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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.View my photography website.
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Tag Archives: cocktails
The Beagle
Though we try to get to new NYC restaurants as soon as possible, sometimes it pays to wait. The Beagle, another gastro pub in the vintage British vein, got a lot of press when it opened in the East Village earlier this year, including a review from the Times in which the restaurant was praised for offering some inventive food and cocktail pairings but reprimanded for withholding the wine and beer menu from diners who wanted to make their own choices.
Fast forward to now, when our server immediately pointed out that the wine list was on the table, where she left it for the entirety of the evening. The innovative appetizer and cocktail pairings are still on the menu, but now diners can opt for wine, beer, or a number of food options without any pairings at all. (more…)
Posted in food
Tagged bars, British food, cocktails, East Village, gastropubs, New York, restaurants, Scandinavian food, steak
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Cocktail Recipe: The Big Apple
Put away the mojito ingredients: Fall calls for a new type of cocktail. We went looking for a cocktail recipe that incorporates bourbon and apples, two favorite autumn flavors, but ended up getting creative, since none of the recipes we found involved calvados, the classic apple brandy from Normandy.
“The Big Apple” seems like an apt name for this cocktail, an apple-y spin on the Manhattan. Also like a Manhattan, it’s strong. It may be a good way to gird yourself for Thanksgiving dinner, no matter where you celebrate it. (more…)
Jala-Pina Cocktail
If there were a tequila version of rum punch, it would be the fabulous Jala-Piña cocktail at the Redhead. This restaurant may be known for chef Meg Grace’s knock-out fried chicken, but the bartenders are no slouches either. Here the pineapple juice is infused with jalapenos and mixed with silver tequila instead of rum. It seemed simple enough to make this cocktail at home, but when we first tried it, something was missing. Jalapenos, tequila, pineapple – what else?
If you are ever lacking a certain je ne sais quoi in a cocktail, chances are it’s bitters, the secret weapon of bartenders everywhere. The hint of Angostura bitters, which adds the scent of cloves and a touch of umami to a drink, is the additional connection between this tequila cocktail and rum punch. Though the Redhead infuses pineapple juice with jalapenos, if you’re making this drink on a smaller scale, it’s more practical to infuse the tequila: You can use it again for a cucumber jalapeno margarita. (more…)
Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita
One of the tastiest trends this summer has been the proliferation of spicy cocktails. Proving that spice isn’t just for Bloody Marys, a number of Mexican and Latin-American bars and restaurants have upped the pepper content in drinks. Tequila is often the conduit, infused with anything from smoky dried ancho chiles to regular old jalapenos.
Cafe El Portal in Soho is a favorite hot-day hideaway that serves up a bracingly refreshing cucumber jalapeno margarita. The pepperiness makes it especially cooling on a 90-degree-plus day: this time, if you break out in a sweat, it will be for a good reason. We recreated the recipe at home. Keep more ingredients on hand – refill requests are almost guaranteed. (more…)
Cocktail Trends: El Gin Tonic?
Cocktail trends come and cocktail trends go, and sometimes they even come back again before you even know they went. According to today’s Times, rum is on the up and up, meanwhile, it seems like just yesterday that tiki bar Waikiki Wally’s opened, then closed, in the East Village.
But you really don’t realize how ridiculous cocktail trends are until you see them at work in another culture. In Barcelona right now, the coolest possible drink to order is not something involving bitters, chartreuse, absinthe, or even rye, it’s a good ol’ gin and tonic, pronounced “GIN TOH-neek.” That’s right Mom and Dad: Your taste in drinks is big in Barcelona. (more…)
Basque Apple Cider
Most American hard ciders are too sweet to pair with food, so we were thrilled to discover this tart, dry Bereziartua cider at Vinegar Hill House. Not only is this sparkly drink a great palate cleanser, it goes well with meat, cheese and everything autumnal in between.
It’s available at Astor Wines for $9.99. Astor Wines, 399 Lafayette Street at East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003, 212-674-7500.
The Copycat Chef: Last-Minute Sangria
Some warm summer nights call out for sangria, but with the weather as fickle as it’s been, you rarely know it 12 hours in advance. Fortunately there are shortcuts to traditional sangria that will make it taste as if it’s been steeping all afternoon, even if you put it together at the 11th hour. This recipe was developed by D. on a recent evening, when all the pieces—and a secret ingredient—fell into place in record time.
The Copycat Chef: Asian Bloody Mary
This Asian spin on a Bloody Mary was inspired by Sake Bar Hagi, though it isn’t served there. As at Monkeytown in Williamsburg, an Asian Bloody Mary is the cuisine of a country that doesn’t actually exist.
On a recent night at Hagi with Joey Deckle, he asked for some shichimi pepper. This blend of chili pepper, orange peel, sesame seed and seaweed tasted like it had been made to go in a good spicy Bloody Mary. Marie Fromage suggested it should be dusted on the rim of the glass.
“I always thought they should put fish sauce in a Bloody Mary,” said Joey Deckle, which didn’t seem too far off, given the popularity of clamato juice in Bloody Marys.
So here’s a new recipe for the Asian Bloody Mary, the dangerous brain child of three food people drinking sake.
Posted in food
Tagged Asian food, Bloody Marys, cocktails, Sake Bar Hagi, the copycat chef
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Rum With Punch? The Painkiller
This past weekend, a few of us whipped up an excellent drink from the BVI. The Painkiller originates from the Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, just north of St. John. The only difficult thing about this drink is finding one of the ingredients, Coco Lopez (creme de coconut – not the same as coconut milk), but we eventually hunted it down at Gristede’s. Make a batch of these for a party, and your guests will be feeling no pain.
Preakness Drink: The Mint Tea Julep
Some people taste one of the many new iced teas filling up the cooler at Whole Foods and think, that’s good. Others try the same tea and think, that’s good, but it would be even better with alcohol.
I have an addiction to Teas’ Tea. It’s not pretty: I will spend 10 or 20 minutes looking for Teas’ Tea if it’s not sold at the store where I’m buying lunch. Finally, a company figured out that there is a demand for excellent iced tea without sugar or artificial sweeteners. And one benefit to the crazy number of new beverages hitting the market now is that there are many possibilities for new cocktails.
Teas’ Tea Mint Green tea is particularly intriguing. They layering of mint and green tea flavors is subtle, a little smoky but crisp and refreshing. As soon as I tasted it, it elicited the memory of an already familiar flavor: mint juleps.
Both tea and mint juleps are Southern standards, but adding that Zen edge of green tea seemed like it would take the mint julep to a whole new level. This Saturday, toast to Mine That Bird with an easy julep (no muddling required) that puts another twist on an already interesting racing season.
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