Jorge's Pre-Birthday Date Night

[K John Joseph]

While Todd and Fu were drinking Rhones, Jorge and I met up for drinks and dinner in the East Village while I was up for work (side note, the SDNY bankruptcy court is in the National Native American Museum at 1 Bowling Green. Watching non-BK lawyers try to figure out the entrance is very fun, as most either walk up to the main entrance of the museum or walk around the corner and right past the small basement entryway. This is especially true when there are field trips and masses of students blocking the engravings that note the location of the BK Court entryway).

We attempted to grab a cocktail at PDT, but walked at the 90 minute wait. PDT is in Grif Dogs, an ugly hotdog place with old arcade games. You step into a tiny shit hole phone booth, dial 1, and wait until one wall of the booth is opened, revealing a hostess and dark hole-in-the wall bar with a few tables inside. Would have been fun, but no man should wait 90 minutes for his first cocktail.

We next went Proletariat, a nice little craft beer hole in the wall. Great beer list. Given that Jorge is the Dom in Charge of packaging for LIC Brewery, I deferred and he picked a 750 of Tilquin Gueuze. Absolutely delicious. Light and crisp with good funk, acidity, and blend of lemon, rosemary, yeast, and green apple. Reminded me of a blend between beer, champagne, and a really crisp cider.

Next up was dinner at Somtum Der, which is the NYC branch of an apparently very famous Bangkok Isan Thai restaurant. We started with 2008 Billecart Salmon Extra Burt, then went to a 2001 Zilliken Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett to go with the spicy stuff.

2008 Billecart Salmon Vintage Extra Brut -- An extra brut that has nice richness. Notes of fresh dinner roll match up with spiced baked green apples, lemon, honeysuckle, just a tiny hint of nuts and good chalky minerality. Really nice balance of creaminess and cut suggest this will age well. Good now too. This lacks the deep complexity of some of the other 2008 and 2009 big guns, but is a really good wine. 93-94.

2001 Zilliken Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett -- A good match with some of the spicy thai. Notes of lemon curd, orange blossom, and a hint of slate and petrol on the nose. The honeyed citrus comes in on the palate, and merges into a creamy soft finish. A nice wine and a good pairing with the spicy Thai.

Speaking of, the Thai food was fantastic. The green papaya salad was absolutely killer. The sardines were great. Fried chicken thigh with Thai spice was so good we had to do it twice, but for me, the winner was a savory noodle dish with exceptionally seasoned beef. Just fantastic.

Nightcap at Amor y Amargo was fun and international. About half of the folks at the bar were French. Amor y Amargo is a "bitters bar". Neat cocktail list in which everything appears to be a combination of boozes with a focus on bitters. A good digestif.

And then I slept late.

Cheers to The Great Dominican, Jorge, who celebrated his birthday the following day.

[Todd F r e n c h]

I'm seeing quite a lot of 'lacking complexity' in your notes of a dinner with Jorge, so one has to wonder if perhaps the company you kept lacks complexity??

I believe you guys had your date the night BEFORE I was able to enjoy Rhones while looking at Charlie's super-exclusive Disney-themed fashion artistic t-shirt.

I do love me some Gueuze, so that's a good pick. Does Jorge speak French, too? Could have made the nightcap interesting.

[Peter C.]

Did Jorge puke into a water pitcher?

[K John Joseph]

Did Jorge puke into a water pitcher?

No it was the ice bucket after I'd taken out the champagne bottle.

[Todd F r e n c h]

Did Jorge puke into a water pitcher?

No it was the ice bucket after I'd taken out the champagne bottle.

He's become classy after all those years

[K John Joseph]

I'm seeing quite a lot of 'lacking complexity' in your notes of a dinner with Jorge, so one has to wonder if perhaps the company you kept lacks complexity??

I believe you guys had your date the night BEFORE I was able to enjoy Rhones while looking at Charlie's super-exclusive Disney-themed fashion artistic t-shirt.

I'm just a basic bitch, so lacks complexity is the name of my game.

Was Fu wearing his Gucci Elsa & Anna Frozen shirt again?

[DanielP]

I highly recommend the larb (spicy salad) at Somtum Der, particularly the Koi Goong.

[Todd F r e n c h]

I'm seeing quite a lot of 'lacking complexity' in your notes of a dinner with Jorge, so one has to wonder if perhaps the company you kept lacks complexity??

I believe you guys had your date the night BEFORE I was able to enjoy Rhones while looking at Charlie's super-exclusive Disney-themed fashion artistic t-shirt.

I'm just a basic bitch, so lacks complexity is the name of my game.

Was Fu wearing his Gucci Elsa & Anna Frozen shirt again?

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[Jorge Henriquez]

Thanks for the write up KJJ! Awesome night of drankz and food and good company!

We’ll eventually get in to the cool spots. Drop Charlie’s name next time.

[LMD Ermitaño]

Thanks for the write up KJJ! Awesome night of drankz and food and good company!

We’ll eventually get in to the cool spots. Drop Charlie’s name next time.

¡Felicidades, Jorge! Salud y pesetas!!

[Anton D]

Did Jorge puke into a water pitcher?

No it was the ice bucket after I'd taken out the champagne bottle.

He's become classy after all those years

Ever since he got that leg-strap urine bag, it's really freed him up to defile pitchers and buckets in ever more fanciful ways.

[K John Joseph]

I highly recommend the larb (spicy salad) at Somtum Der, particularly the Koi Goong.

I actually ordered that while we were there. It was pretty damn good. Everything was pretty damn good.