Food

Pumpkin Up the Volume

Five Unique Ways to Get Some Pumpkin

Pumpkins. You see them all over the place these days. In yards, in patches... in rye, in pop-tarts. In fact, those last two are the best places to find pumpkin. Here’s a very technical breakdown on why.

PUMPKIN LEVEL: 1

Kanpai Pumpkin Cocktail

Where: 41 Ocean.
Made with: A medley of baked, muddled Japanese pumpkin with bourbon, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and bitters. With bonus gourd garnishing the rim.
Pairs well with: Awareness of its off-menu existence.

PUMPKIN LEVEL: 2

Savory Pumpkin Pop-Tart

Where: Tender Greens.
Made with: A poppy, tarty little pastry filled with chopped pecans and sage, nutmeg, mascarpone cheese and heirloom-pumpkin jelly. Sadly, you’ll have to make do without the frosting.
Pairs well with: Salad... if you want? They have a lot of that here.

PUMPKIN LEVEL: 3

Sweet & Sour Spiced Pumpkin

Where: Badmaash.
Made with: An Indian mashup of diced pumpkin braised with mustard seeds and fennel, spiced with red chili pepper and mango dust. It’s like Chinese sweet-and-sour chicken, only not at all like that.
Pairs well with: A mango-dust-friendly beer, of course.

PUMPKIN LEVEL: 4

The Pumpkin Colada

Where: Caña Rum Bar.
Made with: A mix of 100-proof Kentucky rye and 151 Guyanese rum, with coconut cream, pumpkin butter and pumpkin puree.
Pairs well with: Trumpets and congas on the patio.

PUMPKIN LEVEL: 5

And Finally, a Serious Pumpkin Pizza

Where: Pitfire Pizza.
Made with: Well, pizza to start. Topped with pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin seeds and sage-roasted pumpkin. They might’ve reached peak pumpkin.
Pairs well with: A deft pumpkin-folding technique.