Tag Team Media's 5th Anniversary Party @ The Hook

Last night felt like a wedding mixed with summer camp mixed with the last day of school. My friends' company Tag Team Media threw a party to celebrate their fifth anniversary and we couldn't have been more honored and excited to attend. The location was a bar/performance space in Red Hook called the Hook. Look for the giant red hooks on the exterior of the building. So while Pedro was off getting rocked at Fenway, writers, hipsters, music geeks, label folk, musicians and other people who encompass you know, the industry, were getting stuffed and plastered!

Upon arrival, we were greeted with trays of mini pulled pork sandwiches. The pork, which was smoked in-house by the owner, was placed upon these fluffy rusticy looking rolls. The bread was a light beige color with white flour accents. The meat was topped with cole slaw and pickles, which provided acidity and crunch contrast. There was also a nice platter of cheeses, including bleu and brie, as well as assorted olives.

Then the passing started. Sometimes I feel I'm a marked woman. Meaning when food is passed, there's a big mark on my face that says, "Oh, don't mind me at all. I didn't want it anyway." That is certainly not the case. Ever. The servers at the Hook were awesome. Not only was the food plentiful, but they even climbed up the bleachers to bring us trays of cut-up grilled hot dogs, chicken skewers, and zuchinni and cherry tomato kebobs. We made a hot dog assembly line. Jim was closest to the waitress, so he passed a skewered piece to Alex who passed it to Anne who passed it to me who passed it to the China Latina Chowhound, who then passed it to Mary!

I love grilled hot dogs. At Shea Stadium, I never get a dog from a vendor. Instead, I like to get the dogs that have been cooking on those metal rollers so that it gets all shriveled up. That really isn't grilling, but it's the closest thing to a grilled dog you'll get at Shea. The dogs were cut up into one inch thick coins and skewered with toothpicks. It reminded me of my childhood and I got super excited and a dance spontaneously came out of me. I believe I yelled out, "Hot dogs make me dance!" and started jigging or whathaveyou. There was also a veggie option of not dogs wrapped in a tortilla, but why bother with the fake, when you can have the real?

Outside in the patio, I was able to also sample a hamburger meatball, which may have been served with a special ketchup, but I can't confirm for sure. And then there was corn! Oh grilled corn, slathered with butter, each kernal bursting with warm, roasted sweetness. It was all so simple yet so comforting.

It was around this point that one of the nice security guards made the announcement that there was an ice cream truck. I looked to my left and there he was, THE Ice Cream Man. I don't exactly know who underwrites him (Guitar Center & Fox News (huh?) were two companies bantied about), but basically he rides around in an ice cream truck giving out free ice cream. I went with a strawberry shortcake novelty bar but I could have also had the classic sandwich bar or the more modern Spongebob Squarepants variety.

On the way out I ran into my friend Ben, who came up with the brilliant idea of getting a pulled pork sandwich for the road. Unfortunately the food had already been cleared, but he did come back with two pieces of corn.

Congrats Tag Team!