yarm's Profile
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It is a wonderful product but it is pricy even if you can find it in a store (I think the Boston Shaker had it for $14 for a small bottle); otherwise, you need to add shipping on top of that. My recommendation for people making it at home is to scale it down since the syrup from a full pineapple can last you for a rather long time. |
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Silvertone's food surprised me. I'd call their veggie burger one of my top 3 favorites in town. It's a solid, unpretentious establishment that is a gem in that area. Stoddard's is my favorite beer establishment (I do dig their cocktails too) in that area, and the bar manager has worked hard to not only get rare and unusual kegs for their 30 tap lines, but brings in more brewers for events than any other place in the area. I have heard that the food at JM Curley is worth checking out, but I have been remiss. |
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If you want more flavor, also consider juicing some of the chunks. There are purists who say no, others that insist on it, and a scant few who just claim that fresh pineapple juice + sugar is the best (i.e.: no pineapple chunk + sugar syrup infusion). |
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the nature of flavored vodkas? Here in Boston, some restaurants have cordial licenses which is somewhere between beer&wine and full liquor (I won't get into the politics, difficulties, and histories of our city's laws right now). So while these restaurants can't serve vodka, they can serve flavored vodka, and some do it elegantly out of necessity. True, most of these places aren't using cupcake-flavored, but the class as a whole has a role to play. And even with my favorite flavored vodka, namely gin, the cordial places resort to Old Tom Gin since the sugar content puts it over the edge. |
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The OXO measuring cups are great. The 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 mL) is probably too small for your needs (perfect for many cocktail uses though), but they do sell a 1 cup (8 oz/240 mL) size as well as bigger. Pours great. If you're math savvy, converting mL to oz isn't too bad when you realize that it's 30 mL to 1 oz. Also tsp and Tbsp are 5 and 15 mL or 1/6 and 1/2 oz, respectively. Once you train yourself to do it, it becomes quick and can flip flop easily. The other option is to have two - one in oz and one in mL. |
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Is taking a bartending course worth the money? True. The actual skill set to be a good bartender is perhaps 80% unrelated to making drinks. Hiring from within is an easy way to know if a person is reliable, trustworthy with cash and/or large amounts of booze, efficient, hardworker, team player, trainable, good with customers -- both great regulars and difficult ones, etc. Some bar managers prefer coffee baristas since there's a similar mindset and work flow whereas others prefer barbacks and I know of one place that takes a hand-selected server off the floor and trains them. Definitely having restaurant experience will help if you haven't been a barback and just want to jump in as a bartender. Although bartending with a caterer requires less of that aspect. |
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Is taking a bartending course worth the money? One friend said that the $500 for his bartending course got him into a job board where he found him a barback position. There, they taught him and brought him up and trained him to be a bartender. Then again, to find similar bar back positions, talking to bar managers or looking on Craigslist food & beverage jobs section is just as good. Others have had good success going from bartending course to working banquet/catering type of gigs. Bartending courses often get you TIPS certified, although most restaurants will do that for you, and I did mine through my friend's restaurant -- I think it was $30 for the course, taking the test, and then getting a certification card that's good for several years. Hopping from bartender past barback isn't the best route. Knowing the work flow of a bar, listening to how the staff interact with customers, etc. is good to learn before you have to learn everything, deal with customers, the POS machine, etc. One place here in Boston, Drink in Fort Point, starts everyone as a barback -- even if they were a bartender or bar manager elsewhere; the more experienced you are, the quicker they promote you to trainee bartender and then full bartender. But everyone has to know how to prepare fresh juices and syrups for service, how to do glassware, how to run food, etc. |
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OMG- Eat at Jumbo's in Somerville, very vegan friendly!!! The Kendall Square Friendly Toast has the same menu. Not too many vegan dinner options though (but you can order the breakfast menu all day long). For vegan casual, Veggie Galaxy is my personal favorite and everything is vegetarian and many things are vegan. They have housemade veggie bacon and sausage (soy chorizo), and their 2 styles of housemade veggie burgers are some of the best in the city. |
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That weedy restaurant near Fresh Pond Circle This came up on the Davis Square LiveJournal community back in the day. Here's a quote from that 2007 thread: "The Garden Room is part of Cabot Farms Catering, which was operated until at least 7-8 years ago as a private function space, though to be sure the glory days of regular use were well in the past. Basically it is just a catering hall with two sides. Inside it is most definitely vintage 60's. In the 80's they used it as a dance club called "On Broadway At Cabot Farms" but as I recall it didn't fare all that well. That was when they replaced the awnings out front (one of which has completely blown away by now). Many youth dances were held there until the late 60's when the rock/drug crowd came in and there were a few incidents of trouble so they stopped having them. After that it was pretty much weddings and such until the 80's. I agree that the outside (and inside) decor is such a throwback that it would be very cool if it could be retained should something ever move in there (and I like the neon sign too... the non-broken side was occasionally lit as late as the 90's). I have always thought it could be a cool "B-Side Lounge" kind of place. There are a few impediments aside from any ownership disputes that I see. One is the almost total lack of parking in the area for anything like a dance or live music club - I personally don't care, but there are all sorts of zoning requirements for restaurants, etc. Then there is the fact that I am sure it needs things like safety updates, sprinklers, etc. And of course it is right next to bunch of private residences so the neighbors could certainly put a wrench into any plans to revive it into something that might draw a crowd. You are certainly not alone in thinking it is a cool building, though. It is like a time capsule." |
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Vietnamese Cuisine Cocktail Pairing Tequila and mezcal go well with spicy Asian food. Something simple like a Paloma or a classic Margarita would work. Green Chartreuse drinks like the Last Word too. And your suggest of rum drinks is solid as well. |
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Am I *really* THAT out-of-touch? Does anyone drink this? "I was expecting the bottle to be shaped like a...." Very true if it were tequila... |
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Frozen Pork Dumplings From Wang's- Still a Lifesaver We go for regular food quite frequently (we also live not too far away). Rather consistent. We have also bought their frozen dumplings too. |
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Best veggie burgers in Boston? Have to add to my first list of 3: |
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The best veggie burger in the hub of the universe-Boston? This is a thread from December: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/882485 |
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Scotch Negronis do exist in the literature although I cannot recall that I have had one (I have had Scotch-Campari drinks though). Also, the Negroni might be borderline too sweet for you, but it is borderline not sweet enough to cover the bitterness of Campari for lots of people. The biggest sin in serving a Negroni is to serve it on the rocks for as the ice melts, everything dilutes. The sweetness decays linearly on the tongue, but the bitterness does not, so adding extra water to a bitter drink is only going to make things worse. |
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It bothers me that they are charging what start-up microdistilleries would charge so that they can stay afloat as their other products age in the rickhouse. Except, they are doing it on a macroscale and it's not costing double what their whiskey aged for 4 years or so costs. |
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Harvest Coop in Central Square, Cambridge? |
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The original "whiskey Negroni" recipe was the Boulevardier made with Bourbon and published in 1927. The rye Negroni, created 80 years later by Dominic Venegas, is the one more often served these days though. My guess is that the peppery spice and punch of the rye complements the Campari a bit better than the sweeter, smoother Bourbon. Also, rye tastes better with sweet vermouth in a Manhattan than Bourbon, so perhaps factor that in. |
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Also Drink-alum California Gold is involved with the bar program! Didn't see a cocktail menu (just wine and food) online, but it sounds like there's one to check out. |
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Any review for Szechuan Garden in woburn? We go there to sit at Ran Duan's bar for his drinks and his family's food. He's rather creative behind the stick, and the food has been solid each time. Definitely worth the trip to Woburn for us. |
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April 2013 Openings and Closings http://www.tacopartytruck.com/ |
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RIP Cocktail Nerd. Gabe didn't keep track of his domain renewals and an e-cig vendor swooped in and stole it on him. |
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I really enjoy it and would go more often if JP wasn't such a hike. Veggie and pescatarian friendly. Always properly cooked. Good beer selection. I've heard good things about their brunches, but haven't made it out. Did try their vegan Wednesday night fixed price menu and they did an excellent job with that. |
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Estragon does a good job with a simple presentation. The best we've had was Journeyman who did a dish on their tasting menu called "Asparagus 5 Ways" although it doesn't seem to be on their menu right now (you can check to see the menu of the day on their website). |
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Also, I don't think he was at ESKD all that long before he went to Mead Hall prior to Blue Dragon which might be why you missed him Slim. Never got to visit him at MH, but he was a good bartender at ESKD (I sat at his bar over the summer). |
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Best brands and ingredients for spirit infusions You will never lose the funkiness of Wray & Nephew (it's a good funky, but not for every drink). For rum, I opt for a less flavorful one like Bacardi 151. |
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craigie on main for one person -- a la carte or tasting menu? Even if the bar is full, the wait isn't usually more than 20-30 minutes. Plus, as a single guests, there were times that I could just waltz right up to the bar on a Friday or Saturday night and fill in the space left due to a party of 3. |
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For some reason, I had in my mind that it was going to be a brew pub as well (probably one of the early press releases), not just a store front and brewery. |
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No opinions on Blue Dragon yet? Also, I can't wait until Trillium opens their brew pub -- I had their farmhouse ale at Vee Vee last night, and it was really good. |
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craigie on main for one person -- a la carte or tasting menu? If you're worried about not getting good service, sit at the bar. They generally have two bartenders these days for a 12-15 seat bar, and this is how we did the chef's whim 2 weeks ago. Also eating at the bar is one of the least awkward ways for solo diners to enjoy their meal. |
