A Beverage to Brewed Upon

Not the mythical terrain of milk and honey, but rather the blue collar landscape of Polish laborers, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, intersecting with gentrified Williamsburg and growing to resemble our old neighborhood more and more each week, is home to Cafe Drake. And we couldn't be happier with the neighborhood. A certain benefit is the availability of scores of Polish, German, Czech (yes, the real Budweiser) and Russian brews in every corner deli, even if we remain resolute non-beer drinkers. Other than an occasional backyard BBQ in mid-July, we tend to avoid the substance not so much out of distaste but rather the overly filling qualities of even two or three bottles. Call us softies, but any day of the week we'd rather while away a hot afternoon with a well-chilled rose or Pinot Grigio. The exception here has always been the dark viscous liquid known as "stout", whether it's a more common Guinness with a pork roast or plate of nachos, or a microbrew from Boston or Western England. As the temperatures and humidity begin to climb to intolerable levels, Cafe Drake finds itself - oddly enough - cooling off from a Polish brewski shocking armed with a 9.5% alcohol content. The ultimate bang for the buck at $1.85 a pop, Zywiec Porter is the malt of choice these days - dark and creamy and exceptional with tapas of cold cuts and olives or just the company of friends dedicated to high-octane beer. Even better is a bottle opened and gone flat and added to a Belgian-style beef stew of sirloin, mushrooms and flour-dusted onions.