Month: February 2016

Margarita Standoff at Quarter & Glory

categories: COCKTAILS, EVENTS, Liquor Reviews

Hail to the alcohol holiday! National Margarita Day was Monday, February 22nd and I had a valid excuse to wet my whistle with a variety of margaritas. I ventured to Washington DC’s restaurant Quarter+Glory ( 2017 14th St NW) to drink and judge the Margarita Standoff Competition hosted by MIAgency and US Bartender’s Guild DC.

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Six bartenders were paired against each other in a competition-style setting.  They all had to reach into a bowl and choose blindly a slip of paper that would decide if they use Tequila or Mezcal for the competition. Ironically from left to right, the first three bartenders choose Tequila and the remaining three chose Mezcal.  They then had to run to the end of the bar and choose what items they would use in their margarita.

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There was a variety of ingredients to choose from such as fruits, vegetables, spices, juices and syrups. The competitors then had 30 minutes to make a large batch of their competition-worthy margarita.  The preparation portion of the competition was tense.  Each bartender was passionately focused on making their margarita.  The finished margaritas were complete with cool names such as God Never Dies, Sinners Delight, Desperate Cowboy, Phil Promised Me Spring, Rico Tico Tavi, and The Oopsy Daisy.

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“God Never Dies” bartender burning rosemary
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“Sinner’s Delight” bartender adding garnish and finishing touches

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Judges and guests were given one hour to sample a glass of each margarita.  We were also given ballots to vote for Best Tasting, Best Garnish and Best Name.

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Photo Courtesy of MIAgency

My personal choices were God Never Dies for Best Tasting as well as Best Name and Sinners Delight for Best Garnish. I also liked Phil Promised Me Spring because the Mezcal gave it a smokey taste and the bartender also used blood oranges the sweet taste balanced it out.

After all votes were tallied,  the winners were…

Best Tasting and Best Overall — God Never Dies

Best Garnish — Phil Promised Me Spring

Best Name — I honestly don’t remember who won this category, I did have 6+ margaritas after all

God Never Dies recipe via MIAgency

1.5 oz @vidatequila blanco, 1 oz Grapefruit Juice,  1/2 oz Lemon Juice,  1/2 oz Cointreau, and 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Method: Add above ingredients to a shaker tin. Muddle slice of fresh ginger, Rosemary spring and jalapeño slice (with seeds) inside shaker tin with liquid ingredients. Fill shaker with ice and shaker vigorously for 10-13 seconds. Pour and double strain over fresh ice garnish : blood orange slice stuffed with a rosemary spring

Job well done to MIAgency and US Bartender’s Guild DC for the first #MargaritaStandoff! The event was organized and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.

 

 

 

 

 

Balvenie Whiskey Tasting

categories: COCKTAILS, EVENTS, Liquor Reviews

I started my libatious life drinking vodka and rum only, mainly because that’s what all the other 18-year old …ahem 21-year-old young women were drinking.   As I grew older and started bartending, I began an appreciation for dark liquors such as whiskey and cognac.  All of my friends know my favorite at the moment is Crown Royal Apple.  Last week a friend invited me to a Balvenie Whiskey Tasting at the the American Craft Council Show. I’d never heard of Balvenie Whiskey, but I learned a lot from the 45-minute tasting.

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We arrived at the craft show around 6:15 pm. and went directly to the tasting booth.  There were four tastings that day and the last one was 7:00-7:45 pm.  While waiting for the last tasting, one of the hosts offered us a pre-tasting of two Balvenie brands.

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My first impression of Balvenie Whiskey was that it was smooth but bold with lots of flavor. The tasting was set-up in a booth with two long tables, ten people at each table. Around the walls of the booth were photos of Balvenie distillery employees. Our tasting host explained the history behind each employee and their contribution to the Balvenie Whiskey brand.

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Belvenie is a hand-crafted single malt whiskey that originated in Dufftown, Scotland.  It’s one of the only distilleries in Scotland that still grow their own barley and make their copper stills.  They also employ Malt Masters to oversee the maturing process and maintain the malting floor – one of a handful still active in Scotland. Belvenie has participated in craft shows around the world because they are a long-standing company that takes pride in continuing the tradition of making hand-crafted whiskey.

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At each seat was a tray with four glasses of whiskey and a glass of water. For the tasting we sampled the Double Wood aged 12 years,  Caribbean Cask aged 14 years, Double Wood aged 17 years and Portwood aged 21 years.

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The tasting host walked us through each sample explaining the unique flavors.  He explained to us how to properly smell and taste whiskey.  He instructed us to hold the whiskey glass 1 inch from our nose and pretend the rim is a clock. We moved it horizontal from 9 to 3 and vertical from 12 to 6.  He pointed out the differences in the notes we smelled at each point.

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The whiskey tray was also resourceful and described the notes that we were smelling and tasting. He also explained that some people like to add a little water to their whiskey to open up the flavor.

Balvenie Whiskey has a total of 14 whiskey varieties and is priced at $50.00 – $250.00 US Dollars.

Have you tried Balvenie Whiskey?  Which one is your favorite?

Be sure to follow my foodie adventures at Instagram.com/arlisappetite

Brunch at Barcocina

categories: RESTAURANTS

Brunch is hands down my favorite meal of the day. If you invite me to brunch, chances are I’ll say “Yes” every single time.  I especially love restaurant menus that experiment with flavors and cultures from around the world. Recently I visited Barcocina (1629 Thames Street, Fells Point), a Mexican-inspired restaurant with a unique food sharing concept.

On this particular Sunday, my best friend and I decided to sit outside and enjoy the weather. Barcocina is in a prime location in Fells Point. It’s on the water with views of the harbor, tourists and all the weekend aquatic activities.  Looking over the menu I noticed the different options for the Mexican-inspired items. There were six guacamole options, three salsa options and eight taco options. Some were very unique because I would never think to mix the ingredients.  There was an “Eggs and Bacon” guacamole, and a “Reuben” taco that caught my eye, but I had a taste for the traditional American breakfast items.  The traditional breakfast items also had a Mexican-inspired flair We ordered the Breakfast Quesadillas, Huevos Rancheros, Butternut Squash Enchiladas and the Maple Pancake Sliders.

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Breakfast Quesadillas
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Huevos Rancheros
Maple Sausage Pancake Sliders

 

Butternut Squash Enchilada

 

The breakfast quesadillas were delicious.  They were made with smoked cheddar eggs and crumbled pepper bacon and topped with sweet corn salsa and a sour cream drizzle.  The huevos rancheros was good, my best friend liked them but my only suggestion would be to add more of the citrus sour cream. My favorite were the Maple Sausage Pancake Sliders, it was prepared like a McDonald’s McGriddle but better. The Butternut Squash Enchilada was flavorful with fresh ingredients.   We also ordered Jalapeno Skillet Cornbread and the Skillet Potatoes.

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The cornbread was excellent!!! That was the first time I’d tasted spicy cornbread.  I’m used to my cornbread being savory and sweet, but I liked the spicy kick.  We devoured that skillet and wished it was a little larger because we both wanted more.

Barcocina’s Brunch also offers $10.00 Bottomless Mimosas and $12.00 Bottomless Bloody Maria’s or Bloody Mary’s. If you are looking for a chill outdoor or indoor dining experience, visit Barcocina…you won’t be disappointed.

And always follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on social media …  

  

 

 

Come with me on a Rocket To Venus

categories: RESTAURANTS

Last week, my work friends and I decided to take a rocket to Venus.

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Well not an actual rocket, but we visited the bar/restaurant  Rocket To Venus (3360 Chestnut Ave) in Hampden for a few Friday night cocktails.

This was my first visit to Rocket To Venus so I didn’t know what to expect.  I pulled up to a grey and black corner building with limited parking. The parking wasn’t an issue, because most of the places I visit in Hampden are in residential neighborhoods, so I was already prepared to walk. Once inside I concluded that Rocket To Venus is a neighborhood bar with a rocket-themed interior.

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There are about six u-shaped large booths along the right wall and on the left side of the restaurant is open-table seating with about six tables and a bar with high-top seating. The windows in each booth are small and round resembling that of a rocket ship window.  The ceiling above the open seating area has circle-shaped cones that look like the bottom of rocket or space shuttle.  Some of the windows in the booths have terrariums on display and for sale.

We got there around 5:00 pm and grabbed the booth closest to the bar. I went up to the bar to ask about the happy hour specials.  The bartender advised me that “call drinks” were $5.00.  I ordered a whiskey cranberry with a splash of apple pucker and my two friends ordered wine.

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A waiter come over to our table and gave us two menus, a food menu and a cocktail menu. The food menu had daily specials on the left side and the regular/winter menu on the right. I was a little disappointed that the rocket theme didn’t extend to the menu, there were no rocket or space themed items.  I ordered the clam chowder from the specials menu.  It was cold outside and I wanted something to warm me up. I was a little hesitant because everyone doesn’t know how to make good clam chowder.

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Seasonal Clam Chowder

I was pleasantly surprised with my clam chowder order.  It was hearty and full of clam, potatoes, celery, spices and arugula. I dare to say it was one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

We also ordered two appetizers for the table, the Vegan Spring Rolls and the Pierogies.

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Vegan Spring Rolls
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Pierogies

The spring rolls were crispy and full of rice noodles, cabbage, tofu and peanuts.  They were actually pretty big for an order of two. The pierogies were pan-fried and filled with sauerkraut, mushrooms, chives and topped with caramelized onions and served with a horseradish sour cream. I especially liked the pierogies because it was my first time tasting them.  I thought it would be like a dumpling but it was a little different – I googled the difference.

The food at Rocket To Venus was delicious, but the service wasn’t that great.

 

Lunch at Frazier’s On The Avenue

categories: RESTAURANTS

Frazier’s On The Avenue has been a staple in Hampden since 1939.  Originally located on 33rd Street and Elm Ave (hence the name …On The Avenue), it is now located at 916 W. 36th Street.

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I recently visited Frazier’s with three co-workers and my empty stomach.  This was my first time at the restaurant/bar so I asked my lunch companions for suggestions.  My co-worker Mark was very excited about ordering the tater tots.

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Loaded Tots

Apparently the Tater Tots are a big deal because they have their own section on the menu. With six varieties to choose from – chili, crab, loaded, pizza, plain and hangover hash, Mark ordered the loaded tots with nacho cheese and bacon. The tots came with sides of  chipotle ketchup and sriracha ranch.  I’m a serious cheese lover, but I’m not a fan of nacho or cheese whiz. I tasted one tot with the sriracha ranch and it tasty.  I think the dipping sauce masked my dislike for nacho cheese.  Mark on the other hand loved them and scarfed them down.  If nacho cheese is your thing, I think you will like the tots.

I ordered a cup of Maryland Crab Soup as my appetizer.

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Maryland Crab Soup

The soup was seasoned well with lots of vegetables, but not a lot of crab meat.  That’s the problem I always find with crab soups, restaurants don’t add enough meat.

One of my co-workers suggested the shrimp salad sandwich, so I ordered that.

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The shrimp were a nice size and they were plentiful.  The amount of shrimp in my sandwich definitely made up for the lack of crab meat in my soup.

Another co-worker ordered the Turkey Club Sandwich and that was huge also with lots of meat.

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My lunch companions also suggested that I order the fries well done.  They said the fries are fresh-cut and are sometimes not cooked properly. The fries weren’t a favorite, they were a little wilted and not crispy like fries should be.  This was to be expected because I was pre-warned.

I think Frazier’s On The Avenue is a cute lunch restaurant if you’re looking to grab a good sandwich or burger.

 

A Valentine’s Weekend Round-Up: Best Events in Baltimore

categories: Holidays, RESTAURANTS

It’s that time of year again – love is in the air and singles are in despair.   Do you already have plans?  What are you waiting for?  I’ve put together a list of happenings in Baltimore for the cutest couples, the sexy singles and all my girls celebrating “Galentine’s Day”. Whatever side of the spectrum you’re on, there is something for everyone in Baltimore to enjoy this Valentine’s Day.

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Brio Tuscan Grille – $23.50 Lobster Tail or Sea Scallops, $33.95 Surf and Turf.  All options include soup or salad.

GrillFire – Thursday 2/11 – Saturday 2/13.  $85.00 Prix Fixe dinner for Two includes 2 starters, one entrée sized to share and a double chocolate mousse.

Lebanese Taverna – $45 Three-Course Dinner/$20 Wine Pairing

Jack Binion’s Steak in Horseshoe Casino – $95.00 per couple Three-Course Menu

Wine Market Bistro – $65.00 Four-Course Prix Fixe Dinner

Red Maple – $80 per couple Three-Course Dinner includes one glass of wine or champagne per person.

Linganore Wine Cellars – Days of Wine and Roses: Special Romance Package. $35 Per Couple Wines and Chocolate Pairings.  February 12-15.

Warehouse 518 – The Anti-Valentine’s Day Party on Friday, February 12.  Specialty  Cocktail List, and music  start at 9 pm. Bring your bitter heart and maybe a friend, platonic or romantic.

Baltimore Social – $10 in advance, $15.00 day of event. Valentine’s Day Bar Crawl

Johnny Sanchez in Horseshoe Casino – Valentine’s Day Speed Dating $15 Early Bird, $20 General Admission,   $25 At the Door. Mix and Mingle with a complimentary cocktail, extended happy hour specials and prize giveaways.

Baltimore Paint Party – Prices and Locations Vary

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