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fatdeko

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  1. Yep. That's me. Friend of the Earth and all its Earthitudinality. Love it or hate it, you can't shoot it: Earth! In the perfect world, where it's just the last three of us drinking, and we're drinking Suffering Bastards, I'd use the nails from the Crucifixion as swizzle sticks. (Think about it.....) Barring that, I'd try my hand at the Black Arts and try to capture the smell of my basement in a foam. To me it smells like diesel and grape jelly. But a sprig of mint is good too. I guess. myers
  2. Gin and Bourbon are difficult to get to work together, tis true, and it's always puzzled me because those Blues guys are always sticking the two together in songs.* But the Suffering Bastard gets it about right: Gin, Bourbon, Lime Juice, Bitters Ginger Ale myers * The only 2 that come immediately to mind are Graham Parson and RL Burnside: "The first time I lose I drink whiskey/The second time I lose I drink Gin" "I got a ass [sic] pocket of whiskey/Front pocket full of gin", respectively.
  3. fatdeko

    Imbibe!

    It took them a while to post the video so I stopped checking after a time, but here's David on our little local news magazine. http://www.wcsh6.com/includes/buildasx.asp...ch_wcsh.wmv&sp= myers
  4. So just how "hip" is Crystal Lake in the grand scheme of things?
  5. How I wish it were true! Actually it's a trick of a bad photographic angle. In reality what you see are the remnants of 2 sleeves of Malacca nips that are sitting on the bar just behind the mixer. I might have 20 left and I use them (almost) only for Pink Gins. But a floor stack of Malacca cases...now that's the stuff that dreams are made of. myers
  6. I'm a less ambivalent about the Waring WM007, in fact I'm kind of intrigued. Like Dave I kind of see it as part of the progression of shaking tech. There's some turn of the century patent and catalog illustrations of a floor standing cocktail shaking contraption that was powered by a hand crank. (Dale has a picture of it in his book). And I hate the thought of parting with my ca. 1940 "Chron-Master Mix-All". Recently I witnessed the latest gizmo from Guinness that uses sonic waves to agitate a special "flat" bottled Guinness into the frothy, luscious, only-available-on-draught texture of the "real" thing. So looking at the architecture of the Waring, I could'nt help but wonder if the WM007 uses sonic waves as the mixing medium. It probably doesn't, but what if it did? While the first Waring blenders gave us slushy drinks ala the Pina Colada and the Chron-master style Malted mixers were the tools of choice for many of the Tiki masters, what would the Eben Klemms of the world do with a sonic mixer? Just sayin' myers
  7. There was this one time--no, really it happened--when Mr. T came to town and I was a freshman in college and I was tripping in an auditorium full of middle school kids and Mr. T said--and I quote--"Thank God For Jesus!" "Well, Duh!", I thought. "Who else you gonna thank?" Except I said it out loud. There was a scuffle and I'm pretty sure I had to leave early. myers
  8. The Press Herald had this to say about Stone's cooking at the Commercial Street Pub. http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=126207&ac=Go myers
  9. I'm glad you guys enjoyed yourselves on this trip. I hadn't noticed until now that you're DC'ers. After 10 years in the District, I happily exiled myself to Portland 5 years ago. Go figure. Keep us posted as to your schedule in July and we'll do what we can to steer you straight. myers
  10. If you're just passing through and need some memorable fortification, than by all means, go to DuckFat. I live nearby and have to walk passed it almost every day and I wish I was from away simply so that I would value it more. Moreover, if you are just passing through, DuckFat is situated at a unique hub: across the street is an amazing new bookstore called Rabelaiswith foodie literature from the 18th century clear up to the present, while in the opposite direction, a block away, you'll find Miccuci's Italian grocery. Great things are to be found there, and it's a great spot for 'provisioning'. Here's my strategy for a hit-and-run lunch: Park near Duckfat. Go to Rabelais and take your time finding a couple of books to read. Order lunch at Duckfat. While you're waiting for your pannini's, go to Miccuci's and provision--get some bread, salumi, wine etc. Eat at DuckFat. Half way through your meal, ask for the truffle ketchup that you meant to order in the first place. Go back to Rabelais and buy that book you were on the fence about, now that you realize you need it. Go back to Miccuci's --you had a great idea while eating at DuckFat, and besides, you'll need some more of that wine after all. Fill your nostrils with more of those pungent aromas and wonder if you can bottle it. Drive to Bristol, all the while wondering why you only allowed yourself time for lunch in Portland. myers
  11. Sorry gang, But it's Cooks vs. Chefs. It doesn't matter how hard the egg guy works, nor how hungover he might be, the fact of the matter is: The guy who works nights, the guy who puts the menu together, the guy who is dying for the local review and waiting for that scribbler to notice him is the guy that works nights. The hardworking guy who makes all the breakfasts is simply the hardworking guy who makes all the breakfasts. To be sure, he's great, and we couldn't make it with out him, but...... A long time ago we had a talented guy that we thought could be our "chef". We offered it to him, but the schedule sucked because he had a girlfriend and he only wanted to work days. The guy we eventually hired as the Chef de Cuisine had the best line ever: "No lunch cook ever got famous for cuisine" Lots of Truth in that. myers
  12. I wish more bartenders started out in the kitchen. Any position would do, even dishwasher, but even a little time as a prep-cook or garde manger would make a huge difference. The skills learned in the kitchen that are most useful for the barman aren't even the one's Alchemist points up, though he's right on. There's something about the discipline learned in the kitchen that gets missed when we train the inexperienced to stand behind a bar. Maybe it's the crucible-like atmosphere in the kitchen or the sense of teamwork (and the consequences of letting that team down) that makes more good linecooks per dozen than a bar makes bartenders. Stupid little things that I assumed were simple common sense, I realized were attitudes I gleaned from my years as a Kitchen Dog. Attitudes like: Fresh things that have passed their prime should be thrown out; products should be rotated; clean as you go; mis en place; prep today for tomorrow; stay stocked; keep a clean stock area; there's always one more thing to do; every thing has only 1 place where it belongs and every place has only 1 thing that belongs there...I could go on and on. These are the things that separate the bartenders you like working with and the bartenders you want by your side. myers
  13. Something I learned while catering and then started noticing everywhere else: The Bad News: Even if you've planned well and you're extremely organized, you will still, inevitably, run out of time. The Good News: If you've planned well and you're well organized, somehow it all gets done. myers
  14. What our intrepid journalist is also completely missing is that the "Martini" for which he is calculating the cost is most likely not the "Martini" he is getting in the bar. While his "Martini" is 2 1/2 oz of Vodka and 1/4 oz of Vermouth, the $13.00 "Martini" he is getting in the bar is probably along the lines of 3 /12 oz - 4 oz of Vodka and some inconsequential amount of Vermouth. Now the cost of his drink is closer to 4 bucks and a 300% mark-up is totally in line. If he really wants to tilt at windmills, he should wonder why the mark-up for a domestic bottle of beer at his local pub is the same as the mark-up for liquor at a bar. It's not as much a class thing as he might think--it's economics, stupid. myers
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