Have You Ever Been Experienced?

Tonight I have the opportunity to go to an incredible tasting. Imagine tasting all the First Growth Bordeaux’s, Several Grand Cru Burgundies, Top wines from Tuscany and Piedmont at the same place. It really will be wine sensory overload. As the hour of this event approaches, I can’t help but look back to when wine became an important part of my life.

 

I was not always a wine drinker. In-fact, I never drank wine in my youth. Pop was a Scotch man, Mom did not really drink, and the only time wine was on the table was at the Jewish holidays.  So how did  my obsession with the Grape occur you ask?  There is a single moment, or a single wine that most wine enthusiasts look back on and say, “That’s were it all began”. It’s like a flash of lightning, like the scene from the Godfather when Michael Corleone sees Appolonia for the first time.

 

For me it was a moment, actually a fantastic fall day 12 years ago. A couple of friends and I discussed developing a documentary about the North Shore Wine Region of Long Island, NY. It was a great story with fun and eclectic characters, and all the makings of an intriguing film. This particular day we were at  Lenz Winery and interviewing winemaker Eric Fry. Eric was generous with his time spending a good part of his day taking us through the vineyard, the barrel room, the wine making process, and an incredible tasting. He took us through all the varietals, all the different years, from the barrels, mixed blends, pretty much everything they had to offer and might offer in the next few years. He taught us how to use our senses of sight, smell and taste to distinguish different varietals and flavor profiles. It was like an accelerated mini-wine masters in a day. One of my partners on the film project, a long time wine enthusiast, said “I see it in your eyes, you have been bit”. He was right.

 

Since then, I have studied, tasted, and enjoyed wine with a pure passion that is reserved for few things in my life. When I approach a new wine I want o know about it, where was it grown, who is the winemaker, what is the story behind the winey. For me wine is best to be experiences with all the senses.

 

So tonight is an exciting night with great wines to be experiences, but today I will try and do a little research about a few of these phenomenal wines, so I can not only taste the wines, but experience them.

 

“It’s not JUST a Burger” Anatomy of the Barbed Rose Burger

I was at the Barbed Rose recently with a friend and Executive Chef Jason Chaney.  When the waiter took our order my dining companion said, “Ya know, I think I’ll just have a burger”.  Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a little tear in Jason’s eye (slight exaggeration), as he responded, “It’s not JUST a burger, there is a lot of love in there”. The Chef later told me “at the Burger Bar (and the Barbed Rose) we take our hamburgers very seriously. It’s not just an afterthought; you should see what goes into making one of our Burgers”.

Chef Chaney and his crew employ a Build-Your-Own Burger concept, from their Trick-Out Your Burger Menu. First choose from Beef, Buffalo, Portobello, Poultry, Crab Cake, Wild Game, then add your choice of toppings from an extensive array of artisanal toppings.  “A great burger is the sum of its parts. ” say’s Joe Schneider (Owner/Partner),  “What separates our burger from the rest is that ALL the ingredients are made from scratch.”

So how many chefs does it take to make a Burger? At the Barbed Rose at least 3, and sometimes more. The whole process starts the night before you order your meal with Pastry/Bread Chef JP Fleming creating the foundation of your burger. JP bakes Hamburger buns every night to ensure peak freshness. “Baking is my passion”, “I get great pleasure from creating a hamburger bun that people talk about.” Meanwhile every morning Charcuterie Chef/Artisan Butcher Jay Peek freshly grinds brisket adding a little trimming from his hand-cut rib eyes, strip steaks and even a little Texas Akaushi .

                                                     Charcuterie Chef and Artisan Butcher Jay Peek

“Quality counts when choosing ingredients for our burgers,” says Peek. “Geographically, we’re situated in a dense agricultural area, allowing us the opportunity to not only offer beautiful, just picked produce from local farms, but also high quality, locally grown, humanely raised beef, wild game, and chicken as well.”  Add to that some incredible local cheeses, traditional cheeses and a whole lot of home made toppings.

 Chaney works closely with Chef Peek, Executive Sous-Chef Chris Loftis, Sous-Chef Scott Lane, and Chef Evan Lieber in making the Barbed Rose’s incredible homemade toppings such as Bacon, Pickles, Local Pickled Jalapenos, Smoked Chipotle Ketchup, Mustard, Violet Mustard Cream, Mayonnaise, Garlic Aioli and Crystal Bacon Aioli.

                                             Executive Sous-Chef Chris Loftis making Barbed Rose Bacon  

 These are the small details, but they make a huge difference in the flavor profile of your burger. “We don’t own a can opener” say’s Schneider,  “if your eating eat, we make it here”.  “ When you bite into a Barbed Rose Burger you taste every ingredient” adds GM/Partner Pat Burford.

Barbed Rose Store Made Pickles, Our very own Chipotle Ketchup, Mustard and Aioli all made fresh each day!

Time and time again great chefs tell us to use great ingredients and don’t let technique get in the way. This is obviously the concept at the Barbed Rose and The Burger Bar. These burgers are made with fresh ground, top grade beef, topped with fresh local produce, local artisan cheeses, homemade bacon, pickles and surrounded by a fresh baked hamburger bun. The Barbed Rose Chefs take a lot of pride in everything they do, and the burgers here show it.  At most restaurants a burger is “Just a Burger”, but here it is a culinary work of art.

So how much will art set you back? You might be surprised, but a burger at the Barbed Rose is $6 and includes cheese and one topping of your choice (add an order of hand cut fries $2.95 more). That means an artisanal Bacon Cheeseburger on a Fresh Baked Bun, with all homemade ingredients is actually no more expensive then any other place in town. We popped into a couple places close by Chilis Bacon Cheeseburger was $8.75, the local BBQ joint was $7.25 (No Fries), the local Italian place was 7.00 (No Fries). It really comes down to the quality of the burger and the quality of the environment. Come join us sometime and see why “It’s not Just a Burger!”