The Experts

TRAVEL // Recipe // Wellness

A Tipple Grows in Brooklyn

CRL’s travel writer takes you on an alco-crawl to Kings County’s best wineries, distilleries and meaderies. Buckle up.

BY ALEXANDRA BAACKES

Say “I’m from New York” to someone in the Capital Region, and he or she will likely wonder which part of the Empire State you hail from. But say the same to anyone else in the world, and he or she will immediately assume you grew up in one of the five boroughs of New York City.

OK, so at least we know the difference between upstate and downstate—i.e. upstaters do a little less creative cursing at our fellow motorists and pedestrians— but when has that ever stopped us from Amtrak-ing it down to the Big Apple to reap its many rewards? There’s nothing like hitting a Broadway show in Manhattan (many of which will be reopening this September); grabbing a super doughy, justright bagel in Brooklyn; or checking in with the monkeys and snakes at The Bronx Zoo.

Recently, though, I was surprised to learn that New York City, which encompasses five of the 62 counties I set out to explore this year—New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Queens County (Queens), Bronx County (The Bronx) and Richmond County (Staten Island)—has a lot more to offer than just the usual suspects. While us Upstate New Yorkers love to boast about our blackbelt in craft beverages, the Big Apple is teeming with them, too, and they’re well worth planning a tasting trip around.

At least to craft beer drinkers, it will come as no surprise that you can visit a brewery in each of NYC’s five counties—in fact, there are more than 30 breweries inside the city limits. But there are also a number of other less-expected sips to be had. It turns out that the City is home to a winery, two meaderies and three distilleries. And I was determined to try them all.

I emerged onto the sunny rooftop of the aptly named Rooftop Reds vineyard slightly out of breath. I had wandered around the Brooklyn Navy Yard looking for its entrance, then summited several flights of stairs before finally reaching its peak. But that was all part of the fun. Despite now finding myself overlooking a stunning skyline surrounded by grapevines, I felt as though I’d just stumbled upon a secret speakeasy. My thirst was quickly quenched by a flight of orange wines entitled, “Orange You Glad It’s Not 2020.”

Rooftop Reds

Founded in the spring of 2016, Rooftop Reds was the world’s first commercially viable urban rooftop vineyard, aiming to break barriers in big city agriculture and make locally grown wine more accessible to the masses. It’s a beautiful concept to toast to over a Rooftop red (the wine, that is) and a slice of Il Porto pizza delivered directly to your table. Tip the delivery guy extra—he took the stairs, too.

After my top-of-the-town wine flight, I decided that the best way to come back down to earth was with a terrestrial tipple. Conveniently located at the opposite end of the Navy Yard in the 120-year-old, castlelike Paymaster Building is Kings County Distillery. First opened in 2010, it was once the smallest commercial distillery in the country, churning out moonshine, bourbon and other whiskeys from five stills, 16 hours a day, seven days a week. When it made the move from Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood to the Navy Yard in 2012, in a sense, it was traveling back in time. Nearby its new home had been the site of

the famous Whiskey Wars of the 1860s, during which the US government sent its own military there to lay waste to illegal distilleries. Though experts estimate there were tens of thousands of illicit stills in NYC during the Prohibition Era, just three (legal) ones remain between the five boroughs today. While the closeness of the Brooklyn distillery to the rooftop winery made it a convenient jaunt, admittedly, I’m more of a clear spirits girl. So I made a beeline—i.e. took a 14-minute cab ride—to Williamsburg to taste some of NY Distilling’s gins, including a rose-petal infused variety. (And hey, if you like what brown spirits do for you, it makes its own whiskey, too.) While the distillery’s fab tasting room, The Shanty, hasn’t fully reopened yet post-COVID, it is taking to-go orders and hosting sit-down cocktail service on a first come, first serve basis.

If “clear” to you means vodka, I’d suggest taking a 30-minute side-trip via subway or livery cab to micro-distillery Our New York, whose West 26th Street bar was scheduled to reopen by the time you read this (motto: “Big Apple. Small batches. Exceptional Smoothness.”). Try its smallbatch vodka neat or in a cocktail and do so knowing that you’re imbibing in the first distillery to be opened in Manhattan since Prohibition. I think that’s worth a cheers! If you decided to stay in Brooklyn—or even if you didn’t—I would add two final stops to your Kings County distillery crawl: All-Wise Meadery and Enlightenment Wines. Both All-Wise, which was founded by former child celebrity Dylan Sprouse, whose twin brother Cole stars as Jughead Jones on Riverdale, and Enlightenment offer different delicious takes on the fermented-honey-made alcoholic beverage that’s at the center of a monstrous new movement. While there’s no tasting room at All-Wise itself, you can pick up bottles at The Natural Wine Company, just a 10-minute walk from the distillery, or order them online. Enlightenment, on the other hand, is offering pours at its meadery; or you can buy glasses and bottles of its barrel-aged dry, sparkling and botanical meads at Honey’s, its bar and tasting room in East Williamsburg.

You could wait until September to plan your next Broadway-busting trip to NYC—or you could just dive right into a boozy flight of fancy this summer! (No one says you can’t return in the fall.) And the best part? The city’s safe, sanitary subway will serve as the world’s most reliable designated driver. You’ve already taken a bite out of the Big Apple. Now’s the time to take a sip.

Travel // RECIPE// Wellness

Winner, Winner (Fried) Chicken Dinner

Alexis Diner • Chicken and Waffles

Summer’s all about guilty pleasures, so kick yours off with this delicious dinner-slash-breakfast dish from one of our Bestie-winning restaurants.

ALEXIS DINER

If reading this issue is making you hungry, why not retire to your kitchen and make yourself a snack? Or you could just wait until dinnertime and fry up this delicious Chicken & Waffles recipe from Bestie-winning Diner, Alexis Diner in Troy. We like Plan B.

Alexis Diner’s Chicken & Waffles 8 boneless chicken thighs 2 cups buttermilk 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp Cajun seasoning Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions: Soak chicken in buttermilk and refrigerate for 24 hours. Before frying, let the chicken sit out for an hour to get it up to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine flour, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Put thighs in bowl and thoroughly coat each with breading, pressing once or twice to make sure they’re evenly coated. Preheat oil in frying pan at medium to medium-high heat, then fry chicken for 6–8 minutes total. Turn chicken while frying and make sure it doesn’t get too brown.

While frying the chicken, get your waffle iron ready and make your favorite type of waffle. Top chicken and waffles with maple syrup and hot sauce, if desired.

Travel // Recipe // WELLNESS

Lose the Dreaded ‘COVID 19’ (and Keep It Off )

Latham-based dietitian/nutritionist Nan Windmueller gets you eating right again.

BY NAN WINDMUELLER, CDN

he pandemic has wreaked havoc on countless aspects of our lives—including our waistlines. According to a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 61 percent of US adults admitted to gaining undesired weight— some as much as 29 pounds!—during COVID. And it makes total sense: We were all under a lot of stress, often drinking excessively and definitely making fewer veggie runs to the supermarket. Plus, with many of us working from home and the fridge just steps away from our desks…well, you get the picture.

So let’s say you’ve put on the “COVID 19.” How do you lose it and keep it off? We asked Latham-based certified dietitian and nutritionist Nan Windmueller to help you get back on the track to a healthy diet.

Coping Shouldn’t Equal Bingeing

Eating styles are coping mechanisms. People tend to binge not on celery, broccoli and lean meats but starches or sweets for very natural reasons. There’s a link between starches and sweets and the ability for the brain to have more serotonin available, which is our natural tranquilizer, sleepinducer and mood-elevator. While eating certain foods to cope works on some level, it can also lead to health problems, beginning with weight gain, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

Eat Like You Live in a Blue Zone

Countries such as Japan and Italy have blue zones, where people are more likely to live into their 100s. They’re living with a relatively good quality of life, and they eat the way many cultures do that have reduced levels of obesity and heart disease. A key to blue zone longevity is not that these people have eliminated animal protein altogether.. It’s that they eat beans and legumes frequently: kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, lentils and split peas. It’s a regular part of their diet, and it substitutes for meat.

Know the Great-Grandmother Rule

I often say to people, if your greatgrandmother wouldn’t recognize what you’re eating, it’s probably not a good idea to eat it.

Eat Mindfully

People should know that a half cup of a starch, like rice or mashed potatoes or oatmeal or pasta, is about 80–100 calories. They should also know that a half-cup serving of fruit is about 50 calories. That might be a small apple or a peach or pear. They can eat an unlimited amount of vegetables as long as there’s no fat on them—no butter or oil. And people should know that a lean ounce of meat or low-fat cheese or poultry without skin has 55 calories in it. So it’s an awareness; it’s mindful eating.

Deprivation Dieting Is Not the Answer

I don’t like people to think about going on a deprivation diet, because they can’t wait to get off it once they’ve reached their goal. Then they go back to what they really want to be eating. Your weight-loss strategy has to reflect what you want to be eating for the rest of your life, which is why I individualize plans. I’m like a seamstress; I tailor them to each individual.

Consult a Doctor Before You Diet

When people call me, the first thing I do is screen them to make sure they’re under the care of a physician. Get your doctor involved; get a physical and all your blood tests done. Even if you still have lifestyle issues that need to be altered, once you’re pronounced healthy, I’d be happy to work with you.