haresfur

The discussion in the Restaurant Life Forum on starting a food truck resulted in exposition on the wonderful street food in Portland, Portland Street Cuisine. I obviously have missed something on other visits, but will be at a conference at the convention center later in October. Any hints on what to look for in the ephemeral world of street cuisine? Something other than the Mexican luncheras we have here in Eastern Washington would be wonderful - especially if it were in striking distance between sessions.

Blinker highball 2 oz rye (Sazerac) 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup (Torani) stir with ice and top with Izze sparkling grapefruit juice I don't keep regular grapefruit juice around and had bought some Izze to try. Figured it was a good way to experiment with some recipes and the Blinker seemed to fit the bill. The first taste is all grapefruit - more than the straight juice. Then the rye comes through. A bit strange but not bad.

Yet another St. G. Martini variation (YASGMV ): 1 oz gin (Bombay Sapphire) 1 oz blackberry infused vodka 0.5 oz St. Germaine good dash Regan's Orange Bitters Stir, strain into the goofy freebee glass that came with the gin, a lemon twist would have been nice if I had a lemon. Not much of a gin drinker but I quite like this. Next time I think I'd try dashing the bitters on the top after straining - my current theory is that I like the taste of gin better than the aroma and I've found that some bitters to hit the nose first are a good thing.

I like it

Kind of interesting that the prohibitionists used (likely overstated) accusations about adulterated liquor as an argument against legal alcohol. I suspect the notion that prohibition vastly increased adulteration of black market liquor is as much a myth as the previous assertion that much of the pre-prohibition product was adulterated or that cocktails were invented to cover up bad booze.

Feeling better now: 2 Tbs. blood orange marmalade dissolved in 1 oz Perrier 2 oz Campari 2 oz Scotch (or was it 1.5 oz? had to do some adjusting. I used Abelour 12 yr) Stir with ice, strain and add Perrier to taste.

Perhaps not a central role in the origin of cocktails, but didn't Prohibition have a big impact on sending American bartenders and drinkers offshore and thus spreading cocktails into the rest of the world and conversely at least contributing to the development of new cocktails through encounters with new ingredients?

The world's most expensive beer-can?

Anything with a flair in it's neck so it doesn't slip through my grasp when I'm drinking I'd have to agree with others that the Sazerac bottle is great for being distinctive and functional. Without making judgments on the contents, the Bombay Sapphire bottle seems well thought out and is pretty and distinctive enough to keep the marketers happy.

I like Havana Club a lot. I'm not a huge Appleton fan. I think it would be a versatile choice for you and would give you some experiences to talk about when you get back home, "Yes, this is a nice drink but I prefer it with Havana Club..." That being said, I drink more dark rum and you can get great Ginger Beer in Oz for your dark and stormies. I like the Cascade, from Tazzie. Never mind the alcohol costs, have you checked out the price of limes?

Pan-Pacific Southern Canadian Old fashioned 2 oz Tangle Ridge Whiskey 2 tsp. Matcha simple syrup 3 good shakes Peychaud's bitters 2 good shakes Fee's Peach bitters I wanted to try some flavors that didn't blow away the Canadian and were not blown away by edgier rye. I'm pleased enough that I'm on my second. I do have to eat some crow, though. This bottle clearly says, blended whiskey. I'm sure my first one said 100% rye.

If it's more convenient and doesn't result in a loss of quality then it's easy to see how a rational person could contemplate using pre-peeled garlic. If it results in a loss of quality then that's another story. But so far nothing has been established. The only semi-objective analysis seems to be something done by Cook's Illustrated but I haven't read it. ← I don't see how you are going to get a definitive answer to this. Seems to me fresh garlic is better if it is better or fresher garlic. Pre-prepared will be better if it is a better variety or stored better. I could easily see how my friends' organic farm specialty varieties might be better quality initially but with time might not keep as well. Maybe you should split a batch of garlic into unpeeled and peeled then store under the same conditions, sampling periodically to decide which is "better". Of course, that could depend on which varieties you chose and your subjective judgment of "better".

Heck, I think what you are asking for is pretty much by definition "small batch, artisanal and expensive." Not necessarily implying snobbery but, face it, the vast majority of the market doesn't share the cocktail passion and is happy enough with drinks that disguise their basic spirits. Unless there is some untapped source of booze that is extremely popular in some other part of the world so it is already produced in large amounts, then you are looking at a variation on an existing theme like more kinds of x, or something that will rotate in for last year's fad, or a small supplement for the cocktail subculture. I suppose the other option is to figure out good things to do with underutilized spirits. Maybe rather than supercilious jabs at Canadian whiskey, someone could figure out a way to highlight the spirit without it getting lost (as I've said before, I rather like my Tangle Ridge). Maybe something that appeals to the Crown Royal drinker would get them interested in Alberta Premium and thence onto other experiences. Or for a real challenge find a good way to use Bacardi.

Yes you can! Happy dance...

My understanding is that here in Washington State the cherries came on fast so they couldn't pick and process them quick enough. That meant that they only picked the best ones. Maybe you got the left-overs, after we ate our fill I'll eat a few Raineers but prefer bings (shows his out of state roots and hangs head in foodie-uncoolness).

More slurping than drinking: An XL highball glass containing a scoop of Haagan Dazs Lemon Ice sorbet with a healthy glug of Campari and a shake of Fees orange bitters. Serve with a spoon. Wonder if you could mix Campari into the ice, refreeze, and swirl in with some of the original...

Only 4 of these are available in Washington State!

Rum Brandy Bourbon Tequila Cointreau Sweet vermouth Campari Fee's Aromatic Bitters Orange Bitters (Regan's if I can only chose one) and I suppose gin for guests although I drink far more Fernet Branca ... good thing limes don't come in bottles

Wow this takes me back! Sounds much bigger than when I went in, um, early 1970s. When did it start? My family all migrated from Winnipeg so I haven't been back.

Sometimes see deep fried asparagus in WA State in the spring. I think it is a waste of good asparagus and good fry oil.

But how could they possibly be better than the Dare maple-leaf cookies? The little round ginger snaps and the freeze-dried green bean snacks are my downfall.

Boy, I wish I knew! Seriously, I'm not aiming at anything systematic; it's just a way to move some of the more interesting information I've come across from the inbox to the outbox, and perhaps to revisit some of the stuff I wrote about in Imbibe! in the light of new information. ← I'd like to see a good summary of the whole triple sec, curacao, Grand Marnier history. I know we all love Contreau now but is it what was meant in those early recipes?

Thanks, but how can I tell if an older teapot is "fully vitreous"? ← There are a few issues here (to respond to a few posts without too much cutting and pasting). As mentioned previously, vitreous ware refers to the body. One of the easiest tests, not totally conclusive, is to tap it. a dull thud is not vitreous, a solid klunk or ring is. However, sometimes the glaze can fool you. Another test - particularly good for pots with an unglazed foot is to fill it with water and set it on a paper towel for a few hours or a day. If the water weaps through, it isn't vitreous. If it doesn't weap through, either the body is vitreous or the glaze inside is good enough quality to keep the water in. This is a good idea to try if only so you don't leave a ring on that nice table. An earthenware pot will be relatively easy to scratch (on that unobtrusive unglazed spot) while a nice vitreous body is generally pretty hard. Aside from that, you can get to know the different types of pottery and glaze and thus usually tell by looking at it. However, IMO, even if a pot is vitreous, I don't think it is always ok to put it in the dishwasher. Dishwasher soap is pretty alkaline and can attack some glazes. I won't get into balanced vs. unbalanced formulas and the ethics of selling pots as functional, but for some pots, if you must use detergent, I think hand washing is a better idea. I have some Ikea glasses that are permanently etched from the dishwasher. I'll stick to rinse and go or at most scrubbing with hot water myself. There's nothing about a pot that will withstand the dishwasher that makes it *need* the dishwasher treatment.

Love dal on it's own but eagerly awaiting details on using it as a textural and flavoring element. Great stuff; thanks for sharing.

To be honest it's quite hard to pin it down to one factor as I think everything is playing its part, from the spirit I've used as the base, the quality of the botanicals, the length of maceration time and the ratios to balance it out as each botanical offers something different. ... snip ... I'd appreciate all input/feedback/questions on Boker's or bitters in general for that matter, and promise I'll contribute to the 'All About Bitters' thread as well. ← Ok, you've convinced me it is worth ordering yours ... as soon as I figure out if I'm changing jobs and having to drink down the supplies, or not.