to warm up and remind them of the good life.

Number of Beers Drank in one Sitting: 4
Pair with Food: Absolutely, particularly hearty fare like meat and potatoes, and anything with lots of carbs

Take a Hike

Condiment of the Week: Jamaican Hell Hot

I was just about to start writing about this condiment saying yes, yet another hot sauce, but then I read the full name on the label and it is actually "Baron Hall Farms Jamaican Hell Hot Pepper Concentrate". So there, I don't just write about hot sauces, I write about pepper concentrates too! To the average person, however, this is a hot sauce through and through. The big trend in hot sauces is to make it as hot and unbearable as possible, then come up with a creative way of marketing it (think insane double death hell sauce). A cool label, a crazy promotion, and a fun name later, maybe you've made it on the public radar. If you are like me, however, you like hot sauce for the flavors and spice that it adds dishes. Jamaican Hell Hot is exactly what it sounds like, a hot sauce bottled and made in Jamaica with extreme, long burning heat that sticks in the back of your throat to remind you that you put one drop too much on that piece of chicken. It warns you on the bottle that the hot sauce is "not radioactive although it could be". It even tell you to use it in moderation until you acclimate, as if natural selection must take place first. The difference between this sauce and others of its ilk is that it actually has a distinct flavor to go along with its heat. The sweetness of the peppers, along with a little bit of sugar give it a subtle fruity taste. Throw in a few unusual ingredients like ginger, pimento and cinnamon, and it suddenly becomes a great add to sauces and Spanish food. The overall combination is a disturbingly strong heat that packs a robust Caribbean flavor.

Favorite Use: Splashed sparingly over rice and beans
Strangest Use: Tuna Fish salad with apples - the heat pairs nicely with the sweetness of the apple.

Pepper Concentrate - Not Hot Sauce

Beer of the Week: Blue Point Toasted Lager

A local brewery in Patchogue, Long Island, Blue Point brewery is known for its microbrews and seasonal beers that many a bar in New York serves with pride. Their most well known beer is a Toasted Lager, a delicious beer that combines great malt and hops, with a toasted caramel flavor that I cannot say I have ever tasted in another beer. When it first started being served in bars it was a bit of a novelty because it was both rare and delicious. Bars would run out of it so quickly, and you would have to switch to another beer after a while. This is no longer the case as I witness recently that places as far away as Hoboken have discovered that a flavored beer can still be a "guy" beer.

Unlike its fruit and chocolate beer cousins, the toasted flavor adds a tasty yet only slight hint of flavor, almost like lightly smoking a vegetable. When you first taste the beer you can clearly make out the toasted flavor, but quickly come to the realization that it is a rich and flavorful lager on par with much better known non-toasted lagers.

Number of Beers Drank in one Sitting: 3
Pair with Food: Yes, goes really well with light and subtle flavored food, such as fish.

Not to be confused with the Mussels

Restaurant: Pipa

Tapas, tapas, tapas. Sometimes I wonder if like saying candy man in front of the mirror three times they will magically appear in front of me like a wish come true. Is there any other concept that appeals to someone who loves food more than the idea of being able to taste so many different types of dishes without having to either waste food or stuff yourself? Having done my own personal exploration (although small) of Spain, and trying other cultures examples of tapas, I am always excited to try a new tapas restaurant. Luckily, a recent suggestion of a somewhat high-end tapas restaurant named Pipa did not disappoint.

Located within, technically, ABC carpet, Pipa uses their unusual space to the best of their advantage with low lighting, huge chandeliers and other furniture directly from ABC carpet. While you may wonder if people ever look at the price tags of these items and buy them, you are very quickly distracted by the vibrant bar scene (even on Tuesday when I went) and the mass communal tables that dominate the landscape. I highly recommend a reservation, unless your goal is to spend a long time waiting at the bar getting drunk and forgetting that you came for food. After being seated with about 20 other people, at an awkward corner of a large table, we quickly ordered a pitcher of Sangria before even opening the menu. Although delicious, I didn't find anything that special about the Sangria, but who can argue with booze?

The menu is vast, and separated into different types of tapas and bites to help you choose wisely. There are also larger portioned dishes that are entree size, but unless you really want Paella or other more standard Spanish fare, I would stick with the tapas. Why get paella at a tapas restaurant? That's like going to a seafood restaurant and ordering chicken. After a heated debate we settled on a handful of dishes, including a "mushroom coca", Spanish olives, "pulpo gallego", stuffed piquillo peppers, beef skewers, a potato dish and chicken croquettes.

The dishes ranged from great, to good, and downright bad, but luckily the majority fell into the great category. The standouts included the stuffed piquillo peppers, beef skewers and pulpo gallego. The peppers were stuffed with a rich mix of crab and shrimp and topped with a paprika based aioli that made for rich creamy goodness. The shrimp and crab mixture managed to stand up to the delicious sauce, and there is always a fondness in my heart for things stuffed into other things. Despite the inherent danger in skewers, I managed to eat the tender pieces of beef quickly and safely. They came with a pleasant, if forgettable, dipping sauce, but the meat was so perfectly cooked and marinated that neither of us bothered with the sauce after the first taste. The last of the great dishes was the pulpo gallego. A relatively simple dish on the menu, consisting of octopus, potatoes, olives and smoked paprika, it actually had quite a complex flavor profile that dances around on the tongue with each bite. Perhaps the most impressive part of the whole dish was the octopus, which almost melted in my mouth. While I do perk up in general when eating well-cooked octopus, this dish alone will make want to come back for more.

The olives we ordered were delicious, but then again, they are still just a huge plate of olives to snack on in between courses. The good dishes included a large circle of potatoes and chicken croquettes. I honestly could not tell you how the potatoes were created, and though they were tasty, I wish I hadn't eaten them and had saved room for more of the above mentioned dishes. The croquettes were actually quite tasty, but they lacked a strong and flavorful sauce to back up the crunchy and moist croquette. The most disappointing of all the dishes, although it had the most promise, was the Mushroom Coca. A flat bread topped with wild mushrooms, manchego cheese, caramelized onions, fresh figs, serrano ham, toasted almonds and truffle oil, it had pretty much everything you could imagine wanting. The problem, however, was that the ingredients didn't meld well together at all, and instead had many individual distinct notes that left the dish only half eaten. The wild mushrooms, combined with the truffle oil, caused a much too earthy taste, which dominated the sweetness of the onions and figs. Manchego cheese and Serrano ham, two standouts on their own, were fighting the sweet earthy flavor just for a place at the table. In the end, we ended up just eating the ham off the top of the bread and leaving the rest of the dish untouched.

Dessert, as often is the case, was not something I was craving, instead choosing to eat a few more olives since the plate was so huge. I'm sure they do some nice desserts, but when I'm at a tapas restaurant with such diverse and delicious options as Pipa, I will always order one more savory dish.

Tapas and Home Furnishings

Condiment of the Week: Cucumber Raita

Defining cucumber raita as a "condiment" might be stretching the definition a bit, but I like to think that it should be classified with ketchup and mayo if more people ate it regularly in the US. Perhaps its Indian origins, and not many people actually knowing what it is has something to do with it.Raita , particularly the cucumber type, is very common in South Indian cuisine and is often served alongside traditional dishes whether here in the US, Britain, or India. It is cool and refreshing, providing a reprieve to many spicy dishes by giving your tongue a break it needs.

The primary ingredients are yogurt, mint, and cucumbers with a number of variations that can include cilantro, cayenne, paprika and toasted cumin seeds. Occasionally I have had it where it is very sweet, almost like vanilla instead of plain yogurt was used, and I do not recommend it made like this. The yogurt is meant as a foil to the spicy food you are eating, not as a primary taste to the dish. The idealraita has the flavor of the cucumber and the mint coming through on the palate, while the yogurt gets you ready for yet another bite of something that makes the tongue tingle with satisfaction.

Favorite Use: Topping spicy Indian food or on the side for naan dipping
Strangest Use: Marinade for chicken that gives it an unusual and tender texture and flavor.