eje

Sandy, Glad to hear you had a good time! Also sad that I was out of town while you were here. Hopefully the next time you visit our schedules will align. Thanks for the report and pictures. Pupusas are kind of like griddle fried tamales, or fried, stuffed corn tortilla quesadillas. Another fun, and similar, Mexican dish is called "huarache." These are griddle fried, fresh masa cakes with various toppings. Can be really tasty.

One of my absolute favorite discoveries from the Savoy Cocktail Book. Unfortunately it calls for two very hard to find ingredients so I have a hard time recommending it to American cocktail enthusiasts, (unless they are at my house). However, I have recently learned that Liqueurs de France is now carrying a French Violet Liqueur from Deniset: Liqueurs de France So in the event you might be purchasing Absinthe from them, you could add on the (relatively) reasonable Liqueur de Violette. I haven't tasted this particular Violet liqueur, so can't comment on its style or quality.

We had a very nice time at the Fat Duck last Thursday. Easily, (and well, at the cost, it should be,) the most enjoyable fine dining experience of my life. I've put up the pictures I managed to get in one of my eGullet albums starting here: Welcome to Maidenhead I'll try to get a complete writeup done tonight and will properly link in the photos with the course names etc. edit - Oops, posted link to image not album. I think the URL above should work and lead to actual food pictures.

Sadly feeling a bit out of it, and we were there quite early, so only pictures at the Savoy. Front of hotel: Famous statue: The American Bar: The Bar at the American Bar: I know, I know, I should at least have been able to manage a Pimm's cup or White Lady. I blame my bad influence friends... Oh, wait, I'm the bad influence.

Had the chance to stop at Montgomery Place in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London this last weekend. I played stump the bartender by ordering a Bombay Cocktail (No. 2) and we also had the following. Thought they looked so great I should put up pictures. Gin Gin Mule: Seriously Spring (Gin, Lemon, Watermelon, soda) and Silver Pine (Rum, Campari, Grapefruit, Passion Fruit syrup):

Hmmm... Fair point; but, unless he snuck it in when I wasn't looking, I don't think so. Special fizzy English vermouth? I'll probably stir it, when I make it at home.

Bombay Cocktail (No. 2) 1 Dash Absinthe (sadly Pernod was all they had) 3 Dashes Curacao (didn't see brand, might have been triple sec) 1/2 Brandy (Courvoisier VSOP) 1/4 Italian Vermouth (didn't see) 1/4 French Vermouth (didn't see) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass First attempt at taking my little Savoy obsession into the outside world. The bartender at Montgomery Place was more than happy to take a crack at it. I agree with Vesper Lynd, this is a most enjoyable cocktail. I'm definitely going to give it another try now that I am back home.

A wonderful wheat beer and delicious dry style stout at the Greenwich Union yesterday. This is the brewpub associated with the Meantime Brewing. All the beers we tried were outstanding, and fairly unusual for an English brewery. Definitely worth the train ride out, if you're in London. I wanted to stay for dinner and more beers, as the beer garden couldn't have been lovelier on a hot day like yesterday; but, my compatriots' desire for curry overruled my vote. Couple more Tiger beers with dinner.

Perhaps another fine example of my occasional work postings undertaken without bottles handy. Both of you are correct. I guess I just meant to contrast the alcohol percentages of Absinthes, which are often 70+% alcohol, with modern pastis which tends to be in the 40-50% range. Not sure where I got the 25% idea for Pastis. I also wanted to point out that most Pastis is quite sweet, and Absinthe is not. Not having drunk a lot of Ouzo or being familiar with the brand you're asking about, I'm not sure where that leaves you for cocktail ideas. I guess I think it would be OK for Sazeracs or other recipes that call for a dash or two of Anise flavored liquor/liqueur. That won't put much of a dent in your bottle though. However, given how unenthusiastic you are about it straight up, I'm not sure it's a good idea to substitute Ouzo in cocktails that call for a larger percentage of Absinthe or Pastis.

Another quote I've never known quite what to make of, is from the Liqueurs de France Website: Distillery Combier The liqueur itself is not excessively expensive, at least once you get over the shipping, or the balance of the other tempting items you might accidentally purchase from LdF.

I thought that too, and it may still be possible; but, I'm not sure the dates add up for that version of history. Grand Marnier, according to their website originally named "Curacao Marnier," has been produced since 1827. Cointreau has been produced since 1849. It doesn't seem like the Senior family started distilling on Curacao until 1888 or so. Most of the modern rum houses, (Bacardi, Clement, Havana Club,) were founded around the same time, between the 1830s and 1900. If there was rum based orange liqueur coming from the West Indies in prior to 1827, it was likely not very nice. From what I can tell, the European Orange liqueurs probably pre-dated the ones actually produced in the islands.

I've always based my Orange Liqueur assumptions on philip's (Philip Duff, I believe) posts in these two drinkboy topics: Bols Orange Curacao Curacao There is a fair bit of history in both topics, especially the "Bols Orange Curacao" one. edit - Fair warning, the Bols products available in the US are not the same as the European products that Philip is talking about in these topics. Contract distilled by a different manufacturer, same in name only, etc.

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to write that up, Corinna. I really appreciate it. Will certainly keep us busy!

Catriona, Luckily, I believe we'll still be in England on Friday, so no worries on the alcohol front! Thanks for the tip on Ard Bia, we'll definitely check it out. Our friends are going on to Connemara, I believe, so I will pass on the information about Roundstone.

The items on the left and right appear to be miso to me. Some sort of soy sauce (or related) on top? Corn or other vegetable starch on the bottom?

My wife decided, since we'll be in England for her birthday this year, that we should splurge at The Fat Duck. After a mammoth phone dialing session our friends in England were lucky enough to get reservations. I'm wondering how formal it is? Tux? Suit? Sport Jacket? Nice shirt? Tie? Also, as something of a cocktail enthusiast, I was wondering if any of bartender Tony Conigliaro's collaborations with Blumenthal ever made it to the menu?

Hi all, My wife and I are meeting friends in Ireland on a brief trip in early April. We'll likely just be in Dublin and Galway. We have tickets for a play at the Peacock Theatre on Saturday and plan to visit the Guinness factory on Easter Sunday. Will anywhere be open for dinner on Easter Sunday? Beyond those parameters any suggestions are welcome.

I can answer the first, and say, absolutely, the Brizard has an aged brandy flavor when compared to the Senior Curacao. They taste like completely different liqueurs.

I did find some wheat allergy related sites that said they have been assured by the manufacturer that Cointreau is grain free. A few other web sites say Cointreau is made with "unaged grape neutral spirits" or "unaged brandy". That jives with how it tastes. I can assure you, that if you made a Blue err... Orange Monday with the Brizard Orange Curacao, the aged brandy base would be completely apparent, especially if compared with one made from Cointreau.

I find a number of web sites that say Cointreau is made with brandy, though, their own website does not mention it. Of course, the Cointreau website doesn't mention much of anything. I can't say that the taste of Cointreau Triple Sec really brings to mind any type of aged brandy I've tried. If it is based on brandy, I would guess it made with a very young, or even unaged, one. Barely worth calling "brandy", in my opinion.

Matterhorn is listed on the web under "T" for "The Matterhorn ..." It looks like all the restaurants I'll be going to during the end of April are listed in the Top 100, except for one ... in Sonoma ... ← Ah, oops, my mistake. Cheesy goodness preserved.

Today the Chronicle published it's annual round up of the top 100 Bay Area restaurants. Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants An "interesting" new feature on the Top 100 website is a 360 view of the interior of each restaurant. They also include handy links to the restaurants' websites, and a Google maps link for each restaurant. This year 64 out of the 100 are in San Francisco proper. Well, there is one that is in both San Francisco and Lafayette. In any case, after several years of sliding the other way, this year is the second increase in the San Francisco to out of town ratio. And, oh my gosh, Matterhorn is no longer on the list!

Thanks for posting that here, Scott! I found your comparison of GranGala to Grand Marnier to be particularly interesting, along with your comments on Patron Citronge. I had always assumed Citronge was made on a tequila base; but, your inclusion of it in the triple sec category makes wonder if it is on a neutral spirits base. Do you know if this is the case? I can't find any indication either way on their website.

johnder, That Grey Saz is really something. I had thought "the Appletini as featured on Scrubs" was the ultimate in cocktails. Your restrained use pucker and addition of the Underberg bitters really civilizes that cocktail and takes it to a whole other level. Kudos!

Bolo Cocktail The Juice of 1/4 Lemon or 1/2 Lime (1/2 Lime) The Juice of 1/4 Orange (Valencia) 1/2 Wineglass Bacardi Rum (1 generous oz of Flor de Cana Extra Dry) 1 Teaspoonful Sugar (1 scant teaspoon caster sugar) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Not sure why I skipped this one, as it is quite delicious. Kind of a "lite" Daiquiri. Certainly quite refreshing and tart. One nifty trick I learned from Angus Winchester's Daiquiri Video is to drop the juiced lime shell into the cocktail shaker. Also seemed appropriate for the Bolo. Give it a try, if you think that extra lime oil scent would add something to a cocktail you're making. This is the last Savoy cocktail I'm going to do for a couple weeks. Though, if the fates are with me, I may get to sample some Savoy cocktails at The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel or the Dorchester. Cheerio!