Dive Bar Jukebox Christmas Eve Yule Log
"Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. But I think I'll miss this one this year."
I had every intention of having this Christmas Eve missive land in your inbox bright and early this morning but hopefully this “After Hours” LAST CALL dispatch will be worth the wait.
Read on for my thoughts on Christmas Eve traditions and this year I’m taking the aux on the third-annual Dive Bar Jukebox Holiday Yule Log, bringing a melancholy of seasonal bangers.
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Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Season’s Greetings!
—BTP
Merry and Bright
I’ve always preferred the overall mood of Christmas Eve, with its countdown of anticipation and buzz of activity, and checking off items on my to-do list, to Christmas Day.
Last weekend my dear friend Anne visited me from Boston where we had an excellent time logging thousands of steps in Brooklyn in the Big City soaking up the holiday spirit. We had a platter of oysters and tableside King Cole Martinis at Maison Premiere, clam pie and hanger steak au poivre at Leo, a nightcap (or two) of Bailey’s on ice at Bamonte’s, loaded up on panettone at Eataly, a proper holiday lunch at Gramercy Tavern, Panettone Negronis at Dante, cheeseburgers at Swoony’s, Frozen Eggnog at The Long Island Bar, hot chocolate and crumb cake at Mazzola’s, and L’Appartment 4F pastries on the Brooklyn Promenade. It was a swell time all around. Though I’m concerned the holiday spirit may be winning out over the reality of my bank account.
I’ve been embracing (as best I can), the bone-chilling temperature drop we’ve been experiencing. Out and about in Manhattan this week running holiday errands, I joined the holiday queue at Veniero’s in the East Village to pick up a box of assorted butter cookies for Pepe and Mrs. Montero (they not only own Montero’s, the bar I live over, but are also my landlord) and picked up some cannoli and pignoli cookies for myself. I made a pilgrimage to McSorley’s for two rounds of lights and a restorative bowl of chili (which includes chickpeas and was topped with cubes of chopped cheese) then made my way over to Dante for a quick Negroni before dropping by See’s Candies.
We had a taste of a White Christmas in Brooklyn this morning, at least until the afternoon. I was out of the apartment by 8:30 a.m., stopping by Daily Provisions for a hot chocolate and a maple cruller to fortify myself before joining the line at Fish Tales to pick up my order of jumbo shrimp. Then it was down to Court Street to Caputo’s Bake Shop for bread (a seeded twist and a Frank Sinatra). I then hopped on the B61 bus for the loop through Red Hook to the Columbia Street Waterfront and hopped off at Laurel Bakery where I picked up the Bûche De Noël Anne (remember Anne ?) had ordered for me. The chocolate chiffon cake (in the shape of a log) is filled with whipped vanilla ganache, pecan praline, candied cocoa nibs, covered in a chocolate glaze and decorated with meringue mushrooms and chocolate shards. Can’t wait to slice into that bad boy tomorrow.
Then, instead of staying home to continue my meal preparations (and finish writing this now-delayed dispatch), I joined my associate Patrick Miller, of Faccia Brutto Spirits, for a Christmas Eve Day lunch at Red Hook Tavern. Chef Bun was channeling Charles Dickens with two Christmas Eve specials: A Christmas Roast with Beef Jus, Horseradish Cream, and Yorkshire Pudding, and a Full English composed of Baked Beans, Roasted Mushrooms, Grilled Tomatoes, Bacon, Bangers, Black Pudding, two Sunny-Side Up Eggs, and Buttered Toast. We split a Wedge Salad to start and I had the Roast (took half of it home with me along with an order of Hafley Baked Rainbow Cookies) while Patrick took on the Full English. Patrick enjoyed two glasses of celebratory Champagne and though I rarely order a Guinness it felt like the occasion called for it, and when I spotted a bottle of Adriatico Amaretto behind the bar I asked the barman to shake up an Amaretto Sour for me, which was delicious.
