LGBTQ bars have had a tough run lately. Shuttering in concerning numbers, many have been struggling with soaring rents and an increasingly challenging business model (not to mention dating apps, which make it easy to flirt from the couch). But happily, and against all odds, many of our go-to LGBTQ spaces are still standing—thriving, even. What’s more, they need your business more than ever in light of discriminatory anti-transgender legislation and distressing Don’t Say Gay laws. To that end, here’s a pared-down list of our favorite queer bars, restaurants, and clubs in major cities across America. Drop in for a drag show, catch a late-night DJ set, or simply pull up a stool at the bar. No matter your gender or orientation, you’re in for a good time.  

The Stonewall Inn, New York City

“We really are like the gay Church,” said co-owner Kurt Kelly. Mecca for America’s gay liberation movement, Stonewall is the site where a dayslong protest for LGBTQ rights ensued in 1969 after police violently raided the establishment. In 2019, an estimated 5 million people made the pilgrimage to Greenwich Village to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the pivotal event. Today, Stonewall is more than its brick-and-mortar location; behind the scenes, the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative is taking the “Stonewall Inn legacy to the most marginalized in our community and in the toughest places to still be LGBTQ+,” said Stacy Lentz, Stonewall’s co-owner and CEO of the nonprofit.    

Round-Up Saloon, Dallas

Next time you’re in Dallas, lasso up your friends and take them to this kitsch Oak Lawn dance hall where queer culture meets line dancing and twangy country music. Thursdays are the best nights to go for the uninitiated; that’s when instructors give free lessons on, say, how to do-si-do your partner and dance the “Hoedown Throwdown.” Nobody goes for the gastronomy (the menu is basically burgers, fries, and wings)—though it helps to have something to nibble on to mitigate the dangerously generous pours.

Cheer Up Charlies, Austin

Austin’s LGBTQ residents are up in arms: It may be too late to protect three emblematic Fourth Street queer bars from the wrecking ball as they’re slated to be replaced with luxury highrises. That makes Cheer Up Charlies—which is safe, for now—all the more important to support. With a well-furnished outdoor patio, bubbly staff, and a vegan food truck always parked outside (sweet potato fries! blood orange hard cider!), this bar is our favorite spot for partying in Texas’ blissfully “weird” capital. 

Atlantic House, Provincetown, Massachusetts

The “A-House,” as locals call it, is so old that its original owner was a mounted postman who died of cholera. Opened in 1798 as a stagecoach inn, it became a hub of Bohemian life at the turn of the 20th century as artists and writers fled gritty, industrial Boston for a freer and more solitary life. As early as the 1950s, the A-House was an openly gay establishment, a badge it wears proudly to the present day.   

Big Chicks, Chicago

The first thing you notice when you walk into Big Chicks in Chicago’s Far North Side is the diverse clientele: a wonderfully motley mix representing virtually all ages, races, physiques, and gender identities. Translation? Everybody feels seen at Big Chicks. Consider starting your evening with updated diner fare at Tweet (the sister restaurant) next door, before unbuttoning your shirt and heading over to the dancefloor. 

Akbar, Los Angeles

Akbar is all “good vibes and pretty guys,” according to Los Angeles-based music and travel writer Taylor Henderson. But it nearly shuttered due to the pandemic, when it was running up debt to the tune of $10,000 per month. In a do-or-die plea for aid, the owners created a GoFundMe page that, to their surprise, met its goal within 24 hours. Such is the commitment of this cozy watering hole’s clientele, which doubles as a community space and open mic venue.

Slammers, Columbus, Ohio

Here’s a not-so-fun fact: There are only 33 lesbian bars left in the entire country. And Slammers, fortunately, is one of them. A downtown Columbus standby since 1993, this indoor-outdoor establishment serves pizza and jalapeño poppers and strong drinks against the backdrop of live performances. There’s also karaoke, darts, and pool for those who like some friendly competition. 

Jolene’s, San Francisco

A relative newcomer on the Mission District scene (est. 2018), Jolene’s is a casual queer bar whose Insta-famous neon sign says it all: “You are safe here.” At a time when lesbian bars are closing at an alarming pace, Jolene’s is bucking the trend as a non-male-centric space that doesn’t feel exclusive. The bar food punches well above its weight with dishes like craggy fried chicken served with mashed potatoes and succotash, and cheese-cloaked sliders served alongside thick-cut fries. 

Pony, Seattle

Whenever Mark Stoner wears his Pony hat in another city, he can’t believe how many people stop him to say, “I love that bar!” The owner of this Seattle institution housed in a defunct 1930s gas station loves the compliments, but to Stoner, what “feels even better” is “when marginalized people in our own LGBTQIA+ community tell me that it’s one of the only spaces where they truly feel safe and relaxed,” he said.

The post 9 Amazing American LGBTQ Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants appeared first on Saveur.

The platonic ideal of seafood texture lives in the crispy golden crusts and tender, savory meat of soft-shell crabs. Amanda Cusey, the Executive Chef at Lake Charles’s The Villa Harlequin, always runs them as specials when she can get them. “They look like little spiders,” the Queen of Louisiana Seafood (an official title) says, “But they’re super cool and so good.”

They also require much less work to prep than hard-shell crabs: The soft-shell crabs you find in the States are typically the same blue crabs people often eat, but which have recently molted their old shell, before the new one has hardened. Once you know how to clean a soft shell crab, you can prep them in the time it takes for the fryer oil to heat up.

What you need

– Culinary shears

– Cutting board

– Soft-shell crab

Before You Begin

Buy your soft shell crabs live, as close to when you plan to cook them as possible. “Once they die, they go off really fast,” Cusey explains. If you aren’t prepping and cooking immediately, she recommends packing them on ice until you do.

STEP 1: Cut off the Face Using Culinary Shears.

Place the crab on the board and hold it down with one hand, keeping the face pointing at your other hand. Using your culinary shears, cut off the front-most part of the crab, starting just behind any of the facial features. This kills the crab instantly, and gets rid of the beak. It’s not harmful, Cusey explains, it’s just the only part of the crab that won’t soften when fried, which leaves a weird texture.

STEP 2: Remove the Lungs From Under the Back Shell.

Using your hands, lift up the back of the crab’s top shell. The lungs are the spiky-shaped and off-white pieces with a visibly stringy texture. Once you find them, they should be easy to grab and pull or snip right out. The lungs won’t make you sick or anything, Causey advises, but they just are not pleasant to eat, in flavor or feel. The orange glob nearby, on the other hand, is fat, and she recommends leaving that.

STEP 3: Get Your Crab Ready to Cook.

While some people also remove the “apron”—the triangular flap on the underside of the crab—Causey doesn’t bother. But she does advise lifting the apron up when preparing the crab, allowing the batter to get all around and underneath it. She likes to dip her soft shell crabs in well-spiced flour, then buttermilk, then back in the flour again before frying, but she says eggs or milk work for the wet portion as well—the key is to make sure the dry mixture is well seasoned. While frying is common, soft-shell crab can also be deep-fried or sauteed without battering or breading the crab.

Final Thoughts

Frying soft shell crabs delivers one of the world’s best bites of seafood, but before you batter and splatter them, you need to properly clean your critters. This pared down process of essential steps for how to clean a soft shell crab takes your crustaceans from alive-and-kicking to shatteringly crisp as efficiently as possible.

The post How to Clean a Soft Shell Crab appeared first on Saveur.

When driving through rural Maine’s hilly countryside, most wouldn’t think twice about the unremarkable low-lying fields beyond the road. But step onto one of those stretches of green and you’ll notice red-tipped leaves alongside emerald-hued foliage, tall white flowers dancing in the breeze, and tight bunches of ripening blueberries huddled together against the bluster. What may have appeared at first glance to be a mere meadow is in fact a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. This is a wild blueberry field, the bedrock of a burgeoning wine industry in Maine that could help save one of the state’s most precious heritage crops.

Wild blueberries—smaller and more tart than the produce aisle’s hybrid varieties, and genetically distinct from them—are indigenous to this state. “Maine wild blueberries are not to be grouped with hybrid blueberries from other states, nations, and continents,” says winemaker Michael Terrien, co-owner of Obsidian Wine Company and founder of Terrien Wines in Northern California, as he confidently threads his way through a blueberry field. Stopping abruptly, the Maine native bends down to examine a cluster of fruit—‘wild blues,’ as they are affectionately called. His eyes, the same color as his prized berries, radiate enthusiasm as he explains that the wild fruit has grown naturally in Maine for more than 10,000 years. Bushes are never planted; rather, farmers establish their businesses around naturally occurring shrubs. “Therein lies the fruit’s sustainability bonafides; we haven’t messed with the genes,” says Terrien, which means wild blueberries are inherently more resilient against pests and disease. 

“Maine is the only state with wild blues in any significant quantity,” he explains. However, “precisely because they have never been bred, they are at a commercial disadvantage to hybrids.” Yields are low: on average, a field can only produce about 2 tons per acre, according to the USDA and National Agricultural Statistics Service, far less than the 10 tons per acre of commercially bred varieties, and wild blues can only be harvested every other year. Competition from Canada—the only other place that grows wild blueberries abundantly enough to be commercially viable—is also hurting Maine’s farmers. In recent years, the value and volume of the state’s wild blues have fluctuated wildly: in 2017, prices dipped to 25 cents per pound (2021 saw some relief, with prices reaching 70 cents per pound), and in 2020, the crop’s yield fell below 48 million pounds, the lowest haul since 2004. 

Baked into muffins, folded into pancake batter, or eaten by the juicy handful are how most people know and love wild blues. But Terrien saw the potential for something more. The winemaker realized he could apply his vintner skills to the fruit—and help revive the struggling crop by increasing demand, generating interest, and providing farmers with more opportunities. 

Fruit wines are not a new concept, but many are cloyingly sweet. Terrien knew blueberries had all the components to make a dry, vinous-like wine. Blueberries contain sugars that can be converted into alcohol—part of the standard winemaking process. Plus, the naturally occurring antioxidants allow wines to age slowly, protect them against oxidation, and help keep the beverage stable, meaning little to no sulfur needs to be added. The one thing missing is tannins, which provide body and texture to wine. Through trial and error, Terrien and his co-founder Eric Martin found that adding bubbles to blueberry wine gave it a texturally interesting mouthfeel that replicated the sensations created by tannins. Finally, in 2014, Bluet was born.

The first sip of a blueberry wine is tart, but distinctly redolent of the namesake fruit. What follows on the palate is an elegant spice, calling to mind black pepper. With its acidity and sparkling texture, the beverage is lively and refreshing, not heavy or syrupy. It is, dare I say, surprisingly wine-like. 

Like all sparkling wines, blueberry wine should be served chilled, and its low level of 7% alcohol by volume (ABV) makes it ideal for the warm summer months. For an extremely easy cocktail, Terrien recommends adding a splash of triple sec and a sprig of mint.

Cognizant of the challenges facing wild blueberry farmers, the state introduced a bill in March to make the state’s Down East area, which is home to a dense population of blueberry fields, a National Heritage Area. If the bill passes, the resulting job opportunities and increased tourism will provide much-needed funding for the region’s agricultural industry.

Small farmers make up about 40 percent of the wild blueberry industry, and Terrien sources blueberries exclusively from these boutique farms to help them increase production and ultimately revenue. But one winemaker can’t shoulder an industry alone, which is why Terrien is encouraging other entrepreneurial souls to start their own wineries.

One protege is R.A.S., founded by Joe Appel, Dan Roche, and Emily Smith. The winery recently released the second vintage of its Arkadia blueberry sparkling wine. R.A.S.’s fruit, sourced from organic farms, goes through a longer maceration period than Bluet’s, which gives the wine a deeper color and more intense flavors. The makers also use naturally occurring yeast to kickstart fermentation. The result is a wine with an earthy and savory quality, and intense herbal notes reminiscent of pomegranate and rhubarb. And the company is not limiting itself to sparkling wine. The makers have also produced an aromatized wine called A7 Americano that infuses wild blueberry wine with organic herbs, spices, and fruit, then fortifies it with brandy. The resulting beverage can be used in vermouth-based cocktails such as Manhattans and Negronis, or enjoyed on the rocks. “We wanted to make a fortified/aromatized wine that could be used creatively as a mixer, but could also provide lots of pleasure when sipped on its own,” says Appel.

In this nascent industry, there’s plenty of room for experimentation. Terrien’s assistant winemaker, Davis Martinec, plans to harvest his first crop of blueberries this year for his own yet-to-be-named label. While he’s still figuring out his style, he knows one thing is clear: the quality will be there. “[In Maine] we don’t have to try and force something into a box, like trying to grow grapes where they don’t want to grow. Here, you’re taking a fruit that loves being here, that wants to be here, and making wine out of it.”

The post The Future of This Berry Is at Risk—Could a Burgeoning Wine Industry Come to Its Rescue? appeared first on Saveur.

The relationship between “healthy” food and inclusivity tends to be inverse. Health food brands often project an aura of exclusivity around their products. Ghost Town Oats, the world’s first Black- and queer-owned oat milk company, wants to break down the barrier surrounding one of today’s trendiest health-promoting products—one delicious, creamy cappuccino at a time. 

As of late July, the LA-based brand is officially available in select coffee shops in Los Angeles, like Dayglow and Obet & Del’s Coffee, and Chicago, like Stan’s Donuts. It’s the fledgling company’s first step toward creating a deeply inclusive, widely available, and (attention, baristas) better-tasting oat milk. 

Like many newish and innovative food companies, Ghost Town Oats was a brainchild of the pandemic. Stuck at home, veteran coffee professionals Michelle Johnson, Ezra Baker, and Eric J. Grimm decided to join forces and create a product that they felt the industry needed. Their goals were threefold: taste, texture, and culture. “We really homed in on what flavors we wanted,” said Baker on a recent phone call, explaining that many of the existing oat milks tasted overwhelmingly “oaty.” Their goal was to create one with a taste and creaminess that approximated whole milk.

Because all of the founders are baristas at heart—Johnson, known for her blog The Chocolate Barista, was in fact the first Black woman to qualify for the U.S. Barista Championship—it was important that the milk alternative they created could steam exceptionally well. “That was the number one thing that we wanted to do,” said Baker. 

Finally, they wanted to reach customers they believe have too often been excluded from plant-based milk culture—specifically, communities of color. Currently, according to Baker, the target audience for alternative milks largely overlaps with wellness adherents—mostly white, mostly affluent. According to Baker, “we want to be the bridge” to a much wider, more diverse customer base. “We want to be the Sprite of oat milk,” he continued, in reference to how the lemon-lime soda was historically heavily marketed to African American communities. But unlike Sprite, oat milk carries nutritional benefits—and it’s lactose-free, a significant consideration for communities of color that Baker points out are more likely to experience lactose intolerance. 

The company’s commitment to inclusivity runs so deep that it’s even built into the financing. Through the WeFunder platform, the company invites anyone to buy a piece of the pie (for as little as $100) and potentially earn a return on their investment. As of this writing, Ghost Town Oats has raised $236,518 from 392 investors.

If investors have proven to be eager, so have customers (and wannabe customers). According to the company’s WeFunder page, the waitlist for coffee shops wanting to carry Ghost Town Oats has soared past 100. Reminiscent of the explosive growth of the bonafide unicorn startup Oatly, Ghost Town Oats stands to scale fast. “It’s almost scary for someone who’s never done this. I’m freaking out a little bit,” said Baker with a laugh. “But we’re having fun.”

When asked about his ultimate vision of success, Baker didn’t mention funding rounds or financials. He replied, “Success for us would be to go to any bodega in New York City or in Brooklyn and find our product there.”

The post Why Oat Milk Is Too White—And How One Brand Is Determined to Change That appeared first on Saveur.

There’s a running joke among Americans in Paris about Europeans—Parisians especially—signing off the entire month of August. (True enough; I recently tried to reschedule a late July meeting only to be offered a raincheck for September.)

Sure, the joke’s a little tired, considering plenty of people work throughout the summer. But it does seem fair to say that August days are long and languid. Compared to the flurry of activity come September, big cities feel delightfully uneventful. And when it comes to cooking, no one wants to sweat by a stove, which means meals are often as simple and straightforward as dressing up seasonal produce. 

Despite the slightly muted vibe of the month of August, there’s still a lot that the SAVEUR team is excited about in the world of food and drink. We’ve rounded up the events that should be on your radar, as well as some of the forthcoming cookbooks we can’t wait to crack open, for filling the final dog days of summer with plenty of good food and inspiration.  

Smorgasburg — Toronto, Canada

The popular open-air food market that has become an institution in New York City is launching its first-ever international location in Toronto. Located at 7 Queens Quay East, the weekly market will feature dozens of local food vendors like Afrobeat Kitchen and LÀ LÁ Bakeshop. It will run for eight weeks, beginning July 23.  

EVERYBODY EATS — Houston

A novel concept from chefs Tobias Dorzon and Matt Price, EVERYBODY EATS is a multi-city dining experience that marries food and social media. The event’s name is also the very theme here: While in-person attendees will enjoy a multi-course menu, those unable to visit IRL can participate by accessing the chefs’ recipes via their social media. Additionally, part of the proceeds will be donated to charity to help feed families in need. The first dinners ran in Washington, D.C. in July, and the next will be hosted in Houston on Aug. 8. Future dates will be announced soon. 

Claud — New York City

Momofuku Ko alums chef Joshua Pinsky and wine director Chase Sinzer are opening a European-inspired restaurant and wine bar, Claud, in the East Village. According to the pair, their goal is to “create a space that leans on their roots but provides an everyday experience for the neighborhood.” With dishes like swordfish au poivre and half chicken with foie gras drippings, the establishment opens its doors on East 10th St. on Aug. 2.

Octopus Festival — Ourense, Spain

On Aug. 14, between 25,000 and 30,000 kilos (that’s 55,116 to 66,139 pounds) of octopus, or pulpo in Spanish, will be prepared in O Carballiño, a town in Galicia (pulpo capital of the world), for this year’s Octopus Festival. In addition to the main attraction, attendees can try other regional favorites like Cea bread and pies, with plenty of Ribeiro wine.

Prosperity Market Black Business Scavenger Hunt — Los Angeles

Throughout the month of August, a roving farmers market spotlighting Black farmers, food producers, and chefs will host a Black Business Scavenger Hunt across the city of Los Angeles. For the occasion, founders Kara Still and Carmen Dianne have partnered with more than 50 Black entrepreneurs across food, fashion, arts, and entertainment. Each week, Prosperity Market will release clues on its website and Instagram to unlock the designated locations, from wine bars to coffee shops to galleries and more. Participants earn points by visiting the locations, checking in, taking a photo with a QR code, and sharing on Instagram (or via email, for those without social media).

Forever Beirut: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Lebanon

Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is known for its unmatched cuisine that combines Arab, Turkish, and French influences. Forever Beirut, a love letter to the city’s vibrant dishes that publishes Aug. 23, is written by renowned chef and award-winning cookbook author Barbara Abdeni Massaad. 

I Am From Here – Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef

Available on Aug. 16, I Am From Here takes readers on a journey through James Beard Award-winning chef Vishwesh Bhatt’s take on American Southern cuisine. The Indian-born, Mississippi-based chef shares dishes like Peanut Masala–Stuffed Baby Eggplant alongside fried okra tossed in tangy chaat masala, Collard-Wrapped Catfish with a spicy Peanut Pesto, and much more.

Gaby’s Latin American Kitchen

You might know Chef Gaby Melian from her viral videos during her reign as Bon Appétit’s Test Kitchen Manager. Her latest project is Gaby’s Latin American Kitchen, a cookbook aimed at young cooks in which the Buenos Aires-born chef shares her favorite recipes from Latin America, including Colombian-style Arepas con Queso and crepe-like Panqueques with sweet Dulce de Leche. It will be available Aug. 9. 

The Gracias Madre Cookbook

In California, the restaurant Gracias Madre is known for its tasty plant-based Mexican cuisine and exceptional cocktails. Now, the eatery is releasing a cookbook, which drops Aug. 9, featuring recipes from chef Alan Sánchez like Calabaza and Onion Quesadillas, Coliflor with Cashew Nacho Cheese, and Coffee Flan.

Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew

In Koshersoul, James Beard award-winning author and culinary historian Michael W. Twitty examines the crossroads of Jewish and African diaspora cuisine, and explores themes of identity, food, and memory. Part cookbook and part cultural exploration, Koshersoul includes over 50 recipes and is available beginning Aug. 9.

Secrets of a Tastemaker: Al Copeland The Cookbook 

Everybody knows Popeye’s, but the story of the man behind the famous fried-chicken empire has been largely overlooked—until now. Secrets of a Tastemaker shares stories from the life of New Orleans-born founder Al Copeland and includes more than 100 of his closely guarded family recipes. The book is now available for Kindle pre-order, and hardcover pre-order begins Aug. 13.

The post Cultural Calendar: Where to Go and What to Read in August appeared first on Saveur.

On a recent Thursday evening in the West Village, several dozen people gathered at Emmett’s on Grove to eat pizza and drink beer. It would have been like any other night at the popular Manhattan restaurant, but for the price of entry: not a standard reservation, or a forty-minute wait for a walk-in seat, but an NFT, featuring the Hot Papi pizza anthropomorphized with fried-egg eyes and a bacon smile. 

The NFTs were the handiwork of the new company Front of House, which launched in early June with the aim of becoming “the internet’s one-stop-shop for digital collectibles from the best bars and restaurants anywhere.” For now, it offers NFTs linked to special diner privileges at New York hotspots Dame and Wildair, in addition to Emmett’s on Grove. Each can be purchased with cryptocurrencies, or plain-old credit cards. (NFTs, in case you live under a rock, are “non-fungible tokens,” aka unique digital crypto assets that are registered on a blockchain, and increasingly being used to gain access to member-only clubs, services, and subscriptions.) 

To enter the pizza party, guests needed to furnish either a $33 NFT good for that specific event, or one of the heavier-hitting NFTs currently offered by Front of House, such as the $1,000 Fish & Chips Hospitality Club collectible from Dame, designed by Marianna Fierro and redeemable for one table reservation per week until the end of 2022. 

Turnout was strong, with about sixty adults, two children, and one extremely fluffy gray dog. Revelers drank beer from tall glasses adorned with a cheeky FOH logo (sarcastic, colorful 2017-era food mag branding seems to be a strength of the company) and ate as many slices of pizza as they could stomach. One bearded man wandered the room ostentatiously displaying a black tote bag from ApeFest. At 7pm on the dot, party guests were politely ushered out, so regular service could begin. 

According to Front of House co-founder Phil Toronto, a consumer tech investor and Partner at VaynerFund, the company has so far sold about 100 NFTs, including 40 of the pricier, single-restaurant-affiliated tokens. In addition to the $1,000 Dame Hospitality Club collectible, Emmett’s on Grove offers a similar token with reservation access until the end of this year for $300, and Wildair offers a series of Donut Friend collectibles for $200 a pop, which provide (vaguely defined) access to their specialty donut flavors and events, plus a hint at potential extra benefits down the line. Front of House expects its next drop to be a series of NFTs from East Village restaurant Hanoi House.

“The beauty of the opportunity is that we don’t need to decide from conception what perks are offered [with the NFT]. On an ongoing basis, we can experiment with different offerings. There’s the opportunity to establish a meaningful relationship with top supporters of the restaurant,” says Sarah Better, Emmett’s chief of staff. 

At the end of this year, participating restaurants will have the chance to evaluate the NFTs they have issued and either re-up or alter the perks offered, as well as the option to issue a fresh set of tokens. 

Toronto says the revenue from the sale of each collectible is split 80 percent to the restaurant and 20 percent to Front of House (including FOH NFTs traded on the secondary market). His primary goal with FOH is to increase cash flow into restaurants, he says. The company has plans to expand to Los Angeles and Canada next, and would like to create NFTs that offer package deals—for example, a single NFT that offers reservation perks across some five or six separately owned restaurants in a single neighborhood. 

Danielle Vreeland, who lives in Tribeca, tells me she initially bought an Emmett’s Supper Club collectible for her husband as a Father’s Day gift, but decided to keep it for herself. (The NFT holder must be present at any reservation made using the token.) “I would like to see 4 Charles and Carbone create NFTs,” says Vreeland. “That would be beyond.”

The post The New Price to Be a Restaurant Regular? An NFT appeared first on Saveur.

New York City is arguably one of the toughest places in the world to open a brick-and-mortar business, let alone during the late-stage pandemic era with both commercial and residential rent prices skyrocketing despite tenants fighting tooth-and-nail. Right now, success stories in the cities can seem few and far between—but they taste that much sweeter when they do happen.

On June 28th, wine entrepreneur and Brooklyn native Marvina Robinson celebrated a major milestone for B. Stuyvesant—the first Brooklyn-based, Black-owned Champagne company—with the opening of her new tasting room in the heart of the borough’s historic Navy Yard. The brand, which Robinson launched in February 2020 after extensive research and tasting trips to France, endured countless challenges in the face of COVID-19. Ultimately, she was forced to relocate the business in the wake of the real estate market’s surge in prices, which (perhaps serendipitously) brought B. Stuyvesant to its current location. “The Navy Yard chose me,” Robinson shares. (A trip to the area’s grocery store inspired her to put in an inquiry on a listing, and, over the following days, things came together much more quickly than she’d anticipated.)

Housed inside one of the neighborhood’s industrial warehouse buildings, the chic open-concept space is a fitting juxtaposition of fine bubbles and city grit that could also mirror Robinson’s own journey into the wine scene. The energetic entrepreneur, who holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Norfolk State University and a Master’s degree in statistics from Columbia, spent years working in finance before a company downsize inspired her to pivot to a career in a totally different industry, inspired by a longtime affinity for drinking bubbles in her hometown.

Today, B. Stuyvesant’s core three cuvées—a classic brut Reserve, a traditional-blend rosé Champagne, and (our personal favorite) a Grand Reserve—are quickly gaining recognition in their new pied-à-terre, thousands of miles away from their somewhat buttoned-up home region. Also lining the shelves (and available online) are several limited-edition releases.

 A big part of Robinson’s vision with the space is to make the effervescent drink more approachable and fun (see that expertise on full display as she shows how to saber Champagne alongside fellow New Yorkers the Wine Migos). While sabrage likely won’t be one of the activities on offer inside the newly-renovated tasting room, it’s that joie de vivre and ease that defines the brand—and, not to worry, there will be plenty of other ways to get acquainted with the Champagnes. 

Currently, Robinson is starting to import grower Champagnes not yet available stateside, which she plans to incorporate into the tasting menu as a means of exposing visitors to the region’s diversity. “Every time I go to Champagne, I find a new grower champagne that is divine, and I want to bring more awareness to these brands,” she shares. In addition to the tastings, which are offered on an individual basis and in a class format, “We are beginning to host curated dinners—it is an amazing experience!” she tells us. 

Economic obstacles aside, Robinson is poised to become a source of inspiration for other budding entrepreneurs in the wine business—especially those who want to challenge industry norms. Her words of advice? “Don’t try and fit in—make your own waves to find your niche. Stick to your goals and visions and leave the fears behind.”

The post Brooklyn’s First Black-owned Champagne Brand Is the Bubbly To Sip This Summer appeared first on Saveur.

Food is more than what’s on the plate. This is Equal Portions, a series by editor-at-large Shane Mitchell, investigating bigger issues and activism in the food world, and how a few good eggs are working to make it better for everyone.

“Making a bean suit has the power to bring people together,” says Devin DeWulf, founder of the Krewe of Red Beans. “It creates a sense of belonging and community, a powerful and healing thing, especially in times of distress like a hurricane or pandemic.” 

DeWulf ate beans twice a day as an exchange student in Brazil during 2005, but when he moved to New Orleans, his love of the humble kidney bean manifested in a new creative expression for a city that marches on its stomach. Inspired by Black Masking Indians, the carnival revelers who don elaborately beaded regalia during Mardi Gras parades, DeWulf formed the Krewe of Red Beans in 2009, when two dozen friends hot-glued thousands of pounds of legumes onto playful outfits depicting swan mermaids, alligators, pirates, and skeletons to honor what DeWulf calls the “beaning season.”

New Orleanians eat red beans and rice on Mondays. While this culinary custom lacks definitive roots, it may have resulted from two household chores: doing the laundry while putting a meal on the table. Back when Creole women laboriously scrubbed linens by hand, a low-maintenance pot of beans simmering on the stove was a wash day kitchen hack that would become part of the city’s intangible culture. The first attributed recipe for haricots rouges au riz appears locally in The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book (1901) but like other food traditions that are passed down orally, the dish most likely arrived in New Orleans a century or more prior with its pan-racial founders.

The pairing of any beans and rice, often seasoned with salted meat or leftover ham bones, has a long history in Creole cultures elsewhere: diri ak pwa wouj in Haiti, arroz junto in Puerto Rico, and feijoada in Brazil, to name a few. But nowhere is this simple meal celebrated with such relish as in the parishes along the lower Mississippi River—and especially on Lundi Gras (February 28 this year) during the Krewe’s trio of walking parades when laissez le bean temps rouler, right before the rest of the city parties hard on Fat Tuesday.

The Krewe of Red Beans now numbers more than 500 revelers, and over the years, their bean suits have only become more expressive of the city’s adaptive history—cultural signifiers such as a carriage mule, a Carnival grand marshall, and voodoo saints are regularly represented—but members are required to abide by a respectful code of ethics when building their costumes. The Krewe doesn’t allow changing of skin color, appropriation of another culture’s attire, or use of derogatory and harmful messaging. “One of our members was Honduran, and she decided to reclaim the term ‘frijolera,’” says DeWulf of the offensive Hispanic slang for someone who eats beans. “But is that a word everyone should reclaim? We try to educate away from terms like that, and want everyone to feel welcome.”

Cultural reverence is reflected in all three parades organized by the Krewe: in addition to the original Red Beans route that winds around Faubourg Marigny, the Dead Beans parade centers on global afterlife beliefs in Bayou St. John, while in the Bywater, Feijao pays homage to the Carnival traditions of Brazil. “As our krewe grows, we’re expanding our celebration of places that have both Carnival and bean culture, making for a more diverse celebration here,” says DeWulf. All parades converge in Treme for a raucous street party that is pure New Orleans, complete with jazz bands and second line-style dancing, before everyone heads home to their Monday of Mondays dinner.

“My parents taught me how to cook beans,” says Vince Hayward, whose family started Camellia Brand in 1923. (In New Orleans, Camellia is synonymous with kidney beans, even though the company sells 19 dried varieties.) “We were a smoked ham hock style of bean eaters. Now, I cook beans in a crockpot, just dump the ingredients in, and dinner is ready when I get home.” 

Hayward’s bean company contributes the raw materials for the Krewe of Red Beans’ Lundi Gras parade costumes; he estimates that the company’s support for other food-oriented local initiatives—school fairs, neighborhood gardens, church groups—provides roughly 250,000 meals a year. “We’re a part of the fabric of New Orleans, a city inextricably tied to red beans and rice,” says Hayward. “In terms of being a good citizen of the community, we donate to virtually any event or fundraiser doing good deeds, no questions asked.” 

One of those foundational projects is Beanlandia. Other krewes have members-only dens, but the motto of this inclusive cultural center rising in the Bywater says it all: “Red Beans is for the people.” The Krewe of Red Beans is currently crowdfunding to convert an old warehouse into a hybrid space for a bean museum, krewe headquarters, performance hall, and neighborhood gathering place. “Beanlandia will be a creative venue for the folks who are the backbone of New Orleans culture,” says DeWulf. “Second liners, baby dolls, musicians, Mardi Gras Indians. We want to make a space that’s not just about a parade, but a mechanism to support our city.”

All this, from a little bean.

Please consider helping New Orleans’ most vulnerable culture bearers through Feed the Second Line, which delivers groceries to the elderly and creates gig opportunities for local musicians and performers.

Recipes

Red Beans and Rice

Get the recipe >

Creole Seasoning

Get the recipe >

The post How a Humble Bean Unites New Orleans on Lundi Gras appeared first on Saveur.

Holiday turkeys are notoriously inconsistent, but butcher Jake Dickson of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats has a solution to make sure your bird turns out beautifully every time. Most turkey troubles stem from airflow issues, he explains: Big animals with empty (or stuffed!) cavities cooked in small home ovens can get in the way of an even roast. Flattening the bird allows it to cook more evenly and faster, resulting in a tastier roast. Dickson’s foolproof spatchcock turkey recipe uses a cheap rubber mallet from the hardware store and a cleaver to give you more precision in cutting the bird. Once split, the meat is seasoned simply, then quick-cooked at a single temperature, leaving you more time to get creative with the side dishes.

Featured in: “Get That Bird on the Table Faster (and More Evenly Cooked) With This Time-Saving Technique.”

Learn How to Spatchcock a Turkey

The post Simple Spatchcock Turkey appeared first on Saveur.

This holiday season, millions of Americans will wonder if their turkey needs to cook for just two hours like last year, or if they’ll have to plan their meal around five hours of oven time, as was required the year before. Turkeys are giant birds, and most home ovens are relatively small. This results in limited airflow and makes the timing of these large holiday roasts an intricate and unpredictable affair. That’s where spatchcocking comes in. The technique makes roasting a whole turkey quicker and more consistent, generally yielding juicer, far more tender meat.

“The idea with spatchcocking is to simplify the process,” says Jake Dickson, founder of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market—SAVEUR’s go-to butcher shop for recipe testing and photo shoots. Removing the bird’s backbone to open the body neutralizes any complications caused by the turkey’s irregular shape. “From something round with an empty cavity,” Dickson describes, “You’re creating a flat, mostly uniform surface to cook.”

Spatchcocking allows the cook to serve a showy whole-bird centerpiece while eliminating a lot of the guesswork. “By decreasing the amount of time required to cook a turkey,” the butcher tells us, “you can go hotter and faster, and keep the meat a bit juicier, too.”

How to Spatchcock a Turkey

Get Your Equipment and Bird Set Up

The larger the bird, the harder the bones, so, when it comes to butchering a turkey, you’ll need a fair amount of power. The typical spatchcocking technique requires a fair amount of skill and a special knife designed specifically for cutting through the sturdy rib cage—hardly useful for the average home cook. Instead, Dickson offers his easy, foolproof method using a simple rubber mallet from the hardware store and an inexpensive cleaver. 

Instead of attempting to precisely adjust a knife or swing the cleaver itself, this tactic allows the user to carefully place the edge of the blade where they intend to cut, then swing the safer, more manageable mallet down to push through the ribs.

Once you have all the equipment, position your bird upright on a large cutting board with its legs pointing upwards.

Cut Down the Backbone

With the bird standing upright, insert the cleaver, “starting right to one side of where the tail meets the rest of the carcass,” says Dickson. Swing the mallet to hit the back of the cleaver, pushing the blade through to cut down along the backbone, using “little whacks” until you have broken through to the cavity.

Repeat this process on the second side. “Once you do the first side, the bird’s structure is no longer intact,” the butcher explains, so you will need to steady it to make the second cut. “But it’s totally doable,” he says. If you have any skin or meat still connected, Dickson recommends using a sharp paring knife to finish the job: remove the backbone entirely and reserve it for stock.

Break the Breastbone

At this point, the hardest part of the job is finished! So you can relax. You basically have an open cavity in the bird with the backbone removed or opened up, giving you direct access to the breastbone, which remains the last obstacle between you and a fully spatchcocked turkey.

Set the edge of the cleaver on the exposed breastbone, instructs Dickson, “And give it a couple quick whacks with the mallet to split that bone in half.” (Don’t cut all the way through the meat.) This will make it far easier to flatten the turkey.

Flatten the Turkey

With the breastbone gone, you should be able to simply flip the bird over and press down to flatten it. If you have a large oven, you are all set to prepare it for cooking. 

If you have a small oven, you have now doubled the width of your turkey, so may run into a space issue; feel free to halve the bird through the breast and cook it on two separate baking sheets.

How Long to Cook a Spatchcock Turkey

When asked how to cook a spatchcock turkey, Dickson explains that temperature is key: “I go hotter and faster than I would otherwise,” he says. The oven can stay hot throughout the cooking process—a consistent 375 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit— because the butchering method allows the heat to reach every part of the bird more evenly.

Dickson advises against any overcomplicated preparations for a spatchcocked turkey: “I try not to put too many fresh herbs on the skin, because I worry that they’ll burn.” Instead, he seasons the meat with a simple trio of salt, pepper, and olive oil, then roasts the bird for about 12 minutes per pound.

But as with any recipe, don’t rely on timers alone: Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your spatchcock turkey often—you’re aiming for 165 degrees Fahrenheit—before pulling it from the oven. (The residual heat will continue to bring the temperature of the meat up, so to avoid dry and overcooked white meat, don’t go past this point). 

If the skin starts to brown too much before the meat is fully cooked, tent the darkest spots loosely with foil. 

Recipes

Spatchcock Turkey Recipe

Get the recipe >

The post Get That Bird on the Table Faster (and More Evenly Cooked) With This Time-Saving Technique appeared first on Saveur.

There’s nothing technically wrong with a rich, buttery chardonnay, but it’s no secret that this classically Californian style has fallen out of fashion since its heyday back in the 1990s and early 2000s (cue: Bridget Jones and her tall bedside pour). It’s safe to say that each new wine-drinking generation is generally determined to do things differently than the ones that came before, and people’s palates today skew much drier than they used to (take the history of champagne drinking, for example). And while the chardonnay grape actually spans a wide spectrum of flavors, the image of a California chardonnay served over ice on a sun-soaked porch is a hard one to erase.

“California is a diverse state,” says Susan Fredson-Cole, creator of @admirevine, an Instagram account dedicated to making wine content more accessible to all. She explains that, to understand its breadth of chardonnay offerings, one must consider that many environmental factors can affect the grape. Because of the variation in topography, altitude, and temperature across California, they will taste different depending on where they’re grown.

“Vineyards in warmer climates can produce chardonnays with tropical characteristics, while cooler-climate vineyards can produce wines with more stone-fruit characteristics,” she says. “Producers are always trying to make their wines stand out. Even if you [compare] chardonnays from Paso Robles and Mendocino, you’ll taste the difference.”

In winemaking, the grape itself primarily determines the final product’s core flavors, natural color, acidity, and tannin. The vintner’s stylistic choices throughout the winemaking process further influence each of these characteristics and infuse added complexity. Fredson-Cole refers to the winemaker’s impact as the “special sauce”—which encompasses all choices made post-harvest, from maceration and fermentation to extraction and aging, as well as any additives the winemaker might choose to introduce.

Aging, in particular, is a major contributing factor to a wine’s degree of butteriness in both flavor and texture; vessels made of oak, especially new oak, are key in rendering the proverbial butter-bomb chardonnay, imparting flavors like vanilla and sweet spices. 

On the other hand, vessels made of stainless steel or concrete help preserve the fresh, lean, and crisp flavors in some chardonnay grapes—a clear contrast to the rounder, richer styles many associate with the varietal. These produce wines that are often referred to as “unoaked.” The latter is what you’ll find most often in French Chardonnays (think Chablis, a variety of wine from northern Burgundy that uses chardonnay grapes exclusively).

According to Miami wine writer and judge Jacqueline Coleman, another factor that greatly impacts a chardonnay’s ultimate flavor and mouthfeel is malolactic fermentation. “Malo refers to the process of converting malic acid into lactic acid, which results in a softening effect and in many cases adds a creaminess or butter-biscuit texture or flavor to a wine,” she explains. This process of fermentation is often perceived to be what produces ultra-buttery styles, but it’s actually only one part of the equation. “It doesn’t always necessarily lead to the wine as a whole being buttery,” Coleman clarifies. When it comes to that particular style of chardonnay, the buttery qualities can be accentuated by the winemaker through malolactic fermentation, along with other factors such as oak and aging on lees.”

While there’s no denying that many consumers and industry professionals steer clear of chardonnays akin to those of California’s oak-and-butter era, there’s still a time and a place for them––and champions of the old-school style do exist, especially when it comes to food pairings. For example, if you’re cooking a dish such as a white fish with a savory cream sauce, a crisp, new-age California chardonnay wouldn’t shine quite as much as its bigger, more buttery counterparts. And while you might not opt to sip the latter on its own, the goal of pairing wine with food is to create an experience that’s bigger than the sum of its parts.

The bottom line is that, like with any other wine varietal, chardonnay is too diverse a category to relegate all bottles into one singularly-defined box; many factors throughout the winemaking process can impact how a particular chardonnay ends up tasting. “Some producers are heavy on the oak, especially if you look at the chardonnays you’ll find at bigger retail stores,” adds Fredson-Cole. But it’s important to recognize that crisper, fresher styles do exist, and if you are someone who tends to disregard chardonnays, you might want to reconsider––and try more of what’s out there.

Whether you’re completely new to chardonnay or you’re revisiting the varietal, Fredson-Cole has a few pointers for your next trip to the wine store if you’re hoping to explore the fresher end of the chardonnay spectrum.

“Look for descriptors such as ‘crisp’ and ‘lean’—if ‘stainless steel’ is mentioned on the label, you’re good,” she explains, adding that you can also ask a store employee for something unoaked. Shopping online, or doing independent research before venturing out to a store, is also the perfect opportunity to brush up on your knowledge and to search for specific producers you’re interested in trying. When in doubt, try perusing a review site or app like Vivino to learn how fellow consumers feel about the bottles on your list. Simply use Vivino to scan the label, and if the bottle is in the database, you’ll be able to see user-generated ratings, tasting notes, and reviews that will help you make your final decision. You’ll be glad you did.

The post In Defense of California Chardonnays appeared first on Saveur.