KatieLoeb

Agreed! Way too far under the radar for the quality of food, service and ambiance. An excellent suggestion!

The late night Korean/karaoke run was a blast. Kept me out much too late, but worth the fine company, food and song. I won't reveal any of our other companions, lest they have to shoot me, but suffice to say it was a most interesting evening in the company of many fine folk. The food at Music Town was delicious, and it helped to have someone knowledgable ordering for us. The only picture I took that actually came out (and it's pretty blurry) is the following: Really tasty stuff. Actually, everything we tried was delicious. And the karaoke afterward was loads of fun. Sadly, there was nothing in my range (no Aretha, no Bonnie Raitt, no Linda Ronstadt) so I begged off singing. Probably for the best, given that I can carry a tune in a bucket, but not much else. If I'd had a few more shots of Soju (Korean Sweet Potato spirit) I might have tried something from the Korean/Japanese songbook, so it's best that I stopped when I did.

The Jaboulet St. Joseph has been delicious in past vintages. While I haven't tried this specific one, it's a solid producer. I'll agree with Stephen. Nice list to choose from!

Mayur: Great minds truly do think alike. I had been contemplating using spiced maple syrup but settled on the spiced dark simple instead. Did you find that the maple flavor came through in the drink? I was afraid of wasting my small bottle of real Vermont maple syrup a friend had brought back for me recently and decided that the spiced simple would compliment the rum better since the drink already had so much other stuff going on in it. But I'm intrigued with the idea of introducing maple-ey flavor into a cocktail.

I was thinking bourbon would be the best spirit for dulce mixing as well. That hot cocoa sounds like the cure for all that ails on a chilly night!

Soul Food Haggis, anyone?

Oooooh Andy! That sounds delicious! You all might make a scapple lover out of me yet.

Rich's suggestion of Panorama is an excellent one. If you want BYO and romantic, search no further than Overtures. Great food, nice service, pretty room and BYO to boot.

Sounds good Chris! I perfected my latest autumn cocktail and dubbed it: The Spicy Pilgrim (with credit to Dish and her friend that loaned me the name!) 2 oz. Ten Cane Rum 1 oz. apple cider .75 oz. fresh lemon juice .5 oz. Marie Brizard Poire William liqueur .5 oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur .5 oz. Spiced Dark Simple Syrup* one dash Fee Brother's Old Fashioned Bitters Lemon rind Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon peel. * Spiced Dark Simple Syrup 1.5 cups water 3 cinnamon sticks, broken up 4 star anise 10 whole cloves 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes 1 cup demerara sugar (I use Trader Joe's organic) Bring water to a boil and add spices. Allow to boil for three minutes. Add sugar, stir to dissolve and allow to simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Strain before using.

I had a smoked turkey this evening at the Thanksgiving feast I attended. My buddy had purchased an Orion Smoker and made the moistest and most delicious turkey he's ever made (and he's made many good ones over the years by various methods). He used applewood chips soaked in cider and the meat was just outrageously good. I still have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I'll post pictures when the photos are forwarded to me. This was one mighty purdy bird.

A nice review by Kirsten Henri in this week's Philadelphia Weekly. Thai of the Tiger

According to the Bluecoat Website, the gin is only available in PA and NJ for now. However, the website might be a little behind the curve. I suspect you're probably right about the San Francisco bottle though. A "suitcase" import, indeed. Try a Bluecoat Aviation! I bet that would be really good with the citrus-ey character of the gin. I made up a drink with Bluecoat that was a tall gin-kir variant. Bluecoat, creme de cassis and soda with a big lemon twist. Also refreshing, but more of a summer beverage.

Thanks Katie! It's my theory, that almost any fruit smashed with sugar and lime, and shaken with the delicious Mae de Ouro Cachaca will make a fine cocktail. I have yet to have it disproved. ← I agree! Haven't had a bad one yet...

Don't know if the gnarly fruits are tastier, but it's an interesting theory. Love the feijoa cocktail! Very cool use of an off the beaten path fruit. Thanks for blogging Erik. This has been a fascinating slice of your life!

Change of plans. Now I'm baking Apple-Cranberry Sour Cream Struesel pies. And still making two flavors of cranberry sauce (Cranberry-Orange with Grand Marnier and Cranberry-Jalapeno with Tequila).

Erik: Any thoughts about making something with those fresh quinces from the market? I've never made quince jelly or membrillo, but I understand it isn't that difficult. I did, at one point, melt down some membrillo in apple juice concentrate, strain it and added some to a standard manhattan, creating the Membrillo Manhattan. The quince goes nicely with bourbon. Just a thought. You're so much cleverer about these things than I am...

Welcome Karen!! We love helpful new posters! Please keep up the good work and let us know when you're coming to visit. We can fill you in on what's new.

Bob: Please do get back to us when you get more details from Hizzoners office. Also find out to whom we can address the flood of e-mails we plan to send to try and convince them otherwise. He's a fool if for no other reason than the tourist dollars that would pour into the market on Sundays. Not to mention those of us that live here and would like the option of shopping on a day when we're free to do so.

Today I've had fondue for lunch and then tacos al pastor and guacamole with two baskets of chips. Life is good.

Wow. Pretty plates. Looks gorgeous and I can practically taste it. And it's official. Everyone has been there but me. Gotta fix this ASAP.

I've been working on a Thanksgiving pre-dinner cocktail tonight. I was inspired by an e-mail I received that had something similar in it, but I changed up a few ingredients and re-worked it a bit. Tried this two different ways tonight. 2 oz. Ten Cane Rum OR Laird's Applejack 1 oz. apple cider .75 oz. fresh lemon juice .5 oz. Marie Brizard Poire William liqueur .5 oz. Spiced Dark Simple Syrup* one dash Fee Brother's Old Fashioned Bitters Lemon rind Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon peel. My biggest complaint is probably my own fault. My market only had gallon containers of the unpasteurized fresh apple cider and I didn't have room for one in my fridge (in addition to living alone and loathing the amount of waste I already create) so I bought a smaller bottle of pasteurized cider. It just isn't "apple-ey" enough, but I suspect that would improve either drink tremendously. The Applejack version of the drink was good, but I think the Ten Cane rum version was even better. The subtle spicing from the simple syrup is a little more evident in the rum based version of the drink. Both versions are very light and autumnal and pretty well balanced. Any suggestions on a good name for this concoction?? * Spiced Dark Simple Syrup 1.5 cups water 3 cinnamon sticks, broken up 4 star anise 10 whole cloves 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes 1 cup demerara sugar (I use Trader Joe's organic) Bring water to a boil and add spices. Allow to boil for three minutes. Add sugar, stir to dissolve and allow to simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Strain before using.

Agree with Rich about about the Kaiken. That should be quite tasty. Most folks like Zinfandel with turkey. I wonder if that's more a reflection of it being an authentic American wine than a truly good match. I seem to recall that years ago they weren't as big, overblown, tannic and high in alcohol as they are now, but you'd have to find a softer example of one to match with roast turkey IMHO. Probably not a Chairman's Selection, but a nice Scheurebe or Sylvaner is nice with turkey if you prefer a white wine.

I admire your fortitude going out in tonight's heinous weather just for the annual glass of cheer. I'm staying in and starting some Thanksgiving cookery and will be working on an autumnal cocktail for pre-prandial libations next week.

I'm torn. Either an Asian Pear-Cranberry cobbler or a big honking tray of gingerbread with some sort of fabulous autumnal gelato on top from Capogiro. Maybe Burnt Sugar or Bourbon-Butterscotch!

<sigh> Is it time for this discussion again? Oh yes - it's the 3rd Thursday in November! I think the Wayne PLCB store is the only local state sponsored event. I suspect the only place to go have our annual glass is Caribou, no? I'm sure Olivier cares to stock his bar with it, but I haven't seen much interest from anyone else. Maybe Panorama or Ansill would be likely suspects? If I find anything else out or if my phone calls are returned I'll post back. Whatever happened to that Savor the Reds party that always happened just about this time every year?