Last Saturday, five friends converged on a Brooklyn sidewalk to see what all the hype was about.  Like most NY hot spots, Mile End is annoyingly small and crowded.  And at 1:20 pm, we were sentenced to a 1-hour wait.  However, through our advance research, we had anticipated this possibility, and we were armed with a plan B for our wait: Eton, an American-influenced dumpling haven in nearby Carroll Gardens (359 Sackett St).  Small, but sufficient, this cozy shop had just enough room for my friends and I to crowd around a small counter with our Sampler Plate.  For $7, we shared 3 dumplings each of: pork & beef with cabbage, chicken with shitake mushrooms, and vegetable with lentils and tofu.  We also threw in a slider of BBQ pulled pork in a steamed Asian bun for good measure (thanks, Riki).  As we waited for our dumplings, I watched in a bit of awe as a big, white guy in a Steelers hat no-less carefully folded and pinched dumplings with the elegance of a much smaller, Asian dumpling master.  Well played, Pittsburgh, well played.   

Served with your choice of sauces (we went with 2: soy and ginger), the dumplings were juicy and delicious.  They had that essential slight crispiness on the outside, but still remained tender on the inside.  The pork and beef, especially, were as good as I’ve ever had.  I want more just thinking about them.  I’m generally a pork dumpling purist, but even the chicken and mushroom dumplings were, admittedly, quite tasty.  I didn’t try the vegetable variety, but my friends had no complaints.  The BBQ pulled pork sandwich wasn’t bad, but I am partial to the more Asian-style pork buns. This was American BBQ in an Asian bun.  Good, but I didn’t finish it (which is really the true test in my eyes).  We still had “real” brunch to attend to anyway.

We strolled back up to Mile End, just as they were calling our name.  At exactly 2:30, we were comfortably seated in one of the four or so booth seats, excited and amazed that we had actually pulled this mastery in timing off.  As the Kinks played over the speakers, we perused the weekend brunch menu.

I was so torn. I love traditional Jewish food – I so badly wanted to order chopped liver and matzoh ball soup, or the smoked meat sandwich.  But, with my Montreal bagel mission, there was only one choice for me – “The Beauty” – lox, cream cheese, tomato, red onion and capers on a Montreal-style bagel (closed for $9; open for $12).  When asked if I could choose my own bagel flavor, the waitress replied, “No, we only have sesame.”  (NY 1, Montreal 0). 

Riki ordered the “Smoked Meat” – cured & smoked beef brisket with mustard on rye and a plate of pickles for the table.

Liana ordered the special of the day, which included a delicious brisket hash and two sunny-side up eggs.

Kelly and Laura both got the “Bagel & Schmear.”

Side note: as we waited for our food, I took a quick trip to the bathroom and was extremely disturbed by the bar o’ soap-on-a-stick jutting out of the wall.  Not only did I feel like I was unsuccessfully washing my hands with a filthy piece of bar soap, I was a little uncomfortable about the sexually suggestive manner with which I was forced to do it.  Aw-kward.

Finally, the moment of truth. 

The bagel looked soft, and the lox were a fresh and bright pink, but I immediately had a problem with the size of the tomato slice in proportion to the rest of the sandwich.  I’d like some lox with my tomato sandwich, thank you.  The bagel was definitely chewier and denser than a New York bagel, and somehow, smaller, so it didn’t make me feel so full (in a good way).  The bagel was good, don’t get me wrong.  But it wasn’t amazing; it wasn’t life-altering; and it definitely wasn’t worth a 1-hour wait in the cold.  The other food was pretty good though.  The smoked meat, which they call brisket, but as far as I’m concerned was pastrami, was tasty.  I liked the thickness of the cut of the meat, but again, I just didn’t love it.  It was good, but Katz’s pastrami is still King.  The hash on the special was pretty freaking good though.  I also took an apple turnover to go, which survived an afternoon at the Brooklyn Museum in my purse and was still yummy.

All in all, it’s no surprise that I prefer the New York variety of everything.  I think I’ll stick with my neighborhood favorites: Russ & Daughters and Katz’s (both conveniently, and not coincidentally, located in walking distance to my apartment).  My apologies Canada, but I still heart NY.

With the Grateful Dead playing in the background, we settled on our pub-style chairs around the island in Sam’s kitchen and relaxed. Although Dinner at 525 is BYOB, Sam started us out with a Fragrant Piña Colada, made with pineapple, ginger, lime, Thai chili, mint, cilantro, coconut milk, coconut cream, and Ron del Barrilito Rum. Oh yes, this will do. This refreshing cocktail was the perfect way to start off the evening and the best way to transport us to a place far away from the bitter chill outside.

After opening our first bottle of white, Sam served us our first food course – a Connecticut oyster with pickled cranberries and hazelnuts. Now, I’ve eaten my share of oysters, but this unique combination of flavors was something I had never had before. The oysters were fresh, briney and juicy, and the pickled cranberries were a perfect replacement for the more common mignonette sauce. The hazelnuts nicely complemented the flavors and added a fantastic textural component to the whole dish. This was our first taste of Sam’s exceptional play with texture.

Our next course was a decadent homemade lamb lardo on toasted baguette with herbs. Sam usually makes the traditional pork lardo, but feeling inventive, he decided to do something a little different. Frankly, you can pair lardo with just about anything and I will love it. Here, the smooth and decadent lamb lardo atop a crunchy baguette was perfect. Our meal was off to an excellent start. 

Our next course was one of my favorites. Once again, Sam created a dish both deep in flavor and texturally inventive – spaghetti squash with pickled Brazilian chilies and sesame oil, sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Sam used a method where he cooked the spaghetti squash at a lower temperature than normal, keeping the pectin within the vegetable intact (when cooked at a higher temperature, the pectin breaks down and makes vegetables tender). As a result of this cooking technique, the spaghetti squash remained crunchy, almost like a cabbage. The dish was spicy from the chilies and the sesame oil added a rich, deep flavor. It was kind of like an American winter kimchee, but not. It was delicious and was the perfect precursor to our next course. 

Our next course was a spin on a winter favorite – raw beef and raw beet borscht with horseradish cream and dill. It was like a steak tartar folded into borscht. This dish was as excellent conceptually as it was flavor-wise. And it paired perfectly with the growler of Sixpoint Bengali IPA that I happened to bring. Sam did not skimp on the portions either. A softball-sized portion of tender beef and raw beets paired so well – the sweet of the beet cut the beef wonderfully. And once again, the crunchy, raw beet added the perfect textural component to the beef, which so often, when served alone, tastes too mushy in your mouth. 

After the beer, we cracked open a bottle of red and moved onto our next course, braised pork rib and romaine lasagna. This was an odd dish, yet it still managed to work. Sam’s tender, homemade lasagna noodles sandwiched a succulent braised pork rib, cooked romaine lettuce and olives, served simply sauce-less with shaved pecorino romano. I was a little concerned about the addition of both lettuce and olives to this dish, as I have never been a fan of either cooked in food (olives in a martini? Yes please). However, the olives hid into the braised pork rib quite nicely, adding just a subtle bit of flavor and the lettuce, though cooked, added yet another interesting textural component to the dish. All in all, it worked quite well.

The next course was a bit of a “palette cleanser.”  In the true snout to tail, or more appropriately here, tail to gill tradition, our next course was Fish Bits. In a clean, white bowl, Sam served three piles of the delicious insides from our main (and next) course. The dish included silky bass liver, decadent bass roe, and fish head meat and crispy skin, Sam’s version of fish “carnitas,” as he put it. I loved every delicious bite.  The creamy liver, followed by salty roe, ending flawlessly with the crunch of the skin was perfect to have before our next course.

Our final savory course was a delicious black bass with mole and radish salad with pickled shallot, cilantro and jalapeno. The star of this dish was, of course, Sam’s mole. Deep and rich in flavor, this sauce could easily be served with a variety of meats and in a variety of ways. Sam’s roommate Dana, who had tried the mole with a different meat recently, noted that she preferred it with the bass. Yet again, Sam’s use of texture was perfect here, the crispy skin and the delicate meat of the fish coupled with the crisp, bright radish salad, which offset the rich mole. So. Full. Yet. So. Satisfied.

In what proved to be my favorite dish of the night, dessert was still to come. First, friend from college and another one of Sam’s roommates Aron got home! Early 90′s dance party/embarrassing Aron ensued (highlights include: Things That Make You Go Hmm, Pump Up the Jam, It’s getting, it’s getting, it’s getting kind of hectic, All that she wants is another baby…).

Right, back to dessert. Sam served an absolutely delicious roasted apple with fennel and ricotta sprinkled with toasted pine nut and dehydrated apple. I mean absolutely delicious. I love cheese as a final course, but I also like something sweet at the end of the meal. This fulfilled both of my needs. The apple was buttery and crisp, the ricotta was smooth and the fennel was crunchy. Excellent. 

Not to be left out, a meal isn’t really complete, in my opinion, without chocolate and scotch. Sam, I love you for combining the two. Our meal rightly concluded with a truffle-like bite of chocolate and Laphroaig (and more dancing).

Please visit http://525dinner.blogspot.com/ for photos and details of the next Dinner at 525.

Antipasti:

The start of your meal at Il Mulino is an onslaught. There is no other way to describe it. You are attacked from all angles and all directions with food. First, a huge bread basket is filled with rustic Italian bread as well as small, toasted garlic bread.  Next, a plate of fried zucchini appeared. Both breads were delicious, but I thought the fried zucchini was way too oily.  It’s like the taste of the smell of your neighborhood Chinese food take-out joint. The flavor of the zucchini doesn’t come out at all. But that was okay because next came the big hunk of cheese (which SO made me think of big hunk of cheese day from the West Wing). Everyone gets a smaller chunk of the larger chunk of fresh parmaggiano reggiano (one of my favorite all-time cheeses). Then came a fresh tomato bruschetta and exactly one mussel.  The one mussel was not memorable.  But the tomato brushcetta was delicious – fresh, bursting with flavor of the tomato and a hint of garlic and basil. I only wish they had given us just the tomatoes to put on the bread we already had out on the table because the bread they gave us was totally soggy. Which reminds me, we got yet another bread basket full of warmed garlic bread. I advise to try to restrain yourself during this onslaught. A ridiculously large meal is still in store.

Piatti Del Giorno

Quote of the night: “I’d rather end up in rehab than have cats.” Ha. I almost spit wine on my menu.

Although the menu is quite extensive and includes the probably fantastic, but typical Italian fare, the real gems lie in the specials. My only problem with this is that the specials were almost as long as the menu itself and they recite them to you tableside. I used to be a waitress, so I understand how impressive it is to be able to rattle off a long list of specials for diners who can’t imagine being able to memorize all that information.  However, when specials are so long it takes 5 minutes to explain, I would prefer to have it written down. Listening to all the specials was way too much to digest (pun intended). But at the end of giving us the specials, the waiter said, “and if you a wanna something else, we can make you whateva you like-a.” Perfect. I had remembered a lamb ragu pasta dish that sounded wonderful. But it was served with spaghetti, and I prefer ragu with a wider pasta. I explained this to the waiter and asked for a tagliatelle, but he understood and immediately recommended the parpadelle over the tagliatelle, which is really what I wanted. I just get my pastas confused. I was in good hands. I relaxed. I had previously heard rumours about the larger than life portion sizes here, so my friend Wendy and I decided we would split a pasta and a fish. The branzini special sounded light and perfect – our waiter recommended that we get it grilled. He said it was much better that way. We were also instructed to get another fish, so we also ordered the salmon special, which came pan-seared with chanterelle mushrooms and broccolini sautéed in garlic sauce.  I had already resigned myself to letting my waiter determine my culinary fate.  I was in his hands, and I was not going to argue. Ginger and her mother split the porcini and truffle ravioli and grilled branzini. Ginger’s brother, Chuck, got the filet. Despite the massive amounts of antipasti we were already served, I was ready to dig in.

Primi: Number of bottles consumed: still 2 / Number of times “Happy Birthday” sung: 4

When the large bowl of pasta was set down in front of me, I immediately assumed that I would be splitting this bowl with Wendy. However, another large bowl was placed in front of her as well.  Simultaneously, we looked at each other, then at the waiter. “We split it for you already,” he said. Holy mother. At the moment, I was happy we decided to split.  But the next day, when I wanted to relive the sweet taste of lamb ragu, I was admittedly a little sad. The lamb was tender and it melted in your mouth and the homemade pasta was cooked perfectly. I was in an Italian wonderland of flavor. I also had the fortune of sampling the porcini and truffle ravioli. The sauce was thick and creamy and it highlighted the porcini flavor and the hint of truffle coming through in the background. The filling was similarly decadent. The ravioli pasta itself was good, but I thought it was a bit too thick. I would have preferred a more delicate ravioli. But who am I kidding? If that was my dish, I would have inhaled it.

Photo of Raviolo ai Porcini (from CheekyEats)

Secondi: Number of bottles consumed: 3 / Number of times “Happy Birthday” sung: 5

Next came the grilled branzini and the salmon.  Each dish was extremely different, both in presentation as well as in taste, but they were both delicious.  Before cooking, the waiter brought out the whole branzini fish to present to us.  We just nodded our heads in drunken approval, as if we would have objected. The branzini was grilled with a tad of olive oil and simply presented with just a side of lemon. The fish itself was light and flaky. The fish was definitely the star of this dish. The salmon was pan-seared with mushrooms and broccolini in a garlic sauce that complemented both the fish and the vegetables perfectly. It was hearty, flavorful and scrumptious. I was impressed with a kitchen that could put out two completely different fishes (one practically bare and one dressed up) and yet they each stood up against one another in taste. I was so full that I only finished less than half of the fish. But luckily I took them home and ate them again for Saturday’s dinner, and Sunday’s lunch. I also got to try a small, but lovely piece of Chuck’s filet.  It was tender and cooked a perfect medium rare.  All in all, the entrees were fantastic. I only wish I had room for more.

Dolci: Number of bottles consumed: 4 / Glasses of homemade grappa: 1 each / Number of times “Happy Birthday” sung: 6

Please note, Chuck was drinking only beer and left us after his filet

We decided on one light dessert (for our stomachs) and a classic dessert (for just a taste). We ordered the Zabaglione Caldo con frutti di bosco – a warm Italian custard with marsala wine, egg yolks and sugar (supposedly prepared tableside – I do not remember this) served with strawberries; and tiramisu.  While awaiting our dessert, a friendly Italian waiter (is there any other kind?) came over with what looked like a wooden bucket full of homemade grappa, on the house.  He ladled out a cup for each of us.  After a few hair-raising sips of grappa, we decided on one more bottle of red to coat our throats.  I was disappointed with the tiramisu – I have had better tiramisu during the feast of San Gennaro. However, the Zabaglione was delicious. I couldn’t believe I had never had this dessert before. Light and sweet, it was perfect after a big meal. After over four hours of utter indulgence, I rolled out of the restaurant Violet Beauregarde-style, blissfully content with my first meal at Il Mulino and eagerly anticipating my next.

Eight countries were represented – England’s Old Speckled Hen (a last minute addition to the tournament after the Fuller’s London Pale Ale mysteriously disappeared out of Martin’s fridge; Martin blames his “cleaning lady”), Scotland’s Brewdog Punk IPA (ABV: 6%), Japan’s Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale (ABV: 7%), Norway’s Nogne O IPA (ABV: 7.5%), France’s St. Amand French Country Ale (ABV: 5.9%),  Italy’s Super Baladin Ale (ABV: 8%), New Zealand Moa Premium Lager (ABV: 5.5%), and USA’s Rogue American Amber (5.6%) (America – F*ck yeah!).

We drew names out of a hat to determine who would square off against one another in the first round: USA v. Japan (USA), England v. Italy (Italy), New Zealand v. Scotland (New Zealand), and Norway v. France (Norway)

 With the exception of the Super Baladin Ale, I did not pick a single winner in any of the rounds. Apparently, I preferred the least popular brews. But the voting was generally very close. The only blow out was a match where the winner won 11-1. Unfortunately, no one can remember which match that was, though our friend Charles seems to remember it as the England vs. Italy since he recalls being the only one who voted for England. In his words, “I didn’t like how the Italy beer tasted as sweet as something from Willy Wonka.”

In between our tastings, we had a fine selection of beers to cleanse our palates: Andy and Jill brought growlers of Captain Lawrence Double IPA and the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA; I brought a growler of Six Point Eight Days of Wheat; Martin supplied bottles of Dogfish Head 60 Minute; and Riki brought a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.

We were sufficiently prepared to get drunk enough to, say, fall asleep on the M15 bus and wake up in Chinatown. Thank you Google maps for getting me home.

In the second round, Italy was the clear winner over the USA but the Norway/New Zealand match was much closer.  We took a break to watch Mine that Bird miraculously win the Derby, right before our championship round. And like Mine that Bird, out of nowhere, Norway took our championship 8-5. Although I still think Italy should have taken it all. All in all, it was a great day for the underdog.

Here’s a sheet with a description of the World Cup of Beer competitors:

First, I recommend checking out the Flea in the late afternoon.  The crowds are smaller and vendors are more likely to give you deals (both on clothing and on food).  Despite the much smaller, late-afternoon crowd, the line in front of the soul food stall was by far the longest. That was a good sign. Although long lines usually mean good food, I didn’t have the patience to wait on line to try what they had to offer. But it was by far the most popular stall when I was there. Note to self if I ever return.  I was really there to try one thing – the empanadas from Elsa’s Empanadas.  This piping hot, baked pastry is filled with ground beef, olives, raisins and hard-boiled egg.  You can get 1 for $3 or 2 for $5.  The empanada pastry itself was excellent – flaky and buttery. However, I was disappointed with the filling. I am not a huge fan of olives (other than in my martinis) and I did not really like the raisins. I guess I am a purist when it comes to empanadas. 

I also tried samples from WannaHavaCookie.  The sample chocolate chip was yummy (other flavors include snickerdoodle, toffee mills and molasses spice). They also have the cutest homemade whoopee pies. They were pushing a new flavor, vanilla pie with a strawberry filling, but my friend Becky wasn’t a fan. However, I would still be interested in trying a different whoopee pie flavor- like peanut butter and chocolate or the classic chocolate and vanilla- under different circumstances (i.e. not baking in the sun all day).

The food highlight for me was the fresh ricotta I brought home from Salvatore Brooklyn.  They sell a ½ pound for only $7; for $9, you get the ricotta and a fresh, huge baguette from Amy’s bread.  Because it was the end of the day, the very nice woman working the stall threw in the bread for free.  This ricotta is creamy, fresh and delicious and the bread was perfectly soft on the inside and crusty on the outside. I have been snacking on it all weekend. The stall also sells cannolis piped with the fresh ricotta.  Now that I know how delicious the cheese is, I regret not getting one of those Italian treats. 

I don’t know if I would head all the way out to Fort Greene again just for the food at the Flea (Salvatore sells its ricotta in several other locations, and it is a long walk from the Atlantic/Pacific subway stop). But, everyone I encountered was so friendly and generous (the woman who sold me a beautiful necklace gave me a discount for paying cash and gave me some of her sun block!), I would go back if I was ever in Fort Greene again on a Saturday. 

The Brooklyn Flea – located at Bishop Loughlin High School on Lafayette Ave between Vanderbilt & Clermont Avenues in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

(Welcome back by popular demand our friend and guest writer Kristi)

Disclaimer: the following account of my weekend of gluttony at Yankee Stadium is a true and accurate description of the events that transpired.  This is my story (cue Law & Order music).

Saturday – Yankees v. Indians (4-22 loss):
My friend Keith and I started Saturday at the bowling alley across from the old stadium with a couple of bud lights.  We wanted to show some respect to our old favorites (Stan’s was too packed to handle), and start our day with $4 beers since the average beer at the stadium is $9.  When we finally entered the Great Hall and walked through to the concessions, Keith began salivating over the garlic fries immediately.  You can smell them as soon as you walk in.  But we went straight to our seats because we wanted to catch the first pitch.  We started our culinary adventure in the top of the second inning with the Baseball Classic – a Nathan’s hotdog and a beer (Bud Light).  The days of the “dirty water dog” appear to be as over as Chien-Ming Wang’s chances of getting his E.R.A. under 10 this season.  These hotdogs were kept in an insulated “cooler” and came wrapped in foil, already in the bun.  The hotdogs, mine with ketchup, Keith’s with mustard, were just as delicious as last season and only cost $4.50.  Phew. First test passed. 

After only 1 and a 1/3 innings of good baseball, we set out to explore the stadium, and most importantly, to explore the food. The game was already over at this point. We went straight to the bleachers, which you now have access to.  One of the scariest parts about the new stadium is that every concession stand has the calorie count of every item offered. Who knew that a hot pretzel had over 600 calories?  The bleachers have concessions from Johnny Rockets, Moe’s Southwestern Grill, Familglia’s Pizza and the usual baseball fare.  We opted for a Johnny Rockets single cheeseburger (a double is over 1,000 calories!), a side of onion rings, and more beer.  We ate in a nice-sized standing area overlooking the outfield, watching our Yanks continue their downward spiral.  The burger, which came with lettuce, tomato and pickles, was good.  Not the best, but very respectable.  The onion rings were also good – greasy, but crispy, and not soggy at all. 
 
After laughing at some Mets fans, Keith and I moved on to discover a venerable food court on the lower level in left field.  I was overwhelmed with choices – Nathan’s, Arthur Avenue Deli, Boar’s Head sandwiches, Sushi, Noodles, Familglia’s pizza.  We decided to walk around, see our options and digest.  We happened upon a glass window with a butcher cutting raw beef.  We had heard about this! A Lobel’s butcher slices beef in a creepy, peep-show-like window (I was half expecting Madonna to start dancing behind the butcher), and then sells $15 sliced-steak sandwiches at a nearby stand.  We weren’t quite ready for a steak sandwich, so we went back towards the food court area.  It took me all of 3 minutes to decide that I was ready for dumplings.  The Noodle stand sells noodle bowls, egg rolls, and dumplings.  For $6, I got 4 boiled pork dumplings. Note: the stand has crusty-looking food in the display window, but you do not get that food when you order.  Depending on how you like your dumpling dough, you’ll either like or not like the ones offered here. It is a very doughy dumpling. I am obsessed with dumplings of all kinds so I was pleasantly surprised with the quality.  They did not skimp on the pork and the meat had good flavor.  
 
One of the great things about the new stadium is that you can order, eat your food and still watch the game at the same time.  You don’t have to go through a tunnel to get to the food and beer.  So we stood in left field for a bit watching the game and talking with fans that happened to be eating chicken sliders.  With their nod of approval, we went to the sliders station.  This stand had the option of beef sliders, chicken sliders and buffalo chicken sliders. You can get just 2 sliders, or 3 sliders and fries.  For some odd reason they were “out of” 2 sliders, but were able to give us the 3 chicken sliders with fries platter.  I argued, but they said that was the rules. I was annoyed at the logic, but not the result. We took the 3 chicken sliders with fries and got more beer.  The fries were crinkle cut, like Nathan’s, but not nearly as good and a bit soggy.  The chicken sliders were good, much like any elementary school fried chicken cutlet, but I wish they had come with cheese or mayo or something. I ended up putting a lot of ketchup on mine.
 
At that point, Keith was still talking about garlic fries, so we wandered back towards the first base/right field side (we had almost completed a full circle).  On the way, we happened upon the “farmers market” pictured here. 

This market basically consisted of a stand with fresh fruit – apples, pears, etc. It’s no Union Square, and certainly nothing we were remotely interested in eating that day.  So we moved on, passing Joba’s father on the way.  We were back by the garlic fries, Carl’s cheesesteaks, and the Latin corner.  A fellow fan said the cheesesteaks were really good.  I was very tempted, but very full.  While debating what our stomachs could handle, Keith dared me to get a sample of the garlic fries from the vendors.  No problem.  However, behind the counter stood a large clear bucket filled with oil and minced garlic.  It almost repulsed me enough to not actually try the fries.  But I went for it, and with my powers of persuasion, I convinced the vendor to give us a sample. We decided to get a full order for about $6.  The fries were much crispier then I expected – with all that oil, I was expecting them to be very soggy.  However, they were thin, crispy and not too greasy, but they were very garlicky. We couldn’t finish them, but agreed they were good.
 
At this point in the game (remember, we were there for baseball?), the Indians were beating the Yankees by about 3 touchdowns, so Keith and I decided to head to Tommy Bahamas’ Bar located on the second level in the Great Hall. Shots. We needed shots. A quick shot of Jameson led to a couple of more beers for me, and a Jack and Coke for Keith. He decided to step it up a notch.  Although you are not allowed to leave the bar area with liquor, we poured Keith’s drink into one of the many commemorative Yankee cups we had collected (I’m hoping to have a full beer pong set of cups before the all-star break), and headed back to our seats to watch the end of the game. Alcohol note: the bar only has Tommy Bahamas’ rum and the Beers of the World venue at the stadium isn’t open until next month.
 
We got back to our seats just in time to see the 8th and 9th innings. When our shellacking was official, we decided to head to the Hard Rock Café for a nightcap.  The bar at Hard Rock was way less packed then I expected, keeps normal restaurant hours, and has typical bar food.  We got more beer and decided to get an order of hot wings (choices: hot, very hot or bbq), we got hot. They were good – meaty enough and hot enough for me. We enjoyed. We finally left the stadium around 10pm, after almost 8 hours of eating and drinking. And went to another bar. Good day.
 
Sunday (Yankees v. Cleveland 7-3 win):
If you can believe it, Keith and I headed back up to the Bronx for more punishment the following morning.  I found Keith waiting for me at Hard Rock with a Bloody Mary and an empty plate of wings.  He was hurting.  We headed into the stadium through the Hard Rock (a nice feature) and set out to our seats in the bleachers.  The bleachers have far fewer vendors actually walking around in the seats selling food, but since you have access to the entire stadium now, it doesn’t really matter where you sit.  Sunday’s game was actually exciting, so we sat in the sun and actually enjoyed a little April baseball. After the fourth inning, we both decided that we had dropped the ball the day before by not trying the steak sandwich, so we headed straight to Lobel’s.  Even though they have a guy cutting the meat right at the stand, the sandwich we bought had been sitting for a while.  The cheese-crusted round roll was a little soggy, but the meat was tender, tasty and cooked medium.  The sandwich was very good, but it was very hard to justify spending $15 on it. $10, maybe.  We continued walking around a bit, contemplating pulled pork sandwiches from Brother Jimmy’s and eggplant parm heros.  I decided to get dumplings again (I have a problem).  Keith got a chocolate milk shake from Johnny Rockets.  My dumplings were the same as they were Saturday, so they were consistent.  Keith’s shake was so thick he could turn it upside down and nothing fell out. That’s how I like it and it was delicious. 
 
Our food adventure ended there – I think we both shot our proverbial wad the day before. But, we did get a chance to check out the museum at the stadium. Thurman Munson’s locker, a wall full of baseballs signed by everyone to ever wear pinstripes, and the most recent World Series trophies are the highlights.  The Yankees won Sunday’s game in dramatic fashion and we had a great weekend.  I was scheduled to go to Monday night’s game as well. But-for a rain out, I would have tried the sushi, the Brother Jimmy’s hushpuppies and either a Philly cheesesteak, or one of the sandwiches from the Arthur Avenue deli. Luckily for me, there are 77 more games played at home this year.