TGIFridays

Chocolate Covered Pretzel

Fave new shot.  I was thinking that maybe salt on the rim would be a cool idea, but no.  Too much salt at once.  Plus, it was margarita salt, so it was HUGE.  Bad call Gino and Dave, bad call.

Simple ingredients.  They're much better at the 8ball.  Order one!

5 out of 5!

Bar Louie

Rob Roy

This was an experiment in iPhone application skills.  I've since decided that I need to find a new one.  Shake your iPhone for a random cocktail.  I wasn't disappointed in the Rob Roy result, actually I was a little excited.  I was hoping for a more consistent emergence of classic type cocktails, but it's been giving me really crappy sorority girl shots.  Whatever.

So!  The Rob Roy.  A classic, for sure.  Scotch, vermouth, bitters, a cherry and a lemon twist.  It was named for after Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor, but I can't really find the connection.  I guess it's because he was Scottish.  The cocktail was created (1890-ish) just after Dewar's scotch was introduced in New York.

Upon first sip, it tasted like scotch and sour mix.  That didn't seem right.  The further into the drink I got, the more it tasted like sour mix.  It wasn't bad, exactly, but it wasn't right either.  I asked the waitress what was in my drink.  Dewars, bitters, and sour mix.  The cherries tasted like juicy plastic.  No discernible flavor and no lemon twist.  I would like to try this drink again with the right ingredients.  I wouldn't say I'm a fan of scotch, but I'd like to give it the chance it deserves. 

2 out of 5

TGIFriday's

Mai Tai

 

For some reason, I had a mean craving for a Mai Tai.  I never opt for fruity drinks, and I was really hoping for a giant hurricane glass, but this really hit the spot.  Our bartender was a chode, and totally in mack mode.  He ribbed us for ordering Mai Tai's, then made a couple of unintentionally homosexual references to himself, which made me snicker and he quickly struggled to regain his machismo.  Whatever, dude.  Aaaaanyway, the drink was pretty tasty.  I always forget about rum.  The options, in my inexperienced mind, are pretty limited.  It's never a liquor I think to drink, but when used correctly it's delicious!  This drink (and this blog, because I'll run out of other things eventually, right?) has given me a reason to explore the possibilities of rum.  All in all, 4 out of 5.  If not only due to the craving I had for this specific drink.

p.s.  The Oberon sucks at Friday's.  Don't order one. 

The Highland Cleanse--Seva

Laphroaig. It is not a single malt scotch for the weak of heart. As my dear friend Dawn (who crafted this lovely, smokey, but definitely not for everyone cocktail) said, "It smells like band-aids!" And it's true, it really does.

The Highland is a combination of lemon juice, Michigan maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The cocktail starts out with a nice fresh lemon juice taste and finishes with that great, strange, smells like your weird uncle smokey flavor of Laphroaig (also every time I type that I think of Professor Frink saying it, "LA-FROI-GUM!"). The cayenne is a garnish, so it settles to the bottom of the glass, which makes the end of the drink a little undrinkable but the cocktail is great nonetheless.

Here's the bummer part: on the menu it states that its made with a splash of lemonade, which it is for customers. Total bummer, because after the first delicious drink I felt like a classy dame ready for another. I got the lemonade version and it was all old-man stink with no yummy, refreshing, "cleansing" tart lemon juice to cut it. Boo.

Laphroaig is definitely not for everyone. so if it doesn't sound like your thing, don't do it! You will totally hate it.

2.5 out of 5---due to the use of lemonade and the generally unpalatable taste of Laphroaig to just about everyone except for me and old white dudes.

Everywhere

March 28th 2011.  The release date of Oberon.  What do I think of Oberon?  Duh.

"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control."  Oh, Oberon...

Chop House/La Dolce Vita

I'm gonna tackle two drinks in one review!

The acquisition of a gift certificate and a crappy week led us (Becca and myself) to La Dolce Vita, which I learned is the dessert half of the Chop House.  It is as ostentatious as it appears.  We got there around 8:30, it was a Saturday night.  Bad choice #1.  The bar was full and the girl at the door said we could wait for seats to open up, so we did.  Very shortly after, a waitress approached us, followed quickly by the hostess (with the, fucking, mostest.  I'm SO serious.) who was overly concerned about how long we had to wait to sit down.  We only waited, like, ten minutes...take it easy lady.  We got a table!

Our waitress, Emily, didn't know we were sitting there for about ten more minutes.  She was very apologetic and adorable.  Forgiven.  I order a dirty martini and then change my mind because that's what I always order, I got the Chop House Classic Martini.  Becca ordered the drink I'll be addressing after this one, hush hush.

 

There it is.  Perfect and beautiful.  The word classic has never been more aptly applied.  It was the cleanest, most refreshing straight liquor I'd ever tasted.  The lemon spiral is classy (just look at it!), and it lent a faint aroma of citrus to the glass.  Yup, it was delicious.  And $10.  4 out of 5.

And now...The Bloody Gary.  Somehow it sounds far grosser than a Bloody Mary.  Why?  I can't quite put my finger on it.  This drink is genius, and I can't believe I've never heard the idea before.  A Bloody Mary...add beef stock!  What a perfect match!  Ok, maybe some people would be a little put off by beef stock in their drink.  But, whatever they do to make it (my guess is, strain it a thousand times)...it totally works, it's delicious.  La Dolce Vita has a pretty decent selection of olives, too!  Emily brought us an entire platter of olives and accoutrements to choose from, swank.  You can choose whatever olives you want to go in your drink.  The anchovy olives were great, but the blue cheese really stole the show.  There are so many other things that happened in this crazy place while we were there.  If  you see me at the bar, ask me about it.  I'll talk your ear off.  Bloody Gary, amazing.  5 out of 5.

Bells Two Hearted Ale

Oberon comes out tomorrow. Tomorrow! Which means that soon the ice will melt from my cold heart and the birds will sing and warmth will come again. And the sun, oh god! That sun--I totally understand why the Egyptians used to worship that shit.

Yes, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter (to borrow a phrase). But not without some bonuses. For instance, I discovered a deep love for another Bell's beer--Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

I usually have a hard time drinking more than one microbrew because they give me a headache and the next day I usually feel like a shit sandwhich (to borrow a completely disgusting phrase). Two Hearted is fucking delish. It's easy drinking and smooth as silk. Plus, at 7% alcohol volume, they can get you delightfully tipsy. Which is, of course, something you want when you've lived through seventy bazillion months without a ray of sunshine.

I enjoyed this beer in the comfort of my own home while playing online multi-player with Tim on Little Big Planet 2. The 7% alcohol led to me feeling waaaayyy too compassionately for my fellow LBP2 players but I guess that's not too terrible of a thing.