KatieLoeb

This is good news! This place is right in my hood, so it's good to have a late night choice other than the South Street Diner. A friend that had been helping out at Pontiac told me recently they'd hired the chef he wanted them to after many interviewees coming through the door, so I'm glad that worked out as he'd hoped. I'll have to stop by when he's tending bar and check out the menu.

And some people get annoyed if they didn't get the proper change to leave a tip and have to ask for more change right after getting their change. It's a no win situation for the bartender, but I fall on the side of making it easier to tip me. Maybe I've spent too much time in bars (and in various service jobs) but I think taking offence at receiving change suitable to tipping says a lot more about the customer than it does the bartender. I've never once thought that a server was hinting for a tip by providing change suitable for tipping. If I'm in a tipping situation I damn well expect to receive change suitable for tipping. That's not a hint. That's a valuable service. Why would any server create work for himself and the guest by forcing the guest to ask for smaller change? As for tips I'd pass along to a new bartender here are a couple: 1. A twist is almost always an ingredient, not just a pretty little piece of yellow added for looks. Make sure the twists are fresh enough and cut to a size that when twisted actual lemon oil is expressed onto the drink. Same goes for twists cut from any other citrus fruit. Also, if you rub the rim of the drink with the twist, do so with the peel side not the pith side. 2. Cold drinks should be poured only into glasses that have been chilled. Failing this, glasses should never be warmer than room temp. I once received a formerly cold Martini in a warm glass. I'm sure the glass was hot and fresh from the dishwasher when the drink was poured into it. Believe it or not this was a fairly swanky joint. Okay, one more: 3. If a drink recipe calls for bitters (Manhattan, Old Fashioned, etc.) use them unless specifically asked not to. Just because the average person--or, worse, the average bartender--has forgotten or never learned the importance of bitters doesn't mean that you should continue this ignorance. Fortunately, bitters are making a modest comeback in both availablity and the understanding of their use so perhaps this ignorance will fade away. Regardless, trust me, most drinks would benefit from a dash of orange and/or angostura bitters but they absolutely must be used in the drinks that include them in the recipe. Good luck with bartending. I don't have an opinion pro or con on bartending school but you're certainly off to a good start by checking out this forum. Kurt ← Kurt: That's pretty much what I meant, and thank you for saying it less sarcastically than I did. Definitely into avoiding the extra step/annoyance for both the customer and myself. Totally in agreement with you on the rest as well.

Liebrandt had lunch at the bar at Amada a couple of weeks ago with some other Philly foodies I know. I served their group and he picked up the check. He was in town to do a tasting for Mr. Starr I'm told, so I'm not surprised the deal went down, so to speak. Even if it's only temporary, it really is an interesting switcheroo, isn't it?

A vicarious virtual cocktail party on Friday sounds too good to be true. I want photos of the attendees as well as the drinks. Oh - and the drink recipes of course!!

**Happy Dance** YAY! A blog with lots of great food and lots of fine cocktails. Looking forward to this immensely.

Two words. Calle Ocho. The only place for real down home Cubano fare. I'll see if I can find the name of the place I liked. Go have a batido de mamey for me.

And some people get annoyed if they didn't get the proper change to leave a tip and have to ask for more change right after getting their change. It's a no win situation for the bartender, but I fall on the side of making it easier to tip me. Giving a good shake to a drink is crucial for chill and dilution. No half assed shaking. Shake it likes it's someone you hate that won't shut up. Know what you have behind your bar. What beers are on draft and in bottles, which wines you offer by the glass (feel free to hand me a wine list and offer to help answer any questions I might have if it's too extensive to memorize) to which single malts you offer. Know your bar. These people are your guests.

Trader Joe's Organic Turbinado Sugar makes a delicious dark simple syrup that can stand in adequately when I don't have real cane syrup around. The real thing is better, but this works quite well in rum and tequila drinks.

I've finished one alone. It was the "Indulgent" sized Hot drinking chocolate. I still haven't had the guts to order either a gimongous frozen drinking chocolate (although I tasted philadining's and it was delicious!) or a "We'll Never Tell" sized hot drinking chocolate. Yes. It is like crack. Utterly addictive and leaves you powerless to resist. It's just crazy good. And Da-yum! Those cupcakes look good!

Have you bashed them around yet?? I mean really drummed them on the table or dropped them from counter height? That's the real test. If you tell me that they survive that I'm buying a set immediately! ← I haven't purposefully "bashed" them, but as I was washing them, I knocked one over in the sink and it didn't break! ← You see. That's the difference between break resistant (like the Riedel Restaurant series or the Schott-Zwiesel Triton crystal stemware) and unbreakable (as these claim to be). Merely knocking it over doesn't mean it's unbreakable. I want to see what happens when it falls off the counter from five feet up. Fear not. I'll be asking my local sales rep for samples of these glasses so I can bash away at them myself.

Have you bashed them around yet?? I mean really drummed them on the table or dropped them from counter height? That's the real test. If you tell me that they survive that I'm buying a set immediately!

PaniniGuy: Welcome to eGullet and the PA forum. Glad to have you here. I suppose I could apologize for the Philly-centric-ness of the forum, but perhaps we've just been waiting for you to pipe up. I look forward to more insightful posts from you. Let us know if you make it around here for a visit. We'll buy you a drink and say welcome in person.

You know, I'd completely forgotten that I have an entire sample bottle of this in my cabinet, given to me by the sales reps at the Bar show in June. Give me a couple of days to play with it and I'll be able to give you a better answer on taste, ideal usage, etc. I suspect it will be similar in nature to Ciroc vodka in that it will likely be a bit more floral in the nose than most vodka, and will have an affinity for similarly floral flavors in a cocktail. I made a really nice lavender sour with Ciroc that was delicious and very pretty in the glass - pale lavender in color and delicate in flavor. I used lavender simple syrup and lemon juice with an egg white for froth and viscosity. A tasty, if girly drink.

I guess this answers my question. They most certainly need a savvy sommeliere. edited to add: Cherie, thanks for your faith and support. As for the finely tuned palate, I remain skeptical. Besides, everyone knows we ladies have much more sensitive palates anyhow.

That's valid.

Done. Wish I could join you, but it being Rosh Hashanah, I have prior obligations. Have fun and we expect a full report.

Wow - another great blog and blogger, from another part of the world I know nothing about. Your daughter is an astonishingly beautiful girl.

Bill: Thanks so much for showing us around your little slice of the world. It's a beautiful place. You're a lucky man.

Having now looked up the recipe for a Fogcutter online (rum, gin, brandy, orange juice, lemon juice, orgeat syrup and a float of sweet sherry) I think I can state with some certainty that the drink on the left is most certainly NOT a Fogcutter. My Zombie was definitely capable of inducing a coma like state. I think they drained the bar mat and said "Silly caucasians! They shouldn't be ordering drinks here!"

Perhaps a nice mug fashioned from the skull of your enemy could work?

I love it! Or perhaps a faux-jito?

I wonder how much the "Small-town-masquerading-as-a-big-city" aspect of Philly contributes to eGullet having more sway here than it might in other places. This town is about thisbig in the restaurant business, and everyone knows everyone. As someone who has been in the biz here for some time, it is virtually impossible for me to attend a food or wine related event and not run into people I know, worked for, worked with, etc. As forum host, I've gone out of my way to try and actively recruit more restaurateurs as members so we can keep the level of discussion professional, and raise the bar some too. As forum host it is also my job (along with Holly) to keep the discussions civil and within the bounds of the Member agreement. I have rarely had to pull rank because the discussion here tends to be very civil and the criticism always constructive. I'm proud and happy about that. If this forum isn't a place for a civil exchange of information and opinions, then people are spending too much time in front of their computer screens they could be constructively spending elsewhere. Or they're not in the right food forum.

These ribs were definitely a struggle. I was afraid I'd fling a piece across the room accidentally whilst trying to chew through and get a small bite off. Tasty but a real chore. I'm willing to believe they aren't usually like that. Philadining didn't think his piece was too bad, so maybe I just got the tough stringy one. :shrug:

Alonna: That's great! So glad it all worked out exactly as you wished it to. Those boys over at Marigold are doing a great job. Sounds like a cozy party and a good time had by all. Most importantly, did the Guest of Honor enjoy himself??

For a long time my girlfriend has had a similar aspiration (to swim in a vat of chocolate, or, preferably, a river of chocolate), but then we read this: msnbc story apparently it's more dangerous than it looks ← OK. So much for that idea... Excellent! Have fun and let me know if you tried the sangria!