From Ours to Yours -- Merry Christmas

From Ours to Yours -- Merry Christmas

We'd like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Christmas and holiday season from Adam and Patrick at Tipped Mixology. Cheers! 

Tipped is Getting Going!

Tipped is Getting Going!

It's finally time for that all-important announcement...

Well folks, it's been a year. In this year, an idea was fostered. It evolved well past what I could have ever imagined. We've brought on about 60 followers on our Twitter account, 1500 unique likes on our Facebook page, and amassed almost 15,000 unique views to this very blog! You guys are all awesome. We made logos and scrapped logos, officially filed our business, found a manufacturing facility, acquired insurance, signed many documents, tasted and re-tasted multiple drink recipes, solidified a very unique and tasty three, and can finally say we're going into production! After one year of moving Tipped Mixology along the path to becoming a real venture, you will soon be able to taste our hard work.

You'll now notice a change to our website; our store is live! We will be manufacturing small batches of each of our three drink mixes for resale and will be taking pre-orders for the finished product. Only 40 of each flavor are being made this time around, so be one of the lucky few to taste our first run. Our manufacturing date is January 3rd, so you'll receive the mix just a few weeks after the new year. Along with your drink, you'll also get a chance to help out our young company by sharing your thoughts with us--either a short survey or a quick email. If you fill this out, you'll make it to our contributors page... yes, that thing does have a purpose!

It's been such a fun year and we can't wait to share all our hard work with each and every one of you. With your help, we'll soon be able to ramp up our manufacturing and distribute a larger number of our drink mixes. 

All the best,

-Adam from Tipped Mixology

Back to Gwynnett Street

Back to Gwynnett Street

How was my second time at this Williamsburg fine-dining staple?

Back in April, I wrote about Gwynnett St. I took a very neutral stance on the restaurant, leaning a little more towards being hyper critical. I had a chance to go back this past week, and then re-read my post. Many of the things I was critical on had been addressed… I’m sure it had nothing to do with my post. I went back with a more open mind; I always try something twice before I make a firm decision. It’s only fair.

Right off the bat, there was a hostess station. Our hostess greeted us immediately, asked if we could patiently wait for a moment, and then took us to our seats within a minute of walking through the door. This was vastly improved from my last meal. We didn’t do the tasting menu, instead opting towards sharing two appetizers, each getting an entree, and sharing a dessert. The whiskey bread was still amazing. The apples and oysters with calves brain, horseradish, and watercress was just weird enough to work, the calves brain mimicking foie gras with added gaminess. I never thought of apples and oysters together, and I could have done without them on the first bite, but by the end of the meal, I got it. It was adventurous surf n’ turf, and I liked it a lot. We each got the chicken, which was just as good as before. This included mushrooms, rosemary, brussel sprouts, and picked autumn berries. The dish was perfection. Finally, I had something to wipe my whiskey bread through at the end of the meal. Our dessert was peanut and chocolate with cranberry gelee and brittle. Fancy peanut butter and jelly is exactly what came to mind—it was fantastic.

So, the food was undoubtedly great, but how about the service? This was my biggest gripe the last time I ate at Gwynnett St. This too, was a major improvement. Our waiter was knowledgeable about the menu and relaxed in his approach. He coined the oysters and apples as surf n’ turf and brought up the fancy peanut butter and jelly, so I need to give him credit for that—he joked to keep things light, but didn’t dwell around the table. He came when he needed to, explained the dishes, and then disappeared to his next table. He embodied everything a waiter or waitress should be.

Gwynette St. didn’t surprise me, because I knew the greatness was there. They’re a diamond in the rough and have won me over. From now on, I’ll always wonder why my chicken doesn’t have hay ash rubbed across the skin. Gwynette St. has a new fan. 

- Adam from Tipped Mixology

The Thanksgiving Transition

The Thanksgiving Transition

A recap, and the transition from Thanksgivng to the Christmas season

First of all, I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! It's easily my favorite holiday--any holiday with food as a major theme wins through in my book. Black Friday is behind us, and I hope no one got trampled, Small Business Saturday came and went, Cyber Monday gave us all a reason to slack off at work, and what-the-hell-do-I-do-now Tuesday left us all thinking where do we go from here? Yeah, there are no more catchy-named days between now and Christmas, but that doesn't mean you can't fill the holiday void. Here's a Tipped recap starting with a very Thanksgiving Chirstmas carol rewind:

Overview of a Juice Cleanse

Overview of a Juice Cleanse

Photo Via Grass Roots Juicery

Chlorophyll is vile...

For those who follow Tipped on Twitter, you’ll know that last week I started a three day juice cleanse. This isn’t normally something I would do, but I’ve been more aware of these food trends recently and have even gone as far as to give up gluten for two weeks. In the past I went vegetarian for a week to prove a point to a friend, but this was child’s play in comparison to going gluten-free or attempting an all juice cleanse. I’ve heard of staggering health and mental benefits accompanying many of these extreme diets and cleanses, but my desire mainly stemmed from curiosity. These juice cleanses are becoming insanely popular, and it was time to see what all the hype was about.

I got my cleanse from a juice bar down the street, Grass Roots Juicery, but this post wont double as a review for them, just my cleanse experience in general. We did their Peaceful Warrior cleanse—basically not meant for beginners or hardcore juicers, somewhere right in the middle. It is meant to, “Find inner peace while still kicking butt. Designed for more experienced cleansers who take good care of themselves, and work-out regularly. It is perfect for those who would like a cleanse that will keep up with a high-energy life style.”

The cleanse itself consists of six 16oz juices with one morning shot of chlorophyll. The juices are coconut water, Grass Roots (Kale, apple, spinach, cucumber, celery, romaine, parsley, lemon, and probably more), Just Beet It (Beet, ginger, apple, carrot, lemon, wheat grass), coconut milk, another Grass Roots, and almond milk. The basics of the cleanse are to spread the juices across the day and try to stay busy so you don’t think about food too much. This actually worked pretty well for me, spreading the seven drinks over 12 hours, one every two hours. If the juices do their job, they’re supposed to regulate your blood sugar so you don’t feel hungry. The juices are also supposed to cleanse your body, make you more aware and mentally clear, and just generally give you an energized and positive feel, but the jury is out on that… more to come later.

Update: Sous-Vide Brisket

Update: Sous-Vide Brisket

Photo Via TastyMemoir

Check out my previous post on sous-vide brisket here.

As far as the update goes, I made another brisket a few weekends ago. I kept the recipe exactly the same but changed a few important things:

1. Add a stick of butter to every 2 pound serving of brisket. Put the butter right in your Ziploc bag with your bacon--the extra fat is completely necessary. 
2. Lower the cooking temperature to 141 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 48 hours. I cooked mine for 36, and it needed a little more time. Still brine as before, but this time you'll get a much more tender and gelatinous piece of meat. 

I didn't take any pictures, but look up any generic BBQ picture from Google and you'll see what I saw. What is so remakable to me is how I completely ignored Thomas Keller's method for cooking brisket sous-vide... he cooks at 145 Fahrenheit for 48 hours. From now on, I'll just default to anything he's already done and save myself the trouble. Keller is king. Let it be known, this is the be-all end-all recipe for sous-vide brisket... now let us never speak of this again.

- Adam from Tipped Mixology 

Quickfire Review: Walter Foods

Quickfire Review: Walter Foods

These quickfire reviews are really growing on me...

They're just nice and easy to write up, and I think it's great to expand on restaurants that I wouldn't normally commit a full review to. I eat out a lot, as I'm sure every reader knows at this point, but sometimes it's tough to devote a few hours of writing and proofreading to a night out that wasn't for a special occasion or at a specifically highly touted restaurant. Many of the places I eat deserve praise for different reasons, here's where they'll get it.

Walter Foods, Williamsburg chapter, was the meeting point for me and Patrick on Halloween for some business talk, catching up, and much needed great food. I'd say Walter Foods takes pub fare and dresses it up for a cocktail lounge. The menu offers bar snacks like deviled eggs and buffalo wings, but also items like tuna tartare and a French dip made with filet mignon. They marry these menu items together very well by dressing up common pub items for instance, the buffalo lollipops which used a very classic French technique to make each buffalo wing a little bite sized piece with the bone sticking out like the stick--they were very good. We also got the iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon, the aforementioned French dip, and the fried chicken. Everything was great, right down to the old fashioned that was done up for me the proper way... their cocktails were very classic and all looked great.

Photo Via Kim G. on Yelp

So what's the take on Walter Foods? I'll be heading back soon, I'm sure. If it was closer to me, I could easily see it becoming a staple. If you live close by, make a point of going here for brunch, lunch, dinner, or just to grab an amazing cocktail. 

- Adam from Tipped Mixology

Quickfire Review: Pulino's

Quickfire Review: Pulino's 

Quickfire weekend review

Hey everyone. This weekend I ate at Pulino's, a newish Nolita pizza staple right in my old neighborhood. Pulino's opened right as I was leaving my first NYC apartment, so I never got a chance to eat there. I have to admit, I was drawn when I learned that Food Network's Nate Appleman cheffed there, but he's long gone. I don't know how much of Nate is still in the food, but whoever has a hand in the menu, it's good. Opened by Keith McNally, owner and restaurateur of such restaurants as Balthazar and Pravda in the same neighborhood, Pulino's offers very respectable thin crust pizza with fresh, tasty toppings and fells a lot like his other restaurants. 

We had the burrata pizza which had a simple and fantastic crust with a marinara sauce that stole the show. We also had the braised duck 'gnocchi' which fit the weather with a rich and powerful wine sauce over a polenta cake... not quite gnocchi. We got a hot fudge Sunday dessert only because it came with Amarena cherries, which are heaven sent. The vanilla gelato, whether it was homemade or not, was great as well. Overall, the place was just right; we will be going back.

On a side note, go see All is Lost with Robert Redford... an absolutely great movie that might go unnoticed. 

- Adam from Tipped Mixology

Fall is Here -- Spiced Apple Cider

Fall is Here -- Spiced Apple Cider

This is my 'Oh shit, how long has it been since I've posted?' post

Yeah, I know. It's been a while... we've been very busy over here! We're going to have some exciting news in the next couple of weeks, but until then I'll get back to some quick posts. As we all felt this morning in the Northeast, fall is finally here. This is easily my favorite time of year--pumpkin everything, squash is in season, the leaves are changing, giving us their amazing smell and crunch, and spiced apple cider. I remember calling it spiced apple spiders when I was a kid and had a speech impediment... but let's move on to a super easy recipe! 

If you can find it you can get a bag of mulling spice, but don't go out of your way looking for it. Definitely don't as someone that works at the supermarket where the mulling spice is because they will look at you like you have multiple heads... it seems no one knows what this stuff is actually called. Mulling spice consists of cinnamon, dried orange peel, clove, allspice, and star anise, and the ratio usually changes from company-to-company. Don't make the same mistake I did this past weekend and use a bag of mulling spice with the wrong ratio-- our spiced cider was too licoricey. Yes, skip the pre-made stuff, grab some cheese cloth, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, an orange, and a two liter bottle of fresh apple cider, hopefully fresh-pressed without preservatives. 

Mulling spice. Photo Via http://www.chadotea.com

Recipe:

• 2 liters of apple cider, fresh-pressed
• 3 cinnamon sticks, medium size
• 5 cloves, whole
• 5 allspice berries, whole
• 2 large orange peel segments
• Cheese cloth

You'll want to take all your dry spices and the orange peel and tie them in the cheese cloth like a homemade tea bag. Just take a peeler and peel the orange from top to bottom without any of the white rind--this is the easiest way to get the peel. Put your apple cider in a large pot, add the cheese cloth sachet, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about five minutes, and serve. The longer you let the cider simmer, the more spice will get added, but it will never be overwhelmingly spicy and this ratio is perfect--notice I don't add any star anise, I'm not a huge fan. Keep the pot simmering for hours and your apartment/home will smell like all the best parts of fall.

Bonus time! Enjoy your newly made spiced apple cider in a mug with a shot or two of bourbon--it's the best alcohol to add. Drink it up hot for an amazing break from raking leaves. If you let the cider cool, don't throw it out; put it over ice with bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters for a wonderful fall Manhattan on the rocks. Not sure what bourbon to use? Get Bulleit (pronounced bullet)... it's easily the best for these cocktails. Enjoy!

- Adam from Tipped Mixology

Restaurant Review: Primo

Restaurant Review: Primo

Coming Soon: Michelin Guide, Maine

I sat on this review for a couple of days to collect my thoughts after eating one of the best meals of my life. I keep flipping through the incognito pictures I snapped throughout the dinner, except the one where my flash went off as I panicked and pocketed my phone while glancing around the dining room to see how many diners I pissed off with my embarrassing mistake—I don’t think anyone cared. I’m not faced with the same dilemma I was faced with after eating my birthday dinner at Le Bernadin: how do I write a review of something that is as close to perfect as I have experienced thus far in my life? I scrapped my review of Le Bernadin because I didn’t think I could do it justice… I kept getting stuck on the first paragraph where I tried to justify why some restaurants should get a fourth Michelin star. I think I have more to say about Primo. Primo isn’t quite the dining juggernaut that Le Bernadin is; it’s unassuming, casual, hidden, and every bit as good as Le Bernadin, but for completely different reasons. More so, I feel like everything has been said about Le Bernadin; We all know they’re leaders in the world of sustainability, boast a menu of the best fish dishes you’ll experience in your life, and we all know the accolades of Eric Ripert, and even his fish prep chef à la an episode of No Reservations. Everyone knows Le Bernadin is amazing, and I insist you eat there if you appreciate food and haven’t yet, but not everyone knows about Primo. I may still be able to introduce a few to some amazing things happening in a cozy converted Victorian getaway.

For those of you who saw my recent Instagram, I was in Maine with my girlfriend this past weekend celebrating our one year anniversary. Primo is located in Rockland, Maine, about an hour and a half drive along the coast from Portland. It’s a hike; my first trip to Maine was totally formulated around a meal at Primo. Saying it’s worth it is a complete understatement. Primo deserves all the accolades they’ve received and more. Melissa Kelly is a genius, admirable for her approach to farm-to-table cooking, and I don’t hesitate to say that Primo is the best restaurant in Maine—possibly the best restaurant in the Northeastern United States excluding New York City. I don’t think I’m just taking a leap for the purpose of this review, I really mean it. Let me get into things and see if I can do that statement justice: