Thursday, July 10, 2008

Duck and hen

Tonight, I did two things I've never done before, and both were done at the Marshall Stack, a beer-and-wine bar in the Lower East Side. Hang on a minute, I asked incredulously the first time I heard of the place. There's an actual bar called "The Marshall Stack"? We must go there immediately! I mean, seriously: I can hardly think of a better name for a bar.

The first thing: I ordered a duck sandwich. I didn't do this blindly, in case you were wondering. Marshall Stack's duck club sandwich has been talked up by Gothamist as one of New York's standout sandwiches. It was delicious indeed -- a greasy assemblage of sliced duck breast, crispy bacon and Romaine lettuce drenched in horseradish sauce. I ate it standing at the bar. Price: $11.00.

The second thing I did tonight: I had an Old Speckled Hen. Not another sandwich, but an English ale. The Stack has an appropriately extensive and eclectic beer list -- even Sapporo is available -- but you just don't pass up the opportunity to try something called Old Speckled Hen. It turned to be a beautiful golden ale, with a caramel texture, if perhaps a tad too much sweetness. Delicious, nonetheless.

If it wasn't already obvious, the moral of today's blog post is: I'm a sucker for a good name.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you're a true gourmand of bird-sounding menu items.

Anonymous said...

Old Speckled Hen, I think it's a cask conditioned English style Ale. Was it poured out of a standard tap or pumped by hand? Been dying to try one for a while.

-bruce

Darren Philip said...

It was pumped by hand, bro. I mean bru. Definitely worth a try. I'm wondering if I can get it in a six-pack somewhere...

Anonymous said...

now what do you get when you cross a chick and a duck? you could call it Chuck. some people call it Dick.