Next week brings another fun event to Astoria Bier & Cheese and this one comes from Ommegang Brewery from Cooperstown, NY. I love the idea of these beer & cheese tasting events, as they offer up a great way to get to know local brewers and understand the types of foods to pair with the beer. Just like the other tasting events they've had this season, this one is also complimentary, so bring friends and stay for a while. Here are all the vital details - make sure you spread the word!
Ommegang Beer & Cheese Pairing
Wednesday, October 15th from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Astoria Bier & Cheese - 35-11 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria NY 11105
718.255.6982
N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)
astoriabierandcheese.com
Any evening that starts with a visit Astoria Bier & Cheese is always welcome, and that's exactly what we did the other night before going out to The Barn (more to come on that soon). Loving the mild weather on Friday, we looked forward to getting some beers and eats, and then situating ourselves in the Broadway location's outdoor garden.
Beer & Food:
Deciding on a six pack variety of microbrews including two types of Founders' ales, the Alagash White Ale, Bell's, a fruity strawberry ale and two IPAs, we enjoyed the beer mash up. It was great to bring these back to the garden area, and whichever beers we weren't drinking at the time were stashed up front to ensure they stayed cold.
Meat Plate - Made up of four fresh cured meat varieties chosen that day, Dan ordered this pretty selection and we all enjoyed it together. On the slab, you'll notice sopressata, salami, the house country pate and the mortadella. All meats were sliced super thin and accompanied by teeny cornichons, grain mustard and a nicely toasted baguette.
Banh Mi Sandwich - A big fan of banh mis in general, I was curious to see how this one would stack up. It arrived warm and crispy with a bevy of delicious things such as the country pate (again), Berkshire bacon, and a layer of crunchy veggies such as pickled carrots, zucchini, onions and fresh cilantro. The bread was also thin enough that it didn't leave me feeling too full, yet having said that, the portion is generous enough to share with someone.
Service and Cost:
The service at the counter differed a lot from the actual food prep, which took a very long time to finish, or so it seemed because we were very hungry. The sandwiches came out at odd times and we couldn't figure out the method to the madness. If you're a stickler for good service, I'd recommend dining indoors.
Costs are expensive, given the simplicity of the offering, but you are paying for the quality of the ingredients and the atmosphere. The aforementioned food items and the six pack assortment set us back about $70, including tax and tip.
2.5 MmmmsAstoria Bier & Cheese - 34-14 Broadway, Astoria NY 11106
718.545.5588
N/Q Train to Broadwaywww.astoriabierandcheese.com
I love a good cooking class - and quite frankly who doesn't? The only trouble sometimes is that they're so darn expensive, especially in NY! Some of the good ones will cost you an arm and a leg, which can be discouraging.
Recently spotting a free cooking class offered at Astoria Bier & Cheese, I couldn't believe my eyes and just had to spread the word to you. Registration is open, so go on and sign up to learn some culinary skills from a local food expert. Here are the vitals:
Free Cooking Class at Astoria Bier & Cheese
Courtesy of Astoria Chef, Kim Calichio
Tuesday, August 12th, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Moving from What to How - Marinated pork with coconut rice and Thai slaw
Tuesday, August 19th, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
How do I add more flavor to my food? Orange coriander chicken
Register: kim.calichio@gmail.com
Astoria Bier & Cheese - 35-11 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria NY 11105
718.255.6982
N/Q Train to Ditmars
www.astoriabierandcheese.com
After what was a very exciting day on Friday, as I did a fun foodie taping for JOJ.sk TV, Dan and I headed over to Astoria Bier & Cheese for a little respite and celebration. Wanting to stick to my gluten free diet (2 days to go!), I knew they'd have some yummy options to choose from, some of them in beer form.
Our visit confirmed my suspicions, as Astoria Bier & Cheese is indeed a gluten free friendly establishment, and I was delighted to see a whole rack of gluten free beers that were already nicely chilled. Here's what we tried:
Celia Saison Beer - I must admit, the beautiful bottle design caught my eye, and the foreshadowing of fruity hints totally sold me. The beer comes from The Alchemist brewery in Vermont that's also the originator of the delicious Heady Topper beer. The Celia provided a smooth, slightly sweet and citrusy taste from the orange peel, which is one of its main ingredients. It's almost impossible to taste the difference between this and a regular beer, except that you don't feel uncomfortably full after. I give it two heady thumbs up!
Jerky & Cheese Platter - Never mind the little bread slices on the side (I left those for Dan), but all the other stuff you see here is deliciously gluten free. All the jerky comes from a local supplier, Lawless Jerky and boasts three varieties including a chipotle honey, a Hawaiian style called Aloha Teriyaki and a Sweet Sriracha. And although the pieces are teeny, the flavor is intense and goes a long way. I loved pairing the meat with a sliver of cheese, the smoked gouda was particularly nice to pair with the spicy chipotle honey. Dan loved it too, but wished there was a more of it.
Service and Cost:
We experienced good service and I liked how knowledgeable the staff was about the gluten free beer in particular. Once we sat down, our jerky & cheese platter came out promptly and our server thoroughly reviewed everything on our plate with us.
Costs are pretty darn expensive, not for the beer, but more so for the jerky platter, which set us back a whopping $13. With the beer, we paid about $28 in total including tax and tip.
3 Mmmms
Astoria Bier & Cheese - 34-14 Broadway, Astoria NY 11106
718.545.5588
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.astoriabierandcheese.com
For those of you who know me, or have been reading this blog regularly can vouch for the fact that I love a great deal. While Astoria is fantastic in terms of getting good value when you dine out, I'm even more excited when I can save further and get a steal. That's where Scoutmob comes in.
A handy mobile app that highlights local deals happening in your area, I use it consistently when dining out in Astoria and Manhattan. The best part is that you never have to pre-pay for a coupon. Instead, the deals flow directly into your mobile device, and you have to simply hit "use deal" when on location. Sometimes it's pretty slim pickens when Astoria is involved, but lately I've come across some pretty neat deals that I wanted to highlight here. Hope it gives you an opportunity to try some of these places, or to visit them again.
Crave Astoria - 50% off or $10 max discount. I went last week and had these lovely falafel balls.
Ovelia - 30% off or $100 max discount during dinner service only.
Winegasm - 50% off or $10 max discount.
Astoria Bier and Cheese (newest deal!) - 50% off or $12 max discount when you dine in only.
You can sign up and download the app here. I've been using it for 3 years now and it hasn't let me down.
It was hot the other day. I mean really really hot, and despite this, I decided to meet Dan during his lunch break and have a picnic in Central Park. Picking up a few Astoria provisions along the way, we had ourselves a lovely Astoria-style picnic, except in that "other" borough.
Pita Pan - I love me some Pita Pan for many reasons, one being that it's inexpensive, relatively healthy and easy to eat. For our picnic, I order two things, including their signature marinated chicken skewers (each one is only $1.65) as well as the falafel plate, which came with 5 large falafel balls, tahini sauce and warm pita. It was tasty and kept well in my picnic bag and made for good left overs too. 37-15 30th Avenue, Astoria. 718.204.1633
Watawa - Although we probably had enough to eat with Pita Pan's order, I couldn't resist getting a few sushi rolls and went with an order of spicy tuna, eel avocado and yellowtail scallion. I didn't know this, but since I got three, it came at a special price of $11, which is part of Watawa's lunch special (even on the weekends). The whole thing also comes with a side of miso soup and a salad. Overall, a fabulous value and food that traveled relatively well. 33-10 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria. 718.545.9596
Astoria Bier & Cheese - Ending things off at this specialty beer & cheese shop, I went for only the beer and got a peach wheat ale (RJ Rockers Son of a Peach) with a floral finish as well as a traditional pilsner (Abita). Picking them up right before the picnic was a good idea because they kept cool and the Abita was a 22 oz so we kept it going for a while. 34-14 Broadway, Astoria. 718.545.5588
