Quick Review: Drinks at Fatty 'Cue

Root Beer Sazerac
Sweet, hint of earthy. Reminiscent of a Manhattan, without the smoke of bourbon.

Austria, Neusiedlersee, Sepp Blauer, Zweigelt 2010
+ // Earthy // currant, leather // cola, cocoa, cherry, oak // med
Delicate flavor that holds up to the meat surprisingly well. Spicy wood comes through.

Quick Review: Cocktails at Hill Cafe

The Gates 
Made with Sapphire rum, ginger, sorrel, St Germaine, soda
++ // Spicy // Ginger, Sweet Booze

Kraken Millionaire 
Made with Kraken spiced rum, sloe gin, apricot brandy, lime juice
+ // Sweet // Sugar, Lime

Quick Review: Cocktails at the Waldorf Bar

The Peacock
++ // Refreshing // Sweet, Fruity, Sage

1860 Manhattan
++ // Smokey // Smokey, Sweet

Quick Review: Cocktails at Sir Harry's Bar

Pear Sidecar
+ // Fruity // Pear with hints of heat and sour

Waldorf Sunset
+ // Sweet & Sour // cocoa comes through sweet alcohol flavors

How-To: Pick a Before Dinner Drink

We spend a lot of time talking about what wines to drink with a meal, but sometimes you want to start with a glass of something before the meal starts. Whether you have to wait for a table at the bar, or you are celebrating a special evening, or you just want to sit and enjoy yourself for a little longer, there is a perfect aperitif for you.

Quick Review: Cocktails at Dean Street

Moscow Mule
/ // Sweet, Spicy // Ginger, Lime
This drink was a little to sickly sweet for my taste. The ginger added a hint of spice, and the lime a trace of sourness, but there weren't as many layers of flavor as other cocktails. 

Champagne Touch
+ // Dry, Fruity // Orange

"Martini Splash" by geishaboy500 on Flickr

Return of The Bearded Lady

While we enjoy cocktails, we have a lot to learn about them. With wine, you get what the vintner wants you to have, and, barring any serious aging problems, typically bottle over bottle of the same wine tastes basically the same. Cocktails are much more varied and flexible. After being challenged on our original review of the Bearded Lady, we were eager to get back, and see if our opinion would change. This time, we had a better appreciation of what goes into a good cocktail, and give a thumbs up to Bearded Lady for satisfying our palates.

Washington D.C. Restaurants and Museums

Despite the early blizzard in the Northeast this year, it was still a beautiful fall . After our trip to the Longbranch Balloon & Wine Festival in VA, we wanted to visit the area again, and set aside a weekend to visit Washington DC. We could not have picked a better weekend than the one we did: warm sunny days bringing out the hues in the changing leaves, we wandered around our nation’s capital, enjoying the sights. It also happened to be my birthday weekend. After arriving late on Friday, we went straight to our hotel--the Kimpton’s Topaz Hotel just southeast of Dupont Circle. Dropping our bags, we rushed back down to the eclectic bar to enjoy a drink and snack before the end of our evening. 

The Topaz Bar has recently been revamped as a "Moroccan-inspired retreat."

The bar’s signature cocktail menu features drinks based on the astrological signs. I tried the Aries, a spicy mix of jalepeno-infused tequila and orange juice, while Tina went with the Aquarius. Mine was well balanced, the heat playing off the sweetness of the juice and alcohol without being bitter. Tina’s Aquarius, on the otherhand, was not altogether unpleasant, but required getting the brain to ignore the drink’s strange, neon blue color. I stuck with my drink, but Tina decided to ordered the Gemini - a sweet cocktail made with pomegranate juice and sparkling. It was a good 2nd choice. We shut the bar down (at 10:30, mind you, but still!) and decided to call it an early night to prepare for the busy day ahead.

Saturday was our tourist day. We had mid-morning plans to tour the Capitol, so lept out of bed to enjoy breakfast before making the 2 mile hike down there. It was a short tour, packed with interesting tidbits of info (you get to see where John Quincy Adams sat when in the House of Reps and walk right by the Speaker’s office chambers). Nate took dozens of photos of the area around the Mall.

More interesting to us was the National Museum of American History. We stomped through for hours, exploring different bits of our national history. Tina was enthralled by the Star Spangled Banner, but was appalled that the original owners cut pieces away to give as gifts. It’s still in pretty good shape after more than 200 years. I enjoyed an historic house, which the museum has tracked through 200 years of owners and renovations. But the best part was lunch. Apparently the Smithsonian has made a point of bringing good food into their cafeterias, and we took advantage of the fresh BBQ and craft beer during a casual meal. Both the pulled pork and North Carolina style chicken were juicy and flavorful, the sweet potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside, and the coleslaw was juicy, but not too runny. For a simple meal, convenient to the Museum, we couldn’t really ask for more.

To be continued. . . .!

Cocktails at The Bearded Lady

It came as a great disappointment when we wandered over to our local watering hole for an after-dinner drink, only to find it closed for a few days. Standing outside, we debated going to another standby, but Tina wanted to try something new. After a few seconds, she remembered a new cocktail lounge that opened just a few blocks away, in the "other" direction we normally don't go. That’s how we found ourselves sitting down at a window table at The Bearded Lady, watching the evening traffic roll down Washington Avenue, in Brooklyn.

In these troubled times, as so many small businesses close their doors, it's heartening to see a new place opening up. The Bearded Lady is decorated in a simple fashion, a mix of minimalism, with bare, white walls accentuated with heavy retro plastic furniture. The wine list is minimal, the beer list interesting, yet we embraced their specialty cocktails. Tina ordered their Kinky Crown: Gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, Benedictine, and Lemon Juice. I went with the Good Manners: Cava, Bourbon, Mint, Cucumber, and Cane Syrup. Both were enjoyable, though the ingredients might have been a bit fresher. The bar itself was a nice find. Busy enough that we didn’t feel all alone, but quiet enough that we didn’t have to fight through a crowd to place our order at the bar.

In all, it was a good choice for the evening. Well-crafted drinks, at a reasonable price. Easy, comfortable atmosphere. We've already added it to our list of standbys.

Courtesy Bearded Lady

HOW-TO: Make Wine Cocktails

Our recent trip to Henry Public prompted me to ask myself: are there any cocktails made with wine? My naivety shines through: turns out there are dozens of cocktails made with wine.

Champagne (really, we have to call it “sparkling wine” if it’s not made in the Champagne region of France) is probably most frequently used and can be added to any fruit juice to create a refreshing treat, either with breakfast or before dinner as an aperitif, or at a party for grownup punch. For fun, you can review Martha Stewart’s bellini recipe for an idea. Mimosas are yesterday’s news. Why not skip the orange juice for unsweetened grapefruit juice and let the sparkling wine do the sweetening? 

Sometimes, you really want a red wine, even if the weather doesn’t really call for it. We know that Sangria can be a great way to serve a red wine over ice, and still pack some wonderful flavors into your glass. Leave it to the Spanish to find some other options as well.

To take the edge off a white wine, try a spritzer. Add club soda to a chilled white wine, decide if you want it over ice, and enjoy. Or to sweeten a dry white wine, the French would recommend adding some berry liqueur to make a Kir cocktail.  

Of course, it will feel wasteful to use your best bottles to make wine cocktails, but if you have a mediocre bottle you’d like to add some flavor to, jazz it up with a fun cocktail recipe. There are dozens that can be found by exploring the web.  Enjoy!

(c) hinnamsaisuy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Henry Public

For something a bit different, we met friends on Governor's Island, an historic military base on a small island within spitting distance of downtown Manhattan. We'd been once before, and enjoyed an afternoon exploring the old fort and other historic buildings. This time, we rented bicycles and rode around the island a few times, checking the harbor views of New York City that we seldom get to see. It was a beautiful afternoon, with good friends, and a real joy.

Views of Lower Manhattan from Governor's Island

After we left our friends, we took the free ferry back to downtown Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal. We seldom venture that far towards the East River, so we decided to explore that area of Atlantic Avenue, check out some stores, and maybe find a pub to while away some time before dinner. We were reminded how small a city NYC really is: as we stood outside The Roebling Inn debating if we wanted to stop there, a former co-worker of Tina's darted out from the bar and invited us to join her and her husband. They were enjoying a quiet afternoon at their neighborhood bar with the two dogs they were dog sitting. We ordered a couple of glasses of house wine. While the wine was nothing special, the company more than made up for it. We chatted for some time, and enjoyed watching the neighborhood dogs hanging out. We learned the bar was both dog and child friendly, a bonus in New York City. Our host gifted us a bag of coffee from his company, Kitten Coffee. And when we parted ways, they recommended we stop by another local bar for some interesting cocktails and food.

The Roebling Inn

Just around the corner, just south of Atlantic and nearly hidden from sight was Henry Public, a bar that specializes in quality cocktails and British inspired local food. It ended up being quite the find. We seldom order cocktails, but we couldn't resist. I am fond of whiskey sours, but I seldom order them at a bar. The fresh ingredients used here, crafted with care, made a real difference. The Kings County Sour was the best whiskey sour I have ever tasted, the balanced sweetness, tartness, and smokiness resulting in a smooth drink. Tina was equally pleased with her drink, the Blackthorn Fix--this in spite of the fact that she doesn't by habit drink Gin and can’t , in fact, ever remember a time that she’s had it before. For dinner, we focused on their small plates. I had a chance to try something new--marrow bones--while Tina ordered the grilled summer beets. We shared a plate of NY cheeses, as well. Even better, their wine menu features New York State wines. Remembering our recent trip upstate, Tina selected the Fox Run Lemberger. Although we didn't visit Fox Run on our most recent trip, the vineyard is just down the road from where we were married; we’ve been there many times. I tried a Claret from Shinn Estate Vineyards, a recommendation from our friends earlier in the day. Both wines were rich, fruity, and medium bodied. The Lemberger was probably the lightest of the two, and had a distinct earthy quality that caused Tina to exclaim, “oh, I can taste the Finger Lakes, I can taste them, there they are!” The marrow was rich and buttery, the beets fresh, and the cheeses tasted of fresh grass. The food balanced well with the sweeter flavors of the wine. We sat around and enjoyed our time, watching people come and go, watching the bartender craft her delicious cocktails, and savoring our food and drink. As the evening wore on, costumed flappers from a party on Governor's Island began filling up the bar, blending perfectly with the bar’s classic British theme. We enjoyed the unintentional show before wandering home.

Henry Public

It is great to explore our City from time to time. There are so many hidden gems, its tough to find them all. Sometimes the recommendations of locals can help you find the best parts.