Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under SeanMike Whipkey | 1 Comment
SeanMike Whipkey is the co-author of Scofflaw’s Den, an “online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulum.”
What the heck is going on?!
I don’t mean that in the rhetorical sense, really. A year ago was the first time I got the barrage of questions “Oh, are you going to Tales?” and I had to say, “No, I’m not.” I was already committed to E3 for a site that I used to write for regularly and my co-author, Marshall, couldn’t make it.
So for over 365 days I’ve planned, plotted, and schemed about going to Tales. As time got closer, and I spent more time in the CSOWG, I’ve gotten more and more excited about meeting all the people that I’ve met online, re-meeting people I’ve met briefly, and best of all, remembering meeting people I met at Repeal Day here in DC in December (cough cough Morgenthaler cough).
I consider myself rather constantly confused. This has been a busy year for me, which is no excuse, but I realized only as this week dawned how close Tales is - right after my birthday! I fly out in less than a week! WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO!
Well, I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, and it’s not just pull my hair out and fret (anymore).
1. Read up on all the stuff to do at Tales.
Seriously - like all the kids these days say “OMG!” (Do they still say that?) Not only are there all the sessions, and dinners, and tastings, but there’s all the people to meet, and there’s New Orleans in general! I haven’t been there in nigh upon 7 or 8 years. I’m excited to get back, I’m excited to be in the company of cool people with similar tastes who can show me where the best foods and drinks are, and I’m excited in general. I’m going to be printing out schedules, I’m going to print out Chuck’s guide as to where to eat, and I’m going to print out everything I can possibly think of to find things such as precious fluids (hydration is next to godliness if you don’t want to die of hangover-related maladies).
2. I’m going to prepare for my packing.
I’ve got disadvantage over most of y’all - I’ve got to fly up to Pittsburgh, PA, way too early Saturday morning to go to a wedding for a family member. (That is a good thing. Other than the ‘7:40 AM flight’ part.) However, already I prepped by buying some materials to have a friend pack-mule down there by car, and I’ll be spending the rest of the week and the weekend making sure I have what’s needed. I’ve already realized I’ll be low on business cards, which is my own fault - but I also refuse to worry about it at this point (see below).
3. I’m going to fill my cell phone with contact numbers.
And bring a back-up. And bring my laptop, though it be heavy and annoying and hot. And bring other stuff that might help.
4. I’m going to remember the lessons I’ve learned over years of cons such as DragonCon, Origins, and E3.
A short cab ride can save pain and discomfort out of proportion of the cost. Eat, and eat well. Drink lots of water. Don’t take anything TOO seriously. Don’t try to do everything. Pack a bathing suit and if you get overwhelmed, go to the pool. Or take a nap. Skipping one thing and taking a nap can often mean the difference between having a great time and ending up miserable and missing other things due to exhaustion.
5. I’m going to have fun.
Heck yeah! It’s not worth worrying. This is, for me, my big vacation of the year, so I refuse to let it be work like some cons have ended up being.
I’ve been building up to Tales by coming up with drinks named after various people who will be there. I’m up to 23 right now, and I’ve got three people I definitely feel like I must do before this weekend. I don’t know if I can hit a full 28 (i.e. four weeks egads!) In the next day or so I’ll post up a few of my favorites on here. Some of them are intended to be jokes, some were intended and ended up good, some were intended to be good, but if I see even one person ordering a drink named after themself or someone else I’ll be the happiest guy at Tales!
See you in a few short days!
Posted on June 30, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Heather Gregg of Tikimama.com is an enthusiastic enjoyer of cocktails from Portland, Oregon. She is a big fan of bartenders and never wants to be one.
Or, how to enjoy the event your partner dragged you to, swearing: “it’s a lot of fun!” Except you didn’t envision spending all day in classes called “Create the Perfectly Shaped Ice Cube” or “History of the Straw.” But you might as well make the most of your Tales time so here are a few tips from an experienced Tales widow:
1. Take a few seminars
I know, I know, you’re sick of hearing about cocktails and cocktail recipes and watching your bank account dwindle on account of those bottles of Wild Antarctica Meadowlark Liqueur your partner just had to have. But give the seminars a chance; there are lots of interesting topics covered – history, sociology, and even some “science.” You might learn something and you’ll be able to figure out what the heck your partner is on about all the time. Plus, being in seminars will help you:
2. Meet people
Sitting at long tables, half listening to a lecture while slightly drunk - just like being back in college! Except now your cocktail is right there on the table instead of hidden in your Big Gulp cup. Get to know the people around you, I promise you they are nice. Even if they aren’t, a lot of them are bartenders so they are experts at pretending to be nice. Make some friends!
3. Hang out in the Carousel Bar and the Hotel Monteleone Lobby
You are bound to run into people you’ve met in your seminars. See where they are going to for lunch/dinner/liquor company sponsored cocktails. Before you know it, you’ll have a group of friends to roam the town with. You’ll find out about secret events (most of them free!), get to know even more people who love liquor and make friends in far off cities. These new friends will be very handy when you’re traveling, as they know all the best bars. Some of your new friends might even be famous in the Internet!
4. The Pool
The Hotel Monteleone has a nice rooftop pool, and a poolside bar. Need I say more? Protip: it’s a great place to meet the cocktailia elite. Plus, it’s 94F and 98% humidity, what better place is there?
5. Respect the Cocktail
Tales is an event for the cocktail community – mixologists, bartenders, chefs, writers – and you’re a guest here. This is their party, where they have gathered to celebrate the love of drink making, in ways both serious and silly. It’s their Star Trek convention, so don’t be the person yelling “Vulcans are stupid!” You’re a visitor: be polite and respectful, keeping in mind that many of these people have worked very hard over the years to bring you the highest quality of food and drink. So don’t be down on their Klingon costumes (metaphorically speaking). Embrace the spirit of the event!
Bonus Tip for Non-Drinkers (Both of you):
6. Eat
It’s Tales of the Cocktail, sure, but it’s also New Orleans, home of some of the most amazing food on earth. I was four months pregnant at TotC 2008 (yes, bad planning) so cocktails were out but I managed to have a fantastic and memorable time nonetheless. All the calories you aren’t consuming in liquor can easily by made up by po’boys, the entire menu at Luke, Coop’s jambalaya, beignets by the pound and whatever and wherever else Chuck tells you to eat. Bonus: being the sober one means you‘ll not only remember the foolishness, but you’ll be steady enough to catch it on camera. Those pictures will come in handy for blackmail later.
Posted on June 29, 2009
Filed Under Chuck Taggart | 5 Comments
Chuck Taggart is a dedicated cocktailian and native New Orleanian now living in Los Angeles. He publishes The Gumbo Pages.
Heck-ola … that went well!
It seems that last year’s “Where y’all wanna eat?” post was quite popular, with printouts of it sticking out of people’s pockets as they wandered the streets of New Orleans in the 95-degree heat — not aimlessly, but with an air-conditioned target in mind. Very glad to hear it! Let’s do it again.
If this is your first Tales or your first visit to New Orleans, all the recommendations in last year’s post still stand, and don’t miss all the rules and recommendations on how to survive this event. That said, just remember one more guideline regarding your dining: In New Orleans, butter, cream and big piles of fried seafood are still good for you. (Keep repeating that to yourself.)
As last year, I’m going to concentrate on places that are within a reasonable walk of the hotels in which you’ll be staying in the French Quarter, which includes the Central Business District (CBD, toward and beyond Canal Street) and Faubourg Marigny (the other direction, toward Esplanade Ave.) I’ll also encourage you to hop on a streetcar and head to the Riverbend or up along Carrollton Avenue — not only are there great places to eat, but a streetcar ride down St. Charles Avenue is one of the most relaxing and lovely experiences you’ll have during your visit. I’m also going to recommend some places that I actually haven’t been to (mostly because they opened recently, since my last visit home to New Orleans) but really want to.
In the latter category, the places I’ve been chomping at the bit to try is Green Goddess (307 Exchange Place, right off Bienville and across the alley from The Pelican Club - about a 2 minute walk from the Monteleone), who’ve only been open for a matter of weeks — they’re still sorting their liquor license out, in fact. The head chef of this brand-new little Quarter gem is Chris DeBarr, formerly of The Delachaise, who handles the dinner menu. Last year he cooked what had to be the most extraordinary Spirited Dinner ever — and one of the most memorable meals of my life — the Tiki-Licious Luau Dinner with cocktails by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and Wayne Curtis. (Well, it might have been a bit more memorable if I hadn’t been so thoroughly tanked by dinner’s end.) He’s one of the most exciting, innovative chefs in the city, and describes their restaurant as having “a progressive menu that blends New Orleans sensibilities with a globetrotting sampling of ingredients.” He and co-chef Paul Artigues, who does the lunch and brunch menus, will probably frustrate me more than any other chefs in New Orleans on this trip, because I want to try every single thing they’ve got on their menu, but there isn’t enough time, and there aren’t enough meals. A sampling of some recent dishes, courtesy of The Google:
Louisiana Bangers and Mash: Marciante's duck sausage and mashed sweet potatoes with hints of orange and roasted garlic, finished with Steen's cane syrup. (Photo by picasaweb.google.com/girlygirl2969)
Crawfish cakes topped with crushed avacado, romesco sauce and wasabi caviar. The photographer said, "These were the best crawfish cakes I've had in my life." (Photo by picasaweb.google.com/girlygirl2969)
They’re open for lunch/brunch Wed-Sun, 11am-4pm, and for dinner Thu-Sun, 5pm-midnight. See y’all there.
I know it’d be way too much to get Talesgoers without cars all the way out to Metairie for dinner (and it’d be a 20 minute cab ride even without traffic), but the place that’s one of the best reasons to drive out to Jefferson Parish for dinner now has a closer outlet. Drago’s Seafood Restaurant has opened another location in the Hilton New Orleans Riverside at 2 Poydras St. (a 12 minute walk, or a 3-5 minute cab ride). Drago’s Charbroiled Oysters are without a doubt one of the best dishes in New Orleans — a butter, garlic and herb sauce drizzled over oysters on the half-shell, then topped with grated Parmesan cheese and cooked on an open grill. These are insanely good, and a dozen or two of these with a salad would make a fantastic meal. (The rest of their food’s pretty damned good, too.) If you’ve never had charbroiled oysters, you owe it to yourself to try them, but beware of imitators — nobody does them like the originators. Beware of addiction.
One of the great classic Creole restaurants in New Orleans is a mere 250 paces from the door of the hotel. Galatoire’s has been delighting local diners since 1905, and in their 100th year was named Outstanding Restaurant in the nation by the James Beard Foundation. Loud, brash, fun, and with great food, dining at Galatoire’s is a generations-old tradition for many New Orleanians, most of whom have a regular favorite waiter who takes care of them. Until recently, reservations were not accepted, but with the addition of another dining room upstairs patrons may now reserve for that space. Tables on the first floor are strictly first-come, first-serve … and that’s where you want to sit anyway. Jackets are required for gentlemen for dinner, and suggested for lunch. If you’re not a regular (and especially if you look like you’re visiting from out of town) you may be presented with a menu, but the best approach is to ask your waiter what’s good that day. Take his advice. For some reason they put ice in their Sazeracs, the only place I know in town that does it. If you’re in a roll-with-it mood, by all means have it their way, but when drinking there I always ask for my Sazeracs up. A typical meal might being with gumbo or crabmeat Maison (jumbo lump crabmeat in a light vinegar-Creole mustard dressing with onions and capers), their famous souffléed potatoes, grilled pompano topped with crabmeat, softshell crabs or trout served either meunière or amandine style, or perhaps for non-seafood eaters, chicken Clemenceau (with potatoes, mushrooms and peas in a Cognac sauce). For dessert, you absolutely must get Café Brulôt, one of the city’s greatest after-dinner libations — hot coffee and chicory with brown sugar, spiked with brandy and triple sec, with orange and lemon peels studded with cloves. The waiter will scoop some brandy into a specialized ladle, set it aflame and pour the flaming spirit down the curly citrus peel as it dangles from the ladle. It’s a spectacular show, and a spectacularly delicious way to end a great Creole dinner.
Although it’s one of my favorite Quarter restaurants for dinner, I particularly love lunch at Bayona, especially if I can get a table in the courtyard. Chef Susan Spicer excels at a local and Southern sensibility married with Mediterranean, Asian and Indian flavors. The menu changes constantly but there are some perennials — after a Sazerac try her famous Cream of Garlic Soup, Crispy Sweetbreads prepared with with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Sherry-Mustard Butter or a Lump Crabmeat Salad with Green Goddess Dressing. For your entrée try dishes like Rabbit and Escarole Ragout with Mushroom Gnocchi, or one of my all-time favorites, the Smoked Duck Sandwich with Cashew Butter and Pepper Jelly. (More Bayona food pics are here.)
Sautéed Sweetbreads with Potatoes, Mushrooms & Sherry-Mustard Sauce
Smoked Duck, Cashew Butter and Pepper Jelly Sandwich
For breakfast and lunch, Chef Scott Boswell’s casual restaurant Stanley will be a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, particularly in its new location at 547 St Ann St., right on the corner of Jackson Square. That property was in danger of becoming a Starbucks after it was vacated by another restaurant, and local outcry went a long way toward making that not happen. Boswell couldn’t have had a better location, for tourists especially but for locals as well. Breakfast is served all day, a variety of po-boys, great fried oysters and huge messy burgers are included in the bill of fare, and there’s now an old-fashioned soda fountain with homemade ice cream. Fun and inexpensive.
Stanley was the natural descendant of Chef Boswell’s restaurant Stella!, and came about after Katrina when the chef found himself grilling thousands of sandwiches and burgers on the street immediately after the storm and flood, and thought it should be channeled into a proper café. Stella! is an intimate, fine dining experience that has been near the top of my to-do list in New Orleans, and I’m looking forward to trying them as soon as I can. Just looking at the menu makes me swoon; I’ve heard words like “spectacular” and “magnificent” bandied about by people who describe their meals there. Starters like Hudson Valley Foie Gras BLT with Foie Gras Confit and Truffle Mayonnaise and entrées like Duck Five Ways, “Fish and Chips” (Tempura Beer-Battered Louisiana Drum with Sweet Potato Purée, Curried Taro Chips and Spicy Red Chili Caramel) or Scallops and Jumbo Gulf Shrimp with Truffle Andouille New Potato Hash … oh my. Keep in mind it isn’t cheap; one friend said that he knows people who rave about the food, but not until they rant about the size of the check. With that in mind, if you’re looking for a special night out, I think the check is worth it.
Another restaurant on my to-do list is Iris, formerly in a tiny space Uptown but now occupying larger and more comfortable digs in the Bienville House Hotel. The food is reputed to be excellent — Chef Ian Schnoebelen is a multiple award-winner — here’s a recent review from Brett Anderson in the Times-Picayune (or, as it’s called locally, Da Papuh) and a tantalizing video (which I can’t figure out how to embed, sorry). Another great reason to visit Iris is that it’s a cocktail destination. Alan Walter is behind the stick, and he refers to himself not as a bartender or mixologist but “spirit handler.” The bar program has a commitment to fresh juices, fresh herbs and produce and homemade syrups and infusions, plus a well-trained staff and some amazing creativity. Iris is a great option for Talesfolk who are looking for an upscale meal together with upscale cocktails that are only a couple of blocks from the Monteleone (and in fact a number of us are staying at Bienville House anyway … how convenient is that?!)
On the edge of the Quarter is Meauxbar, at 942 N. Rampart at the corner of St. Philip. It’s another of the haven’t-been-yet-but-would-like-to places on my list, offering solid American bistro-style dishes. It got a three-bean rating from Da Papuh’s restaurant critic, and my local friend Michael adds that it’s become a big hit among folks who live in the Quarter, with “lots of classic French dishes and a decent spirits selection. I don’t remember if they had a cocktail list, but we had a Sazerac (made with Sazerac 6-year rye) and a Beefeater Martini there, and both were very good. We especially liked the appetizers, great mussels, great steak tartare. People love their onion soup and the goat cheese and caramelized onion tart, although we haven’t tried those yet. Want a huge medium-rare burger with Roquefort and bacon? This is your place.” Oh … okay!
If you’re looking for a funky Quarter joint and Coop’s is too crowded you might consider a jaunt across the street to Fiorella’s at 1136 Decatur St., which I haven’t been to in years (but am ready to revisit). They’ve renovated since Katrina, and are well-known for their excellent crispy fried chicken and their famous macaroni and cheese with gravy (red or brown), along the lines of the (in)famous Rocky and Carlo’s in Chalmette. Other local favorites include fried seafood platters, red beans ‘n rice, jambalaya and bread pudding. The fried pickle appetizer is said to be even better than the ones from Liuzza’s in Mid-City. (What, you’ve never had battered, deep-fried pickles?) Not fancy, but worth a visit.
I understand that there may be some vegetarians (and even vegans) among you. If you haven’t figured this out already, allow me to break the news to you that your options are extremely limited. If you tire easily of iceberg lettuce and tomato salads with oil and vinegar dressing you might have a wee problem. Fortunately some chefs rise to the challenge — if you call ahead to check Bayona has been known to graciously accommodate vegetarian needs, for instance — but there are a couple of sure-fire destinations.
Bennachin (1212 Royal St.) is one of the few African restaurants in the city, and their menu features Creole influences as well. They’re extremely vegetarian-friendly with dishes like eggplant and mushroom curry or sautéed spinach with fried plantains and coconut rice. (Carnivores will be happy too.) Bear in mind that the service is best described as “laid-back,” and at our last visit approached levels of “criminally indifferent;” i.e. “you can all starve for all I care.” A bit of perseverence will pay off for the non-flesh-eaters, though — all the food was terrific. An all-vegetarian option is Café Bamboo, near the foot of Esplanade Ave. under The Dragon’s Den. I haven’t been there (I must confess that all-vegetarian menus tend not to interest me), but I’ve heard good things about a dish called Mafe, which is a stew with yams and Creole tomatoes in a spicy West African peanut sauce.
If you walk past Canal into the CBD (usually about 10 minutes or so), you’ll have a wealth of options. I’m sure many of you are familiar with The Swizzle Stick Bar, where Lu Brow, Michael Glassberg and the rest of the gang behind the stick make some of the finest cocktails in New Orleans (a regularly changing menu featuring a Twentieth Century and the Improved Whiskey Cocktail is a sight to behold). However, if you haven’t had a meal at the attached restaurant Café Adelaide then you are truly missing out. Café Adelaide is one of my very favorite restaurants in the city, and I try to dine here each time I visit home. Proprietors Ti Martin and Lally Brennan (who also run Commander’s Palace) know great food, great drinks and how to show their guests a great time, and although Commander’s is a lot of fun Café Adelaide is a little looser and more casual. The menu is just as exciting, though, and has been through each of their chefs. We were big fans of their former chefs Kevin Vizard and Danny Trace, and now Chef Chris Lusk continues to delight us. Start at the bar (of course!), then move on to things like Shrimp & Tasso “Corndogs” with 5-Pepper Jelly and Crystal Hot Sauce Beurre Blanc, Grilled Ponchatoula Strawberry Salad with vanilla-smoked sweet onions, fennel-scented wontons, Roaring Forties blue cheese and orange-chervil vinaigrette, and Sweet Corn-Crusted Redfish with Breaux Bridge crawfish maquechoux hash & charred green onion sauce verte. I’ve eaten here countless times, and every single meal has been an absolute delight. If you’re missing the Spirited Dinner there, try to make it another day — they’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (More Café Adelaide food porn here.)
Whole Fried Trout with Corn and Crawfish Hash and Watermelon Caipirinha Sauce. Wesly said that this may have been the best fish dish he's ever had.
Veal with Breaux Bridge Crawfish - Black skillet-seared veal tenderloin, Fleur de Teche stone ground grits, spring greens and truffled woodland sauce. From about 3 years ago. Oh my. Oh my my. Absolute joy. Beautifully put together yet not overly complicated, perfect medley of flavors and immensely comforting. One of the best dishes I've had in New Orleans in ages.
One of the city’s newer restaurants features not local cuisine, but tapas and larger places from Spain and the Basque country with the occasional touch of Creole influence. Rambla serves mostly small plates, and they all look great. A choice of mushroom, shrimp & fennel or andouille croquetas (yum!), some wonderful flatbreads (Serrano ham, fig and Cabrales cheese, crimini mushroom with garlic mousselline, or Alsatian onion with house-cured bacon), Rambla Shrimp (their take on the local favorite BBQ Shrimp), pecan-andouille filled calamari (ooh) or grilled octopus with potatoes, olives, red onion and lemon oil. There are a few vegetarian options (although not much for vegans), plus a few “grands plats” like paella Valenciana. It’s a short walk from the hotel, dinner 7 nights from 5:30 on and lunch on weekdays from 11:30 to 2.
The Père Marquette Hotel at 17 Common Street not only houses one of the city’s newest bars — and thanks to the presence of Chris McMillian, one of its best — in Bar Uncommon (more on that later), but also a superb restaurant in MiLa, “Southern cuisine with French flair.” I’ve only eaten here a few times so far, but every meal has been superb; I particularly love their charcuterie and seafood. Current offerings include sautéed local flounder with fricassé of corn, sunchokes, farm green beans and basil coulis, and a double-cut pork chop with turnips and greens, pork rillettes and pot liquor sauce. Their three-course prix-fixe lunch menu for $20 is one of the best deals in town, with two choices each for appetizer, main and dessert. They’ve got a nice little cocktail list too — Max Pazuniak, whose Creole Julep is the official cocktail of Tales this year, now splits his time behind the stick at MiLa and Cure (more on the latter later).
If you head out of the Quarter on the other side, crossing Esplanade into the Faubourg Marigny (kinda rhymes with “clarity” … well, if the “ty” was an “ny”), Adolfo’s is a tiny yet tasty option for terrific Italian food. New Orleans had a huge influx of Italian immigrants starting in the 1880s, leading to the substyle of the local cuisine usually called “Creole-Italian,” and it’s a near-certainty that the local Italian food is going to be good. Adolfo’s is at 611 Frenchmen St. (sometimes the little sign is out, sometimes not), upstairs from a bar called The Apple Barrel. Seating is limited, no reservations, dimly-lit and romantic, cash-only, inexpensive and very satisfying. Crabmeat-stuffed cannelloni, veal or eggplant Parmigiana and anything (be it veal or fish) topped with “Ocean Sauce,” a spicy cream sauce with crabmeat, crawfish and shrimp. Many dishes are also served with the traditional New Orleans Italian accompaniment of “spaghetti and red gravy.” (Below: Grilled Fish with Ocean Sauce, and Spinach and Italian Sausage Cannelloni.)
I’ve also really enjoyed Feelings Café, also in the Marigny. It’s funky and cozy, in what was once the main house and slave quarters of the old D’Aunoy plantation. Lovely, romantic atmosphere with gas-burning lanterns and a French-Creole menu featuring dishes like Gulf Fish Nicholas, which is grilled, brushed with Dijon Mustard, topped with grilled shrimp and served on a bed of creamed spinach, and Seafood Baked Eggplant — a dressing of shrimp, crawfish, sausage and rice served over a fried eggplant slice, topped with hollandaise sauce, their version of one of my favorite Creole-Italian dishes. They’ve got a good wine list and a well-stocked bar, and while they have no cocktail list that I can recall, they’ve had solid bartenders who have always been amenable to being talked through whatever you can come up with.
For one of the few interesting late-night dining options, Mimi’s in the Marigny at Royal St. & Franklin Ave. just at the edge of the Bywater, offers a late-night tapas menu that I haven’t sampled but which comes highly recommended by a trusted local. They have a good selection of spirits and cocktails which are “decent, if you’re not too much of a purist,” plus on Saturday nights you can groove to local favorite DJ Soul Sister, who spins truly wicked soul and funk vinyl from 11pm to 4am, all for the price of a $10 cab ride from the Monteleone.
For more late-night (and kinda dive-y) eating, my friend Michael recommends The Alibi (back in the Quarter on Iberville between Bourbon and Dauphine). “Definitely stick with bottled beer or straight spirits here,” he says, but the beer selection is good and the mainly basic bar food is very good — huge, thick, sloppy burgers à la Port of Call, good po-boys and “killer fries,” which are a huge mound of chili-cheese-jalapeno-onion fries (good lord). Michael adds that The Alibi is “very popular with off-duty service industry workers — including strippers — so that late-night scene there is always interesting. If folks are near Canal St and hungry at 1:30am, this is a good bet.”
Another late-night recommendation from Michael: “In the same vein as The Alibi is the unfortunately-named Yo Mama’s, on St. Peter right across from Pat O’s. I’ve never tried a cocktail there, but they pride themselves on their tequila selection, so that might be of interest. The reason to go are the huge burgers, which many folks in the Quarter rate above Port of Call. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it is an excellent second option if you don’t want to walk all the way to Esplanade just to wait for an hour at P of C. The heart-stopper (in more ways than one) is the peanut butter-bacon burger, which is fantastic; nothing upscale, no craft bacon or anything, just a great chunk of beef slathered in goodness.”
If you wouldn’t mind a walk to the Warehouse District (it’d be a 3-minute cab ride, but it’s less than a mile, 20 minutes on foot, and believe me, you’ll need the walk), and if you love to put a fork to the pork, if you have a t-shirt that says “The Swine is Mine!” and if you’re as pork-obsessed as I am, head out to 930 Tchoupitoulas St. (that’s pronounced “chop-uh-TOO-liss”) to Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski’s Cochon (that’s French for “pig,” which should tell you a lot). There is a wide array of pig products prepared in every conceivable way, and they’re all superb. All that, plus they add pork jus to their Bloody Marys. How awesome is that? If that isn’t enough, next door is Cochon Butcher, which offers fresh meats, sandwiches, local sausages and seasoning meats like andouille, boudin and tasso, plus house-made salumi, some of which would be perfect to stick in your suitcase and bring home if you time it right.
Spicy Grilled Pork Ribs with Watermelon Pickle
Slow-Braised Louisiana Cochon with Turnips, Cabbage and Cracklins
Although we’re concentrating on the Quarter, CBD and Marigny I’d still like to get you a bit further out if you have the time. Still within walking distance of the lower Quarter, on the edge of the Tremé, is one of the city’s best little funky Creole-soul food joints, Li’l Dizzy’s, at 1500 Esplanade Ave. at N. Robertson, a block before N. Claiborne. It’s owned and run by the legendary Baquet family, who’ve been responsible for some fantastic neighborhood restaurants in the city, including Zachary’s and Eddie’s. You’ll be well taken care of here, starting with breakfast (lots of egg dishes, grits, sausages, shrimp and crabmeat omelettes) and plate lunch selections starring the amazing Trout Baquet — a nice big piece of trout pan-roasted in butter and topped with a layer of lump crabmeat. I’ve also had fantastic grilled pork chops smothered in briefly sautéed garlic and herbs, plus standards like fried catfish, red beans ‘n rice and jambalaya. There’s a second location in the CBD in the lobby of the Whitney Hotel at 610 Poydras St., higher prices but a gorgeous location. They do Sunday brunch, but it’s popular, so getting there before 10am would be a good idea.
The Jazzfest version of Trout Baquet, along with their crawfish bisque, the spiciest and most labor-intensive Louisiana dish.
Remember that streetcar trip I said you should take? If you’ve got plenty of time in the afternoon, or even a late night for dinner, head to the Riverbend, right where the St. Charles streetcar makes a 90-degree right turn at Carrollton Ave., and get off right after that turn, in front of a white columned building with a neon sign announcing it as The Camellia Grill. I’ve been eating here since I was a kid, and couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’ve sat at one of the 29 stools around the counter (and it’s counter seating only). You might think it’s a diner (okay, it is), but it’s been a local institution since 1946, deserves all its praise and is worth the wait in line. The omelettes are an Intensely Religious Experience, at least 3 eggs whipped in a Hamilton Beach milkshake blender until light and airy. The classics are the Chef’s Special (bacon, ham, onion, potatoes, Swiss and American cheeses), the chili-cheese and my longtime favorite, the potato-onion-cheese. They’re the size of a rolled-up newspaper and come with a side of crispy fries. (Okay, light it ain’t.) Some of their sandwiches might seem mundane to some but are wonderful, especially the grilled cheese with bacon and some of their special sandwiches like the “Mardi Gras.” Another must-have is the pecan waffle, which I wish I could have every day, and the chocolate pecan pie à la mode for dessert. They always have red beans ‘n rice on Mondays, too. The white-jacketed waiters will pamper and entertain you, so tip them well. This is some of the best comfort food in the city.
Pecan Waffle with Butter and Syrup
Potato, Onion and Cheese Omelette (with a side of bacon)
That omelette, in all its close-up glory
If you find yourself fond of the Riverbend, consider a stop at Boucherie, 8115 Jeannette St. in the space once occupied by Iris, 8 blocks further along the Carrollton streetcar line from the Camellia. They started life as our favorite purple truck in the world, parking outside music festival grounds and clubs like Tipitina’s selling barbecue and since they’ve settled have expanded into other local and Southern dishes like duck confit po-boys, pulled pork cake with “confit” potatoes and purple cabbage slaw, shrimp and grits with warm Kurobuta bacon vinaigrette and desserts like chile and chocolate chess pie (which is YUM) and Krispy Kreme Doughnut Bread Pudding (!!!). Robert Peyton, who writes the excellent New Orleans food blog Appetites as well as a monthly food column for New Orleans Magazine has an excellent series of photos from Boucherie to get your mouth watering.
Surely by this time you already know that one of the greatest desserts ever (not to mention booze-soakening material in the middle of the night) are the fluffy beignets at Café du Monde, the “Original French Market Coffee Stand” at the corner of Jackson Square on the upper end of the market. Those crisp-outside, pillowy-inside squares of fried dough covered in enough powdered sugar to make a tourist think you’re Tony Montana in “Scarface” (waving a beignet around with powdered sugar all over your face and shrieking “Say hello to my leetle friend!” might end up with you in the drunk tank, though) are truly heavenly and have remarkable sobering-up powers. I think they taste even better at 3am.
If you want to explore local sweets a little further, your St. Charles streetcar expedition might need a little interrupton before you make it all the way to the Riverbend. Hop onto the streetcar at Canal and get off a couple of miles later at Washington, walk down Washington toward the river (past Commander’s Palace) and take a right at Magazine St. In about six blocks you’ll have some excellent choices for pastry, sweets and frozen confections. La Divina Gelateria at 3005 Magazine is one of the best gelato places I’ve ever been to, anywhere. They’ve received national attention, and rightly so for such amazing and very locally-oriented offerings like Turbodog Chocolate Sorbet (made with the super-dark, chocolatey local Abita Turbodog Ale, and dairy-free) and Louisiana satsuma and fennel gelato.
Just a few doors down at 3025 Magazine is Sucré, who also make ice cream and sorbet but also an array of small and large pastries and handmade truffles and filled chocolates, including their signature piece (my favorite), a fleur-de-lis filled with a brown butter and white chocolate ganache. Their New Orleans collection includes a chicory coffee dark chocolate ganache-filled bonbon and a Bananas Foster-inspired piece filled with a white chocolate ganache, fresh banana and a bit of rum.
A bit further down the St. Charles line is the Creole Creamery at 4924 Prytania St. — get off the streetcar at Upperline, 5 blocks past Napoleon, walk 2 blocks toward the river to Prytania and take a right. About three dozen amazing housemade flavors of ice creams, sorbets and ices are on hand, including local flavors like Café au Lait, Steen’s Molasses Oatmeal Cookie, Red Velvet Cake, Brown Butter Pecan, Bananas Foster, Nectar Sherbet (based on a local soft drink and snowball flavor, an almond-vanilla blend that’s bright pinkish-red and best described as “wedding cake flavor”) and the incredible Creole Cream Cheese. I’m also fond of their Lavender-Honey Their flavors change constantly and they never cease to delight (for instance, last time I went in they had a flavor called “Pop Rouge,” based on a long-defunct local strawberry soft drink from our childhoods).
Okay … think this might keep y’all busy (and fat)? Let’s go eat.
Next, we drink! Stay tuned.
(Many thanks to Michael Pemberton for his assistance in this article.)
Posted on June 29, 2009
Filed Under Lauren Clark | 1 Comment
Lauren Clark is the publisher of drinkboston.com (Bars, bartenders and imbibing in Beantown), a freelance drinks journalist and a former bartender and brewer.
So, you failed to heed the advice in How to drink all day at Tales without getting (too) drunk? Time to break out the hangover remedies, my friend.
What richer subject is there for armchair physicians — and philosophers — than The Hangover? There are almost as many kinds of hangovers, and almost as many ways of heading them off, bludgeoning them into submission or bowing down before them in misery, as there are drinkers.
Last year, a New Yorker article dug deep into the world of hangover remedies, dividing them into two major types: folk (Russians swear by pickle juice and vodka) and pharmaceutical (preventive pills like RU-21 — get it?). Pickle juice and vodka? Yow. When it comes to folk remedies, I’ll stick with eggs and BC Headache Powder. Or… a steaming hot shower. A dip in an ice-cold pond. A double espresso. A nap. (As for preventive pills — that’s cheating!)
When we talk hangover cures, one thing becomes clear: they’re all primitive. And the prospect of more sophisticated treatment options is dim. That’s because no upstanding research institution is willing to do what it takes to find a silver bullet for the effects of overconsumption: bankroll a massive study involving a large population of drunken (read: difficult to control) human test subjects who, most people think, deserve to suffer the consequences of their folly anyway.
So, the hangover is here to stay. The best thing to do about it, then, particularly as Sunday morning at Tales of the Cocktail rolls around, is get together for morning-after drinks with a room full of other bleary-eyed sufferers at Paying the Piper: Your Hangover and You.
Attendees will be in the learned and compassionate hands of moderator Wayne Curtis, Atlantic Monthly drinks correspondent and author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails. We’ll also be subject to the tough love of panelist John Myers, a “saloonist” from Portland, Maine, and co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail. (A surefire way to get a hangover is to accompany Myers for drinks at Portland’s Commercial Street Pub.)
I asked Curtis for a little preview of the session, and he began with an assurance. “At this point, I’m confident in proclaiming some of the things that attendees will NOT be subject to:
Loud and cacophonous music
Bright flashing lights
Mandatory deep thrust squats
Cymbal-banging monkeys
The smell of boiled cabbage
Live demonstrations of [For the sake of those who may actually be reading this with a hangover, I'll leave out what Curtis said about hurling, toilets, and pubes].”
Much appreciated, Wayne.
He adds, “I’m also confident that this WILL be part of the seminar:
Fernet Branca.”
In fact, the Fernet Branca Cocktail, along with the Vampiro and the Bullshot, will be the session’s representatives of the “many drinks reputed to bring morning-after relief.” God, I hope they work. Then again, the suffering that afflicts our bodies during a hangover often carries our minds into the realm of the philosophical and poetic.
Accordingly, “There will also be some discussion of the hangover and literature,” says Curtis, “and a small theory as to why there’s far more great writing about hangovers than there is about being drunk: because one’s hangover is both The Odyssey and The Iliad writ small. The themes: hubris, belief in one’s immortality, the abrupt correction of this belief, one’s generally unsuccessful fight to return home, and the comeuppance of the hero, who is now required to crawl on all fours like an infant or a geriatric.”
I’ll gladly crawl on all fours to the Hotel Monteleone at 10:30 on a Sunday morning to spin such gold out of my hangover.
Posted on June 28, 2009
Filed Under Natalie Bovis-Nelsen | 1 Comment
Written by: Natalie Bovis-Nelsen is the author of “Preggatinis™: Mixology for the Mom-to-Be,” which features more than 75 of her virgin cocktail recipes and made about.com’s Top Ten cocktail books of 2008. She is the founder of TheLiquidMuse.com, a beverage consulting service and online cocktail blog-a-zine. Natalie is once again the creator of Tales’ “Official Nonalcoholic Cocktail.” This year’s is a julep style drink called the “Sassy Southern Belle,” and will be featured at several events throughout the week, including her Virgin Mixology® seminar on Saturday, July 11 at 4:30 pm.
You may be wondering what the heck a seminar on Virgin Mixology® is doing at Tales of the Cocktail, one of the biggest booze-fests, in the world. After all, the definition of “mixology” is essentially the “art and craft of the cocktail,” and a “cocktail” by strict definition is “spirit + sugar + water + bitters.” So, what gives? Who are these crazy loons avoiding alcohol and why should the beverage and hospitality industries care about them?
Here’s the thing… The world of “mixology” is expanding quickly. From the spring board of classic cocktail recipes and quality ingredients coupled with skilled bartending techniques and creativity come a plethora of quickly developing sub-categories within the world of adult beverages. Organic cocktails, molecular mixology, market-fresh bar programs and food-and-cocktail pairings – all of which professionals have been exploring for several years now – are bubbling up as hot-topics in the mainstream. Along with those concepts, the desire to bring quality ingredients and culinary know-how to the nonalcoholic drink is finally gaining appreciation.
I view mixology as an integral slice of the culinary pie. Why wouldn’t it be? Produce, meats, dairy products are regularly discussed, used, explored, adored and debated with fervor by professional chefs and an impassioned public. Foodies also love talking and learning about wine, and its relation to food. Spirits and cocktails are finally becoming part of that consciousness, as well. People want a complete experience from the first sip of an aperitif to the last nibble of an after-dinner mint.
So, what happens when someone decides to not drink alcohol but still wants a complete dining (or drinking) experience? Are they forever relegated to the “little kids table” of beverages and served Shirley Temples and sickly sweet virgin Coladas ad nauseum? Would a party host, restaurateur or bartender really want to treat his / her guests in such a way? That kind of nonchalance would be akin to dismissing a vegetarian with a wave of the hand and a pompously declaring “let them eat vegetable tray” while pompously looking down one’s nose, chilled champagne cocktail in-hand whilst biting into a juicy bite of seared foie gras.
I don’t use the word “mocktail” because to me, it sounds dismissive and judgmental. I prefer the term “nonalcoholic cocktail” when talking about virgin drinks because the same attention to balance and creative enthusiasm should be employed when designing a liquorless libation. Mixology as a culinary category is of such importance, in my opinion, that the subcategory of Virgin Mixoloy® should be treated with the same respect.
Designing a nonalcoholic cocktail might be a bit more of a challenge – but its worth it. Not only will pregnant party guests and non-booze-imbibing restaurant patrons gratefully feel included as valid members of eating-and-drinking society, but there is a steep profit for drinks sans alcohol for on-premise sales. The trick is designing a unique drink, employing the high-end mixology philosophies of freshly squeezed juices, house-made syrups, muddled herbs, and the like. Getting creative with foams, teas and exotic fruits can be just as much fun without liquor, and round out any cocktail list. Why would a bar or restaurant lose the opportunity to sell a beverage to a willing consumer? There is no right or wrong when it comes to eating and drinking. It is survival. It is pleasure. It is part of our every day lives. And, in my humble opinion, a decent “cocktail” with or without the alcohol is our God-given right.
Posted on June 25, 2009
Filed Under Cocktail Buzz | Leave a Comment
Steve Schul and Paul Zablocki (Cocktail Buzz) ply their love for cocktails, mixology, and food pairings on their Web site, Cocktail Buzz and their blog “Buzzings” with videos that offer demonstrations of cocktail/appetizer pairings, recipes for meals to follow your cocktail, as well as a reviews of cocktail bars and restaurants in NYC and other cities.
Piedmont Distillers, the producer of the hand-crafted Catdaddy and Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon Carolina Moonshines, has paired up with Dickie Brennan’s world-famous Bourbon House to bring you a spirited lunch. Yes, a spirited lunch at which you can celebrate all your happinesses (or drown all your sorrows) in a beguiling batch of ’shine cocktails while chomping on some delectable Southern cuisine.
Marrying Moonshine and Southern Cuisine
Joe Michalek, Founder of Piedmont Distillers, provides the raison d’etre for the marriage: “Catdaddy and Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon both have a rich history founded in America’s moonshine past. But, they are also two high-quality, ultra-smooth spirits. Hosting a Spirited Lunch at Tales seemed like a great way to share our story and give people a chance to experience how far moonshine has come in the last several years.”
- Piedmont Distillers Copper Column Still
Last year at Tales, we stumbled into the Piedmont Distiller’s Tasting Room, and tried some Midnight Moon kissed with a drop of water (it is indeed smooth, and as we later discovered, perfect for infusing your favorite fruits, herbs, and spices), followed by a chaser of Catdaddy peach tea. Instantly drawn to the uniqueness of the Catdaddy (it tastes like no other flavored spirit, some likening it to cake frosting, bubble gum, and custard), we were eager to make some cocktails with it. That’s where Sarah Leroy, Piedmont Distiller’s Director of Marketing, comes into the picture, providing serendipity.
Sarah invited us to create three cocktails for the Bourbon House luncheon that’s focusing on Southern food traditions, such as three of our favorites: catfish, pork, and cornbread. Add to the mix the two moonshines, and you’ll find yourself fêted with a panoply of reimagined southern trimmings in what Piedmont Distillers and Bourbon House are calling “From Down-Home to Downtown: A Lunch Celebrating the Evolution of Southern Traditions.” Says Sarah, “We’re so excited to partner with Bourbon House. Chef Darin and the rest of the Bourbon House team have done an amazing job bringing to life the ‘down-home to downtown’ theme. The menu Chef Darin has created reinterprets southern food mainstays and compliments the flavors of Catdaddy and Midnight. I believe the menu will even include a few sauces and marinades made from Catdaddy and Midnight. I think we’re all in for a real treat and I expect the lunch to be a fun afternoon filled with delicious food and tasty cocktails.”
- The Adam, to be served with corn-crusted riverside catfish, at the Bourbon House–Piedmont Distillers Luncheon.
What’s for Lunch?
And what a menu: The first course, corn-crusted riverside catfish fried and served with lima bean succotash and Catdaddy tartar, will be paired with a tempting variation of the bloody mary we call Adam, made with seasoned tomato water and Midnight Moon. The second course, a pork confit hash (cane syrup and Junior Johnson’s Moonshine-glazed pork confit, served over hash with smoked hominy), will find itself paired with a sweet-and sour-cocktail made with Catdaddy and bourbon dubbed the Kitty Carlisle (named, of course, after the famed New Orleans native). And if that isn’t enough, for dessert Chef will prepare a molasses and cornmeal custard with Creole cream cheese ice cream. We’re pairing this mouthful of love with The Maltese, a concoction of Catdaddy and creamy molasses.
- The Kitty Carlisle, to be served with moonshine-glazed pork confit.
Says Chef Darin, “Our menu was inspired by the roots of the moonshine business-corn and rural Southern food laid the foundation. We’re incorporating foods that are associated with Appalachian cooking, and applying our own New Orleans twist . . . using the confit technique on pork, incorporating Louisiana cane syrup and creating a Creole cream cheese ice cream for the molasses and cornmeal custard. The flavor profiles of these dishes will be enhanced by Paul and Steve’s moonshine cocktails.”
When presented with Chef Darin’s menu, we had two goals in mind. The first was obvious: the drinks had to pair well with the food. Our second goal, however, allowed us to be poetical: we wanted each cocktail to be a part of a progression of flavor sensations. So we’ll start with savory, move on to sweet and sour, and culminate with bittersweet.
Piedmont Distillers Tasting Room
- The Kitty Hawk Cocktail, to be served at the Piedmont Distillers Tasting Room.
And if you don’t make it to the luncheon, but want to try some old-school alchemy applied to these new-world ’shines, then stop by the Tasting Room on Friday and we’ll craft you some icy cold cocktails. You’ll have four new libations to sample, some inspired by such classics as the Aviation (with crème de violette), Moscow Mule, and the Sidecar, and one that celebrates National Blueberry Month. Blueberries are at their peak in July, so we honor that by giving you a drink that’ll honor these lovely berries bursting with their sweet, tart juice. We may even throw in another for good measure.
- The Blue Moon Cocktail, to be served at the Piedmont Distillers Tasting Room.
(cocktail photos courtesy of Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz; other photos courtesy of Piedmont Distillers)
Spirited Luncheon: From Down-Home to Downtown: A Lunch Celebrating the Evolution of Southern Traditions will take place at Bourbon House, 144 Bourbon Street, Thursday, July 9, 2009, from 12:30-2:30 PM. Tickets are available here.
The Tasting Room: Not Your Pappy’s ‘Shine: Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine & Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon will take place in the Royal Room D Room at the Hotel Monteleone, Friday, July 10, 2009, from 12:30-2:00 PM.
Posted on June 23, 2009
Filed Under Keith Waldbauer | Leave a Comment
Keith Waldbauer is a bartender at Barrio in Seattle. He chronicles his interest in bartending and cocktails at Moving at the Speed of Life.
On Friday, July 10th from 2:30-4:30, Robert Hess will be holding court at the Queen Anne Ballroom of the Hotel Monteleone. The following is what you should know:
* The Seven Seas, in medieval times, referred to these set of seas: The Black Sea, The Caspian Sea, The Red Sea, The Mediterranean Sea, The Adriatic Sea, The Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. I’m not sure which cocktails sprung from these waters, and you probably don’t either. If anyone does, it’d be Robert Hess. That’s reason enough to go.
* Medieval times was a long time ago. Like, really long. Perhaps the seminar hews more closely to colonial times, in which case we’d be referring to The Banda Sea, The Java Sea, The Celebes Sea, The Flores Sea, The South China Sea, The Sulu Sea and The Timor Sea. Or maybe not. You should probably come find out.
* ”Some of the world’s most enduring mixed drinks had their origins at sea: invented by naval seamen, pirates, explorers, and adventurers. This session will explore the love affair those who went to sea had with rum, cachaça, and gin, and the births of the mojito, punch, gimlet, and pink gin.” That’s the descriptive lifted straight from the Tales site. Presumably, these seamen, pirates, explorers and adventures did not have Kold Draft equipment or utilize double straining techniques, or even proper glassware. We’re all kind of snotty about our cocktails here, but I’m banking we’re all going to be thoroughly impressed by this seminar, regardless.
* Robert Hess has a lot of friends on Facebook
* A bartending friend of mine once had a guest challenge her on whether she knew how to make a Pink Gin. And when she said something to the effect of, “Well…. yeah” he was absolutely giddy and beside himself. We’ve come a long way in promoting our little cocktail world, haven’t we?
* Robert Hess has done a lot to promote this little world we’re all intrigued by. He is the founder of the Chanticleer Society, DrinkBoy, The Cocktail Spirit on the Small Screen Network and a founding member of The Museum of the American Cocktail. He’s also written a great book, The Essential Bartender’s Guide: How to Make Truly Great Cocktails. Go buy it if you don’t already own it. Now. Seriously. I’ll wait….
* Robert Hess has his own Wikipedia page, and you don’t.
* By way of disclaimer, it should be pointed out Robert is a founding member of the Washington State Bartender’s Guild, of which I am the Vice President. We’ve spent a fair amount of Sundays together in the past year, and I count him as a friend of mine. Whether that sentiment is shared, who knows….I know I’d be smart enough to distance myself, and Robert is an extremely intelligent fellow.
* Both the cocktail world and the technology world consider Robert to be an evangelist. So, odds are, Robert is going to convert you to something! Maybe it’ll be Pink Gin….
Cocktails Born From the Seven Seas takes place Friday, July 10, in the Queen Anne Ballroom at the Hotel Monteleone. Tickets may be purchased here.
Posted on June 17, 2009
Filed Under Sonja Kassebaum | 2 Comments
Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking). In her spare time, she’s president and founder of the Chicago chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC Chicago), and a member of the United States Bartenders Guild, Illinois Chapter.
Every day, in every great cocktail bar, mixologists are developing new techniques and ideas for making great drinks. Perhaps it’s as simple as a new way to create a garnish, or a new way to use a bar tool. Or maybe it’s something thoroughly unique and innovative, the likes of which haven’t been seen before now. Expect to see a few of the latter at one of the sessions at Tales, called Mixologists and Their Toys.
Erin Williams, the US brand mixologist/ambassador for Cointreau, was tight lipped about exactly what we’ll see in the seminar. Maybe it was because the Remy/Cointreau PR people were listening in on our call, but it was probably just that she didn’t want to give away any of the surprises.
Erin will of course be demonstrating the Cointreau spherification kit, which has landed in some bars in New York City and has been around for a couple of years but hasn’t gotten very far outside of NYC. In addition, she has asked each panelist to unveil something completely new in the session. All of the panel members are known for their work in molecular mixology, including Don Lee from PDT in NYC; Fernando Castellon, a bar expert from Lyon, France, known for making food out of cocktails, among other techniques; and Evan Wallace (who might be talking about this, just a guess). (Photo from New York Times)
If you want to see these great new ideas, you’ll just have to attend the seminar. I’ll be there. Will you?
Mixologists and Their Toys takes place Thursday, July 9, in the La Nouvelle Orleans East & West Ballroom at the Hotel Monteleone. Tickets may be purchased here.
Posted on June 15, 2009
Filed Under Kirsten Amann | 9 Comments
Kirsten Amann (LUPEC Boston) is a freelance writer, lifestyle publicist, and founding member of the Boston chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC Boston).
“Surviving Tales intact is definitely a challenge but its also part of the fun. Everywhere you turn there will be someone you know either less drunk than you or more drunk than you. Often, you’ll be surrounded by some of each. If you can’t tell which is which, you’re the drunk one.”
- John Myers, Tales veteran and 2009 moderator
For the uninitiated, unaccustomed, and those with un-primed livers, long days and nights of endless drinking in hot, humid New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail may seem daunting. Seminars begin at 10 a.m. each day and every waking moment of the event is paired with drink. If not properly prepared, the neophyte could wind up passed out by mid-afternoon.
It is for these first timers (and veterans who can’t remember a thing about Tales’ past because they were too hammered) that we offer this primer for drinking all day at Tales without getting (too) drunk, culled from some of the brightest stars (a.k.a. biggest boozers) in the mixology galaxy.
1. Just because it’s in front of you doesn’t mean you have to drink it.
As Paul Clarke advises: “There’s no shortage of booze at Tales — you can skip a dozen free drinks, and there’ll still be another one coming your way.” Chuck Taggart suggests “using the provided spit buckets, no matter how much it hurts.” As Cocktail Nerd Gabriel Szaszko reminds us, “The tasting rooms are for tasting, not lounging. Yes, there are 3-4 sirens of spirits calling your name in each of them…and yes you want to try them and by all means you’re there to *report* on your findings…but, hey, stop touching the drinks on the bus tray!”
Now that you’ve survived the seminars & tasting rooms, how will you manage the Carousel Bar? Misty Kalkofen of LUPEC Boston advises low-alcohol sips like the Half-Sinner Half Saint to allow an even, glowing buzz that can last for hours. Or try a mocktail for once – The Liquid Muse Natalie Bovis-Nelsen will teach you how to make a delicious one at the Virgin Mixology(R) seminar.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler swears by “lighter spirits such as silver tequila and white rum” as ideal morning or early afternoon refreshers (“aged spirits can significantly weigh you down during peak summer hours”) and advises you bring a flask with you since “there are no glass containers permitted in the Monteleone rooftop pool area.” He suggests hitting the Carousel Bar “during the more popular, or ‘informative’ sessions’” so you’re well situated when throngs of people crowd it afterwards. And be sure to tip heavily during that slower time “so as to secure your top position in the bartender’s list of customers.” Mr. Morgenthaler misunderstood the question. If you wish to drink all day at Tales without getting drunk, don’t listen to him.
2. Eat often, eat wisely.
Still buzzed from your morning session and eager to get a good seat at your afternoon ones, it’s easy to convince yourself that lunch is optional. Says Paul Clarke: “my first year at Tales I skipped lunch one day and nearly wound up sleeping under the tables during the Cocktail Hour.” Sloshed writer Marleigh Riggins suggest you plan around lunchtime seminars “or stock up on Clif Bars.” Dr. Bamboo will keep a “breakfast stash” in his room, so as to start the day off with something besides booze in the stomach. In the words of Tales moderator John Myers, “All the culinary delights in New Orleans for dinner are great, don’t get me wrong, but you need breakfast and lunch too.”
Some believe the solution itself to be in the food. Guillaume Vialle, Western USA Regional Director at Cognac Ferrand, totally knows people who swear by drinking “olive oil to coat the stomach,” and also swears he’s never tried. A Boston-based source (also French) speaking solely on the condition of anonymity attempts the same by eating “a huge, so-fudgy-it’s-sick brownie.”
“Magic food” suggestions are as varied (and arbitrary) as hangover cures, including raw bar, oatmeal (“sticks to your ribs and soaks up the booze”), good fat foods like smoked salmon, whole grains, cheese, and avocados and bad fat foods, like haggas topped with fried eggs. Jamie Boudreau advises you “eat three kitchen sponges at the beginning of the day, drink everything in sight and take it like a man!” And videotape the event, so you come out with some memories.
3. Get your beauty rest.
Operating on a hot tip from an endocrinologist, Charles Munat advises “the absolute most important thing is to get a good night’s sleep every night.” RumDood Matt Robold agrees: “There are tons of parties and after-parties and bars and drinks” and it’s tempting to try to see and do it all. Don’t. Get “a good night’s sleep between the hours of 4 and 8 a.m.,” says Drinkboston founder Lauren Clark.
Even if you don’t sleep, John Myers suggests availing yourself of your hotel room often. “Take a shower when you’re there–you’ll be surprised at its ability to re-boot you.” He also speaks to staying “off campus”, which will absolutely have to do if you haven’t already secured a room at the Monteleone as they’re all booked up. “The 5 or 10 minutes it takes to ‘commute’ really can assuage that niggling feeling that you could be missing something. You probably are, but no matter how hard you try, you’ll always miss something at Tales.”
4. Take herbal remedies as a preemptive strike.
Milk thistle before you start (for your liver), B12 & B6 (for your hangover). One source swears by activated carbon pills: 2 with the first drink, one per each additional drink. All can be purchased at Whole Foods.
5. Drink Water.
It’s there for the taking at every event and is the only thing you shouldn’t moderate. Dr. Bamboo took a bottle wherever he went last year: “Between the heat and the booze, it was a lifesaver.” A glass with each cocktail is not a bad idea.
Also not a bad idea is John Myers’ suggestion to “Get out of the Carousel bar. This is a tough one and you’ll have to make a concerted effort to do it but you gotta! People will ply you endlessly with drink here but you’ll just end up drunker than you wish earlier than you’d have liked.” Once beyond the threshold, “keep moving…having one or two drinks per stop will put you back in the sweathouse that is the outdoors but it will help you metabolize some of that good tasting poison.”
Myers also offers his double-secret-extra-special-ace-up-the-sleeve-last-all-day prescription for drinking all day at Tales without getting (too) drunk: “while the sun is up and you’re between seminars, sidle over to the Napoleon House for a Pimm’s Cup with an espresso back. Repeat as necessary.”
As Virginia Elliot and Phil D. Strong observe in their 1930 volume Shake ‘Em Up “[E]ven the soberest of men will sometimes wake up and wonder what hit him after the second highball.” If this happens to you, head directly to John Myers’ cocktail seminar, Paying the Piper: Your Hangover and You Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 10:30 AM in the Riverview Room. He will certainly have your cure.
Posted on June 12, 2009
Filed Under Matthew B. Rowley | Leave a Comment
Matthew B. Rowley (Rowley’s Whiskey Forge) is an advertising executive, former museum curator, and past board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance.
Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange
~ The Tempest (Act I, Scene II)
William Shakespeare
American distilling is undergoing a profound transformation. And while the changes may seem recent, sudden, and unexpected to casual observers, in reality, they’ve been brewing for over thirty years.
For explosion in the range and quality of spirits newly available and for the burgeoning number of small distilleries making them, thank craft brewers. When they set up stills for vodka, gin, genevers, and other spirits, high-profile pioneers such as Fritz Maytag and Sam Calagione helped legitimize a trend among brewers of pushing into a higher-proof skill set.
This July at Tales of the Cocktail, a panel of erstwhile brewers chaired by Stephen Beaumont will speak openly of their transformation into distillers. Yes, openly. Big whoop, you say, brewer to distiller. Not such a big deal. Except that it is.
A few years ago, in a big, easy, crescent-shaped southern city, I tried to speak to a homebrew supply shop owner about distilling. Since he was selling spirit hydrometers for measuring the alcohol content of spirits, not beer, I figured he’d be up for a little shop talk. He told me flatly, “Get the hell out of my shop.” Not quite the talk I was expecting—If anybody knows more about distilling than the general public, it’s the brewing crowd. As a former brewer myself, learning about distillation was not only intuitive, but a logical next step.
For brewers, the ingredients and techniques—even much of the equipment—used to make spirits are already familiar. Grains, malt, yeast, enzymes, ideal fermentation temperatures, filtration systems, and the water profiles that led to great-tasting beverages—shoot, these are all old hat once you’ve cut your teeth on your own homemade Oktoberfests, hefeweizens, brown ales, Scottish ales, barleywines, stouts, and Goat Scrotum Ale.
On wait what? Goat Scrotum Ale remains one of the more popular recipes in Charlie Papazian’s, er, seminal 1984 brewing manual The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. The puerile name helped no doubt bring a sense of playfulness to what might have seemed an intimidating hobby, letting new brewers know that it was alright to loosen up a little bit, to experiment, to push the boundaries of taste.
Papazian inspired generations of novice brewers with his reassuring manta “Relax. Don’t Worry. Have a homebrew.” Want to add a little ginger to your mash? Relax. How about some licorice or rice? Don’t worry. Molasses? Kid, clean out your ears. I’m telling you—have a homebrew. His readers went to become accomplished amateurs and even professional brewers in the 1980s, joining homebrew clubs, winning contests, and opening brewpubs and microbreweries across America.
Today, many of those brewers have realized that even delicious beer’s potential is sometimes far from realized. Sometimes a beer wants to be more. Sometimes a beer is just crying to be whiskey. And once whiskey is in the barrel, rum, absinthe, or vodka suddenly seem, well, possible. In fact, they practically demand to be made.
Chris Sule, distiller at Old New Orleans Rum and one of July’s session panelists, suggests that brewers grow into exceptionally experimental distillers. After all, many began as home brewers making 5-10 gallons at a time. At those costs, one can afford to learn from many, many mistakes. Armed with firsthand knowledge of how altering recipes or procedures affect drink characteristics, many brewers as a matter of course play with variables such as yeast strains, specialty ingredients, or mashing techniques. Beer yeast in a rum wash? Why not? Sule’s done it. Come to the session and you may get to taste the result.
Join Chris Sule (Old New Orleans Rum), Ray Deter (d.b.a New Orleans and d.b.a. NYC), Jess Graber (Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey), and noted home brewer Charles Sule for a discussion about what brewers bring to the craft once they catch the distilling bug.
Hosted by Old New Orleans Rum, the 90-minute session will include tastings of whiskey mash as well as several spirits made by former and current brewers. Expect an enthusiastic examination of the “new state of American beer and spirits, drawing parallels, crafting contrasts, and telling the story of where we were, where we’re at, and where we’re going.”
Thursday, July 9, 2009 2:30-4:00 PM at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.
Oh, and that homebrew shop owner? He went on to become a rum distiller. Of course.
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