A well-balanced cocktail is a work of magic. A handful of quality ingredients, combined with a sometimes subtle and sometimes vigorous agitation, transform into something significantly larger than the sum of their parts. While slurping oysters at the Chesterfield, the subject of this week’s review, I asked my tablemates whether…
Today is National Alcohol Screening Day, a day on which almost 1,000 community-based organizations, colleges and military installations will offer free, anonymous screenings to help people determine whether or not they have a drinking problem. The website HowDoYouScore.org is sponsored by another site called “Mental Health Screening,” which, according to…
The Dram, the local chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild and Campari recently teamed up for a cocktail competition showcasing many of Dallas’ finest bartenders. The game: to create an aperitif — that is, a drink meant to be enjoyed prior to a meal — featuring Campari, an Italian…
Lots of big beer news happening since I last wrote a post. Sorry for the time away. It’s not you, it’s me. So rather than inundate you with a bunch of short posts, here are a few quick sips of local beer news and upcoming events. First off, San Diego’s…
It would seem that spring is (kind of) here; the patios are packed, my thermostat has officially made the switch from heat to cool and all the grass is a lovely shade of emerald, at least until a freak snowstorm hits a week from now and life as we know…
Jason Kosmas found his calling in booze while tending bar in New York City at Pravada, Employees Only and Macao Trading Co, the last two of which he co-owns. He’s also penned two books, You Didn’t Hear it From Us, and Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined…
With the deadline for this weekly blog post quickly approaching (and then passing — sorry, editor) and a very minimal amount of cash in my pocket after paying rent, I did what any responsible booze blogger would do: I went to the corner store by my apartment and purchased a…
A handful of people were scattered throughout Uptown’s newest watering hole, Tate’s, on Tuesday night. Bartender, JW was busy whipping up Sazeracs (he puts on an impressive show, misting each glass with absinthe, then torching it with his handheld blow torch). The bar was, and still is, celebrating Yelp’s drink…
This weekend I celebrated my birthday at brunch. I’m not much of a bruncher, but there I was at Canne Rosso, a glass of water in hand listening to my waitress offer me a choice of mimosa, Bloody Mary or michelada. Hearing the great beer cocktail mentioned immediately brightened my…
The smell of brewing coffee filled the air, rich and fragrant with undertones of cocoa and nuts. The dark brown, slightly viscous liquid dripped ever so slowly through a paper filter into an oversized glass flask — a Chemex coffee maker, the likes of which I’d never seen before. It…
In a recent episode of Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover, he and famed English chef Fergus Henderson bond over a shot of something called Fernet Branca, seated at a London sidewalk café for an afternoon pick me-up. “Steadying,” Bourdain declares after shooting the dark brown, slightly ominous syrupy liquid. Curious as to the…
Two simple words possessed me to fight rush-hour traffic and patronize loathsome valet parking for a Friday happy hour in Uptown: Skittles Sangria. Perusing Yelp for a new-to-me drinking spot, I’d stumbled on the Common Table’s drink menu, and my inner alcoholic child was awakened by the promise of a…
A couple weeks ago we met Abraham Bebell, the bar manager at Oak in the Design District. At the end of the interview, I asked Abe who in the local restaurant and bar scene I should meet next. He told me about Rich Allison, bar manager at the very popular…
Giving your sweetheart a box of assorted chocolates for Valentine’s Day is a great way to say “I really don’t know all that much about you.” A fine beer, on the other hand, is a bold move all but guaranteed to impress. And if it’s not appreciated? Well, better to…
“This right here is the epitome of a hipster palace,” my boyfriend so eloquently put it. We had just stepped through the front doors of Hid In 2612, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pop-up bar located at 2612 Commerce in Deep Ellum for just four nights. The brainchild of bartenders — excuse me,…
If you are a human and you live in Dallas, chances are relatively high that you don’t give a fuck about the Super Bowl. If you do, you’re either a Pats fan with an affinity for Jameson and clams or a Coughlin apologist with pizza-flavored blood. Either way, you can…
On my first pilgrimage to Deep Ellum’s Black Swan Saloon, I walked right past the place, thinking the small, windowed room was just an extension of La Grange. There’s no sign to speak of; I had to consult my iPhone (“Siri, where the fuck am I?”) and double back to…
Lakewood Brewing Company is nipping at the heels of Peticolas Brewing Company and Deep Ellum Brewing Co. to be the third Dallas-area beer maker, but it’s not the only start-up on the way. According to its Facebook page, Reunion Brewing Company last week signed a lease for a space in…
Yesterday at the Meddlesome Moth, you couldn’t walk three feet without bumping into a brewer, beer blogger or beer-fest entrepreneur. The debut of Peticolas Brewing Company’s first commercially available product brought out an impressively dense crowd, especially for a rainy Tuesday, to try Velvet Hammer. These were some passionate, opinionated…
Tonight, Chef Roe DiLeo oversees her first beer dinner since her return to The Libertine Bar, and her creations will be paired with offerings from the Lyons, Colorado, brewery Oskar Blues — including a two-year-old Ten Fidy for fans of cellared beers. Read on for the full menu.Appropriate that the…
Beginning with a 5 p.m. tapping today at the Meddlesome Moth, the recently launched Peticolas Brewing Company is off to a strong start, or at least starting out with a strong beer. Rather than start out with a lighter, more accessible beer — not to mention one that’s easier to brew…
This week’s drinking dispatch is brought to you courtesy of my complete inability to pass up dollar drinks, particularly when said bargain drinks involve the words “gimlet” or “Collins” rather than “McCormicks” or “Bud.” While performing my morning ritual of catching up on the latest in Food Blog-Land over coffee,…
