Category Archives: boozeworthy

June 8, 2009 · 12:05 am

The Matchbox

Vodka gimlet at The Matchbox

If anything is going to send strong summer vibes to Chicago it’s a post about the vodka gimlet at The Matchbox. This remains my favorite warm-weather libation, and I was able to enjoy one during my visit to The Silver Palm last week. Vodka, pucker-worthy fresh squeezed lime juice, egg whites are shaken and poured into martini glass heavily laced with a sweet powdered sugar rim that can end up all over your jeans if you’re not careful. The house-made vodkas (infusin’ in jars behind the bar) from pineapple to apricot can also be served up gimlet-style, but I prefer the classic tart, sweet concoction either inside the tiny slice-of-a-bar or outside on the patio if you can score a seat. 770 N. Milwaukee Ave., 312.666.9292

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April 17, 2009 · 1:35 pm

Playboy mixologists

Not only is it Friday, but the too-cool-for-school mercury has finally decided to grace the 70-degree mark with its presence. I plan to get my cocktail on this weekend at some rather interesting hidden-gem bars I’ve recently heard about (will report back), but in the meantime, satiate your happy-hour cravings with this story I did for Playboy.com on the top ten mixologists in the U.S. It was quite hard to narrow it down to 10, especially when I could only pick one from each city. For Chicago there were many strong contenders but I went with Toby Maloney from the Violet Hour. I never did get to try the new spiked tea punch bowls he served up this winter, but I’ll be in this spring to sip the homemade Italian amari (herbal liqueurs) cocktails and drinks with more of his tasty housemade bitters like the Pimms Cup variation; St. Germain, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, peychauds bitters and grapefruit bitters.

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March 6, 2009 · 12:13 am

New brews

Maybe it’s the balmy weather or the frosty Hitachino ale I got to sip last night, but I’ve been meaning to write about a couple of killer beers I’ve recently discovered. I pretty much can’t go to Avec without ordering the wood-roasted chicken thigh, and the Blanche de Bruxelles is the perfect beer accompaniment. A suggestion from our server, I loved its slight orange flavor and custom glass, and even though it’s on the heavier side and slightly cloudy because of the wheat percentage, it didn’t fill us up before dinner. I discovered another star-crossed beer pairing more recently at The Publican when Goose Island Pere Jacques met the house pork rinds. Any other food-friendly new (or new to you) brews?

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February 24, 2009 · 12:05 am

Water Street Brewery

Water Street sign

I so would’ve gotten the beer tasting flight at Water Street Brewery if I didn’t have to race back to Chicago on Sunday night by Oscar time. But I still enjoyed my dinner at the Milwaukee brewery and pub that’s been around for more than 20 years. While I continue to search for good restaurants in Milwaukee, I often end up at the pubs and breweries for decent bar food, great beer and a trip down memory lane of growing up in the “Brew.” While Water Street Brewery isn’t Milwaukee’s oldest brewery (it’s been home to Pabst, Schlitz, Miller and Blatz), the place does have a fair amount of impressive memora-beer-lia. Only those who grew up in Milwaukee will remember the Green Sheet section of the newspaper (think comics, crosswords, horoscopes, Dear Abby, guess-how-the-almost-identical-drawings-are different games all printed on green paper!). At Water Street, the Green Sheet design is cleverly resurrected as the menu, and I think any beer fanatic will appreciate the wall-to-wall collection of vintage beer cans and case filled with 1,400 ultra-cool beer tap handles. Oh, yeah, and the beer, from honey lager light to raspberry weiss and brown ale, is pretty fantastic too. Besides WSB, Milwaukee’s still got Lakefront, Sprecher and, of course, Miller breweries with tours, tastings and more, so you can easily get your Laverne and Shirley on and head up there for a brewery tour day trip. But don’t race home too fast, get your designated driver to stop for a steak at Coerper’s 5 O’clock Club (2416 W. State Street, 414.342.3553), vodka and oreo milkshakes at At Random (2501 S. Delaware, 414.481.8030) and finish the schlimaazely adventure here. Water Street Brewery, 1101 N. Water Street, 414.272.1195

The "Green Sheet" menu

Vintage brew

Timeless taps

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January 27, 2009 · 12:05 am

The Bristol beverages

I already loved the Bristol in Bucktown for their soft monkey bread served in a Staub pot, and the ricotta egg yolk and brown butter ravioli. But while waiting for our table in the restaurant’s second floor bar area over the weekend, the place scored even more points by offering another cocktail that embraces the egg white, the classic Pink Lady. I had never had one and the frothy, almost creamy concoction of gin, egg whites, lemon and grenadine was just one of many impressive drinks written out on the chalkboard wall, and a great way to start your meal there. There’s a selection of classic cocktails including a sazerac (which seems to be showing up everywhere lately), pisco sour and Dark & Stormy, while the contemporary side intrigues with a turkey-day friendly Cranberry Crush with cranberry sauce, bourbon and amaretto. Garnished with a lemon peel, the frothed egg white on the Lady provides an interesting texture, while the lemon and grenadine offer up the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and when it all comes together the cotton candy hued cocktail goes down just a little too easily. For some random reason my egg cravings didn’t stop there as I finished off my order with the thick egg sandwich; grilled pork belly and egg on toast. Like I said, in love with Bristol.

The Pink Lady cocktail at the Bristol

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January 22, 2009 · 12:08 am

Chilean wine

So after whetting our palates with Pisco, we’d switch to fantastic South American wines. I knew about deep, red Malbecs from Argentina, but had never tried Chilean Carménère, an intriguing grape variety originally grown in Bordeaux, France, and once considered one of the original six grapes of Bordeaux. In the 1800s, the varietal was nearly wiped out from phylloxera infestation, and was imported to Chile’s central valley where it continues to grow strong. A part of the Cabernet family, it was misclassified as a Merlot until 1994 with its deep red color and bold and spicy-earthy flavor that stands up perfectly to ulmo honey and orange caramelized pork ribs. It became my new favorite wine, next to a refreshing Malbec rosé that was totally conducive to the 80-degree temps I really miss right about now.

Concha y Toro, Terrunyo Carménère 2006

Malbec rosé at Viu Mament Winery

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January 19, 2009 · 12:05 am

Pisco Sour

Well, I never managed to finish one, but I tried three different Pisco Sours in Chile, two in Santiago and one in the historic seaport city of Valparaíso. Stateside, I’ve tried the refreshing local version served at the Violet Hour and at The Slanted Door in San Francisco. But the ones in Chile, where the drink supposedly originated (Peru also hotly stakes its claim on the cocktail), were stronger and more flavorful with frothier egg whites, fresh fruit juice and tart Pisco liquor (a South American liquor made from grapes). I tried the traditional Chilean version (Pisco, lemon or lime juice, simple syrup and bitters), which was very similiar to the one I sipped at The Slanted Door, but much stronger. The Peruvian-style Pisco was even better, with more limejuice than lemon, less egg white froth and just one small dash of bitters. But my favorite didn’t seem to have any egg whites or bitters, but was spiked with green chiles that lent a bit of heat to cut the acid and sweetness. I also loved the glassware, which was either a narrow glass goblet or Champagne flute, and each restaurant has a Pisco Sour menu with variations featuring fruit or ginger. They serve them everywhere, even in the airport and they kicked off pretty much every meal we had.

Traditional pisco sour from La Cocina de Javier, Santiago, Chile

A Peruvian pisco sour at Cinefuegos, Santiago, Chile

Pisco sour with green chiles at Cafe Turri, Valparaiso, Chile

Pisco sour with green chiles at Cafe Turri, Valparaíso, Chile

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January 5, 2009 · 12:05 am

Sabrage with Seger

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to work on my fearlessness, and my goal was put to the test at Chicago mixologist Adam Seger’s annual New Year’s Day gumbo extravaganza. Every year, Seger invites his foodie friends to soak up the best homemade hangover grub ever: A massive batch of spicy pheasant gumbo, beef chili, and some of the tastiest barbecue ribs I’ve ever tried complements of Twisted Spoke owner Mitch Einhorn. Being a New Year’s Day celebration at a mixologist’s abode, there were bottles of fantastic wines and Champagne literally everywhere, a number of which were mysteriously missing their tops, lopped off by Seger and some of his braver guests. By lopped, I mean “sabered”—a trick I had seen done before but never had the courage to try. The bottle-opening “sabrage” technique was said to be done by Napoleon’s soldiers, and is still used today as a spirits spectacle. When Seger handed me a chilled (very important) bottle of Agrest de Guitard Cava Brut nature 1998 and a Chinatown meat cleaver, I had no choice but to give it a shot. He showed me how to find the “seams” in the bottle, how to hold it from the bottom at a 45-degree angle and how to relax before taking two trial swipes across the body of the bottle with the dull side of the knife. The third swipe involved following through on the pressure point and sending the top clean off its neck and into the air, safely towards the wall, shedding nary a drop of Champagne. It’s easier than it looks, but I recommend consulting Seger or another highly trained mixologist before trying this technique on your own. And like opening any bottle of bubbly, be sure to point it away from guests, windows, etc.. No one got a photo of the actual sabering, but the bottle and sabered aftermath are pictured above.