Month: April 2014

Strawberry Spritzer

categories: COCKTAILS

Spring is finally here and what better way to cool off and stay refreshed than with a spring spritzer cocktail.

A spritzer can be made with almost any liquor and a variety of ingredients. It’s always topped with an effervescent beverage such as, sparkling water, club soda, lemon lime soda, or seltzer water.  For this recipe I used strawberries because they’ve always reminded me of spring and I used the same red berry gin from this previous post.

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Ingredients: 

2 oz  Seagram’s Red Berry Twisted Gin

7-10 Strawberries

1/2 oz Grenadine

2 oz lemon lime soda (sprite)

Instructions: 

Muddle 5-6 strawberries in a cocktail shaker.

Add gin, grenadine, and shake well.

Pour mix over ice making sure to strain the mix and catch any loose strawberry pulp.

Add 2 oz soda,  cut additional strawberries in half and add for garnish

* Serves 1

Oyin Handmade Launch at Hilton Hotel Baltimore

categories: EVENTS

Two weeks ago  I braved the freezing rain to attend the Target launch party for Oyin Handmade natural hair care products.  The event was held at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Baltimore.  Like most hotels, the Hilton has a banquet space and catering team on site and it’s frequently used for hosting events. This was my first time attending a catered event at the Hilton and I was pleasantly surprised at the menu and set-up.

OHM3These super cute salad skewers were the first thing I saw as I approached the food display.  I’ve never seen a better way to display just the perfect amount of salad.

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The shrimp and grits display was another first for me.  Though the display looks cute and the size appropriate, it wasn’t a practical choice.  I personally like warm and creamy grits and with this presentation the grits were a little cold because they’d been sitting on the display table for a while.

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The Apple Fritters were easily my favorite because I managed to get a second and third serving.

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And for dessert…

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How cute are these food options?  I’m not sure what I prefer most, the food or the display.

 

The Sushi Place

categories: Happy Hour, RESTAURANTS

** UPDATE** This restaurant location has closed. Thanks for the memories.

Every since Townhouse put an end to my “Taco Tuesday” weekly specials (sad face),  I’ve been looking for a place to go for a good Tuesday night happy hour… and I think I’ve found it. Tuesday night I visited The Sushi Place (7 E. Lexington St) in downtown Baltimore for their 1/2 price Sushi Tuesday specials.  The Sushi Place has other locations in Baltimore, but the one on Lexington Street is their newest location and has been there for about two months.

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I must admit Tuesday was not my first visit to The Sushi Place.  I’d gone there for the first time on Friday night around 11:00 pm, just in time to order before the kitchen and bar closes at midnight.  I ordered a Raven’s Sangria and naturally I expected it to be purple, but it wasn’t, nonetheless it was delicious.  Because of time constraints I didn’t have much time to look over the menu, and I ordered the Spicy Tuna Poppers because they were the first thing I’d glanced over that looked interested.

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The Spicy Tuna Poppers were out of this world!  Cooked Tuna mixed with cream cheese stuffed into a half jalapeno pepper,  tempura fried, and topped with a tri-color sauce…more about the sauces later.  I wasn’t sure if I was hungry or if they were really that good, but my second visit on Tuesday confirmed they were really that good.

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In addition to ordering the Spicy Tuna Poppers again, I also ordered the “Feeling Crabby,” which is spicy crab and mozzarella on a quarter cut avocado drizzled with wasabi mayo.  The ingredients sound great together and they were, but the execution could have been better.  The spicy crab and cheese mix wasn’t warm, it was room temperature, and I think it should have been warmer especially on top of the avocado.

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I also ordered fried Chicken Gyoza, which can be ordered steamed or fried.   Gyoza is a fancy name for dumpling or pot sticker.  And I ordered Edamame, not much to be said about it as all Edamame taste the same, but my bartender suggested I get the spicy rub on top in addition to the salt and it did give it a different kick.  It’s funny how I went on 1/2 price sushi night, but didn’t order any authentic sushi *shrugs* oh well …maybe next time.   The Sushi Place uses a three sauces with their food – Ginger Sauce, Eel Sauce, and Wasabi Mayo.  Together these sauces create a signature or house sauce that can probably be put on anything and make it taste great.

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Bushido Roll

What I like most about The Sushi Place is the chill vibe.  The lighting is dim, the furniture is black  and they also play music throughout the restaurant, a good selection of hits…think Chris Brown or Usher station on Pandora.

Tuesday nights also offer Happy Hour drink specials to go along with the 1/2 price sushi.

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