EPGTC

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for an exclusive club of gentlemen beer drinkers, of which I am a member. My plan was to roast a pig, but with my back outta whack I did six slabs of ribs and a butt load of Conecah County Sausage instead. The dinner was held in my work shop and I must say it was the perfect setting for an event of this type. Men, beer and lot’s of sawdust.

These guy’s have a really good thing going and I was happy to host them. EPGTC has been meeting regularly for about three years and they focus on a different beverage at each meeting. This time it was festive brews, Christmas beer if you will. This is some of what we tasted.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale. This beer brewed in Pennsylvania is known as a winter warmer. It is a dark brown beer with an aroma of caramel and spices, peppery spices. I guess that’s the “warmer” part. A mild beer, good and easy to drink.

Trader Joe’s 2007 Vintage Ale. This is a Abbey Dubbel style beer. This beer is put through a second fermentation which increases the effervescence, or bubbles produced when poured. Malt is the foremost flavor of this beer, with a little fruit and flower to balance it out nicely.

Red Brick Winter Brew. This beer is brewed right here in Atlanta. It is a Belgian style ale that is dark brown with a banana aroma to it. High alcohol
like most dark Belgian brews. I liked this beer a lot.

Bad Elf Winter Ale. A English beer heavy on the hops. It’s a golden color with a hint of dirt when tasted, that’s a good thing for me. Not a heavy beer at all, not what I would think of a Winter Warmer.

Santa’ s Butt Winter Porter. Brewed by the same as above, Ridgeway of England. A dark beer with a little chocolate and espresso when tasted. As for the “butt”, that has to do with the over-sized barrel it was stored in. I found this to be kind of a weak drink.

Abita Christmas Ale. A dark red beer with lot’s of malt taste and a little bit of a bread taste, I guess that’s would be yeast coming through. I like most Abita beers and I like this one although it had a kinda light feel in the mouth.

The CHEF AT THE SHED

I came across this on The Shed website and thought you might enjoy!

Chef Lance Gummere

What is your most fond food memory?

That’s a tough one. I love eating so much! Once in Spain, a chef buddy of mine set up a tour of an Iberico Pig Farm. While we were there, by chance, Manuel Marin, the Mick Jagger of Cured Ham, was also there. He took us to lunch at a street side tasca, which is a tapas bar, and started ordering food like a mad man. We tasted the best of Spain that day, but of all the things we ate and drank, I most fondly remember the sardines fried in Olive Oil washed down with Cruz Campos, cans of cheap Spanish beer.

What got you interested in cooking in the first place?

The television show Three’s Company! Jack Tripper was a chef and lived with two beautiful girls. I wanted that life.

What do you have in your refrigerator at home?

Pork is the staple at home. We always have bacon, some pork sausage and a pork roast for quick sandwiches or a late night meal. You can also find a few dry cured sausages. My sister in law just sent us a salami from Katz’s Deli. That’s thoughtful gift giving!

What famous or infamous person would you like to cook for?

Aretha Franklin would be fun. She seems appreciative. I imagine her enjoying her food and periodically breaking into song throughout the meal.

What is your favorite comfort food?

My wife is from south Louisiana, “down the bayou”, she says. She makes a regional dish called “peas in a roux”. It’s the kind of dish that makes all the tension in my shoulders relax when I take a bite. I ask for it every year on my birthday.

What dish are you most proud of at The Shed at Glenwood?

Unquestionably, the pan fried chicken hearts! Trust me, there was an epic level of begging and pleading with our meat purveyors to find a source. When they called and said “We got ‘em”, I felt like I had just won the lottery! My mother taught me how to eat the heart when I was very little, and it has always been my favorite part of the chicken. It’s a real line-cooks meal. I serve them over a toasted piece of brioche with a fried egg. This dish may not have mass appeal, but those in the know can find it here.

THE SHED AT GLENWOOD

The Shed is a new restaurant in the new Glenwood development in Grant Park. The other night Stacey and I were searching on line for a restaurant where we could use a coupon gifted to us at Christmas. We came across The Shed, we had never heard of it before and really didn’t know what to expect. The menu looked good on the net so we thought we would give it a try. I’m glad we did. It turned out to be a great meal and even before the coupon discount it was priced right. So many times we eat at a place that cost the two of us about $100 - $125 with tip and it’s just to much money. Before the coupon the total was $80 and that was with drinks and lot’s of food.

We had five plates between the two of us and two drinks each. We started with grilled Octopus with a smoked paprika olive oil, fried scallop sliders with a smear of some kind of fancy mayo and jalapeno slaw and chicken liver/bacon bruschetta. Except for the Octopus, which was good I just wanted a little grilled crispness to it, this was really good food. I was excited about the Scallop sliders and they lived up to expectations. I have never seen or heard of this dish, but I’m willing to bet you will see it on a menu soon. The chicken live pate was country style, big and chunky, very good.

After those three dishes we order more drinks and we ordered the iceberg wedge with Point Reyes blue cheese and bacon. We also had the steamed mussels in white wine and a garlic cream sauce and fries. Both of these were really good as well, my only complaint was the bacon was inferior, there is just to much good bacon out there these day to not serve the good stuff. This was a good meal and a good deal and I can’t wait to get back.

street food, ain’t nothing better

I’ve had a Lucky Dog, but I didn’t get it form Ignatius J. Riley. It wasn’t the best dog I have ever had, but I’m glad to have tried it, I’m a better man for it. Lucky Dogs are nowhere as good as the corn dogs they once served at the I-85 drive inn flea market about 15 years ago. Since then I haven’t had one that good. I try them everywhere I find them, but they are never as good as the drive inn. Before the Lakewood Antique Market shut down they had a good corn dog, but that was then this is now.

The first time Stacey and I traveled to Europe we went to Vennia, Austria. My fondest memory of that trip was the street food. One cart in particular sticks in my head. This guy served a small baggette that he had cut one end off of. He then took a tool and shoved it into the end he had just cut off, pulled the tool out, squirted mustered into the void he created and then shoved a sausage link in with the mustard. DAMN these were good. I would go back just to have one right now. Vennia was nice and I enjoyed all the museums and stuff, but the street food was the best.

I bet there is good street food in NYC, if ya know where to look. I’ve had some street food in NYC, but none really calls out to me. I bet there is a website that will lead me right to the best carts in town. Next time I go I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna find the good street food in NYC. I’ll let ya know how it works out.

When I grow up and Stacey retires from Delta we are gonna move to a beach town. Stacey is gonna rent umbrellas and I’m gonna have a food cart selling the best street food ever. Gumbo, killer hotdogs, pig on a stick, cold beer and shots of tequila.

I hear the best street food in the world is in Djemma al Fna, Marrakech’s main square, anybody up for a little travel? Meet me in Spain and we’ll take the ferry across.

The Southern Foodways Alliance

So, for the next few post, in no particular order, I will share with ya’ll some of the fun things we have enjoyed lately.

First of all I will tell you we attended a fund raiser at Blackberry Farm in Walland, TN. The beneficiary of the fund raiser was the SFA. I think the best thing to do is to share with you a little history on the SFA. This was in the auction guide and I’m sure penned by one of founding members.

On July 22, 1999, in Birmingham, Alabama, author John Egerton convened a two day meeting during which 50 founders established a non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation and celebration of the diverse food cultures of the American South.

Chefs and Cooks, Barbecue Pitmasters and Academics, all joined the effort. That night, the founders gathered for a celebratory dinner of, among other delights, butterbean crostini and rabbit pilau at Highlands Bar and Grill, Pardis and Frank Stitt’s Birmingham restaurant.

Since that night in Birmingham, the SFA has grown to include more than 800 members. And our work has grown, too, in both reach and impact. We’ve staged more than 40 events. We collected more than 300 oral histories. We’ve produced almost 20 films. And yet we remain hungry for more.

This marks the fifth year that Blackberry Farm and the SFA have partnered to stage an event to honor and celebrate the regions most accomplished framers, artisans and chefs. First under the leadership of John Fleer, Blackberry Farm Chef and SFA board member, and now under the direction of Sam Beall, Blackberry Farm Proprietor, the weekend has come to be called, by certain quick-witted guest,

The Davos of Country Ham and Brown Whisky.















Chefs in Blackberry farm kitchen CHEFS IN THE BLACKBERRY FARM KITCHEN

Happy New Year

So, yes I have been down with the back thing lately, but looking back Stacey and I have managed to get a few good meals in here and there. We have traveled a little bit as well.

We have tried the new menu at The Feed Store. We ate for the first time at a new restaurant named Shed, it was very good. We went to Knoxville, Tn. There we visited with our good friend Kim and attended a fund raiser at Blackberry Farms. The fund raiser was for the Southern Foodways Alliance. We got to Mobile for Christmas and got to see the movie Order of Myths. It was a good movie and I love the newly renovated Crescent Theater there in beautiful downtown Mobile, Al. I cooked barbecue for 9 guys and we tasted about six or seven different beers that night. That was a fun evening. We dined in my workshop. I have read a couple books and viewed a lot’s of movies during my recovery time.

So dear reader, fear not, I have a plethora of info to share with you and I look forward getting back to writing this blog on a regular schedule.

Back From the Dead

This Friday coming will be 5 weeks since I delivered a couple paintings and some furniture, then around noon that day I decided to go home and rest til my back stopped hurting. It had been coming and going for a couple weeks and was really starting to ache. My plan was to rest til I was better. I was caught up with my work, Christmas and New Years were right around the corner and I wanted to be well for the holidays. So that Friday afternoon I grabbed the heating pad, I laid down and by Sunday I was no better. So I thought I would try ice. The heat was not doing the trick so I thought ice might be a good idea. WRONG! I laid on an ice pad for an hour or more that Sunday morning. Then I couldn’t stand up. The pain was crippling. It was so bad that by Sunday night, after trying all day to stand up we had to call an ambulance, I needed medical attention, I needed strong drugs.

I hate to say it, but the ambulance drivers and techs I have had the pleasure of calling upon are not real smart. They always talk about the stupidest stuff and they are not real careful when moving you around. The crew that showed up that Sunday were no different. I couldn’t stand up much less walk and they had no idea how they were gonna get me outside to the stretcher. I suggested they bring the stretcher inside the house. That worked. Then they were baffled as to how to get me on the stretcher. Well, beside the ambulance crew there were also two guys from the fire department on hand. I think when you dial 911 for an ambulance they dispatch the fire department medics as well. So I suggested they each grab a corner of the blanket I was laying on and put me on the stretcher. That worked. So off we go and of course they can’t seem to get the I.V. to hit a vein and I thought I was gonna have to do this as well. Finally after three tries they got it and gave me 5 milligrams of morphine. That was almost useless. So when they got me to the emergency room they gave me 10 milligrams more. Nothing. I was in serious pain. So they started giving me drug cocktails and finally I was feeling a little relief. I still was unable to stand so the checked me in for the night.

Stacey had gone to take care of the paper work and I waited for someone to take me to a room for the night. Finally this guy shows up, he’s very loud, seems really unhappy and he taking it out on me. We get to the hall where my room is and he yells up the hallway to a nurse ” is this guy ambulatory”? Hell how should she know she has no idea whats up with me. So the guy looks down at me ask “can you walk”?. ” No” I tell him” I can’t”. “Why not” he snaps back. So I ask in my most pleasant tone “what the fuck does it matter to you why I can’t walk asshole”? I tell him to just push me up to my bed and I’ll do the rest. He does and I do and he leaves in a huff as I’m yelling “THANKS FOR NOTHING ASSHOLE”.

The next morning I can walk again. They send me down the hall for a M.R.I. which shows two bulging disc in my lower back. The Dr. tells me that disc L 3-4 and disc L4-5 are out of whack. I tell him that can’t be so those disc were removed over 20 years ago in two different operations. Not remove he tells me, just trimmed and now they are out again and pushing against all kinds of nerves. Oh, and the ice he said was a really bad idea. No kidding doc.

So here I am five weeks later and still not fully recovered. I do think I will be 100% soon and won’t need surgery, but damn it’s a slow recovery.