Daniel Boulud's on Beer

[ChefMichael01]

Tues. 14 Apr '09
People | NEW YORK CITY

Le Beer Geek
At DBGB, Daniel Boulud will usher in a new era of Good Beer

After Daniel Boulud famously elevated the hamburger to luxury-goods status, should we be surprised that he wants do the same for beer? Probably not, but we had no idea how big he is on the brew.

When the chef opens his new Bowery restaurant--Daniel Boulud Good Beer Kitchen and Bar (aka DBGB)--next month, the brasserie-style beer hall will pour an extensive selection of beers, including more than 20 from the tap. Boulud enlisted Colin Alevras, the beer sommelier at his DB Bistro Moderne and former chef-owner of the Tasting Room, to oversee the program and help him pair the brews with a beer-friendly menu of sausages, sauerkrauts and charcuterie.

Boulud started drinking fine beer at the tender age of 15, when he and his friends would warm up with a pint after ice hockey games in his hometown of Lyon, France. Now, as he finalizes DBGB's beer list, Boulud shares his favorite brews and pairings:

Favorite mass-market beer: "Stella Artois, for its versatility. It's light, but still delivers loads of flavor."

Favorite craft beer: "St. Rieul Grand Cru. This formidable Belgian-style triple is made by Brasserie Saint-Rieul, a tiny brewery in the French village of Trumilly. Its golden-orange color and creamy white head give way to flavors of toasty grains, orange peel and honey and a surprisingly pleasant, slightly sour finish."

Favorite beer and food pairings: "Käse Kreiner [a cheese-filled smoked bratwurst] with a light, delicately hoppy Fohrenburger Tradition 1881, an Austrian beer I first tried in Vienna. Or Dogfish Head's Raisin D'Etre: Its rich, malty sweetness catches the sausage from the other direction, bringing its salty, fatty deliciousness into focus."

DBGB Kitchen and Bar, 299 Bowery (between Houston and First sts.); danielnyc.com

 

[IrregularPulse]

F'in NYC
Have to check it out of I ever make the horrible trip to that place again.

 

[Catt22]

"Favorite mass-market beer: "Stella Artois, for its versatility. It's light, but still delivers loads of flavor."

He's got to be joking! Stella is nothing to fawn over. Glorified Budweiser, if you can imagine that. All marketing and no substance to the product.

 

[IrregularPulse]

"Favorite mass-market beer: "Stella Artois, for its versatility. It's light, but still delivers loads of flavor."

He's got to be joking! Stella is nothing to fawn over. Glorified Budweiser, if you can imagine that. All marketing and no substance to the product.

QFT, I hate when people bring it thinking they've brought me something special in exchange for the HB they're about to drink. If you bought it at kroger or WalMart, I can too if I wanted it.

 

[ChefMichael01]

I agree, I am not a fan of Stella whatsoever. Yuppie investment bankers and guys with gold chains and blown out, gel-infused hair drink that crap when the bar doesn't serve Heineken. But what do you really expect from the French?

Although, if anyone lives up here or is visiting and is in the mood for a great meal, go to Bar Boulud on the Upper West Side. I had a great meal there and its a bit more "reasonable" than Daniel. Get the charcuterie plate and the chicken liver salad.

As a side note, has anyone had a good French beer? I've tried a couple and haven't had anything really impressive so far.

 

[IrregularPulse]

What did said Charcuteri plate and chicken liver salad run?

 

[ChefMichael01]

Twas free to me because a friend of mine runs Daniel's marketing so they comp'ed her. But I think the plate was 25 and the salad was 15. Since it was free though, of course we had to order an absurd amount of additional food.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I am glad that more people are taking the food/beer thing more seriously. I think most meals go better with a properly paired beer than a wine. That will be a tough one to reverse.

Also, for the Stella haters... I agree it isn't a great beer, but did you notice the words best MASS-MARKET beer, right before he mentioned it Words generally carry meaning, and in that sense I believe I may agree with him. I find Stella to be better than BMC with food. BMC has nothing to offer a food pairing, while Stella has a more fruity and velvet feel to it that goes well with many foods. It also isn't going to scare off any normal BMC drinkers.

Also, if you think the French don't make good beer you are sorely mistaken. Do you think the Belgians make bad beer? The French make many of the same styles and often do them very well. They have been in a beer renaissance of sorts right along with the US and are doing quite well for themselves. And if you're next question is, 'Well I haven't had any?' think about the fact that micros have to go just as far to get to us from there as ours have to go to get to them. How many French guys are sitting around drinking an ACME pale ale??? Probably not many.

 

[ChefMichael01]

Never said the French didn't have any good beers, I said I haven't had any in my small sampling of French beers. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

It's rich, malty sweetness catches the sausage from the other direction, bringing its salty, fatty deliciousness into focus."

Anybody attempting to 'bring salty, fatty deliciousness into focus' is OK by me.

 

[BrewBrain]

Stella is not awesome by any means, but in the world of "mass produced" beer, it just may be. I drank one and can't really put it in the same category as the damn MDG I choked down last week.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Stella is not awesome by any means, but in the world of "mass produced" beer, it just may be. I drank one and can't really put it in the same category as the damn MDG I choked down last week.

I agree with you, and bourderij, about Stella. Its somewhat of a guilty pleasure, not in terms of taste or anything like that but because when you're "on the pi**" like the brits say that's usually the go to lager for me.

I've had worse "mass marketed" beers than Stella.