A- Brisket-A-Brasket: A Brisket Cookoff to Benefit New Amsterdam Market

On Saturday March 26th, from 1 - 4 PM, Jimmy’s No. 43, along with our friends Anne Hauck and Jonathon Deutsch of Gastropolis and Jake Schiffman of The Food Network, will be hosting a Brisket Cookoff to benefit New Amsterdam Market. Brisket lovers will prepare their favorite style Brisket is delicious whether it’s traditional Jewish, cross-cultural barbecue, pastrami, or corned beef. 

Each cook must bring enough brisket for 150 - 200 2-oz. servings, and may make any type of style. Winners will be decided by Judge’s and People’s Choice. Chefs so far include Sam Barbieri of Waterfront Ale House, Fette Sau, Lisa Schoen of Teqa, Andrew Burman of Court Street Grocers, Jimmy’s No. 43, Txikito, and Joe Doe. Judges will include Mitchell Davis of The James Beard Foundation, Todd Coleman of Saveur Magazine, Cricket, Charlie Granquist, and author Arthur Schwartz. Amateur and professional cooks are allowed.

Guest entry is $20 at the door; all proceeds will be donated to New Amsterdam Market. Contact Jimmy Carbone for more information.

50 Hours of Beer Talk!

For the past year, Jimmy's No. 43 and the Good Beer Seal have been working on a new beer talk radio show called Beer Sessions. Now 50 shows later, our ale salon has greeted brewers such as Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery) and Dave Geary (Geary's Brewing), along with many homebrewers, malt growers, even beer-loving writers such as Carolyn Steele. We're happy to have met so many great people on Beer Sessions Radio, and we thank everybody who made our 50th episode totally rocking!

The Maturity of a Burger

It takes some maturity to put a good burger on the menu at Jimmy's No. 43. It must be a grass-fed beef, farmed locally. Something like Grazin' Angus or High Point Farms (our beef CSA) to land in our kitchen. Our great burger is seared in a cast iron skillet with a bit of salt and pepper, placed on an Orwasher's bun, with a dab of Ronnybrook crème fraiche with a hint of horseradish grated in on top. The meat juice drips onto the bun for a deliciously perfect comfort food meal. If your mouth is watering just thinking about it, come on by and try a real burger from a real pub. Mmm mmm good!

Join Jimmy for Tuesday Tasting Featuring Sixpoint

The Dinner and Libation Society along with Time Out NY, Sixpoint Brewery and Jimmy's No. 43 sold out it's Monday night dinner in record time, so we've decided to feature Sixpoint this coming Tuesday, March 1, as part of our regular Tuesday Tasting series. $10 will get you a great cross section of Sixpoint Craft Ales, so if you missed out on the dinner tickets, you won't miss out on the great beer if you join us on Tuesday!

Vote for Jimmy's: Best Beer Bar!

Got some great news: Jimmy's is up for Best Beer Bar among the nominees for the Best of Metromix 2011. Readers get to vote for the winners until February 27, so we'd love your support!

Vote Jimmy's No. 43 for Best Beer Bar! And thanks!

Join Jimmy for Cathy Erway Book Signing This Thursday at 7 p.m.

Jimmy talks to Cathy Erway, author and eat-at-home enthusiast about her upcoming book signing this Thursday, February 17, starting 7 p.m. at Jimmy's No. 43...

Congratulations! Your book "the art of eating in" is now out in paperback.what special events are you planning to promote the book?

Thanks! Well, I've had this idea of having a book swap and book launch party for a while, so I'm really excited to throw this at Jimmy's. Other than that, I wanted to keep active in the fun food activities I've been doing for a while and just give my book away as a goody bag or prize. So, I recently cooked a guest chef dinner with my friends at Whisk & Ladle Supper Club, and I'll be doing a guest chef stint at Ted & Amy's Supper Club on Feb. 23rd. (Check out the menu!) I'll also be giving a cooking demo for the first hour at Choice Eats on March 29th. More cooking and talking appearances to come in the spring, too.

How will the cookbook swap work? What cookbooks will you bring to swap? What cookbook would you like to own?

I recently moved and realized that I don't need the boxes and boxes of good food books I own. So I want others who will enjoy them to have them instead. I'll start out the swap pile by unloading a huge bunch of these. Anyone can bring a book, take a book, bring more, take more, and at the end of the night, any leftovers will be taken to Housing Works Bookstore to donate. I'd love to get my hands on NOMA (a Scandinavian cookbook named after the restaurant), which I've heard such great things about. I will be, however, giving away some really good books just because I've read and enjoyed my share of them and it's time to pass them onto someone else. There will be lots of cookbooks and food literature... but I'm hesitant to name any specific ones because I wouldn't want the authors to feel snubbed!

One of the most unusual chapters in your book is about the freegans. Is there still a thriving freegan movement in Brooklyn?

There is indeed. I think that this and many ways of using thrown-out goods will continue as long as we continue to have such a wasteful society. Whether or not it will become popularly accepted is another story, but I think the movement is more about exposing the problem of waste rather than trying to convert everybody to freeganism.

Brooklyn and Manhattan food scene currently has many cook-offs and food events. What are some of your favorites that have taken place recently or are upcoming?

The last cassoulet cook-off had to be one of the best cook-offs at Jimmy's ever! Not only was all the food really impressive, but the positive atmosphere and spirits of everyone was just off the charts. I actually won third place at the World's Greatest Jerk-Off recently, too, so that was a pretty good day. Looking forward to more and stranger challenges!

I see a new blog-lunch at Six Point. Any new plantings for spring?

I haven't dared to plant anything just yet, with the snow turning on and off all the time. I am looking forward to planting some nice leafy greens like mache and some brassicas as soon as it gets a little warmer in the spring.

800 Oysters

You don't have to be the Walrus or the Carpenter to take advantage of Jimmy's No. 43 "Shuck and Talk" with Karen Rivara this Thursday from 7:30-10 p.m. Karen will talk of many things, including 800 little bivalve mystics from Connecticut, which have been tenderly grown by her partner from seedlings she raises on the East End.

For more info on our favorite oyster maven, check out this super cool video on Karen. Or go straight to buying your ticket, and, after a few fine craft brews to complement the 800+ oysters at hand, we promise to let you know whether pigs have wings!

The Real AleWives of NYC

January 28 marked the first ever meeting of the Real AleWives of NYC. Lead by Brooklyn Brewery employee Ruthy Misky, the Real AleWives meet once a month to try out new beers (paired with food). Ruthy noticed that many of the beer tastings she attended were underrepresented by women. She launched the inaugural get-together by reading a history of beer, noting that women had been the beer makers since ancient Egypt.

Nearly two dozen women sampled as many beers, including a Stoudt's Barleywine, Hopslam (brought by an AleWife who had recently visited Columbus, OH), Kriek Boon, Omegang Rare Vos, Suntumbrew, Southampton Covee de Fleur, Pretty Things Jacques D'Or, King Baldwin Bald Cider (Ithaca), Quarta Runa, Save Our Shore (from New Orleans), and a couple Brooklyn Brewery offerings, among others.

The next meetup will be Friday, February 11, at 7 p.m. in the back room at Jimmy's No. 43. All women are invited to join in, when the Real AleWives will be focusing on porters. Just bring your favorite porter (to share) and a food that you think goes well with it. If you aren't sure, be adventurous! You can follow the Real AleWives on Facebook to keep up on all their events.

NYC's a beer town!

I'm traveling, realizing I've taken it for granted just how many good beer bars there are in NY. I'm up in a small Massachusetts town, checking out a popular locals' bar with 8 draft lines. This is the line up: two Sam Adams, Coors light, Harpoon IPA, Wachusett Blueberry, Sierrra Nevada Pale Ale...wait help! I want some decent, craft beer....and I remember how much I love the craft beer that is served at so many bars in NYC. We take it for granted, but I think New York is a beer town! Charlie Suisman agrees; just look at his list. He says check out "The Good Beer Seal" for where to drink in NYC! -- Jimmy