Rattle N Hum – VIP In Every Way

Rattle N Hum
http://rattlenhumbarnyc.com
14 E. 33rd St
New York, NY 10016

THE CONQUEST
The best thing about what I do is that somehow (I’m still unclear) I’ve figured out how to make a living from music, food and drink. It’s a pretty sweet combo that I am prepared to ride out to the fullest. All 3 things are a part of everything I do and no matter where I go or what I do, I am somehow immersed in one of them.

I am joined in this quest by my food-loving, beer-drinking, rock and roll rebel buddy, Buckshot, author of “Mosh Potatoes” The Rock and Roll Cook Book. He is the mastermind behind GiddyUp! Sauces, the Rock and Roll sauce company. I am assisting him in finding new clients to make sauces and condiments for but I am also helping him with the pre-sale ticketing for his new venture, the Metalliance Tour. It’s a brand new, in-your-face, raging heavy metal tour featuring Helmet, Crowbar, Saint Vitus and more. To give you some more insight on my day job, I helped to set up the pre-sale ticketing which go on sale today via this link: http://tixx1.artistarena.com/metalliancetour2011/

Metalliance VIP Packages are $50 and include:
– A General Admission Ticket
– Access to a Meet & Greet with Metalliance
– A Metalliance hot sauce bottle
– A Commemorative VIP Show Laminate
– An Autographed poster
– 1 Issue of Revolver Magazine

Exclusive Contest for VIP Buyers only!!!
Two winner will be drawn from all of the VIP Ticket buyers.

First Place:
* Have dinner with the bands
* Autograph copy of Mosh Potatoes Heavy Metal Cookbook
* One T-shirt of each band on the tour

Second Place:
* One Random winner will get a guitar lesson with Kirk from Crowbar
* Autograph copy of Mosh Potatoes heavy Metal Cookbook

Pretty cool stuff actually and a really fun part of my “job.”  For Buckshot it’s extra exciting as it’s the exclusive launch for his latest creation, the Metalliance Hot Sauce. So what the hell does this have to do with eating burgers? Buckshot and I needed to go over the final details of the presale as well as taste the sauce. We needed a spot near New York Penn Station that had good food, good beer and a place where we could meet and eat for a couple hours. Enter Rattle N Hum.

In the food and drink desolate wasteland that is midtown Manhattan, there is one island oasis that strives to pour good beer and serve artisan food. Thankfully they do it without lancing your wallet with a locational inflated pike and it’s name is Rattle N Hum. From the outside it looks like any other midtown Irish pub but once you walk in, the rotating 40 taps of beer, the vast library of waiting to be chilled bottled beers and well selected and approved craft brew paraphernalia lets you know that you aren’t in Kansas anymore Toto. Rattle N Hum not only pours what even a native New Yorker would call a “crazy beer selection” but they also have a very well focused and interesting food menu that includes IPA brined French Fries, Coleman’s Mustard Chicken Fingers and a smattering of pub food offerings like Shepard’s pie. Grab a seat at the bar or pull up to any table, most likely supported by a wooden barrel and prepared to be intrigued and quite possibly confused by a specially designed beer and food menu. This is a gastronomical beervana for those who really appreciate an enlightened and far from pretentious dining journey.

THE BURGER
With so many great choices on the menu, Buckshot and I, a few Rye beers in, decided to order a smattering of items just so we could split, divide and conquer. Any culinary nerd like ourselves sees “Hefeweizen Brined Turkey, Bacon and Swiss with Colmans Mustard sauce with herbs, mixed greens and tomato”on a menu and our only response is “YES.” What the menu doesn’t tell you is that it’s served on the tastiest of whole grain breads that are only lightly panini pressed, so as to leave the insides still soft. I couldn’t believe that a sandwich with dark greens and crispy bacon didn’t have a flavor victor. In fact, a place as intense as Rattle N Hum it was fantastic to bite into a sandwich where all the flavors, while subtle, jumped in to create an unreal balance of tastiness. While we were slamming intense beers, crazy hot sauces and savory burgers, it was SO good to have a mild balance of great sandwichness.

Really. I mean REALLY. How the heck could you go wrong with a burger where the meat is ground in house, fresh, daily? The answer to the question actually can’t be made if you’re talking about Rattle N Hum. Why? Because it’s done right, SO RIGHT. Served on a fantastic and sturdy onion roll, this fresh ground beef patty tastes the way a backyard BBQ burger should taste but made in a kitchen. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare that resulted in a slightly smoked tasting fresh piece of juicy ground beef coddled by some fresh dark greens. Clearly, as much thought as was put into the 40 tapped beers served was also expended on the creation of this burger.

What could possibly make it better? The signature Rattle N Hum IPA brined fries. wow Wow and double WOW. I honestly don’t know how they do it but the result is a potato cut fry that is full bodied in flavor and still extremely juicy. Straight quote from my mouth; “those might be the best god damn fries ive ever had!” *Editors note; they are the best fries I have ever had.

While we were enjoying a ton of great food and beverage, Buckshot whipped out with the sauces. We started with the signature “Buckshot BBQ” sauce. Holy sassafras! This varmint will burn ye britches but leave ya asking for another. It is STRAIGHT HEAT but unlike other “hot” sauces, this one is all about letting you taste the actual peppers. It’s the real deal when it comes to flavors and heat. Good luck fighting a battle you won’t be able to walk away from. As I exclaimed my feelings aloud all Buckshot could say was “taste the thunder!!!”

From there we moved onto tasting out THE Metalliance sauce. Intimidation was afloat. I mean, let’s not lie…this is a hot sauce created ONLY for the sake of one of the most exciting metal branded tour packages of the year. I preceded with caution, or so I thought, until I dipped an IPA brined fry into the sauce. HOT SMOKING DADDY OF ALL THAT IS SAVORY AND ANGRY!! The Metalliance Sauce tastes not unlike the hot sauce my local Asian bistro labels “dragon.” The smoky heat is balanced with a vinegary bite of Asian peppers. If you don’t love this sauce, you probably think mint toothpaste is too spicy. Proceed with caution and if that isn’t your deal, just wear padding before you face plant into the delicious heat.

People sometimes ask me why I choose to live in NYC and instead of telling them, I would rather just say “go to Rattle N Hum.”

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!!

This wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. In fact, I had actually been at Rattle N Hum only 12 hours prior to meet some friends for a beer. I admittedly got a little noshy and knew there was only one way to go, Bite-sized Stout Burgers.

These little numbers, served in multiples, the smallest selection of which is 3 are made with real stout beer. I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately the rather large bun, for such a small burger turned the sandwich a little dry. However, the burger had a really unique flavor was  clearly coming from the from the stout. AMEN to the use of rosemary and garlic to give these burgers a real flavor profile. I felt like it gave them a note of a meatloaf like taste. To be sure, I ate the other 2 sans bun.

These burgers are actually the reason why I suggested Buckshot and I meet there. I had to try more!

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
326 Burgers

Jan. 17, 2011 – 12:44 PM