After months of hard work, followed by weeks of stress and feeling like our world had been placed between the plates of a slowly tightening vice, we are coming up for air and the new Terroir Murray Hill is prepared to open its doors.  Minutes ago, I was fortunate enough to drink the first beer [...]

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On March 29th, 2011, Kat and I landed in Paris. For the next 93 days, we wandered through the backroads of Europe on a wine and beer journey we had dreamed about for years. While there are many lenses we can see this trip through (and trust us, with over 1500 video clips on our [...]

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Within minutes, I felt the sweat beading up on my brow.  Twenty minutes in, my sinuses began to eradicate themselves of all fluids.  I was a sweaty, sniveling mess…but the smile on my face was apparent.  We were now tit-deep in the spicy broth of Sichuan Ma La cuisine. For stop #3, we made our [...]

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It’s Friday morning.  Throughout the city, a die-hard group of craft beer junkies prepares.  Each is toting bags of malty booty to their various jobs and counting the hours until go time.  This evening, at an undisclosed location in New Jersey, Brew York X goes off. My contribution to the evening:  the Nebraska Melange a [...]

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I will be haunted by you for quite some time.  You’ve got your fatty, rich, spicy fingers under my skin and I can’t shake you free.  In fact, I should just name this piece after you: ‘Ode to Muslim Lamb Chop’ (see pic below). For stop number two, we drove into Flushing to visit Fu [...]

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Into Brooklyn we went a couple of nights ago in search of some sick jazz and some sick brews.  We found both.  First hitting up the microbrew haven, Mission Dolores, we came across one of the more interesting beer styles out there:  Gose (this particular one was Gosilla from NY’s own, Barrier Brewing Company in Oceanside).  An old style originating [...]

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The other day, while crushing the exercise bike at my grimy Queens gym—our little foray through Europe packed on 20 pounds of food and drink goodness; do you have any idea how many calories Czech Ghoulash topped off with a liter of Dark Lager packs on?? So shed the blubber, I must—I stumbled upon my [...]

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While walking around the farmhouse brewery built by Sidy Hannsen’s grandfather, I stumbled upon this pile of half-labelled Geuze. Hannsen’s Artisanaal has two employees: John and Sidy Hanssen.  These bottles are hand-labelled, the beer is hand-bottled and hand-made.  A lot of hands have been all over this place.  By the looks of it, a machine [...]

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There are certain sign posts that mark the passage of the seasons.  The first smoke billowing forth from the chimneys, the first leaf you see falling from the trees, the first flower you see resiliently climbing forth from the sidewalk cracks on 12th street, or the first snowflake you see falling from the sky, silhouetted [...]

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There’s a lot of shite on YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv or (fill in the blank).  We all know this.  We all love this. I have a new column.  I’ll troll through the garbage for you and post my favorites, thereby raising these beautiful kernels forth from the mountains of rotting, brain-numbing fluff in the noble name of video artistry. [...]

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If you look around at the wine, beer and spirits media, the “Summer Drinking Recommendations” are ubiquitous. They’re like Ray Bans and Katy Perry songs–turn to the left, you got em.  Step out of the subway?  Bam!  Two people wearing Ray Bans greet you at the top of the stairs. And walk into any bar, [...]

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Lambrucha, Vanberg & DeWulf, New York, (brewed and bottled at De Troch, Wambeek, Belgium) 3.5% abv Touted as the “first time two living yeast drinks have been brought together in one bottle,” Lambrucha is a yeast-lovers paradise.  (Not to mention, possibly one of the most soothing beer trips one can take the old GI tract [...]

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Darth Budweiser: “If he could be turned, he would be a powerful ally”. Now that I’ve returned from drinking my way through the vineyards and breweries of Europe, I am back in the role of ‘beer buyer’ for a restaurant group (currently with three locations, soon to be four).  In fact, its one of my [...]

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We didn’t bring many souvenirs back from our foray into Europe.  When you’re mostly on foot and with only a backpack, you ain’t gonna be one of those beer geeks that load up on a bounty of beer and check it as cargo. But we did bring a few things back.  One of them was [...]

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As we made our way to Belgium, I asked the geekiest of my beer geek friends what breweries to visit.  There was a resounding answer: “Cantillon.”  In fact, one of my friends said, “If you don’t go to Cantillon, I will personally kick you in the nuts.” In the heart of Brussels, lies Cantillon brewery.  [...]

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