just desserts

Crains

If the face doesn’t look familiar perhaps the take-no-prisoners attitude will.

Ex-ClockTowerTenant and behind the scenes at the old ClockBar, Chef John Paul Stevenson is a talented young man in a hurry.

He was central in bringing Chef Joshua to our downstairs hangout, Charlies.

John also did a recent stint at Russ and Daughter’s, famous appetizing down on Houston Street.

http://www.russanddaughters.com/index.php

And now he helms the kitchen at famed Tavern on the Green.

NYPost

He has his work cut out for him. 

Tavern has gone through two other chefs in under a year, the most recent a revered California icon.

But if anyone can please the hungry masses, please the new owners and please himself in the process, John Paul Stevenson can do it.

TOTG, nyeater

Just like the pressure in Tavern’s kitchen, 

he’s got nowhere to go but up.

Congratulations John!

http://www.chefjohnstevenson.com/

Loco moto

1889 Heisler Locomotive

Have a great weekend!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Funk_Railroad

http://clocktowertenants.com/2012/11/were-all-american-band.html

you ain’t seen nothin’ yet

mcrfb.com

1970’s Canadian rock and roller's Bachman-Turner Overdrive were none too pleased last year when they discovered Prime Minister Stephen Harper had used their most famous song, “Takin’ Care of Business”, without permission.

Harper used it as background for a major speech but Randy Bachman said he probably would not have granted license. 

Then the new Canadian budget was released and all was forgiven.

Harper’s government proposed to extend copyright protection for sound recordings from 50 years to 70.

The freetards, of course, were incensed.

But the artists, understandably, we’re grateful.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2011/11/love-is-not-victory-march.html

And Bachman changed his tune.

are you hungry yet?

http://www.thebronxbrewery.com/

Kudos to Charlies and the Bronx Brewery 

for a great beer-drinking event last evening.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2014/06/when-beer-was-near.html

The food was rich and delicious.

Chef Joshua Bedford just redid the menu, 

and last night's dinner knocked us out!

Washed down with BxBrew Rye ale.

We’re not only here for the beer.

http://charliesbarkitchen.com/

don’t you think?

Digital culture is dependent upon blanketing the viewer with advertising.

This is the (un)natural extension of tech hosting unauthorized art; income on just traffic rather than sale of the art itself.

bgr.com

I see little social advantage to this, nor any persuasive argument that a tech platform hosting art as its draw should receive revenue without sharing with the artists themselves.

We too, are selling ourselves too cheaply to tech giants, compromising our future digital selves for what amounts to little more than email, chat service and web pages.

All along we should have been demanding a creation of digital markets where we could browse in privacy, negate sale of our data and control both use and sale of the things that we make.

Instead, in just 20 short years we have none of this, concentrating power in the hands of a few. 

theatlantic.com/

Big tech lobbying Congress for law that undermines privacy for corporate profit will prove one of our most basic and human, evolutionary mistakes.

esl-bits.net

It’s already too late. 

hopportunity knocks

The first thing I noticed about the Bronx Brewery location is how it is on the way to the Randall’s Island Connector.

The ClockTower is at the red arrow, the connector at the blue, and the Brewery is at the Google “A”, just under the elevated railroad. You can smell beer on the street.

We were greeted by Andreas, their friendly tasting manager...

...while we took a seat at their bar.

Working beer tanks are just behind the glass.

It’s been a 5 year journey for the Bronx Brewery, but now they are settled in their new home at 856 east 136th Street. 

The old brick building has been a Bronx steel mill and a lace factory in its history.

The Brewery itself is amazingly clean, with pipes and tanks of gleaming stainless steel.

In addition to their already legendary Pale ale plus their Belgian, Rye and IPA, they are steeping beer in reused oak casks to impart new flavors to their brew.

The whiskies, wines and cognacs in the oak create new flavor profiles, and they’ll be sold as limited runs.

Walk further through the brewery and a back door leads to their beer garden!

This is going to be an excellent Summer. :-)

Andreas projected a run of about 12,000 barrels this year. 

There are 31 gallons in a barrel.

So that’s about 8,000 gallons every week, enough to fill this 8K pool.

Stop by tonight at Charlies and sample a few.

The Bronx Brewery is their featured guest tonight!

http://www.thebronxbrewery.com/