There are 12 beers on tap (this being the first day of business, they were working out the lines) & over 300 craft beers in bottles & cans.  There are also a few canned & dry goods for sale.  With both Dave & Zach having cut their teeth at In Vino, it was no surprise that there were high-end pastas & sauces on the shelves.

After checking the joint out, we sat at the bar to sample some of the beers.  I started with a rather strong (11% or thereabouts) Abita before moving on to the much tamer Narragansett.  Martin Johnson from Gastronomie 491 was busy stocking the deli counter with cheese & meet.  We tried a few of the hard cheeses, then Bobwhite Counter (review) were kind enough to bring over a plate of buttermilk biscuits.  Served with the biscuits was an amazing marinated goat & sheep’s milk cheese from Australia that Martin hadn’t given a name to yet.  It had the consistency of a ricotta, but with a tart flavor & hints of garlic (the oil it was in, perhaps?)  I think I’ve found my new favorite cheese!

Meats, cheeses, bread & growlers will be available to take home.  The guys are still working on the menu, but it’s looking like sandwiches (they have an induction cooktop for grilled varieties), salads,  olive & pickle plates (including pickles from Brooklyn Brine), plus meet & cheeses.  Who doesn’t like a snack while downing beers?  The place has the vibe of nearby Good Beer, but with more taps, an extended food program & a lot more seating. The aptly name ‘Game of Thrones’ communal seating table in the back is the centerpiece.

ABC Beer Co. is open Noon to Midnight & stays open late (2am) of Friday & Saturday.  Coffee (in both hot & iced varieties) will be on offer too.  Honestly, I’m really excited about this place & I’ll be going there regularly.  I suggest you try it out!

Check out Thrillist’s video of the joint.

Alphabet City Beer Co.:  96 Avenue C between 6th & 7th St.

Little Town NYC has an extensive beer selection from the state (20 on tap & just over 50 in bottles) as well as spirits & wines.  I opted for the Capt. Lawrence Liquid Gold which is one of my favorite Pale Ales.  The food menu has wings (4 different varieties), sandwiches & burgers, but we were there for oysters.

We each got a dozen Long Island Sound oysters (I’m not sure of the exact type) which were really good & obviously very fresh.  The staff knows what they’re doing because they were expertly shucked & had no shell fragments.

Served  simply (& traditionally) with lemons, cocktail sauce & a red wine mignonette.  My mother is a fan of clams so she had 6 of those, again from Long Island.  I love clam chowder, I’m just not into raw clams myself.

Four beers 24 oysters & 6 clams later, we were pretty stuffed.  I’ll definitively be going back to Little Town NYC for beers, oysters and to try some of the other menu items.

Little Town NYC: 118 E 15th St at Irving Place

Purple Ginger opens, replacing 6th St. Kitchen, via EVGrieve.

Death + Co. bringing drinks to Fidi via Urbandaddy.

East Village’s Terroir wins a James Beard Award; Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional – Paul Grieco.

Wylie Dufresne unveils new Tasting Menus at WD-50.

EVGrieve reports that Belcourt has closed.

We snagged seats at the bar where we could watch all of the magic happening.  I particularly liked how the chef’s took a (plumbers?) blowtorch to the pork to add extra crispiness.  The menu is pretty self-explanatory; 8 types of Ramen are the main body, but there are a dozen sides/toppings that you can add to your order to create combinations.  They also have a few seasonal specials like Spicy Tuna Don & braised Char Siu (pork belly) over bean sprouts.

We we there for the Ramen, so didn’t mess about.  I got the Miso Ramen, which came with a nice dollop of miso.  before I mixed everything together, I tried the broth; it was light & reminded me of the broths at Rai Rai Ken & Kuboya, but once the miso was mixed in, it thickened & was more like the broth at Minca (which I love).

Pauly got the Spicy Ramen (blurry pic) which was topped with chili flakes & oil, but Jane was the most adventurous & got the Extra Spicy Ramen.  The picture really doesn’t do it justice as hidden behind the nori is a sizeable bowl of the above mentioned chili sauce.  Jane’s sort of a vegetarian, so we ate all of her pork belly.  I tried some of the sauce & it wasn’t mind-numbingly hot & Jane ended up adding the whole thing to her Ramen.  Jane & I also added avocado to our orders, which was a nice cooling touch to the dish.

Ok, onto the nitty-gritty…  I wasn’t blown away by the Ramen here.  It was good, but not great & I wouldn’t travel to Midtown just to have it again.  We shared a subway ride with to Japanese tourists who ended up sitting next to us at the bar, so obviously this is very good Ramen, but I just couldn’t see it.  Blame it on my taste buds.

My main gripe was the pork in the dishes; My favorite part are the hunks of fat in the pork belly which I just can’t get enough of, but at Totto, the pork was way too lean.  Again, this is my humble opinion.  Even though there was a massive line (mostly Japanese) forming outside in the rain, we took our time, enjoyed the food & talked with our fellow ramen-lovers sitting at the bar.

I’m glad I went to Totto, but unless I’m doing something in the area, I doubt I’ll be going back.

Totto Ramen: 366 W. 52nd Street between 8th & 9th Avenue

Northern Spy Food Co.: 511 East 12th Street between Ave. A & 1st Avenue

Idle Hands, my favorite bourbon & whiskey bar, has found a happy medium.  They’ve teamed up with Time Out Offers to put together an awesome event.  For $24 you get great food from That Burger Tent: 1 burger (including the one-off Cinco de Burger), tater-tots or fries & two dipping sauces.  From the bar, you can get a margarita or a Mint Julep & all-you-can-drink Pacifico or Lone Star beer for 90 minutes.

I’ve had burgers from That Burger Tent & they’re pretty damn tasty.  I’m interested in trying out this new incarnation.  If you haven’t been to Idle Hands, this is a perfect opportunity.

If you can’t make the event tomorrow, tickets are available for Sunday too.  Get your tickets here.

Idle Hand Bar: 25 Avenue B between 2nd & 3rd St.

We arrived pretty early on a Friday night & besides the staff (it seems family run) & one other table, the place was pretty empty.  The decor is pretty basic & we were seated in the back dining room by the garden (I’m not sure if they serve food out there in the summer).  I ordered a Filipino beer & took a look at the menu.

There’s a whole heck of a lot of options on the menu, loads of pork & seafood and even goat is on the specials menu.  I had read Village Voice’s review of the restaurant & the author (Lauren Shockey) had advised against ordering the Sizzling Sisig, but I couldn’t resist.

Served sizzling on a platter, it’s pork belly, ear & snout served with egg yolk & chilies;  What’s not to love about this dish?  All those fatty, flavorful bits in one dish!  Village Voice claimed that the dish was too greasy, but I disagree.  This was meant to be an appetizer, but there was a lot of food on that plate.

My friend got one of the vegetable dishes, but I can honestly not remember which one it was.  It was in the vegetable section of the menu, but was definitely not vegetarian.  All but one of the dishes included seafood, pork or both.  Served with a side of rice, he enjoyed it.

Continuing with my quest to go home bloated, I ordered the Grilled Milkfish (also known as Bangus) served with vegetables.  I’d never had this fish yet (it’s very popular in the Indo-Pacific region) & I had no idea how big it was.  It was very moist & very tasty with lemon & chili sauce.  I pretty much ignored the vegetables as I was trying to eat as much of the fish as possible.

Needless to say, we both left stuffed.  I took home the leftovers & as per the waiter’s suggestion, I made scrambled eggs with the Sisig the next morning.  It’s not as refined as some of the other Filipino restaurants in the neighborhood, but the staff are friendly, the food is good & the portions are massive!

There has been some news on blog EVGrieve that they might be closed, bummer!

Sa Aming Nayon: 201 1st Avenue at 12th St.

External image via Destination Eats.

East Village and LES food & drink participants include; Bauhaus, Cafe Grumpy, El Maguey y La Tuna, FAB Cafe, Gaia Italian Cafe, Good Beer, John’s Of 12th Street, Lina Frey, Tuck Shop, Tompkins Sq. Greenmarket, Think Coffee, Veselka, Zucker Bakery & Zum Schneider.

There are also daily events featuring local businesses & one this Friday organized by Fourth Arts Block.

Further information here.

“The Sunburnt Cow is back!  Closed late last year, the Cow is up and running just in time for summer.  The $4, $6, $8 food and drink special will also be featured at the restaurant, as well as ½ Price Happy Hour on everything on the menu (including the $4, $6, $8 deal) Monday through Friday from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Endless Brunch will also be extended to Fridays from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm – no need to wait for the weekend!

Opened 7 days a week starting May 1^st, come celebrate the opening of the Cow’s picturesque garden area with a “Just Say No” party!  Nancy Reagan would be proud!

1. $4. $6. $8 (drink/bar food special) $4 draft beer, $6 well liquor and $8 bar plates.
2. ½ price happy hour Mon-Friday 4pm-8pm.
3. Endless Brunch Fridays! 12pm-4pm.
4. May 1^st open 7 days from 4pm. ‘Say no to drugs’ Nancy Reagan party to celebrate the opening of the garden.”

The other Moo Life Group restaurants in Brooklyn, the Lower East Side & Upper West Side will also be featuring new specials.

Sunburnt Cow: 137 Avenue C between 8th & 9th streets

The brunch menu is typical of any Southern spot with fried chicken & fish, biscuits & plenty of grits on offer.  They have 8 beers in bottles, but I opted for the Radeburger, their only beer on tap.  Everything on the menu looked good, but I ended up ordering the Fish & Grits.  Two fried catfish fillets with a generous helping of creamy grits.  I put some hot sauce on my dish, but otherwise, this was flawless!

A fellow eater got the Sweet Potato Pancakes & when they arrived at the table I had to do a double-take; they’re the size of hubcaps!  I didn’t try them, but she seemed more than satisfied.  The pancakes were also served with Pecan Butter, something that I’ve never seen before.

The final dish ordered was the Fried Pork Chops & Eggs.  Two massive fried pork chops topped with a slice of thick-cut bacon & plenty of Red Eye Gravy. A side of eggs &grits  went with the dish as well.

I know I’ve been harping on about how big the portions are.  If you come to the Cardinal for brunch, you better be hungry, or at least be prepared to take leftovers home with you.  I hope that the large portions continue in the dinner service as I plan to return soon.

It was obviously busy during brunch (I didn’t take a look downstairs, but there were people waiting for tables), but our service was good & the food arrived quickly.  If you’re in the mood for a filling Southern brunch, check out The Cardinal.

The Cardinal: 234 East 4th St. at Avenue B