Sly'sBlog

Celebrating this Week
La Cuisine de Languedoc - Food of France's south-west.

 

A three course menu for $35. - $55. with two glasses of wine.

Bounded by the Basque Country on the west, the pleasures of Provence on the east, and Bordeaux to the north, it should come as no surprise that the Languedoc is an area with a rich culinary heritage. Personally, I think of D'Artagnan and the Three Musqueteers, and their adventures, both culinary and otherwise, when I think of the Languedoc. We've tried to come up with some selections that bring some of the wonderful cuisine of this area of France to life.

We suggest you start with l'Apero Gascon, which is made with sparkling wine, and our homemade prune and Armagnac syrup - aromatic, flavorful, and not too sweet. A great cocktail to start. There are several wines to choose from, including a spicy pinot noir from the Pays d'Oc

First Courses
Mussels aux Jambon de Pays

-or- A Little Soufflé au Roquefort

-or- Salade de Frisée “au chapon”

(And if you don't fancy one of those, Sly's always has  the traditional French salad with mustard dressing.

Main Courses
Trout Fillet with Cêpes & Mushrooms in cream
Pilaf Rice, Savoy Cabbage

-or- Poulet in Cabbage a la Toulousienne
in its Broth

-or- Rack of Lamb au Beurre d’Anchois
Ragoût of Favas with Bacon & Potatoes

A Little Cassoulet
The traditional with our homemade sausage,
duck confit, fresh local white beans and lamb stew baked together.
supplement. $8.

Desserts
Vanilla Ice Cream with Madelaine from Dax,
Raspberries in Armagnac

-or- Apple Croustade “Pastis Gasgon”

-or- a truly greatVanilla Flan

Cheese Plate of Cabécou from C'est Cheese
$35. per person, plus tip and tax.
55. per person with two glasses of wine.

Next Menu:
The Cuisine of the Jura & the Alpes

Celebrate Freedom from the Volstead Act December 5th at Sly's

Okay, friends, raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Volstead Act. For those of you who have, I expect to hear a round of booing and catcalls. The Volstead Act was otherwise known as the National Prohibition Act, and became the 18th Amendment on October 28, 1919. It was a dark day in libational history, to be sure. 

The next fourteen years, beverages that contained more than .5% alcohol were forbidden. Not just frowned upon, not just strictly regulated...outlawed! President Woodrow Wilson (bless his bespectacled head), vetoed the bill, to no avail. The temperance movement was too strong, the conservative voices in Congress overrode the veto, and for fourteen years, a citizen would be fined or jailed for the consumption of, manufacture of or sale of alcohol. The amendment mentions “intoxicating liquors” specifically; it was created so that the populace could not drink.

Prohibition is responsible for one more lovely little slice of American history: organized crime. That’s right, folks, Al Capone and the like were all running booze illegally, making quite a bit of money-Money that meant that bootleggers had lawmen in their pockets. Speakeasys became glamorous. Rich folks began to host cocktail parties in their homes. Doctors were prescribing whiskey for everything from pain to nervousness. Well-respected, moneyed, otherwise law-abiding citizens were flagrantly breaking the law - lawlessness to a degree I don’t think our country has seen since.

And enjoying it! Perhaps ironically, some of the best cocktails in the world were created during Prohibition. Who wants a Bloody Mary? A Mimosa? A Gimlet? All Prohibition-era cocktails. Over time, the attitude began to change. Women gained the right to vote, and so the temperance movement (which had been led mainly by women) slowed down. Bigger things to worry about. The new problems of gangs and bootlegging were much bigger than the problem of drunkenness. Al Capone was a lot scarier than your tipsy uncle. The movement to do away with Prohibition had begun.

At first, the law was changed to allow people to make a certain amount of wine in their own homes for their own use. Then the alcohol content allowed in beer was changed up to 3.2% (as it still remains in Utah). The law enforcement agencies had their hands full with organized crime; they didn’t have time to prosecute the average Joe for having a couple of drinks.

 The 21st Amendment was drafted, essentially just saying, “That thing we said about not drinking? Ignore it.” It was ratified state by state throughout the year of 1933. On December 5, 1933, Utah ratified the 21st Amendment, and alcohol was once again legal in the United States.
 

(above) Mandy pours two cocktails from the Super Secret Prohibition Cocktail Menu: Up front, Blood & Sand. And behind in its ghastly pallor, the celebrated Corpse Reviver #2.

So those fun loving bar tender's at Sly’s are having a party!

This Sunday, December 5th, marks the anniversary of what is we’re taking as the official “repeal date”. Barman Chris and myself have been working on a special list of secret cocktails (in the tradition of the speakeasy) that will be available to you, my dipsophillic friends, for one day only. Once in possession of said list you will be able to order these “secret” cocktails any the time. Think of the list as your password into the speakeasy. 

 

We’re bringing you Prohibition-era classics like the Monkey Gland and the Blood & Sand. We’ve also included some of the special cocktails that we’ve created here, like this past Halloween’s Peter Paul, and the award-winning Caliente Cooler. We’ll be here from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. mixing them up, Prohibition-style. Big band jazz on the radio and an Algonquin in your hand. Please come join us. Celebrate freedom; have a cocktail.

Celebrating for one last week: The Cuisine of Alsace-Lorraine

In 1976, I was finishing up work in Monte Carlo for the season, and heading for Germany’s Black Forest, where I had a job for the winter. It was my first time passing through Strasbourg, in Alsace. I didn’t even leave the train station! That winter as I worked in Freiburg, I had many opportunities to make my way across  the Rhine and meander through the snow covered fields, little half-timbered villages and bare vineyards of Alsace. 

I got to come in out of the winter chill to an overly warm restaurant in a fairy-tale building and have a crisp Alsacian wine with a steaming choucroute platter with sausages and hams, or just a great coffee with kouglehopf, or even just munch on a flammekuchen while walking down frosty cobblestone streets. I left Germany behind, to return home over the next year, via the circuitous route of Monte Carlo, Eugenie-les-Bains, Paris, and New York. But I’ve kept memories of the charming villages, and wonderful food.

I was amazed how different the food was here, just a few short kilometers away Germany over the river. So, this last month we’ve been featuring some specialties from this charming region of France. This weekend, until next Tuesday, is the last hurrah for our Alsace menu.

 

Here’s the special menu at Sly’s Only $35. per person, plus tip and tax. 55. per person with two glasses of wine. (One choice is a nice crisp, Alsacian white.)

First Courses

Mixed Salades-or-Flammekuchen-or-Frog’s Legs in a Parsley Cream
Main Courses

Salmon Aubege de l’Ile -covered in a silky mousse of scallops with a chardonnay cream.

-or-La Petit Choucroute with bacon, ham, homemade garlic sausage, and smoked pork loin

-or-Coq au Reisling a “white” version of coq au vin, in wine with onions, bacon and mushrooms.

Pilaf Rice - Sautéed Cabbage

Desserts

Kouglehopf  Grillé, glace Kirsch - toasted coffee cake with cherry brandy ice cream

or Creme Caramel - the classic flan

or Mousse au Chocolat - bittersweet chocolate from Santa Barbara Chocolate, of course.

or Camembert from C'est Cheese

$35. per person, plus tip and tax. 55. per person with two glasses of wine.

Next Menu:La Cuisine de la Sud-Ouest. And yes, that means Cassoulet, Joe.