Despite my best efforts to live a life free from material want1, I do enjoy nice things2. Partially for that reason, I enjoy perusing Huckberry, menswear outfitter that sells things for dudes who want to look cool. They’ve got clothing, home goods, gear, anything you’d need to equip yourself from head to toe with the latest and greatest “if you know, you know” type brands. It’s a terrific place to do some browser-window shopping.
The other reason I like Huckberry is their content. Beyond some some terrific videos3, they also publish with some frequency articles in their Journal. Reviews, interviews, and recommendations that are perfectly written to make you want to buy stuff from their store. Not a bad set up! They recently published a boots-on-the-ground4 travel guide, in partnership, presumably, with Bludstone, to my very own Boston5.
I found the footwear choice interesting. Bludstones, while theoretically “the boot” of the decade6, and generally nice boots, aren’t my go-tos. Instead, one might consider the iconic Bean Boot, a New England classic which shods close to 90% of Bostonians from October through April. Still handmade in Maine, the Bean Boot is iconic, worn equally appropriately in the woods, on the farm, and in the boardroom7.
While I do love my own pair of Bean Boots8, most days, I’m an Xtratuf guy9. I like wearing their Deck Boots10, which work well in Boston’s slushy winter weather, navigating the mud on the Common, the marsh along the Esplanade, and the puddles along Newbury Street. They’re comfortable, convenient11, and have a utilitarian ethos that is appropriate for a brand which rose to prominence on Alaskan fishing vessels. That’s really all you can ask for when it comes to footwear. I don’t need to think about which shoes I’m going to wear when heading out the door — they work equally well for a walk around the block as they do a walk in the woods as they do a walk through the grocery store12. They are simply reliable13.
Reliability is important. Whether it’s in a good pair of boots, a solid jacket, pair of pants, or cast iron pan, there’s tremendous value in committing to something and knowing exactly what you are getting from it. This time of year, the doldrums of January, it’s important to have some reliability in your cooking as well. It’s not the time to pull a flyer on a new recipe that catches your eye, not time to experiment with the latest flash-in-the-pan trends14. No, we want something sure to please, to comfort15
Which is why we’re making chilindron, a Spanish stew that has quickly become a staple on the ranch. We’re making it with lamb and bison here, but feel free to use almost any meat that can hold up to slow cooking.
Let’s have at it.
In a large pot, heat up olive oil16 and give a hard sear on 3-4 pounds of stew meat17, browning it well. Remove the meat from the pot and add in a sliced onion or two18, stirring frequently until the onion is fragrant, and then add some chopped onion. Add back in the meat, stir well, and dump in about a half bottle of wine (red is great, white works too, or a combination). Let that reduce by about half, then dump in some stock. Season with plenty of paprika19, salt, black pepper, some chili powder, a dash of cayenne, and maybe even some white pepper. Mix well, then dump in one or two cans of diced or crushed tomatoes, enough to cover the meat by at least two thirds.
Add a hefty pinch of rosemary and some bay leaves, and then let simmer for at least three, but probably not more than 8-10, hours. Enjoy with warm buttered bread.
There ya go folks, chilindron. This recipe is slightly adapted from the tremendous version that
shares in his terrific cookbook Buck, Buck, Moose, so if you enjoy it, I’d recommend checking out that and Hank’s other cookbooks. All tremendous. Those are “gear books, not stuff, and entirely worth purchasing.With that, I’ll let you get on with your weekends. Mrs. CWD and I are heading to Vermont to enjoy a weekend sans kiddos — thank you to Tio and Tia CWD for wrangling our terrors for a few days! We’re hoping to enjoy some cross country skiing20, weather-permitting, and some rest and relaxation. I hope you all can do the same.
If you listen closely, you can hear Mrs. CWD laughing.
Lofty expectations for things you can get on Amazon!
Regardless, I like to think that the majority of my purchases amount to gear, not stuff — but, I recognize that not every new book, new jacket, new toy for Kiddo or the Warthog is going to allow the Family CWD to have “better experiences that make us healthier.”
(Michael Easter, in a classic case of it being a small world, is also a “friend of the [Huckberry] program,” and is featured often in the Journal. Here’s a recent guide he wrote to rucking — which, as many of you know, is one of my favorite activities.)
I especially like the DIRT series, which, frankly is what I aspire to have CWD turn into if I had an unlimited budget and any videography skills whatsoever.
Pun!
Boots notwithstanding, the guide itself could have been better. While it might tick the boxes for someone who wants to write an edgy travel guide to a city that frankly lacks edginess (just ask Van, my NYC-native barber who has begrudgingly rooted himself in Boston), the itinerary which it suggests leaves a lot to be desired.
I gather that the author was based in Fenway for his stay. Given the fact that I fancy myself a top-rate tour guide (one of my biggest collegiate regrets — beyond not majoring in “Natural History” [which I’m not sure my alma mater has offered in the last 150 some years] — was not becoming a campus tour guide), I figured I could present an alternative game plan for a 12-hour stint in Boston. I’ll try to stay as close to the goals of the original guide as possible, but I have a bias and I’m going to let it show.
MORNING: The Huckberry guide suggested a walk through the Fenway Victory Gardens. While cool in concept, it’s a little underwhelming after 10 or so minutes. Instead, I would have recommended a cruise up to the Esplanade, walking along the Charles River all the way to its terminus in Beacon Hill. The Esplanade is best in the morning, before the crowds take it over. In the morning, you can take it all in.
The author took his coffee at Trident Bookshop on Newbury Street. Cool place, but I think the Beacon Hill Bookshop is a cooler option. Situated in a renovated townhome, the store is cozy and comprehensive. Plus, their secret garden cafe is a literal hidden gem.
If you want to ride bikes through Boston, you could rent them from a bike shop — or, purchase a day pass for BlueBikes, Boston’s bikeshare program. Untethered by reservations or needing to return to a single location, this gives you the opportunity to cruise through the city at your leisure. The author chose to have a second cup of coffee at Flour, which is a terrific spot, but instead, I would have recommended Tatte, a superior option (their Tuna Salad Sandwich punches far above its pay grade; the shakshuka inspired my own version). The one in Beacon Hill also is roughly across the street from the BHBS, and has better pastries. From there, it’s also a quick ride to the North End to visit the Old North Church — but honestly, it would have been better to take in the North End later in the day, when the shops and restaurants would be open. (The North End, of course, being the Boston equivalent of “Little Italy” — though never call it that to a North Ender — and a veritable mecca for pasta, pizza, and cannoli.)
From there, it looks the the author heads back towards his encampment in Fenway. He takes the Esplanade at this point, which is a lovely return trip as well, but going down Commonwealth Ave, amidst the historic brownstones of Back Bay, would be a nice option as well.
NOON: No complaints on the choice for the Isabella Gardiner Museum. And, Select Oyster Bar for lunch is a great choice as well. Park your BlueBike and do some window shopping along Newbury Street, including Huckberry favorites Faherty, Barbour, Tracksmith, and Patagonia).
(Another option would have been Union Oyster House, directly in the hub of Fanueil Hall/Boston Public Market, where you can sit at the same oak bar as Daniel Webster would, ordering the same dozen oysters and pint of whisky. Easy to hit on the way back from the North End.)
NIGHT: The author’s goal was to hit up the “Trillium Beer Garden in the Boston Commons [sic]” (it is the Boston Common — because it was used, historically, as a common grazing pasture for cattle. Wander through neighborhoods like Beacon Hill and you can still see the small “cow doors” leading into the basements of townhomes, where the cows would spend their evenings.). That is, as he found out, seasonal. Trillium in Fenway was a nice backup, but I would have ventured further east, to the Seaport, where they could have visited the Trillium Brewery and then taken a nice stroll along the waterfront back to the North End for dinner at whatever Italian place caught their eye.
According to the New York Times, at least.
I read a feature on Bean Boots once which remarked at how, one winter in the Maine State Senate, the contrasting look of suits and Bean Boots was so frequent, it became unusual to see someone in dress shoes.
Well worn and resoled multiple times by the loving hands in Freeport, Maine.
Which, coincidentally, is also a favorite of the Huckberry team.
Especially if you find yourself having to take them on and off frequently, say, when you’re dropping the Warthog off in the baby room at school — where cleanliness is next to godliness and no shoes are allowed.
The three of which, if we’re being honest, comprise about 90% of the walking I do anyway.
Perhaps, ironically, the NYT article I link to earlier praises Bludstones for their versatility and reliability — the same things I’m lauding in Xtratufs.
This, of course, is a pun. Seasonally, this being the winter, it’s not appropriate to have meals cooked hot and fast. It’s time for slow cooking, braising, relishing the aroma and warmth in the kitchen.
Especially when you wake up and the thermometer reads in the single digits.
Or bacon grease, if you have it.
You can use pre-diced stew meat, or a braising cut. This uses a lamb shoulder, but we’ve also done it with venison neck, with shanks, and I imagine it would even be good with pork butt.
Shallot is nice if you have it.
I used only smoked, but you could also do hot or sweet.
A sport for which there is plenty of gear that you absolutely must have!
PopPop CWD told me that a man must always have as staples a good belt, a good pair of shoes, and a good pair of gloves (also be able to play a decent game of golf, and bridge, but we'll focus on the material things for now). PopPop would always have shearling lined deerskin leather gloves, a one-piece full grain leather belt that always developed a unique patina with wear, and a pair of the highest quality blake-stitched calfskin leather shoes with a flexible sole.
The apple does not fall far from the tree.
I love you...have a wonderful weekend!