Happy Independence Day!
Fireworks, Flotillas, Hot Dogs, Burgers, Salt Potatoes, Baked Beans, and Fudgie the Whale
A Long Holiday Weekend with a Side of Heat Dome
No matter your true feelings on celebrating the current state of America, I hope those who are ringing in the long holiday weekend marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in your own special way—maybe it’s a cookout, a concert in the park, gathering the family for the local parade, hanging out at your local beach or lake, posting up at a dive bar, cranking out frozen drinks from a blender, or floating your worries away aboard a seafaring vessel.
I should have learned my lesson with last year’s Fourth of July chaos that living a couple blocks from the Brooklyn Waterfront and a quick walk from the Brooklyn Promenade—two of the most desirable viewing points for this morning’s historic Sail4th 250 flotilla and tonight’s fireworks display from the Brooklyn Bridge—offers no special access or privileges. That is instead afforded to select locals, VIPs, and hoards of citizens who hold one of the access passes that were raffled off earlier this week.
I know, I know… BTP Problems. But I went out for an early morning constitutional this morning at 8:30 a.m., the streets and Adam Yauch Park still littered with tree branches snapped off during last night’s severe storm, hoping I’d be able to walk up and down the piers before the crowds assembled but was swiftly turned away at the first checkpoint as the Goodyear Blimp floating overhead mocked me from above.
Yesterday morning I had my last official access of the weekend at the Brooklyn Promenade, where I posted up on a bench with a wraparound view of the Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn Bridge, waterfront, and the Statue of Liberty. I soaked it all in for a half hour or so while tearing apart a sugary and sticky kouign-amann from nearby L’Apartment 4F.
I looked down at Concrete Shoals, the dockside clubhouse where I briefly entertained, or at least aspired, to post up to watch the fireworks overhead until I saw how much they were asking for a ticket for such a, rightfully so, envy-inducing perspective. Tall ships and yachts were docking as the Staten Island Ferry and tugs crossed paths on their respective routes. I was hoping to catch sight of the Italian Navy training ship, the Amerigo Vespucci. She’ll be docked at Pier 86 through July 8 though there is, naturally, a ticket required for a topside tour.
Yesterday’s 3-mile morning walk nearly did me in as the “feels like” temperature was hovering around 105-degrees at 9:00 a.m. By the time I walked up the steps to my apartment my lungs were on fire and I committed myself to staying inside with Enzo the remainder of the day.
While I won’t have ready access to my sister and her husband’s Central New York home this weekend, especially with its breezy patio, fenced-in pool, always-abundant refrigerator, enviable pantry stocked with provisions, and a garage fridge filled with bottomless cases of canned sodas, seltzers, and beer, I’m doing my best to mark the Holiday Weekend in my own way.
On Thursday night I made my mother’s “special occasion” hot dogs, slicing hometown Hofmann Hot Dogs German Franks down the middle and stuffing them with cheddar cheese before wrapping each one with a slice of bacon to then bake and broil in the oven. I also made a big batch of baked beans, doctoring Bush’s Baked Beans with a mix of brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, and knobby crumbles of sweet Italian sausage.
Burgers are on deck today, made with Paisanos Butcher Shop’s burger blend (Short Rib, Brisket, and Chuck) which I’ll top with slices of Cooper Sharp White American Cheese. In another nod to my Central New York upbringing, I’m making some DIY Salt Potatoes with melted butter and roasting some ears of corn. And is it even a holiday at the BTP compound without a Carvel Fudgie the Whale Ice Cream Cake? I think not.
I admit I wasn’t as ambitious as I had planned to be, work-wise, yesterday, getting wrapped up in watching World Cup, F1 British Grand Prix Qualifying at Silverstone, and Independence Day, which was in heavy rotation on linear cable. I checked the local movie listings on the off-chance there was a special screening of Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind that might get me out of the apartment and into icy-cold air-conditioning but of course there was no such programming aimed directly at me. And even though I have cable and multiple streaming channels there wasn’t one free option to fire up Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a picture I love to watch every summer around this time of year and only gets better with age. The only option was to rent.
Instead I reached for the unopened LEGO Jaws set from the antechamber closet. I’m a longtime A.F.O.L. (Adult Fan of LEGO) though I’m mostly into smaller sets and collecting mini-figures. I have many unopened sets I’ve picked up over the years in my collection, but the only now-retired set I have that’s truly aged in after-market value and that I can’t bear to open is the LEGO Old Fishing Store my sister got me for Christmas years ago. Its retail price when it came out in September 2017 was $149.99 but now commands between $440 to $600 unopened in box. I have a sentimental attachment to it, especially as it’s such a great set, but walk the line of it continuing to collect dust or keeping Enzo in Fancy Feast.
Speaking of Enzo, there was a month or two when he first moved in a year ago where he paid no mind to the collection of LEGO Ferrari models (his namesake, no less) I had lined up in a row atop a bookshelf, until he switched gears and became obsessed with them and launched a campaign to knock them off, eventually shattering them into pieces.
But rather than another hour or two of mindless channel-surfing I moved operations to the kitchen table where, potential cat-damage be damned, I sliced open the LEGO Jaws set I had purchased on opening day back in 2024 and went to work constructing the doomed ORCA. Enzo stirred from his slumber and hopped up on the table to offer his assistance, which amounted to trying to tear open the pile of 13 numbered plastic bags filled bricks and accessories. Eventually he sprawled out to take a nap but his tail continued to twist and snap with the might of a Kaiju leveling a cityscape. If I do finish it maybe I’ll offer it on loan to Montero downstairs to display on a shelf out of reach of reveling karaoke fans.
I made it through bag 3 of 13 in the 1,497-pieces set, before a sudden storm with the force mightier than a mischievous cat’s tail blew through with gale-force winds and claps of thunder. I worried as the lights flickered but I thankfully didn’t lose power, just a brief outage of cable and internet.
Remember that 7-Up “United We Stand” 1976 Bicentennial promotion I wrote about on Wednesday? Well, it turns out July 1st Birthday Boy Ed Anderson has kept a complete set in storage throughout multiple moves since 1976, sharing: “I’m both proud and amazed that my eight-year-old self had the foresight to actually save these, and the older me move them, repeatedly, unboxed for decades.”
“250th: LAST CALL for America” Playlist
What’s a long holiday weekend without a BTP playlist? This one’s theme isn’t subtle and yes, you’ll find a plenty of songs with “America” in the title, but this isn’t about anthems, per se. Instead, you’ll experience an organic mix of all the BTP hallmarks: nostalgia, heartbreak, anxiety, hope, and joy.
The LAST CALL “Freedom of Choice” Subscription Sale!
Not to come across like Crazy Eddie hawking his wares on a national holiday, but if you’ve been waiting to finally become a paid subscriber or upgrade the level of your current paid subscription, this is the time to do it!
Please know that your support of LAST CALL as a paid subscriber means so much and truly helps keep the neon lights on around here.
I’m currently offering three unique promotions to hopefully appeal to those looking to become a paid subscriber at a great value or current paid subscribers looking to upgrade to the Courtside Seats subscription level. Plus, these rates are applicable for Individual, Group, or Gift Subscriptions.
As a reminder, Paid Subscribers have access to four years’ worth of archived content and receive every dispatch, including exclusive features like Dive Bar Jukebox, Out On the Town, The Lowdown, City Guides, and Off the Backbar with Enzo.
This is the best promotional package we’ve ever offered. Let’s see if we can move the needle with this “Freedom of Choice” Subscription Sale!
“Freedom of Choice” Subscription Sale!
For Current Free Subscribers Looking to Upgrade to a 1-Year Annual Paid Subscription
Current Price of Annual Paid Subscription: $60.00. Promotional Price: $45.00
Offer 1:
Receive 25% Off a 1-Year Annual Paid Subscription
Receive a Signed Copy of Bitters or Amaro.
Total Value: $86.00 ($60.00 Subscription, $26.00 Signed Book)
Offer 2:
Receive 25% Off a 1-Year Annual Paid Subscription
Receive 4 Bonus Months Free.
Total Value: $84.00 ($60.00 Subscription, $32.00 4 Bonus Months @ $8.00/month)
Freedom of Choice Subscription Sale Expires on Sunday, July 12.
For Current Monthly or Annual Paid Subscribers Looking to Upgrade to a 1-Year Courtside Seats Subscription
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Total Value: $150.00 ($150.00 Subscription plus $17.00 - $35.00 Signed Book)
Courtside Seats Upgrade Sale Expires on Friday, July 10.
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Recipe: American Trilogy
I know I shared a trio of heatwave-beating refreshing cocktails for the Fourth earlier this week and I’m still committed to this being my Weekend of Cape Codders.
While an Old-Fashioned riff may seem more appropriate for fireside contemplation, today is a perfect day to stir up an American Trilogy, a modern classic first created in 2007 at Little Branch by Richard Boccato and Michael McIlroy. Beyond the name, said to be inspired by the suite of songs of the name same name that was a mainstay in the late Elvis Presley repertoire, it’s a spirit-forward cocktail made from all-American ingredients rye and applejack (even better if it’s from Laird’s, the oldest licensed distillery in the United States).
Makes 1 Drink
1 ounce rye whiskey
1 ounce Applejack, preferably bonded
1 brown sugar cube
2 dashes orange bitters
Garnish: orange twist
Place the brown sugar cube in a rocks glass and saturate with orange bitters. Gently muddle into a granulated paste. Add the rye whiskey, Applejack, and ice (ideally a large cube) and stir to dissolve the paste and chill. Express an orange twist over the glass and use as garnish.
Variation: To make it even more All-American, consider swapping the brown sugar with a half-ounce Maple Simple Syrup (I’ll even look the other way if you use undiluted maple syrup), as bartender John Peterson does for this American Trilogy variation at Little Bird Bistro in Portland, Oregon.
How are you celebrating the Fourth of July and what’s on the menu?
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I had forgotten about those pop can towers.
I, too, had a childhood filled with the split hotdog/cheese/bacon wrapped glorious combo, but alas for my partner, he’d never heard of them until I made his mind explode with their glory. Too bad for his sad childhood. Also, a kouign-amann is the best of all pastries. Fight me.