birder53

I wondered what would be an appropriate garnish. I thought of the lime or maybe a cherry - it looks naked otherwise. I still have to buy chartreuse and now you have added calvados to my list. The fun just never ends! Question about Audrey's recipe - what does she mean by simple syrup (1-1)?

Can you share the Sidecar recipe? I really like those!

Wow! I'll have to check out that movie the next time I see it on TV and look for the bar. We really did a quick hit and run in PT and didn't even get a chance to stroll the neighborhood. We didn't even have enough time to find the recommended Silverwater Cafe, but we enjoyed our lunch just the same. I'll keep the Tyler Street Coffee House on my list for a future visit. Thanks!

I had the great pleasure to drink at the Zig Zag Cafe on not one, but two nights during my vacation to Seattle and environs last week. Thanks first to Drinkboy, Robert Hess, for letting us know we could get an Aviation there. We got a whole lot more! Owners Kacy and Ben, along with Murray Stenson and Eamon, served up wonderful drinks and great conversation. I had my Aviation (wonderful ) followed by a Trident and then Murray suggested a Last Word. For those who love maraschino liqueur, I think this is even better than the Aviation! Murray said he found it in a book. When I tried googling it all I got were some foreign sites. Anyway, here is Murray's Last Word: 1/2 oz Gin 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse 1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur 1/2 oz lime juice Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Enjoy! We also had the pleasure of meeting and drinking with Robert Hess and yes, the man really does carry his own supply of bitters around with him. They take their drinks very seriously at Zig Zag and Robert puts them to the test. We also had wonderful Brandy Crustas, Pegu, McKoy, Old Fashioned, tasted several gins, chartreuse, strega and absinthe - served the proper way - flaming and all! The only sad part of the trip was that Murray was off Saturday night, our last night! It's a long ride from NJ to Seattle, but I have to find a reason to do it again soon.

I guess I should add that we did hike Mt. Ranier (not to the top!), Ruby Beach, the trail to Maryville Falls, the Hoh Rainforest, Hurricane Ridge (in the rain, fog and wind!), a bit of Dungeness Spit and the loop trail at Discovery Park to see the lighthouse. We went to the locks and saw some sailboats come through and watched the salmon in the fish ladder. We have to return in better weather to see the Olympic Mountains from Hurricane Ridge again. The Olympic Penninsula is magnificent! It wasn't all food and drink, but it's hard to beat the great crab, oysters, salmon and cocktails you folks have right at your front door.

Seattle, continued... We headed to the Pike Place Market the next morning. What a fun place! All that great energy, color and aromas. The flower stands were loaded with dahlias of every imaginable color. I cried to see such lovely produce that I could not take home with me. I was horrified to see a real monk fish - what a nightmarish thing that is. I envied those who can buy halibut for $7.99 a pound while I pay $17 - $19 in NJ! After taking in the sights we went to Matts in the Market for lunch. We were able to snag two seats at the bar after only a 10 minute wait on a Thursday afternoon. Catfish and pulled pork sandwiches were fabulous. It's amazing to watch the young woman doing all the cooking on just two burners in that tiny place. It's a wonder that anyone thought of putting a restaurant in that spot. The counter sits about 8 and the 8 or so tables can handle about 20 more. Service was friendly and the banter at the counter was very entertaining. We spent most of Friday at the Museum of Flight. Their new building dedicated to WWI and WWII was amazing! Lunch in their cafe was forgettable. But we made up for it soon after. We headed to the Zig Zag Cafe in search of an Aviation cocktail. We found that and much more! The drink list was impressive. We didn't know where to start, except by announcing we heard that they made Aviations and we had come from NJ to try them. Our hosts, owners Ben and Kacy and super star bartender Murray Stenson took good care of us. In addition to fabulous drinks they steered us back to Elliot's the following night. (More later) We had an Aviation, Brandy Crusta, Trident, Last Word and a bit of gin sampling to boot. We had dinner reservations at Dahlia Lounge, so we left but promised to return the next night. Dinner at Dahlia Lounge was excellent. We started with smoked salmon and crab. Entrees were lamb and dungeness crab cakes. Service was excellent. Saturday, last day in Seattle started with early brunch at Cafe Campagna. Good coffee, especially the Americano, outrageous french toast, fruit and chicken sausage, an herb omelette filled with gruyere. Lunch was a quick stop at a coffee house in Magnolia. 5:00 PM - We headed to Elliot's for oysters. We sat at the oyster bar and David introduced himself as our shucker. After explaining that I had just discovered oysters, we asked him to pick a dozen for us. He shucked a few kushis and kumamotos for us and we were putty in his hands. It was great to have him describe each oyster and guide us through the many kinds they had available. Since we also came for crab, we had a dungeness crab claw sushi roll, crab cakes and several crab claws that David cracked for us. We ordered another 1/2 dozen oysters for good measure. They serve the oysters with a wonderful "sorbet" of champagne, mirin, wasabi and, maybe, a bit of soy. It was very refreshing and didn't overpower the sweet oysters. It seemed almost a sin to put anything on them but a sqeeze of fresh lemon. We left Elliot's and headed to Zig Zag for drinks and dinner. We were greated by Kacy at the bar and then by Seattle's own Drinkboy, Robert Hess! Since we found out about Zig Zag via Robert's site, it was pretty wild for him to be there and know who we were. (Kacy just shrugged his shoulders when we asked how Robert managed to show up.) Murray was off that night - our great loss - but Eamon and Kacy, along with Robert, kept things rolling along. We did finally remember to eat something - wonderful sauteed calamari with kalamata olives, garlic, tomato and lemon and a spicy pasta dish with sausage. We must try their Martini Steak Sandwich when we get back to Seattle. Zig Zag was very busy that evening. The bar was filled with people serious about their cocktails. Drinks that evening included Pegu, McKoy, Last Word, an Old Fashioned (in honor or Robert), another Brandy Crusta, Absinthe (flamed sugar cube over the glass, doused with water to fall into the lovely green liquor) a taste of strega and chartreuse! We were able to make our way safely back to our hotel and get up in the morning to make our flight. It was a wonderful vacation and there is so much more to see and do in Washington state. I can't wait for my return trip!

I'm not back in NJ even 24 hours yet and I miss Seattle! We had a wonderful trip and ate pretty well thanks to the recommendations of the PNX forum. We landed in Seattle on October 2 to great views of Mt. Baker, Mt. Ranier and that feisty Mt. St. Helens. We drove straight to Mt. Ranier and stayed at the Paradise Inn. The hiking at the mountain was terrific and the clear weather provided great views of all the wonderful scenery. Dinner at the inn was okay, but we didn't expect too much to begin with. The next night was at the Lake Quinnault Lodge, quite nice, and I had my first taste of salmon at The Salmon House. The weather was wonderful so we enjoyed drinks on their deck before dinner. Both the smoked and blackened salmon were wonderful. I find east coast salmon to be very oily with a distinctive taste I do not enjoy. I'm very glad I decided to give salmon another try on this trip. Breakfast at the lodge was good but I can't remember the details anymore. The Crescent Lake Lodge was lovely. Great bar in the beautiful lobby, where we had drinks before dinner. The dining room is lit like a breakfast joint, which took away from the ambience, but my halibut was very good and hubby enjoyed his smoked salmon. The next night was in Port Angeles where we ate at Thai Peppers. Service was excellent and we enjoyed two specials of Dungeness crab fried rice and a scallop dish after starting with an appetizer of sauteed squid. The ginger ice cream was excellent and is from a small ice cream shop in Port Townsend. On to Seattle, well almost. We stopped for lunch in Townsend. We ended up in Water Street Brewing on a corner of the main drag. The bar is awesome! It is a huge carved monster that absolutely owns the room. We ate outside at the back of the place (take advantage of nice weather when you find it )and enjoyed burgers and a grilled veggie sandwich, huge onion rings and fabulous french fries that must have been dredged before frying. Good selection of beers too. Our waitress had a great shirt that said "Save the Ales". We tried to get something to remember the name of the place, matches or the like, but they haven't been open long enough to get that kind of stuff in. The bar looked like a great place for a drink, if the sun wasn't beckoning us to sit outside. Okay, Seattle. We arrived by the 6:30 PM ferry from Bainbridge Island. Beautiful views of the area with the last hints of sun and the lights of the city taking over. We headed to Flying Fish for our first meal. Dinner began with a glass of pleasant bubbly. Appetizers were a fabulous foie gras with candied apples and Halibut for the entree. Their selection of white wines by the glass included a very nice Austrian vetliner. No room for dessert, which happened most evenings. Next, big mistake. Our waiter at Flying Fish asked what other restaurants we had on our list. He said to avoid Elliots in favor of Chandler's Crab House. He agreed with most of our other choices. So, we went to Chandler's. It wasn't bad, but it had not personality. We had a 1/2 dozen oysters and dungeness crab leg cocktail to start. These were my second attempt at raw oysters, first on the west coast, and they were wonderful. The crab was sweet as can be. Dinner was halibut cheeks and we forgot hubby's choice. (He is not very good about remembering these things!) The food was well prepared, our waitress was pleasant, the view of the lake was lovely, but we were tucked away in a booth far from a view of the room that would give us the feeling of being someplace different. More, and the best, to follow!

I love rose champagnes! The Tattinger's is wonderful. And don't forget, if you want to go "pink" and can't locate a rose, you can always celebrate with Kir Royales.

Okay, what is the seersucker??

I see you're up for a driving vacation... don't know the best places to hit along your route, but the food in the Quinault lodge is what you'd expect of a place run by ARAMark. There are a few other restaurants in the area, perhaps one is better (the Salmon House up the road perhaps). The rainforest at Quinault is quite nice and has very nice easy trails and also access to difficult ones. Given you'll be in Quinault, I'd skip the Hoh and go to Cape Flattery instead. ←

Snow! I hope we can get by by layering light clothing along with the gortex outerwear. We weren't planning to bring down jackets along.

We're spending Saturday night at Paradise Lodge at Mt. Ranier. Sunday we head to Lake Quinault lodge, Monday we at Crystal Lake lodge and Sunday at a Best Western in Port Angeles. We plan to get to Ruby Beach, Hoh Rainforest, Hurricane Ridge and Dungeness Spit. All suggestions are gratefully accepted.

This is great! I'll be heading out to Seattle next week - first trip to the PNW. Four days will be spent on the Olympic Penninsula then four in Seattle. We're staying at the Marriott in Seattle and hope to really get a feel of the city and it's awesome surroundings. The Zig Zag Cafe is on the list for cocktails, Matt's sounds like a must and anything run by Tom Douglas will be a winner. I've even decided to taste salmon and oysters which I don't like, but maybe it tastes better in Seattle. We will see. Any other suggestions? Big question - how to pack/dress?? Will turtlenecks be a good idea? I've got the goretex - just not sure of the temperature ranges.

I notice when nearby tables are wiped down after a spritz from an especially aromatic spray cleaner. How about restroom deodorizers that share their scent with the dining room every time the door opens and closes? And lastly, restroom doors that can been seen from the dining area with doors that do not close without human intervention. Yuk!

Wow! That's quite a list. I'm sure I would be very happy at your bar. I'd like to clarify that I have been requesting an Aviation purely because I enjoy them and would love to be able to order one at a bar. Maybe if people ask for something often enough it will be made available. It never hurts to ask and I've had some fun conversations with bartenders after we discuss what it is and why they don't have the fixins for it. My interest in cocktails is due to egullet. First Nightscotsman had his wonderful cocktail parties and generously provided recipes for those of us who could only read all about it. Then Dale Degroff came along and I bought his book. How was I to know all these wonderful drinks were not readily available at what would appear to be very well stocked bars? My bar at home is now extremely well stocked and I look forward to beginning every weekend with a well made drink. (Makers Mark Manhattans for tonight!) This thread has also been an education as to what one can possibly expect at most bars and why. I just wanted to make it clear that I have not been out playing stump the bartender.

I have the same problem with my electric coils. It didn't bother me until I actually wanted to do some serious cooking. I hate electric! My current plan is to get connected to the gas line the runs past the house and buy me a real stove!! It is next to impossible to use the wok or do a decent saute with electric. The wacky coils and uneven surface drive me crazy. I'll try changing the level of the unit to compensate for the unwieldy coils - but won't that create a problem for my oven??

I'm on my own personal crusade for the Aviation by asking for it in every bar/restaurant I go to. I haven't found it yet nor have any of the bartenders been familiar with Maraschino. I'll have to keep drinking at home! Don't these establishments provide any training for their barkeeps? I find it hard to believe someone did not know how to make a Sidecar. What do they teach bartenders these days?

It looks wonderful!

My husband used to travel quite a bit for his job. I would order enough Chinese take out to last me for a week so I didn't have to cook. ( He does all the weeknight cooking for us.) I liked ordering the dishes he doesn't like and knowing all I had to do when I got home was reheat something.

I received this email from SHR today. Hi Everyone: Good news, the stage house restaurant is reopening for lunch in two week, and we have a great promotion to kick off our reopening. Please take a look at the promotion and all the details listed below and get ready to dial the phone this Wednesday morning at 10:00am. As always you can not reply to this e-mail so call us at (908) 322-4224 x 3 who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? here's how it works: for the 10 weeks between september 20th and november 24th 1 day a week at random lunch is on us! the 10 mystery days will be selected at random prior to the start of the promotion, so some weeks may not have a free day and some weeks may have 2 or 3 free lunches. the 4 rules of the promotion: 1. you must arrive or have made reservation before noon on the selected day, therefore, we suggest you make reservations. 2. the free lunch promotion will also apply to those who dine at the bar if they arrive before noon or make reservations for the bar. 3. unfortunately the free lunch promotion does not include alcohol, sales tax (ABC law) or gratuity. 4. tell everyone you know about the promotion and your dining experience at the stage house restaurant!! to kick off the promotion the first 100 people for each day, who reserve a table during the week we re-open (september 7th - 10th) will recieve free lunch. (thats right all four days) free lunch does not include alcohol, tax or gratuity. in order to give as many people as possible an opportunity to take advantage of the free lunch promotion, we are limiting reservations to 6 people or less we will open the phones for reservation at 10:00 am on wednesday, august 25. so plan on calling early so you don't miss out, we expect to fill up quickly. the stage house restaurant 366 park ave. scotch plains, nj 07076 908-322-4224 x 3 Stage House Restaurant and Wine Bar is located at: 366 Park Avenue Scotch Plains NJ 07076 Phone: 908.322.4224 Fax: 908.322.4225 Did you know that you can make reservations for Stage House Restaurant and Wine Bar at www.OpenTable.comed this email today.

Look for Molinari sambuca. According to Dale deGroff's Craft of the Cocktail, it is the best selling sambuca in Italy. Sambuca Romano is for export only but it is also the best selling sambuca in the USA. Romano is fine for adding to espresso, but Molinari is the only one worth sipping.

I need a list! I haven't reached the point where I can just buy what looks good and plan a meal around it. I need to go through each recipe, check if I have the ingredients and/or enough of the ingredients, and shop very deliberately. When a needed ingredient cannot be found, I border on self destruction. I haven't progressed to where I can comfortably substitute something else for what the recipe calls for. ( I have a very long way to go!) The staples of our weekly shopping trips to Wegmans are yogurt, apples, bananas, pasta, frozen vegetables, seltzer and milk.

Wegman's in Bridgewater, NJ had a selection of NJ and NY wines when their liquor store first opened. The Salmon Run Riesling is one of my favorites. They have rearranged the store and I haven't seen where these wines were moved too yet. Maybe they didn't sell well enough to warrant the shelf space they had. I'll ask the next time I'm in. I try to ask for NY reislings at the liquor stores I frequent hoping they will stock them if enough people ask for them.

We keep the basil and parsley in hanging pots to protect them from critters!

We were weekly diners for several years at a local Italian restaurant. They started sending us a large platter of tomato, cheese, lettuce and olives as a comp at the beginning of the meal. While we appreciated this gesture we preferred to order our own appetizers and ended up ordering less because of the comp. Before that, they used to send a complimentary small glass of sambuca to the tables of regulars with their espresso. For some reason they stopped. Too bad, we really appreciated that comp!