Boulton & Watt Brings the Best of Old and New

Once in a while, life surprises you, as I found myself at Boulton & Watt just 2 days after hearing about it from an out of town friend.  Dan and I had been invited there for a tasting, just by chance, and found the whole thing quite ironic.  I was excited to try it of course and after hearing that it's a gastropub, I was ready to enjoy some sophisticated, comforting pub grub.

Atmosphere:
Located on a busy corner on Avenue A and 1st street on the Lower East Side, Boulton & Watt is nicely positioned to enjoy a lot of neighborhood foot traffic.  Even in winter when everyone's gaze is on the ground and heads are buried in jackets, you can't help but notice this place and peek inside.  I have a feeling it'll get a lot busier in the spring and summer, with the windows open and the hip atmosphere spilling onto the sidewalk.  Which brings me to mention their interior.  Simply put...it's lovely and inviting without trying too hard.

Influenced by the Industrial Revolution, Boulton & Watt is done up with a lot of careful details that do a great job of bringing you back in time.  It was nice to see the neat iron fixtures incorporated into the wall and ceiling design--a lot of them serving as lights and fans--as well as the aesthetically beautiful and at the same time functional, vintage iron stools.  I like that everything looked clean and somehow a little weathered too, giving this place a lot of credibility and intrigue.  Surprised that they actually had flat screen TVs hidden behind a wall fixture, it's obvious that they don't want to be positioned as a sports bar, but don't want to deter sports fanatics either during big sporting events.

Food:
As I already hinted, the food here is homey yet sophisticated, giving validation to the whole concept of a gastropub.  It reminded me a lot of the food that I enjoy at Sweet Afton, and could see the chefs being good friends.

Appetizers - Choosing a few apps so we can sample a little bit of everything, we went for the Scotch Egg, the crispy wild mushroom duxelle, and a jar of pickled pineapple.  Out of those, my favorite was the pineapple because it offered the most surprising and unique bite.  Served in a sweet little mason jar, it was fun to pick out the tart pieces, which were on the fiery side, as they were flavored with generous amounts of habanero.

The Scotch Egg was a close second, with a really thick crunchy crust and a perfectly runny yolk interior.  While I've had Scotch Eggs before in other restaurants, none were done as expertly, and Boulton's also sat in a beautifully velvety Bernaise sauce, further bringing us to the edge of indulgence.

Entrees - For our entrees, we went pretty simple - me with a classic chicken pot pie and Dan with a signature burger.  While I had a bite of Dan's and really enjoyed it - the meat being cooked perfectly and the bacon crunchy and still a bit chewy - I really dug my entree.  The golden brown top was a pretty sight and when pierced with a fork, it revealed a creamy middle filled with white and dark meat, and vibrant root veggies.  I like that they used good quality, free range organic chicken, which absolutely stood out as the star ingredient.  Note that this dish is pretty large and can be shared with another person if you so wish.

Dessert - Taking dessert to go, we couldn't turn down the cast iron chocolate chip cookie.  I can't say it any other way than that it's to die for - the inside being soft and chocolatey while the outside remaining crispy and perfect for dunking in ice cold milk.  Since the portion is quite hefty, we saved some for the next day and heated it up again to bring out its gooeyness.  It was still godly!

Service and Cost:
Overall, I felt that the service was casual, complementing Boulton's atmosphere, while at the same time achieving efficiency.  I was amazed at how quickly our glasses of water were refilled and our plates cleared.  We had to wait quite a bit for our cookie, as it's made to order, but I think something still broke down in the process. Despite this little hiccup, our waitress kept us well informed and there was really no harm done.

Costs are moderate and comparable to other Lower East Side joints:

Snacks/Salads/Pickles $5-$15
Entrees/Burgers $14-$23
Sides - $8
Dessert - $9

3 Mmmms

Boulton & Watt - 5 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009
646.490.6004
F Train to 2nd Avenue
www.boultonandwattnyc.com

Throw Back a Homemade Pickle Martini

It's not often that I write about the art of mixology on this blog, as let's face it...it's not my specialty.  I do, however enjoy a nice cocktail and appreciate it being a big part of the culinary experience.  So for that reason, I'd love to bring you this easy recipe for a dirty pickle martini that Dan made up recently, inspired by the goodies I got from the latest Queens Swap.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the fabulous items I scored at the last Queens Swap was a jar of spicy dill pickles, made by Amy.  They're fantastically strong in flavor, and contain the most pungent sour pickle juice that Dan thought perfect to mix with some good vodka.  So there he went, combining Amy's pickle juice with some Ketel One and a pickle slice too for good luck.  Here's how you make it:

Dan's Pickle Martini 

Ingredients (serves 1)
3 oz of good quality vodka (such as Kettle One)
3 tbs of pickle juice
1 or 2 pieces of pickles

Directions:
Pour all liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker and mix well.  Pour into a martini or bourbon glass and top with a pickle slice.  Enjoy with something particularly luxurious (ummm chocolate covered bacon?!)

Queens Swap at Sweet Afton Was Awesome

Another Queens Swap under our belts, and we couldn't be prouder.  Our fourth swap, which was held last week at Sweet Afton Bar was best yet in terms of attendance, and the items swapped were high in quality.  What I loved most about the swap though was meeting new people who came from all over the place, not only Astoria/LIC and Sunnyside but also Long Island and New Jersey.  So yeah...we had a pretty diverse crowd that kept us honest and always striving for more.  Here's a spotlight of the awesome things we exchanged last week:

AJ's dehydrated lemons and preserved lemons
Meg's water kefir soda pop and almond shortbread 
Kimberly's homemade granola bars (almond joy and "the Linsanity special")
Lauren's homemade rosewater marshmallows, chocolate truffles
Amy's kale chips, spicy pickles, and chocolate chip cookies
Tom's homemade hot cereal and homemade sauerkraut
Bella's mojito cupcakes
Carmen's fresh eggrolls and red velvet cookies
Caitlin's kimchi, blueberry jam, apricot jam
Lisa's sweet and hot red pepper jam and pistachio pesto
Liz's coconut bread
My bacon sea salt

Everything looked amazing, and the swap went on for quite some time, as people really took time and care in scoping out the goods, placing bids and then negotiating.  Even though I brought just 6 items, I was careful in my selections and was really happy with everything I got, including:

AJ's dehydrated lemons, which I already used while entertaining last week. I served them as a decorative touch, with Spanish cheeses, crackers, Caitlin's blueberry jam and dried cranberries. It looked gorgeous on the serving tray, and I got compliments on it. Thanks AJ!

Amy's spicy dill pickles were also partially eaten and the juice helped make a sour pickle martini (more on that soon).

Tom's hot cereal, which I had for breakfast the other day, was delicious, mixed with dried cranberries, which plumped up beautifully in the hot, savory porridge.

Lisa's pistachio pesto that has been used on nearly everything in our household from pizza bagels, crackers, hummus sandwiches and I can't wait to see what else...

Lauren's chocolate truffles, which we've already gobbled up were made of bitter chocolate, so they were naturally fabulously rich and delectable.

Carmen's homemade eggrolls were the real thing - crunchy on the outside but deliciously savory on the inside, stuffed with shrimp and veggies.

I'd like to thank my fabulous fellow co-organizers, Meg and AJ for another great event and for Sweet Afton for graciously hosting us.  Until next time in April...and I hope I've inspired you to sign up.  Check out our site for more info about Queens Swap and how to get involved.