Garrett Oliver is the well renowned brew master from Brooklyn Brewing with a flair for the debonnaire- in attire and flavorful exotic brews. I had an opportunity to meet him at a dinner party in Manhattan. But the story of that day begins well before that evening….
Tuesday, November 7, 2017 4pm I’m headed to the Apollo Theater in Harlem which is about 20 minutes away.
Jinhang, my Uber driver, is attempting to ask me something. His English is so bad I can hardly understand anything he says. He uses many hand gestures to get his points across. When I first got in the car I was a bit annoyed by his seemingly unintelligible attempts to speak clearly, and I wanted to just sit there quietly and enjoy the ride. However, I am soon impressed by his enthusiasm and engage in a conversation.
At the moment he is asking me something I cannot understand.
“Are you asking me if I have a boat?”
“No”, he answers shaking his head and repeats the question. This time I understand.
“Did I vote?” He shakes his yes and smiles. I answer “yes” and remember how this day started. I left Rome, New York at 7am on a five hour Amtrak train ride to New York for a two night stay-after voting. Tonight I will be meeting Garrett Oliver, but that’s not the reason I’m here. I’m taking this trip because I won a ticket to see a special live taping of the Conan O’Brien TV show at the Apollo.
Let me set the record straight, I am not a big Conan O’Brien fan, but I do watch his show on a regular basis. About a month ago he mentioned he would be taping his TV show at the Apollo for a week and then put an email address on the screen to get free tickets. I entered and won one. I never win anything, so this was a good enough excuse to plan a trip to New York.
There was one caveat-this ticket doesn’t guarantee a seat. More tickets are issued than seats available, so it’s first come, first serve. That means, to improve your chances of seeing the show, you need to stand in line on the day of the show before the box office opens at 9 am. Conan is performing at the Apollo all week. My ticket is for tomorrow. Since I’m not familiar with the City, I’m going a day early to check out the box office location to make sure I can find it and get there on time in the morning.
As we drive on 125th Street and approach the Apollo I can see a line of tonight’s ticket holders that extends from the theater marquee and around the corner of the block. When I locate the temporary Conan box office across the street, Jinhang pulls to the curbside and I get out of the car. The box office is housed in a vacant storefront. The entrance is obscured by scaffolding and I have to tip toe through an obstacle course of metal and torn sheets of vinyl tarp waving in the wind to get inside.
When I approach the young woman sitting at a folding table covered with papers strewn about I explain that I am by myself and have come to New York a day early to make sure I get a seat. I ask her how early the lines are forming in the morning.
She answers with a question: “Do you want to go tonight? I have a ticket.” Of course I say yes. She explains that I will need to get in line right now because the doors will be closing as soon as everyone gets in. I take my ticket, walk across the street and get in line.
4:15pm So, I get to see Conan a day early. However, while standing in line I have a moment to think and realize I have a conflict of interest. When I planned the trip, I had intended to visit the box office today. After checking things out, I would walk a couple blocks to the Harlem Craft Beer Brewery. From there I would take the subway to the seafood restaurant Gloria where I made 7 o’clock dinner reservations. it is a $100 a plate dinner with only 40 people. I found it listed on a website that listed”insider things to do” in NYC. Brooklyn Brewing brew master Garrett Oliver is scheduled to be the special guest for the evening as part of their dinner series. He would be pouring some of his coveted, small batch “ghost bottle” brews not available in stores. But now, my plan has been altered.
The Conan show is scheduled to start at 5 and be over at 6. If all goes well, I should be able to take a taxi after the show and get to the dinner on time.
Right now I’m glad the line is moving at a brisk pace because it’s starting to rain.
4:45pm Once I get inside the Apollo I discover the ticket I was given is for the last seat on the top right side corner of the middle balcony-possibly the worst seat in the house. Fortunately several of us in that section are relocated to fill empty seats. This picture is from my new improved seat. It’s better than it looks in the photograph and definitely better than where I was originally seated.
The doors are closing and the hype man onstage is stirring the crowd into a frenzy. A few minutes later Conan’s entrance is announced with a booming TV announcer voice through the PA. He is greeted with thunderous applause. The show starts with the opening monologue and moves quickly. First, the planned guest Keegan Michael Key followed by Jon Stewart, who makes an unannounced appearance. After a few minutes to reset the stage during what will be a scheduled commercial break when the show airs, Conan introduces a skit about a new Broadway production called “Adams: The Musical”. It’s a parody of Hamilton that features Sam Adams claiming he invented beer.
5:55pm The show is over and Conan is on the stage singing and thanking the audience. I get up and leave early to avoid the mass exodus so I can snag a cab to get across town to the restaurant for the dinner with Garrett Oliver. The restaurant is about 20-25 minutes away.
After I run down the stairs from the balcony and out the doors, I am surprised to find there are no taxis waiting in front of the Apollo. Due to daylight savings time, it’s dark. It’s also raining, so I stand under the marquee and try to hail a passing cab to no avail.
“Don’t block the exit”, the doorman yells as an increasing number of people assemble. I then walk in the rain trying to hail a cab but no one stops. At this time I have come to the realization that sometimes the stories you hear about New York City might be true: a Black man in Harlem can’t get a cab at night.
I find a storefront awning to stay dry under and order an Uber ride.
6:40pm I arrive at Gloria. I am seated at a small bar with three other people- One man is seated at the far end, then Garrett Oliver, and next to me is a man seated between Garrett and myself. I talk with the man throughout the night. I later learn he is Jeff Gordinier, Food & Drinks Editor, Esquire Magazine. On my Uber ride home I replay the events of the evening in my head, hoping I didn’t say something quotable that would be less than flattering (i.e.: something stupid).
Throughout the evening Garrett shares colorful stories about the beer from his personal stash that we are drinking. The beer is paired with incredible seafood. From tales of Mezcal, the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico, to stories of a more regional nature, Garrett is quite entertaining. He never gets esoteric discussing the processes or ingredients of the beer as he recounts his adventures. When he sits at the bar with us, he speaks on a more personal level in a way that I can’t recapture here-so I won’t. I guess it’s a lot like craft beer, the best way to experience it is first hand-to-hand the source.
But I didn’t come home empty handed. Here are some comments from my interview with Garrett at the end of the night. Phil Johnson, sommelier and managing partner of the restaurant starts the video with a description of the event.
It would be a great disservice not to mention the incredible food at Gloria. Phil talks about the philosophy of the restaurant.
I have provided a menu with a few of my written comments. The beer is also listed. Everything-the beer and the food-was incredible.
thebeernextdoor 