HG: SPORTS

Bloody Ping Pong

2 for 1 Key West

Sometimes HG is all about the bargains.

Roll N Roaster

Roll N Roaster
2901 Emmons Ave
Sheepshead Bay/Brooklyn/NYC


One thing I constantly miss about Boston is the amazing roast beef sandwiches. Nothing better than a Saturday afternoon spent grubbin on Mike's Roast Beef in Charlestown; taking down a huge roast beef sandwich with cheese and bbq sauce with a side of waffle fries and nacho cheese dip. Knowing how much I enjoy these sandwiches you can probably imagine my excitement when I discovered Roll and Roaster in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.


Roll and Roasters is this old school drive-in fast food restaurant that’s been a Sheepshead Bay landmark since the '60s. Its decor and location by the bay reminds me of the original Kelly's Roast Beef in Revere, MA, but without the charm of the hovering heroin junkies Revere Beach has to offer. Their specialty is the roast beef sandwich but I’ve heard their chicken sandwiches are pretty solid as well. I swung by the RnR this week with an intense hunger and ordered the meal you see pictured. An overindulgent meal designed to satisfy your fiercest apetite.


The recommended meal includes two rare roast beef sandwiches double dipped with cheese and an order of cheese fries. The double dipped sandwich consists of warm rare roast beef piled on a soft bun that has had both sides dipped in gravy. The beef is topped with cheese whiz creating that magical combination of gravy and cheese that soaks into the bread and mixes with the natural juices of the roast beef. Absolutely delicious. The sandwich is so soft and juicy that it requires little energy to chew, allowing you to save up the strength necessary to digest this enormous meal. The cheese fries are oval cuts reminiscent of the tiny pockets of mashed potatoes you all know I adore. They’re topped with a generous amount of cheese whiz that really takes them to the next level. I’ve enjoyed their onion rings on several occasions and also never disappoint.


Unfortunately for us Hard Grubbers, RnR’s prices and portions are meant for your normal grubbin crowd. Roast beef sandwiches are $5 with cheese fries around $3. Such a meal may meet health guidelines on normal caloric intakes but hardly satisfies your hard grubbin pal. I, as well as other patrons, generally order two sandwiches and a side which ends up costing $13 or $14. Pricy, but well worth it when you consider the cost of failing to fully satisfy your need for delicious roast beef.

Number of the Hard Grubbin Beast

Current Hard Grubbin site stats:

Home Grubbin - breakfast burritos

Habanero pineapple salsa.
Burrito prep.
Wheat tortillas and cheddar jack.
Beans, eggs, and linguica frying pan mess.
GOYA!
Linguica, one poundish, courtesy of the fine folks at Gaspar's.
Egg Starts, cheaper than Egg Beaters and less green than MyEggs. And now, the story:

Last Friday, my Lady Friend and I woke up hungry. We each had a busy day ahead of us, but we were fortunate to have some time to kill before the grind. We could have gone for one of the many breakfast serving options in my neighborhood, but why go out if that pot of fresh ground coffee is telling you that, with a little effort, you can DO THIS THING right at home? After a couple of sips of hot black fuel and a survey of the fridge and cabinets, I had devised my plan: quick-and-easy breakfast burritos. 

"Take the first shower, baby," I yelled to the bedroom. "I'll get things started." I popped on the radio -- LRC Nick was still unloading the punk rock into the morning airwaves -- and my Lady Friend hit the shower armed with her own cup of coffee.

Step one was to fry up a pound of ground linguica. I often go with links of the stuff for the grill, and the same company makes awesome chourico, but the ground format is key if time is of the essence. It is virtually labor-free; a few taps of a wooden spatula and the block crumbles into small, meaty bits and disperses easily on the pan. It wouldn't be long before the dank coffee aroma in my kitchen was mingling with fumes of fatty, salty goodness and I was ready to start adding in the next crucial components.

Step two: THE EGGS.

 I love a good fried egg, runny yolk and all, but when the end result is mish-mash burrito filler, it makes best sense to simply go with those cartons of liquid eggs available in pint or quart sizes. Somehow healthier than eggs in terms of cholesterol, and virtually mess-free (i.e. no worries about shell bits, etc.), most people know them as Egg Beaters. I prefer to go with the cheaper, private label equivalent that my friendly neighborhood Market Basket carries called Egg Starts. They're the same fucking thing, but they cost less. Good for the E.S. and, purportedly, not as bad for you as regular eggies. 

So, I drained the grease from the linguica, left the meat in the pan, popped open a pint of Egg Starts, and poured it in. I gave the pan a quick stir, then grabbed a can of black beans (GOYA!!!) that I had opened, drained off the excess bean liquid, and scooped the beans into the egg mess. There is no science to this. I just kept stirring the eggy/beany/meaty slop on a medium gas flame until everything was simmering and the eggs weren't leaving watery streaks in the pan.

As the burrito filler was cooking, I readied a couple of burrito shells. I have long used white flour tortillas, but I recently discovered the healthier whole wheat version (no, inner critical voice, I am NOT turning into Slim Goodbody, but when you are a man who has been Hard Livin for much of his life there comes a time when he might start thinking about taking steps to offset the past badness with future living-better-ness...). More important than the shell type (either works fine), one thing I used to do differently when I prepared burritos was to just scoop the burrito fixins into cold shells out of the package, which often resulted in shells splitting and tearing. So I decided to try a quick-steam technique that I learned from the local assembly line-style local taquerias that I am prone to frequent (i.e. Ana's, Felipe's, Olecito, etc.). Since I don't have a steamer, I will drizzle some water on either side of the shells, slap them on a plate, and zap them in the microwave for 45 seconds. The result is softer, more pliant shells that are less prone to breakage once I get in burrito rolling mode.

Once the mish-mash was done, I was ready to roll. I put a scoop of the bean/egg/meat mix in the shells, topped each with shredded cheese and hi-test homemade pineapple salsa (I will be posting a separate bit on this spicy concoction soon, but suffice to say BLAH-DAMN this shit's got some KICK!), rolled them tight, and nuked them for two minutes. Since my Lady Friend and I had to work later in the day, we decided against giving the burritos the full-on fried treatment -- a step that is a sure-fire recipe for post-breakfast napping. Yeah, we were Home Grubbin, but we had jobs to do!

This is not to imply that we were opposed to making our breakfast experience as delicious as possible. Each burrito was smeared with sour cream and served with fresh slices of avocado. That fiery salsa required the cooling effect that only sour cream and avocado can provide.

At any rate, it wasn't long before we had cleaned our plates, sated and caffeinated. Hard Home Grubbin made us more than ready for the day. Sometimes it just has to be done that way.

Sorriso's Italian Salumeria

44-16 30th Ave
Astoria, NY


As we all know, one of the greatest things about Hard Grubbin is simply...the excitement. Hungry, wandering the streets of Astoria in search for a solid deli sandwich, one can imagine the excitement felt when I stumbled across Sorriso's.

Walking through the front door, I heard a conversation on the other side of the shelves stacked with olive oils, peppers and other Italian delights. "Oh! How's that new kid workin out for ya." Said an obvious regular. "When my son worked here, every time he came home he stunk!" "Yeah!", replied the woman behind the counter working a large ham in one of the slicers. "I've smelled like a fried eggplant for the past 20 years, forget about it."

I knew right away that this place was the real deal.

After studying the whiteboard menu listing their hot and cold sandwich selection, I decided on the "Scarface" hero. This consisted of thinly sliced roast pork packed tight in a fresh baked hero roll with melted fontina cheese, lettuce and balsamic mayo.

It was clear I had found my new sandwich spot and I couldn't wait to go back.

A few days later, dealing with the typical rough business, a Hard Grubbin colleague and myself decided that we needed a serious sandwich situation. Sorriso's was the answer. After recalling my first experience, my colleague could hardly contain his excitement.


We walked in and were overwhelmed by all of the deliciousness surrounding us. Today, I decided on the "Philly Cheese Steak"
while my companion ordered the "King of New York" which consisted of London Broil, bacon, sharp provolone, olives, onion and oil and vinegar.

In our condition and surroundings, it is typical to fear that one has not ordered enough food. This of course was the case so we decided to order a side of "Prosciutto/Provolone Stuffed Peppers" These tiny peppers had a bit of a kick to them and were stuffed with a cube of provolone and prosciutto sliced thinner than paper.

When my cheese steak was ready, the guy behind the counter said, "I hope ya hungry pal." He wasn't joking, the sandwich was huge and this hard grubber could hardly finish it.

So, if you find yourself hungry walking the streets of Astoria, stop in at Sorriso's. It will excite you.

Next time I'm trying the Gabaghoul.

Covert Grubbin - CUNY library, 8:43pm

Libraries generally aren't big fans of grubbin', so sometimes a covert grub is the most satisfying. Sneaked in a giant chocolate raspberry tart from Zucker's and quickly washed/choked it all down with my current standby, a good ol' box of Zico. Made a really grand mess in my study console, then shortly followed up with a 10 minute nap after the sugar high wore off.
Pages Read: 14

Pho Grand

Pho Grand
Grand St. Between Forsyth and Eldridge
Chinatown/NYC

I realize that many of you Hard Grubbin readers are already well aware of Pho Grand and its amazing food. Regardless, I've been excited to write about this place since the beginning of HG. If you like pho, you need to make a visit to Pho Grand. Definitely my favorite spot for a huge bowl of noodles and rare beef floating in that savory broth.

Walking by Pho Grand you may not think its anything special. Hidden along a row of fish markets and strange Chinatown markets it's easy to miss on this busy street. Inside, the wood paneling makes you feel like you're at some strange Vietnamese ski lodge. The staff is usually very friendly which is not the norm in Chinatown restaurants. Overall, a nice cozy atmosphere for some serious grubbin.

I always start with summer rolls and Vietnamese iced coffee. The summer rolls (gỏi cuốn) here are the best I've had in the city. Rice vermicelli, shrimp, pork, and scallion tightly wrapped in rice paper is exactly what you need to open up this meal. They're always fresh and always delicious. While meant to be dipped in peanut sauce I enjoy them with a little bit of soy sauce and nothing else. The Vietnamese coffee is a strong blend of espresso and sweetened condensed milk. I'm a huge fan of Vietnamese iced coffee, and Pho Grand's is always up to par.

On to the pho. The wide selection allows you to load your bowl of soup up with everything from the traditional rare beef and brisket to more exotic cuts like navel and tendon. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the simple Pho Tai: rare beef eye round in the noodle soup. My biggest problem with many pho restaurants is a greasy broth, and thankfully this isn't the case at Pho Grand. Although I season my soup with only the spicy Siracha, they provide all the regular accompaniments like basil, bean sprouts, plum sauce, and even fresh jalapenos. I've seen HG contributors fill their bowl with every addition they offer, but as most of you know, I prefer clean, simple flavors.

Some day I will get to the other dishes on their extensive menu, but for now I'll keep coming back for the pho. It's the rare type of dish I can grub on any time of the day and never disappoints. Head on down there ASAP and tell them Iyad from HG sent ya. They'll be sure to respond with a "Who?" and serve you a nice bowl of soup.

Surprise Party Meatball Surprise (Abington Edition)

Rob straight hard grubbin' at my Dad's birthday party.

What's he's got going on here is a singular meatball, floating in a sea of
marinara and melted cheese for the nachos.

Chrissy opted for the lighter fare.

Late Night Hard Grubbin-Chicago Edition

Village Pizza

Corner of Chicago and Western

I was planning to post on this place in the future, but when I noticed the new series on late night hard grubbin I figured this would be the perfect forum.  Let me first say, as this post is about pizza, a late night hard grubbin staple, do not let this deter others from posting about pizza in other cities, as many of you know I am quite fond of the NYC late night cheese slice.  

 

So let me get to Village Pizza.  First, you will notice that the photo above is lifted from another site, as usually when you wander into Village Pizza you are in no state to be snappin pictures.  Village Pizza after a late night is truly amazing.  First, the experience.  Like mentioned below, any late night hard grubbin place is jam packed with assholes, and this place is no exception.  Take for example last night, when I happened to wander into Village at about 2 in the morning.  Behind me walked in this dude that screamed at the top of his lungs "PIZZA MOTHERFUCKERS!!"  Then he saw his buddy, who was already jammin a slice, and screamed at him "YEAAAAHHHHH PIZZZZZAAAAA!!!, HEY BITCH, YOU NEED ANOTHER SLICE?!?"  These kinds of interactions are par for the course at Village.  In addition to the asshole, you will always see the absolutely destroyed hipster sitting by himself in the corner eating an enormous piece of pizza with the concentration and dedication of a brain surgeon.  Very frequently you will see cops enjoying a slice here, which may cause some undue stress to the late night HG fanatic.  For example one night I was in there with a buddy who was not even drinking, but would not drive away from Village until the cops left.  This was because he was certain he would be pulled over immediately because he believed that any cop that sees a car pull away from Village is a certain DUI.  

 

Anyways, the food.  Its great for what you are looking for.  The pizza is great, delicious sauce that tastes a combination of sweet and savory.  But be warned, it is not as good as what you may find at a late night place in NY, but at 3 am when you are wasted, for 4 bucks, who cares? The slices are huge, and you may look at one and and wonder if it is possible to finish it, but yes you can.  Each slice comes with "free soda" which is a 6 oz cup of fountain soda.  This HG reporter suggests you just leave the soda, and have a big glass of water with your slice, you are going to need it.  In addition to the pizza, the menu has a large variety of fantastic sandwiches including the classic meatball, italian beef, and if you are feeling really adventurous, the combo italian beef and sausage dipped, with hot peppers.  Although Village does not offer much in terms of creativity, as does the deli sandwich or the crepe, I'm sure you can find something that will satisfy that late night hunger.  HG highly recommends.

Late Night Hard Grubbin

1. The Deli Sandwich

We get it. You've enjoyed your share of adult beverages and now all you can think about is hard grubbin. That enormous sense of urgency begging you to grub so ferociously you reach point your eyes can no longer stay open. In this series, HG's adept team of writers will explore the exciting and sometimes shameful world of late night hard grubbin. Many reviews will likely be nonsensical with poor photo documentation, but such is the world of late night hard grubbin. It's never pretty and sometimes downright frightening.

One of my late night hard grubbin favorites is the deli sandwich. I consider myself very lucky to live in NYC where there's always a 24 hour deli/bodega open that will make you a sandwich. At 4am these places are amazing scenes of drunkeness and over-grubbin. Never will you see a finer assortment of assholes as you'll find at 4am in a 24-hour deli (or any late night grubbin establishment for that matter).

Pictured to your left is a late night sandwich I had piled high with both turkey and roast beef. That's a great thing about the late night deli sandwich; most of these guys will put whatever you want on a sandwich. Whats that? You'd like pastrami, turkey, roast beef, and two types of cheese put on a roll? Go for it, you've earned it. This HG recommends always asking for your sandwich hot. Warm deli meats with melted cheese is exactly what you need to fuel your hard sleeping.

Generally, we would advocate ordering a hero with several types of deli meats heated (preferably grilled but sometimes you'll have to settle on the microwave) with simple toppings like pickles, lettuce and tomatoes. If you've chosen the right number of meats this hero should be huge. Many delis offers sandwiches like steak and cheeses or buffalo chicken, which sound delicious, but be wary. It can sometimes be a gamble to stray from simple deli sandwiches at 24-hour delis, but like any roll of the dice, you could come up a winner. Many times you should consider a simple sausage, egg and cheese in a hero which is almost always guaranteed to be delightful.

We urge you to get the sandwich home as fast as possible (run if necessary) and have a seat in front of the TV. After the first half you'll probably be thinking, "wow, that's a lot of food, I should probably stop and go to bed." Deep in your heart, you know that's not who you are. Go ahead and enjoy that second half; no one's watching. You won't feel that pressing shame until the next morning when you wake up on the couch with a good portion of the sandwich in your lap and still in your mouth. Not to worry pal, it's already noon and you're ready to forget last night's conduct with another hard grubbin session.

After work White Russian

Hard Grubbin recommends.

Happy Hour

$2 budweiser. Hard Grubbin strongly recommends.

Al-Fanoose

Al-Fanoose

Maiden Ln between Broadway and Nassau

Downtown/Manhattan/NYC

This Lebanese spot in the Financial District is a lunchtime hard grubbin favorite. It’s always packed with Wall Street types so dedicated to their falafel and baba ganoush they’re willing to wait 30 minutes or more in line at the counter for their lunch. I never get a chance to get into the ‘noose due to the long waiting times, but today I was lucky enough to go by during an unusually slow time of the day. Their Middle Eastern food is authentic and delicious. Their platters come piled high generous portions of meats, grains, and salad; enough to satisfy your ravenous appetite. Today I opted for the Kafta Kabob platter. It came loaded up with two pieces of kafta, burgol with tomato, salad, and stuffed grape leaves. A solid lunch for $13. I’ve never had the falafel but New York and Gourmet magazines claim it’s the best falafel in New York while other magazine called it one of the "best meals under $20.” Their shish tawuk, lamb kabob, and lamb shawarma are also great choices. I’m a hard critic of Middle Eastern food but this place earns my support. The salads taste fresh, the meats are nice and juicy, and they serve Middle Eastern specialties you don’t see at your standard cookie cutter Middle Eastern joints throughout the city. If you’re in an especially Hard Grubbin mood, add to your order a kibbeh doused in the white sauce; tasty as hell.

One warning, this place is unusually slow. Today there were only 4 people in front of me in line and it still took about 30 minutes between when I walked in and when I started eating. Not sure why, they have a ton of people working back there. But the staff is quite friendly and when you ask for extra anything, they give that rare look of hard grubbin understanding, and gladly oblige.

Long wait times aside, it’s still the best Middle Eastern lunch counters I’ve been to in Downtown Manhattan. It may not be as amazing Salaam in Chicago or Tanoreen in Bay Ridge but really, who is? In this rough and brutal world of Hard Grubbin Al-fanoose always holds its own.

Straight Hard Grubbin' on a spicy beef noodle soup...

Straight Hard Grubbin' on Spicy Beef Noodles

With the current economic situation out there, I can't see myself droppin' some cash out at the restaurant, Papa Johns, or IHOP every damn day. Occasionally, after a day at work, I pop over to my Stop & Shop (I have a card on my keychain...official). Tonight I went and found me some strip steak, about 3/4 lb. Went over to the veggies, copped 1 red bell pepper, and a big stalk of broccoli. At this point I am pretty sure I am getting into a stir-fry situation. What troubles me is that I am seriously out of soy sauce at home, and the ancient bottle of mushroom soy sauce at the crib is mad sketchy. I hadn't bothered to grab a basket, so this is going to have to be quick. I dip on over to the Asian food aisle and get the rest of the ingredients. My mind is flowing with possibilities over here. All manners of sauce, stir-fry sauce, sesame oil, ect. are in front of me. "Slow your roll..." I quietly tell myself, drooling.

"We're gonna need this...















some of this..




















and most definitely...some of these!"




















I know this is 'American Chinese Food', and I am OK with that, considering that I'm the chef tonight. I'm also going to cheat a bit to make this into more of a soup. I don't feel guilty about getting all Rachel Ray on this recipe!

At the house I get out two cutting boards, one for the veggies, one for the protein. First, finely chop 2 cloves garlic, and pop into a (med-high heat) hot wok with 2 tbs. of oil (olive, sesame,
or vegetable). Brown the garlic and sprinkle red pepper flakes or powder into the hot oil.

Turn heat to medium. Slice your strip steak, or buy the stir fry beef from the market, and place in the hot oil, about 3 minutes each side, or until both sides are cooked.


While the meat is sizzlin', chop up the red pepper into cubes, and your broccoli to a desired size.
Add to wok, with 2 tbs. of stir fry sauce or 1 tbs soy sauce. Cook veggies and meat for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

Open up those cans of mushrooms and water chestnuts! Drain both cans. This time, I chopped the water chestnuts to about half size, but I don't think I needed to in hind sight. Add to stir fry.

Oh, wait...what about these chilis from last week?
Slice as desired, and for less heat, ditch the seeds (HG recommends seeds!)

Return heat to medium-high and simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Remove wok from heat.


I bought a hot and sour rice noodle ramen bowl at the market as well.

No shame in saving some time here! There may have been a better alternative, but I wanted a meal closer to soup and more exciting than the standard stir fry. I boiled water and emptied the spice pack and sesame oil packet, and waited 3 minutes for the noodles to soften.

Serve in a bowl, meat and veggies first. Top with broth and noodles from the ramen. Top generously with Chow Mein noodles, insert chopsticks and HUZZAH. Enjoy. Serves two.

Blah-Damn




UPDATE: Leftover Lunchin' It:

A spoonful of peanut butter helps the recession go down

It just don't get much harder, folks -- funk this economy and the robber barons running the few decent delivery options in Bushwick. For $4.95 maki rolls, I shouldn't have to ask for chopsticks, amirite?

Hard Grubbin Hidden Treasures: Crepes

The crepe may have flown under the radar of hard grubbin fanatics as when many of us on this side of the Atlantic think of the crepe, we envision a few cherries and chocolate sauce in thin dough wrapping. Yet this myth must be dispelled. This HG reporter recently spent some time in Paris sampling the late night dining options, and the crepe is truly a Hard Grubbin hidden treasure. As you walk through the streets of Paris late at night, you see many a French youth stumbling down the street jammin these delicious warm pockets in their faces. As I walked by a crepe stand one night, I witnessed something truly amazing. A man, absolutely destroyed, watched as he had a crepe made filled with hot dogs, rice, shredded cheese and hot sauce. I am not shitting you; I could not make this up. It really tells you something about this gentleman's true sense of creativity as, in this state, he believes this combination of ingredients will satisfy his grubbin desires. This is the crepe. Whatever you can dream up to jam into a dough pocket can probably be found. Let me introduce you to the savory Mazen Special. Half a bag of shredded swiss cheese, tomatoes, turkey, olives and green peppers . The popular "vegetarian special" consists of tons of cheese, olives, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes and corn. Or you could go with everybody's favorite, old reliable ham and cheese. This just all makes me wonder, what would my fellow HG correspondents put in their crepes? Also, anybody got a line on some good crepes in Chicago or NY?

Sammy's Noodle Shop

Sammy's Noodle Shop
6th Ave bet 10th and 11th
W. Village/Manhattan/NYC

Sammy's Noodle Shop probably isn't breaking news to most of you here at Hard Grubbin. I know for a fact I've enjoyed a steaming bowl of noodle soup with most of you on here. But for the rest of the world that hasn't heard of Sammy's, do yourselves a favor, check this place out. Their noodle soups are top notch and still my favorite in the city (except for Pho Grand, but thats pho, a whole different grubbin situation). If you've ever felt the pain of a particularly heavy Saturday night (see Big Beers below), Sammy's is exactly what you need to bring you back to health for a productive day of TV watching.

Now, I tend to favor the Cantonese Wonton Soup with Roast Chicken and noodles. A huge bowl of wontons and noodles in broth with a pile of roast chicken on top. This soup is hard grubbin at its finest; I've seen many try to finish and come up short. The broth is salty and delicious and is well complemented with the hot chili oil. The Mandarin soups are also recommended. The Stewed Beef in Broth had a slightly sweet, barbecue flavor and the soup was loaded with what looked like a pound of beef. The shredded pork with pickled cabbage also came highly recommended from a fellow Hard Grubbin author.

I am well aware that there are thousands of noodle shops in NYC and I hope to one day try all of them. For now Sammy's satisfies three very important criteria: hard grubbin thats cheap and easy.

Big Beers

Always a favorite.

Domaine Marcel Deiss: Alsatian Wines of Distinction

Hey Hard Grubbers. As the other contributors know, I have a particular affection for wine(and it pays my bills!). I have been fully convinced of the European model that wine is not just a beverage, but a foodstuff. Part of the meal and more so a part of the mini celebration that every meal is. Obviously in these fast paced, instant gratification, on-demand times not every meal can be joined by a bottle, and not every bottle a meal, but.....

On Thursday morning I was privileged to meet and taste with Mathieu Deiss, third generation winemaker at Domaine Marcel Deiss (Marcel was great grandpops) in Bergheim, Alsace, France. A young man about your age who explained the domaine's firm commitment to expressing terrior as opposed to varietal charecteristics. Terrior, of which there is no perfect English translation is essentially the coming together of the soil, climate and grapevines in the bottle to suggest a sense of place and perspective. I realize it sounds like some kinda flowery prose, but sometimes tasting a wine, it absolutely smacks you over the head with richness of flavor, texture, amazing aroma, crisp fruit and a togetherness that suggests "there's NO WAY someone could figure out how to make this! It's gotta be a splendid, sublime accident of the highest caliber..." and that's just it..the non-interventionist techniques used by producers such as Deiss are merely the vessel to put forth wine that sings about its origins.

The wines were impressive across the board, but the Premier and Grand Cru's are really the superstars. The entry level stuff is all single varietal (one grape) and covered the traditional Alsatian grapes: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Muscat d'alsace. Each was from a different vintage (2004-2007) and each was varietally correct, but not in a loud in your face kinda way. More of a TLC situation to preserve the delicateness and freshness. These are all delicious and affordable, but on the big guns...

The nicer wines are the ones named after their place of origin. No distinction is made to quantify the blend for the public, as these are wines whose character is totally a product of a specific vineyard site. Much like Burgundy, the quality production sites in Alsace have been well known and locally documented for hundreds of years (Shout to Carthusian and Benedictine monks for starting that trend) and so these aren't simply stumbled upon names. They are carefully chosen and the best fruit goes in to the blends (using numerous varieties apiece just as traditional Alsatian field blends were).

Englegarten 2003--(from the Angel Garden, get it?) Super young for a white wine that's already 5 years old. Has the color of dark hay. Seriously fruity, but with a richness that danced on the tongue. And then the finish: amazing. A hint of acid to confirm structure but just tons of peach and lychee and apricot... Please sir. A bit more if you don't mind..

Schoffsweg 2002- whoa! Seriously looking like liquid gold! Plush and full of delicate fruit (getting some riesling here..) but with more citrusy acid than the Englegarten. Crushed minerals lingered on the tongue and it smells like acacia and wet stone. A bohemoth that probably has YEARS to go until it's at its' finest. Unfortunatley this one's pretty much outta the market. Too bad, but it's too expensive for most Grubbers everyday wine needs, but there is such a thing as a special occasion...

Anyway, the point of this first wine post is just to let you know where I'm coming from in my wine preferences and hopefully suggest places you might want to try adding to yours....

Amy Ruth's

Amy Ruth's
W 116th and Malcolm X Blvd
Harlem/NYC

If you're anything like me you've probably found yourself wandering the streets thinking to yourself, "what am I gonna do about chicken?" It's a frustrating mindset that can drive you insane. I found myself in that state of mind earlier today so I decided to swing by Amy Ruth's on W. 116th in Harlem. Amy Ruth's is one of those popular Harlem soul food places all the critics write about and all the celebrities visit. There's even a picture of George Bush posing with the chef. I have to say when I first walked in I was highly skeptical. Seemed very touristy.

When we ordered our chicken the waitress informed us the chicken comes either as a thigh and leg or breast and wing. This immediately sent fear into my hard grubbin heart, believing there wasn't going to be nearly enough chicken. Luckily, when the dish came out, all my doubts and fears were put to rest. This chicken was GOOD. The skin was light and crispy with a delicious flavor. The chicken was moist and wonderful. The piece itself was huge and easily enough food for your hard grubbin pal. The collard greens had an interesting sweet flavor to them but doused in hot sauce, they too were delicious. Mac and cheese tasted great while the steamed okra was highly satisfying. All in all a very tasty experience. I look forward to trying more of the unknown soul food spots in Harlem but for the first time ever, HG agrees with the critics...and George Bush. I'd like to return and try some of the other menu items like the barbecue chicken or the country chicken and dumplings. It'll be hard not to just re-order the fried chicken.

Beans, cold, out of the can

I hope this panel makes it to the movie.

This is Hard Grubbin.

Nite Owl (left) and Rorschach Hard Grubbin'.

The Barn Owl

Even barn owls need to grub hard.

The Saddest Part of the Top Chef Finale

Is knowing we have to wait half a year to see our girl Gail talk about food again. We'll miss you. Know that HG loves ya, now, and forever.

Hard Grubbin international- Robert et Louise, Le Marais, 64 rue Vieille du Temple

I decided to visit this place due to a recommendation from Clay's boy Anthony Bourdain who came here in the first episode of his Hard Grubbin-sponsored television program. This is a totally unassuming place on a really crowded street in a nice area of Paris. It is tiny, with only about 6 tables, and two dudes cooking in the back. The menu conforms to the ideals set by Hard Grubbin, all meat and meat related dishes. They had a lunch special which included blood sausage and some sides, but we decided to have the steaks, a fillet of beef and a ribeye, with a side of roasted potatoes and salad. The steaks were absolutely delicious. They are cooked in a real old school lookin fireplace (see photo). Sprinkle on a little coursely ground sea salt, and you are all set. Finished off with a nice coffee, and it was a great lunch. Clay's boy really hit the mark with this one, highly recommended for any Hard Grubbin fan who finds themself in Paris.