New DIGGS

Time for a new Day! I have started my new job at Good Beer in the East Village of Manhattan. This is really allowing me more time to write and get things done. I just recently moved, which always proves to be challenging in NYC, but with a little help and rental car I was able to move everything with minimal pain. Nothing an ice cold Heady Topper beer from The Alchemist couldn't help to cure, as it was the first of the many delicious brews I will enjoy in my new place. This weekend, memorial day as it is, has been an adventurous one. While going through the farmer's market on the Upper West Side before a day of adventure on Matt's (coworkers) birthday, we came across a very interesting man. He digs up construction sites, by the river, in parks, and finds pieces of interesting glass and old bottles, dishes, and jars. He finds things that have been lost and would otherwise end up buried forever in a lost life and turns them into some of the most interesting pieces of jewelery I have ever seen. I can't wait to get one of my own, or a couple, as a window to a time and a place of the past. They each have a tag on them of when they were found and where and also what they are. My newest writing project, rather an old one that I never fully developed or finished is on Kickstarter now. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1001554489/extraordinary-lives-of-ordinary-people Help me fund it and soon (hopefully in the next year) i will be a published author. No more messing around. It is time to make this happen! Sincerely Yours, Jen

A New Year... A real Blog

This was this year at a Rock and Roll Fashion Show I was in at the end of the summer in Brooklyn.

Seeing as tomorrow is New Year's Eve... I thought it to be appropriate to get the ball rolling and announce that I will be keeping this blog going day in and day out as I continue to explore and share my favorite places with you! I have gotten so busy I haven't been sharing with you but now I shall. Beers I drink, food I eat, places I experience will all be right here on this blog with the hopes that you too will visit and experience these things!

To everyone.. Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!

Brew MASTER!

As you all know I work for Shmaltz Brewing Company repping in lower Manhattan and Queens with parts of Brooklyn too. Well, on Sundays I work at our World's Smallest Brewery down at Coney Island next to the side show. I love spending my Sundays down there. it is so nostalgic and despite its outward appearance, really has a rich culture and heritage to share.

With just starting up this Brewery (one gallon batches at a time) it has been difficult to get a guest brewer down to Coney on Sundays. We always have our Brewers in there on Friday and Saturday. I got to the point where I was getting fed up with sitting at Coney selling Merch and talking about the brewery and the brewing process. Hell, I figured I had a pretty good handle on it, and although I had never tried my hand at whole grain brewing, now was the time. I planned it out to do an IPA and headed down to Coney to check out our Hop situation. In the fridge we did not have the Simcoe hops I was hoping for so I decided it would still go over well if I used Cascade since the two have many similar qualities. We were all set with Amarillo and the grains we needed so we were off! My two friends Anthony and Eric came down to help and hang out (this place has become a popular hang out spot).

We started brewing and measuring and hoping we were doing everything right. Next was to settle on a name for this adventure. We peered around the shop and out into the streets filled with summer vacationers. We wanted to use I. P. A. for something so the ideas were flowing, however they weren't good. Due to our uncertainty about our final product I eventually decided with the approval of the dudes "Coney I.sland P.otentially A.wesome IPA" . Previous to this decision the 'a' was actually for awful, but with a little pep talk with the optimism of Anthony I was able to agree that indeed it would be awesome.

We finished up, pitched the yeast and took some photos. Then into the cooler at a steady temp and hope that there were enough sugars for fermentation to take place. Our OG was 1030 at this point... not too shabby for a first go.

Farm Life

While balancing my two jobs, my attempt at a social life, and building new hobbies I decided I needed an escape from city life. I was trying to find something new and interesting that I could get to via ZipCar or train, as I do not have a car of my own. Recently I have started pickling so I decided to try to find a farm nearby where I could buy fresh produce and possibly pick it myself so I could make delicious relishes, pickles, and chutneys.

While my search seemed tireless, I suddenly came upon this hidden gem. Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. They are a sustainable farm and education center with a 4 star restaurant using all farm fresh ingredients. My interest was even more peaked when I found that there would be a reading that day from a famous author, Brad Kessler, about owning a goat farm and making goat cheese, and more yet, bringing samples of his cheese. Heaven.

I loaded up a bag with the essentials; book, camera, lenses, notebook and pen, cell phone(out of necessity), cash, and a hat to shield from the sun as I walked about the farm. I was ready. I headed into the city to catch the Metro North upstate.

While aboard the train, which only cost $16.50 round-trip, I started to get really excited. The train was empty and I was able to read in peace. All of a sudden at our next stop hundreds of people boarded the train and I was so surprised as I was now sharing a six seater space with 5 small children. Turns out it was game day at Yankee Stadium. To my relief they all got off one stop later and I was back to my serene setting and escape of the city.

When I arrived at the Tarrytown station I promptly found a cab to take me the rest of the journey up into the rolling hill and on to Stone Barns. As we approached and came up the drive I saw the old stone barn and was taken aback by it's sheer beauty. I had learned this week that the owners of the Restaurant I work at got married here, so I knew it would be beautiful but I was not expecting this. It looked like a castle, it's old silos like towers for young maidens to let down their hair awaiting a prince to save them. It's gates and walls perfect for climbing as the dragon was slayed, and it's rivers and streams like mini-motes protecting and providing for all the community.

What a beautiful place! I was in love already and I hadn't even stepped foot on the fertile ground still covered in wet dew from the night before.

I got out of the car and started my exploration. I went into the vegetable garden and then on to the bee hives where they harvest fresh honey. No one seemed to be walking around the farm today even though the parking lot was packed. I think it was the restaurant visitors that came only to wine and dine. I laid on the ground with the chickens. Took their photos. Who said dinosaurs are extinct?

I saw two corgis, still wet from their afternoon swim in the lake. I started walking towards the pigs and the greenhouses amazed at the sheer size of this farm and the quiet that came along with it. I was around fewer and fewer people and suddenly I was completely alone. Standing in a forest. Cool breeze and hot sun streaming in fighting its way to the forrest floor. I found myself in the nature preserve behind the farm. The cicadas were playing their famous song of summer all around me. I drank cold water from bamboo, its taste so pure, so clean, so cold on my lips.

I was sure of it now, I am not only a city girl. I never was. This is the closest we can be to our ancestors, our past; humanity.

I trolled back up the trails, past the berkshire pigs, past the molting geese, up the hill and to the barn for the reading of "Goat Song". His words were of my thoughts precisely. We were losing a sense of what we always were. living from things we produced. He was seeking to change that for himself, as am I. And his cheese tasted of that labor. Honest, care, faithful.

This was one day I needed.

It Begins....

As I approached work for the first time in a few days Tuesday I was dreading the start of restaurant week. It was my first time working in the Big Apple for this special week and I had heard nothing but tales of dread around said topic. The other servers were not enthralled by it and therefor I was not into it either. So, I dragged my feet as I went in for Lunch on Tuesday.

I now realize one thing about restaurant week; Lunch is where it's at. Lunch is where the money is made. Our menu is nice and a good introduction to our restaurant and traditional Japanese food for beginners who don't know a lot about it. It can change your mind completely about what you thought Japanese food was or is. There is absolutely no sushi or sashimi on our menu for the week, which is a nice change for many visitors.

One thing I can't stand about this week; no patience from clients. I picture myself only two and half hours ago carrying hot stones resting in blocks of wood topped with Stone Waygu Beef and delicious veggies sizzling hot as the oil burns my flesh. My wrists shaking and my concentration lying only on making sure I get the food to the right table and safely without burning myself more, or the nightmare of dropping the stone. Now when I set down said stone I need to set down two or more, one for each guest. And then, all of a sudden, my concentration can be broken by a simple "what is this?!". I love to tell people about what they are about to eat. It is a big part of what we do. My only request is that while I hold a sizzling hot stone that you wait until it is completely in front of you to ask me about it. I understand that you may be excited for the new mouth-watering deliciousness that you are about to experience. The party in your mouth you can not resist. But I am concentrating too; on not burning the heck out of your or I.

That being said, I am totally pumped because I got into DBGB for Lunch tomorrow. I think I am going to go with my good friend Melissa and we are going to plan out our adventurous weekend at Coney Island where we will be working the shop for Siren Music Festival. This will be followed by a visit from a long lost friend from FL and my Brother coming on Monday! I am so excited for the week ahead even though I am exhausted beyond comprehension for working the past 15 days straight.

Oh....PS- I started knitting today. Scarf is in progress!

Coney Island Lager...oh my!

Instead of trying to catch you all up on my last 5 months in the big city I am just going to start where I am right now; Coney Island, NY.

I am working at Coney Island Lager's World's Smallest Brewery. We are proudly down here on weekends brewing one gallon batches of some of the most interesting and delicious recipes we can create and get our hands on! Today is Sunday and we are on an off day of brewing because I am manning shop alone. Yesterday the lovely gentlemen I work with brewed a Pale Ale which is currently fermenting to my left. How delightful! I believe a previous IPA that we brewed is ready for drinking today so I popped one in the hops fridge to cool down, as we bottle condition our beers down here so they are warm.

Coney Island is quite nostalgic and from my doors I get a wonderful view of the classic Wonder Wheel! I have yet to ride this historic piece of Coney Island history, but I am waiting for the ride co-passenger to go with. Someday before the close of season I hope.

This week restaurant week will commence and I will be in it full force at EN. Can't wait. It is far better to be busy than slow. I am excited to see what other restaurants have on for the week, although I am often disappointed with the selections and prefer the regular tasting menus at these places.

As for publications, keep an eye out for both of my jobs! Shmaltz is racking up awards all over the place for the year of 2009 in July publications for our awesome Coney Island Lager line and our head chef at EN is gracing the cover of a cook book of NY Chefs as well as being featured in a few magazines! I will keep you updated! My life is never boring and I am so pumped I know these awesome people!

Today I think my adventures include finishing up down here in a few hours then heading to the history filled Ruby's on the boardwalk for a nice ice cold beer. I brought my camera down to get a few photos as I feel I am falling behind on that. I will also be heading to the local market to pick up some fresh veggies to start my newest hobby.... PICKLING!! I can't wait. I think I am going to start with a nice spicy horseradish pickled cucumbers. Starting basic.

Keep checking back I am going to update this one daily! Thanks guys.

Today is The Day

IT IS TIME. Back by popular demand. Now that my Far East adventures have come to a close many people have been messaging me and wondering what I have been up to in the big city now. Yes, that is correct. I moved to NYC after Japan. Now I am writing my novel and working at an awesome Japanese restaurant in the West Village as well as my newest job with Shmaltz Brewing Company.

So, you may be wondering, ' What kind of awesome things will I get to experience by reading Jen's Blog this time around?'. Everything you got last time and more. There will be adventure trips all around the city as well as the country. Join me as I share my dining and drinking experiences with you as well as my outdoor adventures (especially since the summer is rollin into the big apple in full force).

I am currently living in Brooklyn, working at Coney Island on the weekends brewing beer and manning shop, and also working as a waitress. Keep up with me on my newest endeavors!