Subject: Cocktails

• Two for the road

  February 2, 1995

• Hot Dish

  April 6, 1995

• Burning Question: Are Classic Cocktails Back?

  The other day we were sitting around contemplating happy hour options when our editor stomped in to remind us of the morning editorial meeting--for which we were apparently quite late.Now, one of this job's few perks is that "reading" magazines counts as research. So we hastily reached for the discard stack while blurting something about investigating a story and grabbed...um, The Atlantic. How that ended up amongst the Burning Question crew's collection of, well, more purposeful magazines elude

  January 16, 2009

• All shook up

  July 17, 1997

• 10 Questions: Charlie Papaceno

  Yeah, so he worked for the A & E network in New York and made commercials in Dallas for years. Big deal--Papaceno's father and uncle owned taverns in New York (the state, not the big city), and he helped out when old enough...meaning at the age of 13, maybe 14. That's when the owner and bartender of Windmill Lounge first learned the magic of old fashioned cocktails. Four or five years ago, Papaceno found an off-the-beaten-path location to set up an old-fashioned neighborhood bar, someth

  February 13, 2009

• Best martini

  September 21, 2000

• Top Tenders

  June 21, 2001

• A Glassware Menagerie

  July 5, 2001

• Too Old-Fashioned

  August 16, 2001

• Best Bar for Kicking Back

  September 20, 2001

• Best Late-night Restaurant

  September 20, 2001

• Margarita Mix

  February 21, 2002

• That Frozen Concoction

  May 9, 2002

• Best Margarita (tie)

  September 26, 2002

• Mystic Chords of Memory

  January 2, 2003

• Comparing Apples

  September 11, 2003

• Best Martini

  September 25, 2003

• Best Cocktail Selection

  September 25, 2003

• Maximo takes a lot of pride in its food. We're not sure why.

  April 9, 2009

• A Big Mix-Up

  April 9, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Losing Our Way In Margaritaville

  pdphoto.orgThis is the sort of thing Dallas does to a margarita.Bartenders should be allowed to tweak cocktail recipes. Creativity, after all, is what sets one place apart from another.Thus when mixologizing a particular cocktail, some may prefer to make the drink stronger, some sweeter. One might add basil where the other chooses mint--all acceptable, to a certain extent. The mixed drink category is, however, susceptible to horrid shortcuts--particularly when it comes to that Tex-Mex staple, th

  May 29, 2009

• Bob Hoofs North

  The Plano version of Bob's Steak and Chophouse stays true to form--mysterious carrot and all

  August 8, 2002

• Enchiladame

  August 23, 2007

• Pepto-Bismol

  October 19, 2006

• Deathless Tiki Tacky

  Kitsch is cool again at Trader Vic's

  May 3, 2007

• Lucky 13

  Almost everything is engaging at Trece

  September 14, 2006

• Sweet and Lowdown

  What is a good margarita?

  October 20, 2005

• Bottle Tops

  Who are the best bartenders in Dallas?

  September 22, 2005

• Going South

  What is a mint julep?

  June 2, 2005

• Best Martini

  The Library at the Melrose Hotel

  October 14, 2004

• Best Belly Button Margarita

  Ciudad

  October 14, 2004

• Best Creme Brulee

  Cuban coffee creme brulee at Cuba Libre

  October 14, 2004

• Best Salad

  Tempura chili-citrus chicken salad at Cuba Libre

  October 14, 2004

• Singapore Sling

  Life Is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll (Stinky)

  October 7, 2004

• Dram Good

  Who are the best bartenders in Dallas?

  August 26, 2004

• Shaken and Stirred

  Mix things up with the El Tesoro Mixology Tour

  March 18, 2004

• Gender Specifics

  Why do women and men drink different things?

  October 24, 2002

• Lovely 'Rita

  The neat, clean Margarita Ranch needs to let loose a little

  April 4, 2002

• All Shaken Up

  Do we prefer vodka or gin martinis?

  January 4, 2001

• State of the bar address

  It's scary, folks, but St. Pete's Dancing Marlin isn't a bad place to eat

  February 9, 1995

• 10 Questions: Abraham Bedell

  The Victor Tangos bartender has been at it for just about a decade. In that time he's seen a lot: the rise of hard door clubs and bottle service, the resurgence of old school cocktails, good times and bad. But it's almost as if Bedell was born into the business. The Dallas native started his service industry career as a host at Don Pablo's, way back in 1996. He was 15 back then. Now he's a seasoned professional, with time at places like Cuba Libre when it was the go-to hotspot. A few years

  April 29, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Mint Juleps

  Few bartenders know how to make a decent mint julep and few people order the bourbon cocktail. There must be a connection.But which came first? It's a perfect cooler for blazing summer days (which seem unlikely to arrive anytime soon)--icy fresh, with a wicked punch--and one closely tied to the American south. Not all that difficult to make, either...if you don't mind a little muddling.The julep consists of sugar, mint and a lot of bourbon. Obviously it's similar in nature to the wildly popular

  May 1, 2009

• Salum's Offers Free Bites, Drink Specials

  The raspberry martini, one of Salum bartender Leann Berry's specialty drinks.Some may consider the term silly, but Leann Berry is a proud mixologist. Whatever you call the bartender--right down to "hey, you"--say it to Berry during Salum's happy hour 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.She'll serve margaritas and other tequila cocktails. A rotating selection of mixed drinks--all sans sweet-and-sour--will be featured each week for $6 apiece. Owner/chef Abraham Salum will also be at work,

  May 6, 2009

• Lazare's Bar Hosts A Grand Opening, But Will Anyone Remember?

  Anastasia JakseThe new mojitos: blueberry on the left, raspberry at right. "Blame it on the a-a-alcohol...," DJ Christopher Tracy puts his spin on Jamie Foxx and T-Pain's rap song amidst a forest of black and red balloons. Blame it on the alcohol, indeed. Or the 'any excuse to party' ethic that drives Uptown behavior. Lazare's "grand opening" on Saturday showcased the type of frozen concoction once served at Republic--a bar people flocked to then ignored, flocked to then ignored. Jason Quiroga,

  June 8, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Breaking The Mojito Rules

  Patrick MichelsLazare's mojoto lineupThis current generation of American drinkers couldn't really care less about tradition. They shirk the classic cocktails in favor of trendy new flavors: pomegranate martinis, green tea margaritas, acai vodka and tonics or whatever the anti-oxidant of the month happens to be.Despite my frustration with such fads, I must admit to a quiet suspicion. Bartenders in the Gilded Age really didn't have bottles of pomegranate juice to play around with. Nor could they p

  July 17, 2009

• Short Orders: Cuba Libre

  ​Cuba Libre2822 N. Henderson Ave.214-827-2820If you recall the restaurant's party days, it seems like we'd never get around to calling Cuba Libre and old stalwart.Yet there it is, the grand old kitchen of booming Henderson Avenue. Tristan Simon still owns the place, though he now spends much of his time in California. Chef Nick Badovinus is long gone, as are the other guys who helped establish the place and make it a mainstay--a reliable, though hardly intriguing mainstay.Which is to say the r

  August 3, 2009

• Hash Over: Rum Causes Gas (And Fire), Chuy's Honors Fire, Free Pancakes For Kids And More

  Jeff McInnis​You've mastered the mojito, drubbed the daiquiri and conquered the Cuba libre. You're ready to take your rum "mixology" to the next level. How about tossing in a dash of liquid nitrogen? Former Top Chef contestant Jeff McInnis will be slinging liquid nitrogen-infused Don Q rum cocktails at Lambert's Steaks, Seafood & Whiskey (2731 White Settlement Road) in Fort Worth 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday. The demonstration is part of a Don Q rum tasting event. We're already sold. Any rum

  August 24, 2009

• Gloria's vs Mattito's: Margarita Massacre

  Alex Flores​Dallas has always seemed a little confused about margaritas--even though the cocktail was reputedly invented by a local (albeit during a Mexico vacation).Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding of semantics. You see, 'cocktail' is generally a drink consisting of three or more ingredients, all of which either come through on the palate or somehow enhance one of the other flavors. A 'mixed drink,' on the other hand, uses fruit or Coke or another beverage to either completely or partiall

  September 3, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Why I Hate The 'Mixology' Trend

  ​Nothing against Victor Tangos. Their bartenders make very good cocktails and they steadfastly--last I checked--refuse to use the word "mixologist." Their drink recipes, however, require precise measurements. Even though they wield this precision to create updated versions of the fizz, the Champagne cocktail and other classics, this puts them in the same league as those despised professionals mixing an ounce of pomegranate and two ounces of organic cane sugar syrup with...you know how it goes.

  September 11, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Sidecar

  ​In my school of thought--and keep in mind, it's not a very well attended school--cocktails born in the heyday of gentlemanly drinking are to be revered. Drinks such as martinis, old fashioned and the great sazerac came from an era when even the prettiest glass carried a big, stiff belt of alcohol and Singapore sling was about as silly as could get...well, except perhaps for the monkey gland.The sidecar came along in the midst of this creative spurt. It started, most say, with a bartender in P

  October 23, 2009