Just recently the Idle Hands Bar celebrated their second anniversary and I wanted to use this blog to congratulate them on getting there because let’s face it, in this big city it’s often a tough go to keep the pace and this is especially so when it comes to bars or restaurants. Congratulations on completing your second year and the move into the third and beyond. The photos that you see in this posting were shot by me back in May of 2011 when I stopped in for a quick pint of ale while on my way to a show at Arlene’s Grocery.
Continue reading Happy 2nd Anniversary To Idle Hands Bar (9/15/2012)
Category Archives: Food and Drink
Articles relating to dining out or simply cooking at home.
A Moose No Longer Loose, Goodbye To The Bull Moose Saloon
Nooooooooooooooooooooo! Okay, this just sucks. Last night while heading to a show with The Finnish Ambassador (our friend Samuel for those new readers and not the real deal ambassador of Finland) we were locked into the plan of meeting up at the Bull Moose Saloon. I’ve often mentioned how Smith’s was my go to hang for the pregaming before Metal shows over at B.B. King’s and Best Buy Theater but lately the amount of tourists had been edging me out of the place and while its great for their business it is NOT good for me when I only have a little while before jumping into the musical fray. With that being the case I had opted for the Bull Moose Saloon for several months and enjoyed that it was just off the beaten path of the tourists and kept a regular customer base of working NYC union folks and stage people along with folks such as I. The prices were great and the food always managed to hit the right spot. Today that would change for the worst.
As I hit the block where the bar was located I received a text from Samuel saying the place was not open at the moment and there was a gate at the door. With that being the note, I had to walk down just the same to assess the situation and see if I could determine what was actually going on. Samuel mused aloud that perhaps the place was being cleaned up but I countered at how Thursday was not a night one often finds pubs in NYC closed for business. Maybe a Monday or Tuesday but not on a day that pretty much leads you into the weekend. When we reached the pub there was a massive gate and there were no more neon signs in the window nor was the big awning that said the bars name there. It appeared to be a grim situation.
I told Samuel this did not appear to be a routine cleaning but the look of a place now gone and making way for something else. It was a shame because I really liked the place. Mind you my little group would still hit Smith’s now and again but if there were a larger bunch of us we would just convene there since there was never an issue with space for us. They also made a fantastic Reuben sandwich and Buffalo Chicken wings. I apologize for whining but this is the third place that I liked to go to that has closed and the second in one year’s time. I am starting to think there is a secret cabal out there following me to see what I approve of so they can close it up LOL. Of course I am kidding.
You were great sanctuary and a fun place to meet my friends and we enjoyed your fare and were glad to have enjoyed it for the couple of years that we did walk through your doors. I also want to send good luck wishes to those staffers we always got to talk to like Ellen, Mike, Kit and the rest on their next adventures. Goodbye Bull Moose Saloon. You shall be missed. Hell’s Kitchen will not be the same without this one.
Spiced Chop Meat w/Mushrooms & Black Beans
I felt like cooking up a little something today and decided that using some of the stuff that I had on hand in the kitchen and pantry would be a very good idea. With that in mind I took the chopped meat out of the freezer and decided to go from there and see what I could come up with. There was an extra can of Goya Black Beans in the cabinet (and while I like having them on hand I didn’t need as many as were stockpiled). Then I realized it might be wise to use the recently opened package of mushrooms since they tend to turn a lot faster on the warmer days. My goal was to spice this mixture up but since I had half a package of the Ortega taco building kit I just used that. It would work under the circumstances.
Step One: Brown the chop meat, drain some of the drippings. The rest will be absorbed by the beans and mushrooms.
Add your spice mixture.
Add the beans and mushrooms and cook them all together for a few minutes. Done.
Here is the mixed up ingredients after being cooked up together. I apologize for no real preparation photos in this one, but there was really no need to. I’ll line them out before closing up on this little piece since they were easy and quick for anyone to put together.
I decided to take this concoction and use it between Pita bread and then run with your standard taco ingredients of tomato, lettuce and some cheese. I doused it with hot sauce but not the pepper water of tobasco but instead used the John’s Red Hot brand which I find to be a little richer in taste. Of course I would gladly try any number of the different sauces that some of my friends have launched on the side but I didn’t have any of them on hand. The photos below show the finished product minus the sauce. Taking the photos after adding the hot sauce might have been a little messy.
Ingredients:
1LB Chopped Meat
2 segments from a garlic clove
1 Package of Mushrooms
1 Can of Goya Black Beans
Spice Of Choice
Preparation and Cooking Time: No more than ten minutes.
Oh yes and before I forget, you can even use this mixture with a Spanish rice or the Zatarain’s dirty rice which I absolutely love. It would work out being laid over the top of the rice or even blended in with it. Whatever you prefer. OK that’s all I have for you right now.
Hitting The Interstate For Excellent Pregaming (6/28/2012)
What’s that saying again? “You don’t know what you got until it’s gone”? Or is that just a Cinderella song? Either way, it totally illustrates the point that I needed to make for this narrative. Some of my readers might not know this yet, but I had done a series of what I called “Pregaming” narratives over on my PiercingMetal Musings site and they essentially discussed the places where my friends and I would enjoy food and drink before heading to the shows. It was a fun little thing to share with my audience since I just love talking about things that I enjoy. Anyway, a week or so ago, I was heading out to see Lez Zeppelin with my good buddy Skeleton Pete down on the Lower East Side. We were lamenting the closure of Acme and most recently Nice Guy Eddie’s as it left us with limited choices that we agreed on in the area. The sun above was blazing and we were getting impatient about getting a chance to cool down and sate the growing hunger. Fortunately while on Orchard Street a shop owner responded with “try Interstate” when I quizzed him about finding a decent burger in the vicinity. It was only a short hop from our exact location.
Continue reading Hitting The Interstate For Excellent Pregaming (6/28/2012)
A Sad Goodbye To Nice Guy Eddies :(
Dear New York City. Please stop shutting down the places that I like to go to before shows and enjoy a beer with my friends. Alright, so perhaps the city did not actually close this establishment but by the time you are reading this posting the bar known as Nice Guy Eddies will have closed and I am not too happy about it. Eddie’s had become the official pregaming space for me and many of my friends as we headed to shows at Mercury Lounge and even the couple of blocks away Piano’s and Arlene’s Grocery.
Continue reading A Sad Goodbye To Nice Guy Eddies đ