Blind Justice

UPDATE: A few months ago the BT opened up. Go forth and imbibe.Beer is hell. Few New Yorkers understand this better than the owners of the Blind Tiger Ale House a tavern recently relocated to the corner of Bleecker and Jones in the West Village. Dave Brodrick, its co-owner and advance man, was forced to close shop last week, weakened by a long-running licensing battle involving the State Liquor Authority, 66th District Councilwoman Deborah J. Glick, and now, by internet petition, hundreds of the bar’s most fervid fans. For ten years the Hudson street incarnation of the Tiger (as it became known) offered a vast selection of artisan-made ales from around the world (nary a drop of Bud, Miller, or Coors to drink). But the surroundings took some getting used to.“The Blind Tiger Ale House is Dirty, Unhospitable [sic], Unpleasant, and served Terrible Beer,” protested Brian Ó Broin, an assistant professor of linguistics and medieval literature living in New Jersey, on a web site he created expressly for this complaint. “Ambience: 0 [not a single redeeming quality],” he declared. 

Oregon Chefs Reprazent!

Robert Greene’s book ‘The 48 Laws of Power’—an update of Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli that has taken hold in the hip-hop community—talks about the tactical dangers of ‘outshining the master’, as I learned from Nick Paumgarten’s latest article in The New Yorker. This weekend I got the chance to see the upshot of such ambition, and take a break from my usual freelancer’s diet of pizza by the slice, cold cereal, and bagels, by tagging along as a group of Portland, Oregon’s top chefs visited New York City. Late last week, Leather Storrs and Greg Smith, chef and sous chef of Noble Rot, along with Scott Dolich and David Padberg of Park Kitchen, rolled in with about 600 lbs of Oregon-made goodies to prepare and serve guests of the James Beard House on Saturday. The anticipation mounted from Thursday as the posse prepped for the big meal, mainly in the way that chefs seem to enjoy most when not actually at the stove: by insulting, quizzing, or laughing at each other, eating out on the town, smoking, drinking, or generally behaving badly. 

What It Is…

Last April I had the outrageous fortune of being invited to heliski the Tordrillo Range of Alaska, about 80 miles outside of Anchorage, with Chugach Powder Guides, on assignment for Outside Magazine. What miracles did I perform to deserve such an assignment? I’m still wondering. After 3 steady days of snowfall that kept our group very much indoors, we flew high into the hills for the first winter time descents in the 1500 square mile range. And, well, I’m not worthy: the terrain was absolutely incredible. There’s a brief writeup on that luckfest here, under the the Outside Magazine articles section (see “D is for Decadence”). And hey travelers, worried about SARS, Avian Flu? Fugheddabout it. OK, what about the measles? Think again. Also on my site, under the National Geographic Adventure slug, two doctors’ take on what is hype, and what is a hazard, when traveling the world, from this month’s issue of National Geographic Adventure.