Tour American Dates

Our tour dates for our Schnack Road Trip America 2005 are May 15th to Sept 24th. A new trip will start every Sunday. Please join us in May 2005 as we tour the country.

Road Trip American Summer 2005

This summer is going to be the Ultimate Road Trip Summer. Packing up the car or van and heading down highways with names like 10, 40, 80, and 95 and Routes like 66, 46 & 1. Along the way we will be packin' our bellies with some of the most interesting, strange, and well-loved food this side of the planet. Interested in coming along? ... it's easy - just plan on visiting Schnack this summer.

We are doing our research now and expect to serve a variety of local food from around the country all summer long.

The books we are reading include:

Fast Food by John A Jakle

The Food of Paradise
by Rachel Laudan

Lost America by Troy Paiva

Road Trip USA
by Jamie Jensen

Best American Recipes 2004-2005
by Fran McCullough

One Tank Trips Road Food, Ohio
by Neil Zurcher

The American Diner Cookbook
by Elizabeht McKeon

Retro Diner
by Linda Everett

Route 66 Cook Book
by Marian Clark

Roadfood
by Jane & Michael Stern

Mac N' Cheese N' Stuff

Aside from requests for some really good chicken wings, the biggest request we have is for Mac'N Cheese.

After trying the excellent Mac'N Cheese from Mama Duke's on Oct 18th and seeing a recipe for Mac 'N Cheese from "HOME," I have started to work on our Mac N' Cheese. The inspiration comes from "HOME" who doesn't bake it but rather they make it in a skillet to order. I've always imagined baking it and then trying to sell it out in one night because it just isn't as good the next day.

It's still very much a work in progress, but we will use pasta, some type of cheddar cheese, blanched onion, and tomato. We also have an option for the addition of any sausage. Hot Dog for the kids, Swojska for the adults.

We tasted it today in the kitchen with some friends of Schnack and with a few guests. So far all thumbs up.

The main issue, since we will make it to order, is can we produce it in 10 minutes or less?

Stay Tuned!!!

Beer Shake or Beer Milk Shake

First, it's hard to know what to call it. In the store, we call it a Beer Shake because it doesn't have any milk in it... that is added milk; of course there is some milk in the Ice Cream. But in the press, we call it a Beer Milk Shake because otherwise people don't have any idea of what we're talking about!

So what's in it? It's really simple. Ice Cream and Beer. It's our really fresh and excellent ice cream from Perry's, and DogFish Head Chicory Stout.  FYI, World Wide Stout, when available, is better, but with a retail price of about $20 a bottle it is a bit out of the budget range we are use to.

So how do they make Chicory Stout? From the DogFish web site... "A dark beer made with a touch of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John's Wort, and licorice root. Brewed with whole-leaf Cascade and Fuggles hops, the grains include pale, wheat, roasted and oatmeal. We buy the coffee used in our Chicory Stout from the Oby Lee Coffee Roastery in Lewes."

More BLOG Links..

The Washington Oculus writes...

A quick guide to Carroll Gardens. Take the F or G train to Carroll Street.

1) Get a rice ball at the Italian Pork Store on Court Street near President Street. It’s a thick ball of ricotta cheese coated in rice and deep fried.

2) Go to Schnack (122 Union St. between Hicks and Columbia). Get $1 PBR. Eat 99 cent mini burgers, yam fries, and if you’re adventurous order the most expensive thing on the menu -- a Jubilat Swojska sausage for $3.50 -- all amid disaffected Brooklyn hipsters.

3) Wash all that down at the B61 bar on Columbia Street, named for the bus line that runs from Red Hook up through Williamsburg and Greenpoint. It’s a low key place on the far side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near the waterfront but worth venturing out to.

Best Burger in Brooklyn? NYC?

A Brooklyn Life BLOG writes,

"...the best burger I've had in all of New York is at Schnack. Unfortunately, my umbrella is no match for the remnants of hurricane Jeanne (see above picture of my "covered" subway station), and I didn't get out to take a photo of it. Schnack passes the crave test. I crave the unrivaled melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of its patties, the tangy Schnack sauce, the oozing melty cheese..."

Read the whole blog entry...

Brooklyn Eats (and DRINKS!)

First, thank you to James Reid and his students for being such a big help today with the "Brooklyn Eats" event, and to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce for putting on the event in the first place.

That said, and like the Time Out New York event a few weeks ago, it doesn't surprise anyone to learn that people make an extra effort to make their food look interesting. Huge floral arrangements, hand woven baskets the size of Rhode Island, blinking lights, balloons and tablecloths of many hues...

There is the axiom that if it looks good it IS good... At Schnack we don't exactly have a budget for transplanting small forests or ordering bountiful flower arrangements. We did bring three small bunches of flowers from Miss Lee (our Union St. Neighbor), and a few ears of colored Indian Corn. The award for the least unique presentation item goes to... Indian Corn. It seems everyone had an ear or two, or a few dozen.

So while our booth was plain and our presentation less then sublime, we hit some solid runs with our Beer Shake. In a room filled with a half dozen styles of jerk chicken, more crab, clam, and fish cakes than could be counted, and at least as many shrimp dishes as well.. we stood out. Why? Because we had something people hadn't really tried before and something that made them actually think about food and what they think they might like. And of course, after tasting the beer shake perhaps finding out there are some things they like which they didn't expect that they would.

Other highlights? The Marriott Kitchens' jumbo shrimp with bacon.. It was perfect and huge. Truly JUMBO. Blue Ribbons' sushi, and killer Mac'N Cheese from Mama Dukes!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by!!! We had a great time!!

New Digs

It's official.

"Brooklyn's favorite Burger Joint, Schnack is MOVING to a larger location; we are selling our landmark store, fully fixtured with Beer & Wine Lic. $135k or best offer/Terms available. Call Jim @ 917 499 6019."

Burger Contest

I found this link to the burger contest we did in the Spring of '04.

Nick DeSilvio took home the “Schnackie Award” this week when he devoured nine mini-hamburgers in six minutes, beating out his fellow longshoreman at the first-ever hamburger-eating contest on the Red Hook waterfront.

The full story is here.

Midnight Schnack

We have gotten a lot of millage out of being open late. We take food orders til 1am (every night), drink orders til 1:30 and close at 2am...

Here was a really nice review.

...

"Upon arrival, our group of 8 was greeted by a friendly (yet appropriately sassy) server, who helped us arrange ourselves into a corner. Cozy and cute, Schnack is decorated with all manners of old-school Brooklyn memorabilia (murals, ads, soda bottles) and bright colors. A small, hand-lettered construction paper sign advertised free wi-fi access. After considering the menu (and hearing more than a few suggestions from the duo that directed us there) I settled on the ‘Schnackies’ (tiny burgers with a spicy special sauce), fries, and a chocolate shake."

...

In the Post

The NY Post has been really writting us up lately.. Here is the lastest..



THE SUPPER CLUBBERS

By ANDREA STRONG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 3, 2004 -- Oprah has done wonders for reading with her monthly Book Club, but with all due respect to the daytime diva, she's behind the times.
It's hard enough to get through the iPod manual, let alone a novel, and leisurely reading is taking a back seat to a more immediate pleasure - eating.

...
Every couple months, Hawk chooses an ethnic restaurant and leads a group of intrepid eaters through a five-course dinner, keeping the tab under $30 per person.

Hawk started the club two months ago by e-mailing like-minded friends and is seeking only those with a desire for dishes that might be "an acquired taste."

The first Brooklyn Food Club dinner was at Teeda, an authentic Thai spot on Columbia Streeet in Brooklyn where the feast included Todd Man Pla (fried fish cakes), sea scallops with curry sauce,and Thai custard with ice cream.



Brooklyn Food Club:

www.brooklynfoodclub.blogspot.com, or email harryhawk@gmail.com.

burger

A link back to the halcon and burger eating excess of summer!

http://www.brooklynpapers.com/html/issues/_vol27/27_20/27_20nets4.html

Eat NY - Time Out

For the youth of today, a "time out" means standing in the corner or some other location being quiet and without outside stimulation; it's a punishment.

For the rest of us, a Time Out is an adventure out side of our homes. Let me tell you it was a great adventure leaving our Schnack home in Brooklyn and going to the Time Out New York "Eat NY" event at 35th St. I mean, you had food ranging from Bouley to Schnack, and from Alma to WD-50.

Thanks to everyone at Time Out New York, including Emily, Rob, Amy, and everyone else including all of the staff at the event like Brian and Karry (Keri?, Carrie?) who keep us in top shape!

We served more than 1000 beer milkshakes from about 6:15 to 9:15! Wow!

See you next year!

Maine

I'm up in Maine... near Deer Isle. Things have been great weather-wise... which means a few nice days and not too much fog!

The first afternoon "on Island" we stopped over to Little Deer Isle at Eaton's Lobster Pool.. a "lobster shack" since the mid 60s that has evolved into a more inside and more upscale dinning... The original owner, Gene Eaton, is still around but sold the business last year. There a few changes like the relocation of the gift shop from one side of the place to the other, and the addition of an actual bar with some micro brews.

The good news? The fried clams (whole, native) were amazing. Best I've ever had. The shore dinner, ,about 8 bucks when I was a kid, was now $20. And the lobster, barely 1.25 lbs and a soft shell to boot (boo!), was, on the bright side, cooked within a second of perfect.

Other than that I've been, of course, cooking my own feasts with the exception of a trip to Connie's. Overlooked by many as they explore the finer side of Island dining, Connie's offers great local favorites like fried or broiled haddock sandwiches, homemade donuts, and great fried fish!

Making some of your own lobster? Have some shells left over? Hmmm...make some lobster stock and make some lobster Risto!