Having experienced recently what happens when you arrive at 7.30 for an edible event that runs from 5.30 - 9.30 (Food Runs Out), we arrived at Pier Five pretty promptly at 5.30pm. The so-far-undeveloped pier, part of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, whose Pier One we visit regularly for picnics, was bare bones concrete and but anticipating a crowd - many barriers and a lot of staff, far outnumbering arrivals at this point.
After an hour it had filled considerably. It was extremely hot. Hat girl came well-equipped.
April Bloomfield (The Breslin) (nice website) had the good sense to have flowers. This minute touch made a huge difference in the massive, undressed space. A handful of other stalls did the same. We made this our first stop. Whole hog, served shredded on sliders, with slaw and beans. Good. Happy.
Our second stop was at the opposite end of the pier, at Tertulia, for Seamus Mullen's (ex-Boqueria) whole sheep, of which we ate a delicious sliver on pita bread, with a garlicky yogurt. I think. It was too good for a picture. Just three days ago there was an open call on Craigslist for line cooks at Tertulia, which has not opened yet. Free WiFi, cider on tap. Sounds good.
Here I practise censorhsip.
Picture an entire steer on a bier-type platform, grinning teeth and face in front, tail at rear. OK? If you really want to see it I am quite sure it is on the web already. Or I'll email you a copy. I just couldn't.
Instead I show you the innocuous-looking sliders that the steer became, provided by Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, one of the sponsors of the event. All the staff, mostly men, wore these T-shirts. Gee, cute. Sigh. In a way the no-apologies whole roast animal, the stupid T-shirts, kind of reminded us what we were doing. I passed on the beef. I know, fickle. But there was a lot of testosterone around this animal.
Custom-made Meatopia sausages, highlighting Dickson's Farmstand Meats (mislabeled on our maps as Dickson Farmstead Meat)...
Commerce's (irritating website) chicken breast with croutons and "super jus". Super tender chicken breasts. I don't know that there was any foie gras there though we did encounter a liver-like sliver of something. It was really delicious, regardless, with whipped potato to suck up the jus. Slaving over hot burners with no shade...There are either a lot of sunstruck cooks or very well lubricated ones in Brooklyn tonight.
Taking a break near the water.
Ha: Public's (lickable website) blood sausage waffle. Vince said it tasted like chocolate. You can read Michelin-starred chef Brad Farmerie's article on blood here, in Food Arts.
And I had a problem. I was getting full.
But we still made a bee line for those Ilili (deeply annoying website) lamb ribs. Pretty crispy, with a really good side salad of arugula and little black olives and red onion in lemony dressing...meat and leaves go together perfectly. The ribs were rather sweet, so the sumac and z'atar ('zataar' on the Meatopia website menu) were in there with...pomegranate molasses? Not sure.
When we left, hot and stuffed, there were no lines but perhaps more people arrived later. At home, watering the roof farm (where my tomatoes have blossom end rot, yay), smoke wafted up and over the rooftops.
We lay down and licked lemonade popsickles.
Somehow lemonade popsicles seem like the perfect finish to all that meat Looks better than it sounded!
ReplyDeleteWell, all but "those" shirts. Why do guys think that's funny?
Must be another one of those Y-chromosome things.
When my tomatoes had BER, I read somewhere that it's due to a lack of calcium. I mixed some eggshells into the soil and poured in the (cooled) water I had boiled them in. It helped.
ReplyDeleteNow it's breakfast Marie, I'm dipping a seed rusk, but actually thinking about that scrumptious looking hog...I might have to have an 'elevenses' with pig involved.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, my tomatoes have BER too. I thought it may have been due to weather as I've not had the problem before, but will definitely try the eggshells .. tomorrow after breakfast!
ReplyDelete