Category Archives: Uncategorized

A scene from my favorite rice-noodle cart in Chinatown.

Hey, friends! Did I ever tell you that I’m on Instagram? If you’d like to join me on my my adventures in New York and around the world, including my delicious discoveries of food, beer, people and street art, you can follow my Instagram account (joshmbernstein) right . . . here.

Hey, fine beer drinkers. In honor of New York Craft Beer Week, we’re discounting my Craft Beer New York app to just $.99 until March 3. You can’t even buy a PBR for a buck, my friends. Nab my app here!

UPDATE: We still have a handful of tickets left, if you’d like to attend. Buy ‘em here. Sorry, we’re sold out.

In September 2009, the folks at NYC Beer Week asked me to lead a tour. I called a few homebrewer friends, set an itinerary and the Homebrew Tour was born. I thought it would be fun to give people a peek into their world, to let tour takers try these beers and learn what makes the brewers tick and decide to brew in these tiny, tiny apartments.

The tour was supposed to be a one-off. But after the first one, attendees asked, “When’s the next tour?” So I did a second tour, then a third tour, then dozens more. Which brings me to today.

For Jimmy’s Homebrew Jamboree, it’s time to return to my Beer Week roots. We’re taking over my favorite East Village bar, Jimmy’s No. 43, for their signature event of Beer Week. I’ve enlisted 14 of my favorite homebrewers to make special beers for the event. Expect double IPAs, hoppy red ales, saisons, stouts and a host of unusual—and unusually delicious—beers as well.

In addition to boatloads of beer, you’ll be well fed too. Jimmy’s is providing a smorgasbord of goodies including: black-and-tan griddle cakes, huevos rancheros, mini grilled cheese, sweet potato-and-bacon hash, ham biscuits with red-eye gravy and bánh mì biscuits.

Plus, Jimmy’s will have a special lineup of beers on tap available for purchase during and after the event. Attendees receive $1 off draft beers all night.

WHAT: Jimmy’s Homebrew Jamboree
WHEN: Saturday, March 2, 12 p.m.–3 p.m.
WHERE: Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 East Seventh Street, NY)
PURCHASE TICKETS: $35. Click here to buy them.

This story originally ran on Food Republic.

Last year, I did not ask for a shiny gadget or gewgaw for the holidays. Instead, I wished for a few corrections in America’s craft beer industry. While there are more than 2,100 breweries in the States and another thousand-plus in the planning stages, there’s always room for better beer. And happily, 2012 was a very good year for better beer.

Many of my wishes came true. Brewers began creating droves of flavorful, low-alcohol ales emphasizing balance, not bash-you-over-the-head flavor. (Witness the explosion of the session IPA category.) Breweries are increasingly dating their bottled beers, and Stone’s Enjoy By program is revolutionizing the notion of fresh beer. Old styles such as the grätzer are becoming more commonplace, and Twitter is de rigueur for any new brewery worth its salt. Beer is social. Social media is crucial for success.

Still, not every wish was fulfilled. Clean taps are still a concern, and many bar owners still embrace the better-is-more mentality of installing dozens of draft lines — and serving brews in penny-pinching 14-ounce “pint” glasses. And some beer drinkers still treat craft beer with a reverence that, much to my chagrin, calls to mind wine zealots. I’m a beer geek with the best of ’em, but a brew should accompany conversations, not dominate them. Here are my holiday wishes for the next year of craft beer: Continue reading →

I’m on vacation!!!

After a crazy, winding year that saw me get married and release my first book, I need a break. Tomorrow, my wife and I are taking off to Thailand and Vietnam for a two-week, much-delayed honeymoon. Heavens to Betsy, I can’t wait to slurp some pho on the streets of Hanoi. Expect many, many stories of terrific food when I return. And very few stories of delicious beer. But snake wine? That’s a definite possibility.

For the holidays, I was asked to join a virtual potluck. Since the digital realm precludes me from bringing oodles of beer (which is my trademark!), I was partnered with a fellow writer and tasked to clack out a book review and a tasty, tasty recipe. Below, check out the links to more cookbooks and recipes. Remember, if you get hungry, it’s not my fault. Continue reading →

Meet the Jucy Lucy, a burger that breaks the rules: cheese on the inside?! And no “i” in the word “juicy.”

Ladies and gentlemen, can you imagine a world without sandwiches? That would mean lunchboxes lacking PB&Js, delis deficient in turkey-and-Swiss, Cuban lunch counters lacking the Cubano—in short, a life not worth living. Luckily, that long-ago innovator took knife to loaf, slicing bread and paving the way for centuries of handheld edible innovation, which is proudly on display in Susan Russo’s sumptuously photographed The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches.

In this chunky cookbook, the San Diego–based author and brains behind  Food Blogga delves deep into the sandwich universe. Smartly, she sprinkles in equal measures of history and trivia alongside the hundreds of recipes for double-handed delicacies ranging from New Orleans’ olive salad–slathered muffuletta to Chicago’s hot, juicy Italian beef—and even the Fluffernutter too.

While I consider myself sort of a resourceful, freeform sandwich maker (whatever’s in my fridge goes between two slices of bread), I was most captivated by the stories of regional delicacies such as the chow mein sandwich popular in New England and the spiedie. While the name may recall a tight-fitting swimsuit, the spiedie has its roots in spiedini: the Italian word for grilled skewered meat, seafood or vegetables. Slide the skewer into a submarine roll, and you’ll soon be eating the pride of Binghamton, New York.

Hungry yet? Try this easy, tasty recipe for one of my favorite calories-be-damned indulgences: the inside-out Jucy Lucy cheeseburger, which is the joy of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Continue reading →