Monday, May 11, 2009

Grilling chops, breaking in the new grill

For this latest grilling post on D.C. Foodies, the missus and I tracked down our new local farmer's market. It may well have been the smallest market I've seen, tucked between a couple store fronts along H Street in D.C. rapidly gentrifying -- but not there yet -- Atlas District. With five vendors and 10 customers on a Saturday morning, I was stunned to learn the market has been around five years.
I should note that last weekend was the first market of the season and not all the vendors were in attendance. And the vendors who did show up brought some quality products, including David Ober, a West Virginia farmer who had every cut of pork the pig has to offer.
So we picked up some smoked chops, fresh vegetables and handmade booze-laden sorbet (mojito, strawberry tequila, Meyer lemon vodka, ect.).
Afterward, we swung by Schneider's of Capitol Hill to pick up beer to go with lunch. Despite my reservations, I grabbed Brooklyn Brewery's new Local 2. I was hesitant to try the Local 2 because of the honey and orange peel the Belgian-style ale is brewed with. I realize that it's possible to produce good beer with fruit in it, but in my experience few brewers do little more than muck up their product. Brooklyn didn't.
Cooking and shooting the post also gave me a chance to break in the new charcoal grill. It's an upgrade from my old Weber, which not only gives me a larger cooking surface, but also has a firebox that converts the grill into a smoker. The grill worked like a charm, and I should have time to get the smoker rolling next month.
Two weeks until the beer is ready.

No comments: