What to Drink This Weekend: Brand New “Tong Po” Pickle Back Shot at Fatty Cue

May 14, 2010

It’s pretty cool being the first person to try a new drink.  Thursday night at Fatty Cue, NYC Food Guy received this honor alongside Hagan the Wandering Foodie and Andy from Wined & Dined.  Adam the bartender calls his $8, Thai-inspired pickle back “Tong Po,” a reference to the pony-tailed villain from the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme classic “Kickboxer.”  And while you don’t have to coat your fist in broken glass before taking this shot, Adam’s custom made pickle juice is definitely a kick to your taste buds.   First you take a shot of Mekhong, a dark Thai sugar cane spirit with a slightly smokey flavor.  Then you follow it with the pickle juice giving yourself a nice kick of spice right in the back of the throat.  If you actually taste it for a moment, before drowning it out with your can of Singha Thai beer, the pickle juice’s flavor is complex.  Adam cooks Thai basil stems, honey, pineapple juice, vanilla bean, and assam (tamarind skin) to a simmer.  Then he strains it all and purees the concoction with smoked long green Chiles, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and salt to taste.  It all goes down a lot easier than you’d imagine and unlike a beating from the real Tong Po, it will have you calling for seconds.  Read on to find out about Fatty Cue’s other pickle back shot and how you can get it for just $6…

There’s also an $8 “recession special” pickle back on the bar menu, featuring a shot of whiskey, a different variety of spicy pickle juice and a PBR tallboy.  And Thursday to Saturday, from midnight to 4AM, is Late Night Happy Hour, where you can get your “recession special” for $6 alongside a late night only pork shoulder bahn mi that Adam the bartender calls the best in New York City.

Fatty Cue website 91 S. 6th Street near Berry Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 718-599-3090

Posted in BROOKLYN, Fatty Cue, WILLIAMSBURG