Month: November 2015

Military Mule: A Veterans Day Cocktail

categories: COCKTAILS

Today is Veterans Day in the United States, a day for all Americans to salute and support our Veterans.   I am an celebrating this Veterans Day  with a refreshing Military Mule.   I came up with a  name for this cocktail a few months ago when I bartended an event for a United States Veteran.  I like to come up with names for my signature cocktails because it makes bartending fun and festive.

Military Mule

There are different variations of the “Mule” cocktail.  There is the Moscow Mule, Irish Mule, Kentucky Mule and the list goes on.  You can add any liquor you like but what makes it a “mule” is the Ginger Beer.  The Military Mule I created is a Kamikaze Cocktail  (Vodka, Triple Sec and  Lime Juice) topped with Ginger Beer.   The Kamikaze shot I chose for obvious military reference reasons and I added the ginger beer because ginger beer makes everything taste better .

Ingredients: 

2 oz  Vodka

1 oz. Triple Sec

Juice from a half lime

Ginger Beer

Instructions: 

Pour Vodka, Triple Sec and Lime Juice  into a cocktail shaker.

Shake well

Pour mix serve over ice

Add Ginger Beer

 

Currently Craving: B & O American Brasserie Grilled Salmon Cobb Salad

categories: RESTAURANTS

I’m not a healthy food loving person.  The food I tend to like is greasy, fattening and bad for your health (bacon lovers unite!).   But I do love a good salad on any given day of the week. I know I know… not all salads are healthy,  but with all the veggie variations I like to think they are.

Salmon Salad

One of the best salads I’ve had recently was the Grilled Salmon Cobb Salad from B&O American Brasserie (2 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD).  The salad is only available during lunch hours, however I went once after 5:00 pm and asked for the salad and they made it happen.  It took a little longer because after lunch they swap the lunch menu items for the dinner menu items, but it was worth the wait.  I’ve been there for lunch a few times and each time the salad was phenomenal. The ingredients are fresh and the salmon is cooked to perfection – golden and moist with a flaky crust.  The salmon is seared first and then put in the oven to finished the crisp outer layer and seal in all the juices.

The other ingredient that makes the salad delicious is the Green Goddess Dressing.  I’ve seen this dressing just recently in the dressing aisle at the supermarket but I’ve never purchased it.  The dressing is mayonnaise based with sour cream, anchovies, garlic, chives, parsley, lemon and pepper.  There are other variations of the recipe and other add different seasonings to it but the aforementioned ingredients are the basis of the dressing.

If you are looking for a little adventure in your salads, try this Green Goddess Dressing Recipe I found on SimplyRecipes.com.

 

Hollywood Diner Food Truck Festival

categories: EVENTS

The Hollywood Diner (400 E Saratoga St) in Baltimore is getting the much-needed reboot it deserves.  The Diner became famous when it was featured in the 1982 Barry Levinson movie Diner.   This week the famous diner’s backlot was used to kick-start a fundraising campaign to make it a permanent home for the Baltimore City food truck movement.

Ks

The Kickstarter event was held on Wednesday evening and welcomed a total of 10 food trucks. The Hollywood Diner was transformed into a bar area with indoor seating.

KS2

Of course I went inside the diner to check out the libation selection first. I ordered the Rum Punch and the Rummy Hot Cider.  The Rummy Hot Cider was my favorite.  It’s really hard to get the consistency and taste of a smooth hot cider but the mixologist at the Hollywood Diner nailed it.

While I was inside enjoying my cocktails. I noticed a man eating a massive baked potato.  I was instantly excited because I’d heard there was a new potato truck in town, but I hadn’t tried it yet.  I immediately went outside to find the truck.  As I approached the truck I noticed a really cute kid and a friendly face gesturing for me to come over to the truck.  he friendly face turned out to be the owner and he was helpful and patient with me as I asked him questions about the different potato options.

KS1

Craving Potato Factory offered five potatoes to choose from: The Dirty Bird, Orioles Old Bay Crab, Ravenstown Steak, Chicken Bacon Ranch and the Craving Classic & Simple.   I ordered the Chicken Bacon Ranch and my friend ordered the Orioles Old Bay Crab.

KS3
Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato

Both potatoes were delicious and too large for us to finish (I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day).  My chicken bacon ranch was topped with bacon, grilled chicken, three cheese blend, chives and a sour cream ranch sauce. My only suggestion would have been to add more ranch sour cream, but there was an addition fee for more.

KS4
Orioles Old Bay Crab Potato

The Orioles Old Bay Crab was topped with Crab meat and mozzarella cheese…lots of cheese as you can see from the photo above.

Make sure you visit Craving Potato Factory next time you are at a food truck festival in Baltimore or keep up with them here.  If you love food trucks in Baltimore like I do and you want to see them get a permanent home, view the video below and donate to the kickstarter campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dinerbacklot/hollywood-diner-food-truck-park?ref=video

 

An Unexpected History: The Story of Hennessy and African Americans

categories: EVENTS

A few weeks ago I was invited to a movie screening at the Charles Theatre in Baltimore (1711 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201).  The screening was a part of the Baltimore International Black Film Festival (BIBFF).  The movie was titled An Unexpected History: The Story of Hennessy and African Americans.

Hen

The short film (59 minutes) was a documentary-style film that told the story of  African American involvement in the rise of Hennessy.  It followed the lives of two African American Brand Ambassadors and the strides they made to break the stereotype of  African Americans drinking luxury liquor brands.  It was once thought that marketing liquor to African Americans would hurt a brand because it would no longer be considered a luxury.  Influential figures such as Booker T. Washington, Josephine Baker and Marvin Gaye were among the first to endorse the liquor brand, making it more acceptable for African American consumption.  Fast forward to present day, Hennessy now has celebrity endorsements from rapper Nas and singer Erykah Badu.

The film was introduced by Former VP of Multicultural Relations Noel Hankin and following the screening guests enjoyed a panel discussion with narrative from the film’s producer Llewellyn Smith and Noel.

After the panel discussion guests were escorted to the neighboring restaurant for hor d’oeuvres and complimentary Hennessy cocktails.

Hen1

Hen4

 

 

Hen3

Of course I sampled them all and my favorite was The Royal Anniversaire – Hennessy, Gran Marnier, Lemon Juice and champagne.  I never thought about mixing Hennessy with champagne, but it was a great combination.

If you love history, liquor and the history of liquor… you will love this movie.

 

Pumpkin Cider Cocktail

categories: COCKTAILS

Contrary to popular belief the end of October is not the official end of Pumpkin season. Pumpkins can flourish through the months of November and December.  Coffee houses still sell their pumpkin spice lattes and your granny will still make her pumpkin pie.  So put all those pumpkin products to use this month!  Last month I noticed Pumpkin Cider while shopping in Aldi Supermarket.  I’m a fan of apple cider, but I have never sampled pumpkin cider.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, I purchased the Natures Nectar Sparkling Spiced Pumpkin Cider and created a fall pumpkin cocktail.  The pumpkin cider tastes like it sounds, it had the bitter taste and texture of an apple cider but with a pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Cider

Ingredients: 

2 oz Vanilla Vodka

2 oz Natures Nectar Sparkling Spiced Pumpkin Cider

Club Soda

Instructions: 

Pour vodka and cider  into a cocktail shaker.

Shake well

Pour mix serve over ice

Add splash of club soda

Have you ever tried Pumpkin Cider?  What did you mix it with?

Brunch Review: The Point in Fells

categories: RESTAURANTS

My first visit to The Point in Fells (1738 Thames Street Fells Point, MD 21231) was on Christmas Eve 2014 and I must say I had a jolly good time.  It was the Wednesday night dance party and the DJ played hit after hit.  There were drink specials and the place was packed, so packed that the party seemed to trickle out onto the sidewalk.

PAF1

My next visit to The Point in Fells was for Sunday brunch.  A much different atmosphere than the holiday party. There was no DJ or music, but the place was still packed with football fans watching the game. The point has food and drink specials for everyday of the week and Sunday Brunch seems to be a very popular day.

PAF

The restaurant/bar has two-level seating and additional outdoor seating.  I arrived there around 1:30 pm and there was a 30 minute wait because the upstairs area was closed for a private party.  The Sunday brunch runs from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.   Our table wasn’t available until 2:10 pm and the first thing I ordered was the bottomless mimosas, but I was disappointed when the waitress advised me that the bottomless option stops at 2:00 pm… womp womp.  Another strike out on the bottomless.

My brunch selection was the Happy Crab – a crab cake and chicken sausage sandwich with a sunny side up egg, spinach and  cheddar cheese on a pretzel bun. I’m always a fan of crab cake but I was interested to see how it pairs with chicken sausage.

PAF7

PAF4

It paired pretty well.  The chicken sausage had a little spicy kick that overpowered the crabcake, but still a good combo.

My friend ordered the Chicken and Waffles. It was your basic waffle with a fried chicken breast.  The chicken breast was really big and she couldn’t finish it all, so of course I helped her.  Come to think of it my sandwich was pretty big also. The brunch menu is great for sharing.

PAF5

As if our shareable meals weren’t enough, we also ordered dessert.

Our first choice was a bread pudding with a Gran Marnier Liqueur caramel sauce.  It took a while for the dessert to come out and the caramel sauce was hard and had a toffee-like texture which was unexpected because we were expecting a liquid caramel topping.

PAF3

The second dessert we ordered was an apple crisp with warm apples, ice cream and strawberry topping.  It was tastier than the first option.

PAF2

Overall the brunch at The Point in Fells was decent. It was a family-friendly dining experience with friendly and knowledgeable staff.  I would like to visit again preferably on their Thursday Burger Night or All Day Happy Hour Friday Night.

Have you ever been to The Point in Fells?  Tell me about your experience.

%d bloggers like this: