The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [109]
KEY BEER
Other than the Brooklyn collaboration beers? It just depends on what you’re ordering for lunch—by all means ask for pairings from Kelewae or a member of his staff—but the restaurant’s collection of beers from Brasserie Franches-Montagnes, an obscure but highly collectible producer, rivals any in the world.
RATTLE N’ HUM
14 E. 33rd St. (between 5th and Madison) New York, NY 10016 • (212) 481-1586 rattlenhumbarnyc.com • Established: 2008
SCENE & STORY
Rattle N’ Hum makes midtown a destination. Instead of jostling with tourists carrying Macy’s bags, though, you’re hanging out in a craft beer oasis. Narrow and cozy with a grand, mirrored wood bar and forty beers on tap, the lines are routinely serviced (so the beer in your glass hasn’t gone stale in the lines). There’s also some one hundred bottles on the list, and a rotating bevy of cask-conditioned ales (twenty-four on a recent visit). Practice your best New York attitude when sidling up to the bar (it’s all in the elbows). And in April—a nice, not too hot time to be in town—RNH hosts a cask ales festival, the back of the bar stacked high with firkins of delicate English-style ales. It’s the best place to escape the hubbub of midtown, an ace up the sleeve.
PHILOSOPHY
This is a straightforward, narrow, and sometimes crowded bar with a serious beer list and decent pub grub. The menu has a strong Northeast focus, plus specialty Norwegian and Belgian imports, and hard-to-find American releases on cask as well.
KEY BEER
American craft brewers are now besting Belgians at their own game, perfecting styles invented long ago in the Flanders countryside. Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold (10% ABV; $10 for 25 ounces), brewed in nearby Westchester County, is an American interpretation of the traditional “tripel,” a hazy golden ale with a spicy backbone and notes of clove and lemon peel. It goes perfectly with the beer-battered fish-and-chips.
THE GRAMERCY TAVERN
42 E. 20th St. • New York, NY 10003 • (212) 477-0777 gramercytavern.com • Established: 1994
SCENE & STORY
The Gramercy Tavern is one of the most atmospheric and elegant eateries in the city. You just feel good walking in the place and handing over your coat on cold days, because the front of house staff is so well trained in the art of the welcome. But it’s not just to make you feel at home before you’ve parted with your hard-earned money. High ceilings and acres of polished woodwork have a way of making everyday occasions feel big, but then you get to the real fun: eating (or at least a spot at the bar). Year after year, the stratospheric talent in the kitchen seems to work in more perfect synch with the attitude-less staff, a combination restaurateur Danny Meyer has perfected in more than one place around town. The menu is seasonal and ever changing; recent beer travelers have dined on such dishes as a poached lobster with baby turnips, and daikon radish and lobster sauce paired with a spiced White Christmas Winter Lager from Moylan’s Brewery of Novato, California. The angular, warming beer’s acidity matched the shellfish’s fulsome flavor perfectly. The Gramercy Tavern has earned accolades for treating beers with real respect by adding a strong list of aged beers to the menu and by training servers in suggesting matches for the high-flying cuisine.
PHILOSOPHY
Cosmopolitan, assured, and generous. The beers are cataloged in a deep, well-chosen, international list, and a featured specialty is aged beers. With higher than usual alcohol and sometimes tannins from oak-barrel aging (like big Bordeaux wines) certain strong beers last and improve with time; you’ll find them here.
KEY BEER
Try the 2005 Ommegang Abbey Ale (8.5% ABV; $26 for 25 ounces), which is a New York–style interpretation of Abbey beer, a Belgian style. It’s a rich, burgundy-colored ale with flavors of toffee, stone fruits, and coffee that pairs beautifully with poultry or beef dishes. Its added years of age lend it a dry, peppery bite less evident in the