Life After Tales of the Cocktail

Just add gin and Campari...

My friend Lee saddles up to my bar on the last day of Tales.

"Abigail, can you make a Negroni?"

"Is this a joke?", I snap.

"I have really been enjoying them lately and I though maybe you would know how to make one."

"Come here and let me kiss you, you wonderful beautiful man!"

Yes, of course I can make a Negroni.  And when a riverboat captain comes into my bar on the last day of Tales to ask if I can make one because he has recently discovered that he likes them, I am reminded why I learned to make Negronis.  And Boulivardiers and Americanos and all those other cocktails.  We have started a movement.  And while it is fun to celebrate ourselves and nerd out about ice and pat our selves on the back with awards, I am glad I have friends like Lee who remind me why I am really doing this.. who I am reaching out to and how important those people are the other 361 days it is not "Tales".

Thank you Lee.  I hope you enjoyed your Negronis and come back for more.

Tales of the Cocktail

I am very excited for Tales of the Cocktail this year as I finally got back on track to actually take advantage of the educational seminars that are my favorite part of this cocktail extravaganza.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the parties and seeing my friends from all over the world.  But now that I actually live here in New Orleans, I would encourage those friends to come back when it is not Tales so we can ran rampant all over the amazing city.

This year I will be Bar Smarts certified in one series of seminars and will learn more about my friend St John's idol, Charles H. Baker.

This year I am also hosting my first Spirited dinner.  This really is a dream come true.  During my first visit to Tales, I was asked to go to Bayona for their Tequila dinner by the lovely Heidi and Junior Merino.  I remember thinking how lucky I would be if I got to play host and pair cocktails with delicious food.  That is happening this Thursday Night at SoBou!  Well, actually that happened every night at SoBou.

Beyond the dinner, I also get to throw an awesome vintage Latin Themed 1940's party with my dear friend Lynnette!  Did I mention Chefs Table at Commander's Palace with a best gal pal from High School?  Its all just falling into place so nicely and I am so excited for what will be a whirlwind birthday week.  40 is the new...well, Happiness!  

Now...to find a man.

Luke...man of my bivalve filled dreams

Ok, so maybe there is no actual Luke, but John Best's casual CBD cafe is my oasis in this mad Tales of the Cocktail storm. I have already been here 3 times and this is my third day. First it was a crabmeat and beet salad with a glass of Luke's own amber beer. It was the first mean I was able to keep down in 24 hours and it was a good one. I have become a terrible flyer, getting airsick.  What a drag.

Today its fried oyster salad and a few dozen gulf oysters. The are 50 cents each from 3-6...what a deal! I am washing them down with a wee glass of white wine. Too many cocktails in my system!

My Favorite Moment at Tales

Since I have a backlog of memories form this past trip to New Orleans, and since I could not sleep this morning for dreaming of going back, I thought I should start with the greatest moment at Tales of the Cocktail this year. It wasn't some fancy lavish party. It wasn't some amazing cocktail or some award or recognition. It was this free pig and punch party we had in Washington Square Park in my beloved Marigny.

A few boys in the industry came early this year to work with a group called Hands On New Orleans, a non-profit group dedicated to transforming communities in the the greater NOLA area through volunteerism and leadership. The group sent the boys to help fix up a new charter school. Devastated by the state of the arts and music program of the school, they decided to host a benefit to raise money. Booze, food, a great band and time were donated to throw this party for the community and the sale of t-shirts generated some much needed funds for the Fredrick Douglas Charter School of New Orleans.

I rode my bike over to the park at the start of the event. I chatted with Jill DeGroff (whom I always meet at such magical moments) and plopped myself down under a palmetto tree with pig, cold Abita and some Zapps chips. I listened to the cicadas. I danced with babies to the band. I napped on the grass while puppies sniffed my hair. This was the one event I attended where my body and mind actually stopped its hectic pace. I wasn't thinking of anything I might be missing, or where I had to be next. I just stopped, smiled and enjoyed this wonderful city and the people who call it home.

Check out Lush Life Production's great video of the event..featuring yours truly too!

A Shot of the Black Stuff - Seminar Review

On Thursday July 22nd Jacob Briars and Sebastian Reaburn hosted an invigorating seminar about the world of Amari and Bitters at Tales of the Cocktail. Mr. Briars, from New Zealand, introduced himself as a child of hippies who still has yet to even take an aspirin. He relies on herbal remedies for all his medicinal needs. And that is of course, where bitters got their start, as an herbal medicinal tonic that could cure many ills. That being said, Mr. Reaburn, From Australia, introduced to his own "Koala Tonic" and promised it could cure everything from impotence to cancer. Knowing a bit about the history of these "Snake Oil" salesmen, I declined to taste his tonic, which ended up being a noxious mixture of Listerine, gin, Cough syrup and other nasty ingredients.


This delightful introduction encapsulated the long and complicated history of amaro and bitters in our cocktail kingdom. The free market ran wild with these bitters in the 17th-19th century and what was essentially a good product, became hazardous and even deadly in the wrong hands. All this ended quite suddenly in the United States with the passing of the Pure Food and Drugs act in 1906, putting an end to false and outrageous claims and to many bitters manufacturers. In 1919 Prohibition in the US put the final nail in the bitters coffin and only now, nearly a century later are bitters making a comeback.

But the sweet Amari have always been with us and thrived in Europe during all this time. And in our tasting glasses before us were samples from 6 different kinds of Amari that could be identified by their main source of flavor; Peels, Spices, Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables, and Flowers. But many use all of these ingredients. Most Amari contain at least 15 different ingredients and sometimes more than 50! And Rhubarb seems to be the golden thread that can be found in almost all of them!

Here are my tasting notes from the 6 glasses of deliciousness that were put before me:

• Carpano: Raisin, bitter, herbal. This is my favorite sweet vermouth to put in a Manhattan do I recognized it right away. I could drink this on the rocks.
• Averna: Citrus, sweeter and minty fresh. On a second tasting a lot of coffee notes came out too. This Amaro was created in Sicily in 1868. This is what my Great Great Grandfather Gullo probably drank before he got a boat to come to New York.
• Luxardo Amaro: Spicy, cardamon and even more spicy on the second tasting. This Amaro is from Northern Italy and would be great with coffee. I am going to try to work this into a coffee cocktail at Fort Defiance.
• The Bitter Truth Elixir: Very yum, with cinnamon,sage, rhubarb and lemon verbena. Full with amazing balance with a light sweet menthol touch. Created by Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauk in 2009, this is the newest amaro we tasted. Its is produced by Dolin in France and uses between 20-50 herbs. See? Bitters makers still keep secrets! In fact, they are having trouble getting this distributed in the US due to the name; too similar to medicine! They will try to get it passed again under the name Elixer.
• Fernet Branca: Menthol burn! Saffron, peppermint. This darling of the bartender community has been blowing up the scene lately. Fernet was once recommended for "Woman's Complaints". Really? It could keep the toilet seat down and would call you the next day? Nice. I was going to create a cocktail for Tales called the Gold Bond using the Fernet Mentha.
• Braulio: Sweet, mellow, chamomile, lavender. This beautiful creation is nearly impossible to get in the United States. Created in Bormio, Valtellina by Francesco Peloni, this Amaro uses traditional herbs and flowers sourced from the Stelvio National Park. They have beautiful names like Meadowsweet, gentien, saxifrage and tea mountain flower. Sipping this just put me on a pastoral Italian mountainside. LeSigh!

We were also treated to a homemade concoction that Jacob Brairs swears by; a Reish Mushroom bitter. Mr. Reaburn called it, "I Can't Believe its Not Truffle Bitter". Mr. Briars says that, when prepared correctly, this little mushroom is an anti-inflamitory cancer and choleterol fighting antioxidant that can also keep you revitalized and regular. To keep it palatable he uses Reish Mushroom extract, Mushroom puree, vodka (It delivers the key ingredients better than water or sugar) and cinnamon. It was not bad. But I was happy to follow it with a fresh beet juice cocktail. See?! Cocktails can be good for you! Just don't listen to the salesman with the thick Aussie accent!

Swag Cocktail

I collected some of my loot (yes, all survived unbroken in my luggage) from Tales of the Cocktail and made a nice refreshing cocktail on this sunny hot NYC day. I used my ice spear mold to make a nice tall drink with Summer Edition Beefeater Gin and Sence Rose nectar. This is the same Rose nectar they use in the $21 cocktails at Daniel. But I'll make it for you for fee...if you come over before I run out. And bring more tonic!

Swag Cocktail

2oz Beefeater Summer Edition Gin
2oz Sence Rose Nectar
Fentiman's Tonic Water
3 lime wheels

Pour ingredients over 3 ice spears in a tall Collins glass. Garnish with lime wheels in glass.

Dreaming of Frozen Sazeracs

There is a ton of posts forthcoming dear readers, but first I must share my first dream back in NYC.

All my booty and my own boo-tay arrived home safe yesterday. I settled in with my roommate, the dog and some pitchers of frozen drinks to catch up on some sleep and DVR. In my restless tossing (still not trying to roll over on the new tattoo) I had a most marvelous revelation!

In my dream I was put on the spot behind a bar (Prime Meats or The Randolph..it kept changing as dreams do) and had to make two Sazeracs. My lack of knowledge about the Dream Bar kept resulting in watered down drinks that I would have to dump and then start all over. When I awoke to the melted disaster of my last frozen drink last night (Mango, Passion fruit, lime, Tuaca and Tequila) I started thinking about how good a frozen Sazerac might me.

But no...it just couldn't work. That drink hinges on its strength. And I want it smooth, like the snowball drinks Alex Day made me at Death & Co or The Tupuelo Julep that Floyd makes at Vanderbilt using a snow cone machine. Then I had the perfect solution! Liquid Nitrogen! Junior Merino has liquid nitrogen for use in his amazing Cocktail Lab! And luckily, he lives but a few subway stops away from me. I think I need to set up a date with Heidi and Junior to create this frozen Sazerac! Make is strong and tasty in the old New Orleans cocktail tradition, but with a bit of Bourbon Street Daiquiri flair! And so pretty with a beautiful big swath of lemon peel!

Cocktails for Breakfast?! Its like Tales of the Cocktail never ended!

Training for Tales

So that is what we have been calling it. But, like marathon training, its time to detox a bit before I head to NOLA.

Last night was a Birthday hurrah with Tequila cupcakes, Manhattans and pasta at Landmarc. I also saw some great music at Bar 9 from Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds and danced with friends old and new.

Once I get to NOLA, things will be busy, but somehow I am not looking forward to it like I did earlier. Its not like last year where I had my whole trip paid for, a nice daily expense money, and all I did was network and hang out around the pool and educate myself at the tastings. This year I have a competition, some work, a lot of blogging to do, and a lot of events to attend. Sounds like fun, right? It will be, I am sure. I guess I just have the Birthday Blues.

I also still have so much to do...packing, prepping for some parties, book time with a tattoo artist, and I still don't have a place to stay Sunday and Monday night! Oh well..things have a way of just working out...right?

2010 Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail

Mama Needs a New Dress!

Its Awards time!

The nominees for the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited awards are out and, like last year, I will be blogging and tweeting live from the event, so if you want to know the winners, tune in here on Saturday July 24th. Make sure you follow me on twitter @NYCBaby!

As I vowed last year, there is a chance I will be up on this stage this year when an award is accepted. Its kind of an inside joke, with a rebel dash of Kanye, but also kind of legit as I have been doing some work with a nominee. So as not to jinx it, let me just list the nominees; a list filled with talent, smarts, good looks and some of the most fun people I grown to love over the last year.

Best American Cocktail Bar

Criteria: This award recognizes the influence on cocktail trends within the United States and seeks to award the country’s best cocktail bar.

• The Clover Club, Brooklyn
• Death & Co, NYC
• Rickhouse, San Francisco
• The Varnish, Los Angeles

World’s Best Hotel Bar

Criteria: The classic ‘American Bar’ played an important role in the history and development of cocktail culture. The judges are looking for hotel bars, which uphold this tradition (but are not necessarily old) and offer five-star service and consistently well made drinks.

• The Artesian at the Langham, London
• The Bar at The Connaught Hotel, London
• Florida Room at The Delano, Florida
• Hemingway Bar, Paris

Best Cocktail Writing

Criteria: Great journalism is one of the best ways to communicate to the general public the value and significance of great cocktails and related products. This award is for any non-book journalism (Magazine, Newspaper, Website, etc) which promotes bars, bartender, or cocktails in general.

• CLASS magazine
• Gary Regan
• Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller
• Naren Young

Best New Product

Criteria: This is awarded to what the judges consider to be the best new cocktail ingredient (spirit, liqueur, syrup or juice) or piece of cocktail equipment (muddler, shaker etc.). To qualify products must be on general retail sale in at least three US states.

• Celery Bitters, The Bitter Truth
• Cocktail Kingdom’s barware
• Crème Yvette by Cooper Spirits
• Meehan Cocktail Bag by Jim Meehan

Best American Brand Ambassador

Criteria: An award that recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drinks brands across America.

• Charlotte Voisey, William Grant Portfolio
• Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida
• Jamie Gordon, Absolut
• Tal Nadari, Bols

World’s Best Drinks Selection

Criteria: A venue stocking an outstanding range of spirits and liqueurs. The judges will favor discernment as well as sheer numbers of bottles stocked.

• Artesian Bar at The Langham Hotel, London
• Bar Lebensstern in Café Einstein, Berlin
• Macao Trading Co, NYC
• Widder Bar, Zurich

American Bartender of the Year

Criteria: From Jerry Thomas onwards, American bartenders have been amongst the most influential on drinks styles and cocktail culture in general. This award seeks to recognize the most influential American bartender today. The winner should be proficient at making all recognized classic drinks and also have created contemporary cocktails, which have been copied by his/her peers.

• Eric Alperin, The Varnish
• Kenta Goto, The Pegu Club
• Murray Stenson, Zig Zag
• Sam Ross, Milk & Honey

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book

Criteria: The best book published in 2008 regarding cocktails, liquor, bars, bar design or bartending in general. New editions of existing works may also be nominated.

• Beachbum Berry Remixed
• Gin Compedndium by Gaz Regan
• MudPuddle Books by Greg Boehm
• Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh

World’s Best Cocktail Menu

Criteria: The judges seek to reward innovative and thirst inducing cocktail menus. Both the design and content will be considered.

• Death & Co, NYC
• Lonsdale, London
• Mayahuel, NYC
• Rickhouse, San Francisco

International Bartender of the Year

Criteria: The absolute best drinks mixer in the world. The winner must have received international recognition of their work with their own recipes crossing borders to appear on cocktail menus in numerous countries. (US citizens are not excluded.)

• Agostino Perrone, The Connaught Hotel, London
• Brian Miller, Death & Co, NYC
• Salvatore Calabrese, London
• Sam Ross, Milk & Honey, NYC

World’s Best New Cocktail Bar

Criteria: Only bars, which opened after 1st March 2009 may be nominated. This award aims to reward new creativity and ideas as well as well executed drinks.

• Cure, New Orleans
• Dutch Kills, Queens
• Mayahuel, NYC
• Rickhouse, San Francisco

World’s Best Cocktail Bar

Criteria: Only truly world-class bars will be considered for this illustrious title. Some bars attain worldwide recognition and this award recognizes the very best of the best.

• 69 Colebrooke Row, London
• The Cocktail Bar at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast
• Death & Co, NYC
• Quo Vadis, London

Best International Brand Ambassador

Criteria: An award which recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drinks brands and their creative use of brand communication to engage the trade and their ability to execute compelling education and seminars. This person will work in an International capacity or in a Country other than the USA.

• Angus Winchester, Tanqueray
• Dan Warner, Beefeater
• Jacob Briars, 42 Below
• John Gakuru, Sagatiba

Best Bar Mentor

Criteria: Not everybody who is having an impact on the quality of the cocktails we drink are working behind the bar as bartenders. There are many people who are creating fine bar programs, training the next generation of great bartenders, and playing an active role in designing the bars we all love to drink in. This award is to recognize those individuals who, in their professional life, play a crucial role in raising the quality of bars, bartenders, and cocktails without currently working as a bartender.

• Dale DeGroff
• Robert Hess
• Sasha Petraske
• Tony Abou-Ganim

Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award

Criteria: The impact that some people have on the general cocktail community can span over the course of many years. There are individuals who have worked long and hard to change the industry and educate the public. This award is to provide special recognition to these individuals and the wonderful efforts they have undertaken.

• Brian Rea
• Gary Regan
• Murray Stenson
• Tony Abou-Ganim
  

Top 5 Tales of the Cocktail Seminar Picks

Its 35 days away from Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Last night at a fantastic Meals on Wheels charity event, a band played a jazzy New Orleans song and my body started dancing that two step. I can't wait to dance on Louisiana soil again!

Here are my top 5 picks for seminars at Tales this year:

Creative Cocktails and the Power of Brainstorming
Wed, 21 July 2010
The Riverview Room, Hotel Monteleone
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

A highly interactive seminar. A short introduction to the creative process - examples of creative thinking. The key word here for me is "Interactive". I'd like to start this week off getting my creative groove on.

Hollywood Cocktails: Louisiana Style
Fri, 23 July 2010
Grand Ballroom North, The Royal Sonesta Hotel
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Lights! Camera! Action! It’s Hollywood Cajun-style. Louisiana has been the setting and location for hundreds of motion pictures through the years including classics and favorites such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Jezebel, King Creole, Easy Rider, Interview with a Vampire, Live and Let Die, and Sex, Lies, and Video Tape to name a few.

Some Movie Stars who have made Louisiana-based films include Paul Newman, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Vivian Leigh.

Come join this movie buff event lead by four film & drink experts; Ted Haigh, William T. Garver, Cheryl Charming, and the author of, New Orleans Goes to the Movies, Alan Leonhard.

Cocktails made with Louisiana spirits will be served. Yeah this one is right up my alley! But I demand recognition of The Big Easy and the smokin' Denis Quaid. Sadly this most anticipated seminar is right before my Margarita competition...hope I won't be too nervous to enjoy it.

New Tales for Old Cocktails: Techniques and Problems of Historical Mixography
Sat, 24 July 2010
The Queen Anne Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

The history of the cocktail has always proven itself highly resistant to accurate investigation. This session will discuss the causes of that resistance and explore some of the strategies that have proved successful in countering them. In other words, a session for the history geeks, but with colorful anecdotes and Lazarus drinks. I am a history geek, indeed. And j'adore David Wondrich, the moderator.

Plate and glass, finding Harmony
Sun, 25 July 2010
Grand Ballroom North, The Royal Sonesta Hotel
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
This is a hands on seminar that features guest Chef Peter Smith from PS 7's restaurant, and Gina Chersevani, mixologist. Attendees will gain a rich knowledge of how to grasp the concept of balance and harmony between the plate and the glass, and how to translate that into a menu that patrons will not only understand, but will LOVE! This appeals to my inner foodie and again..hands on is key descriptive here.

The Hotel Grunewald, Roosevelt and Fairmont - Over 100 Years of Cocktail History
Sun, 25 July 2010
The Queen Anne Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

This seminar will chronicle the cocktail history and folklore attached to the great New Orleans hotels that have gone by the names Grunewald, Roosevelt, Fairmont, and once again, the Roosevelt. I am IN New Orleans, after all...why not absorb the rich cocktail history of town at its absolute fullest.

Counting down to New Orleans...

Yes I will be doing this...assuming I get an angel to cover some costs..and I want a new Ipad too while we are asking for things...I have no lap top. Boo!

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I have a Brit in the house currently, so I had to start Shrove Tuesday with some Pancakes. Strawberry pancakes with coconut. Yum. And then I cooked up a huge pot of Jambalaya.

This is almost how big my pot was...

Jambalaya is a big Cajun pot of rice vegetables, spices and meat. The veggies have to contain the Cajun holy trinity of celery, onions and bell peppers. I like the red style that has tomatoes in it. I added some plum tomatoes, hot sauce and Cajun barbecue from New Orleans to spice it up too. For the meat. I used sausage, chicken and shrimp. Brown the chicken and sausage in a pan with some herbs like thyme and rosemary. Remove the meat when browned and leave the drippings in the pan. Add the trinity of veggies to the pan of drippings and soften using more oil if necessary salting and spicing as you cook. Then add 1 part rice and 2 parts of stock and cook over a simmer stirring frequently. While that mixture is cooking, steam the shrimp with some wine and old bar seasoning. When the rice is cooked, add meat and shrimp to the mixture with hot sauce, tomatoes. Stir all together and you have an amazing pot of New Orleans goodness!

Make sure you make a Sazerac to eat with your bowl of Jambalaya! The Sazerac cocktail was named by John Schiller in 1859 upon the opening of his Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans. Both most likely derive their name from a popular brand of Cognac, Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. But these days it is more common to make it with rye. And you know that is how RyeGirl likes it. Having a Sazerac at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans is one of my favoriet things to do and its a tradition repeated every time I am in that wonderful city.

My sister cocktailier, Drinks With Mindy who I met in NOLA, has a perfect Barlesque name that notes her fine figure, SassyRack! This is her take on the classic:

SassyRack's Sazerac
2 oz Rye
7 dashes Peychaud bitters
1 barspoon Turbinado simple syrup Herbsainte rinse

Have a rocks glass chilled with ice. In another glass mix together rye, syrup and bitters. Dump ice and rinse with herbsainte. Discard the herbsainte and shout "Sassy Rack!" to the nearest lovely lady. Serve with a smile and a wink.

My Sazerac at the Roosevelt Hotel at last years Tales of the Cocktail

Bitter Truth: The NY Times reads my blog!

Photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

How do I know this? In thier article about Bitter Truth Bitters, the NY Times states that the celery bitters are, "a knockout celery that is a must in a bloody mary and even in some tequila drinks."   Well, who said just that in her posts last year from Tales of the Cocktail, where she first met Mr Stephan Berg of Bitter Truth? Me! Thats who!

I may have met the man just last July, but his face and bitters have blessed my bar for years, ever since I was introduced to them by my dear LeNell. And now EVERYBODY knows about them! Jeeze! Oh wait..I guess that is a good thing.

NY Times, when can I start writing for you?

Bitters from Germany, to kick up your cocktails
[NY Times]

Prime Meats

Last night I attempted to have a Tales -6/21 reunion in Brooklyn. But with everyone working on a busy Saturday night, it turned into Andrea and I visiting Damon and Frank at Prime Meats.

I have been telling Andrea about the pre-prohibition cocktail craze and Prime Meats seemed like an excellent way to showcase how these cocktails can be classic with clean modern twists. The same can be said for the delicious food we enjoyed. The homemade was spatzle was creamy and topped with the most delectable mushrooms. The pork belly over fresh pickled house sauerkraut was also a favorite.

Drinks-wise, we got a Bijou, Manhattan, Sazerac (Applejack), Vieux Carre and an Old Fashioned so the classics were well represented.

Then some handsome boys from the Netherlands joined us and some fresh german and Brooklyn beer was consumed. Besides learning that they could be dangerous with weapons so its a good thing the don't allow guns there, we also learned that Jenever is a spirit that old men drink in Holland. They were tickled to learn that it is the hot new spirit here.

Hey...I like old men. I was drinking Manhattans with my grandpa while everyone was still drinking Cosmos.

After 2am, it was clearly time to bowl, so we headed off to the new Brooklyn Bowl where I had Coffee Stout from the Brooklyn Brewery next door. I figured since we were gonna be up til the sun came out, what better to start my Sunday morning than with some Stumptown coffee?

Another Three Favorite Things

This is in response to a request from my darling Francine!

RyeGirl’s top 3 food experience at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans 2009
(I am leaving out the Spirited Dinner, because that was a drink extravaganza in another catagory and I want to focus on “experience” and “food”)

3) After two hours sleep, a flight from Newark, and straight into 6 hours prepping and serving cocktails, I managed to stumble over to Acme, plant my ass at the bar and start ordering a plethora of food deliciousness. The charbroiled oysters with cheese, po boys (oyster, shrimp and soft shell crab), raw oysters, crawdad hush puppies…all washed down with fresh Abita beer. I was so intent on my eating and drinking, I had an entire conversation with the man sitting next to me before we both looked up and realized we knew each other! It was David from Siembra Azul and we have just spent 6 hours working together. Now, we were so focused on the feast before us, we did not realize we were sitting together! We laughed, he bought us some beers, then we took those beers for a walk around town. Love that open container law!

2) After two full days of tasting and events and more cocktails than I could mention, I just wanted a nice modest, quiet, delicious dinner with a glass of wine and good company. I got it at GW Fins. We started with a glass of Champagne then some tasty perfectly cooked seafood and a glass of wine. I openly wept from absolute contentment when a scallop passed over my lips. Strawberry shortcake for dessert and I was ready to lie down on a bed of berries and cream and slumber the dreams of angels.

1) Without a doubt the best meal came Thursday morning. It was 10:40am, a weird time for breakfast and is there brunch on the weekdays in NOLA? We call Luke’s and they invite us over, even though technically they were not open yet for lunch. But could it be a brunch? I ordered my first cocktail, a creamy absinthe fizz, we also get fresh pressed coffee and a pitcher of Orange Juice. Tons of liquids? Brunch? Check! We order ½ dozen oysters. Carlos, God of all waiters, brings us 7 giant oysters that taste like they were caught about ten minutes ago. Carlos, you have a boat back there? Then I order a fresh crabmeat omelet with salad AND French fries (love that!). Dave gets the gulf shrimp and grits en cocotte. Omelet and Grits? Check! They also had copies of the NY Times and the Times-Picayune… This is a BRUNCH, BABY!! I was feeling like I could move here..not to New Orleans..move into this restaurant…Carlos will you be my roommate?

God bless Carlos, God bless Luke’s, God bless New Orleans, God Bless America and all its wonderful bounty! I am SAVED! Hallelujah!

Utter Contentment at Luke's

Some Things I learned at Tales of the Cocktail

• I have endless amounts of strength and endurance when it comes to spirits and food.
• Thank goodness for the above. I needed every bit of it to make it through Tales.
• Real Louisiana boys are rare and special. When you meet one, its like riding a unicorn.
• I would like to drink nothing but coffee with chicory evermore.
• I can fall in love 2 and a half times in little less than 4 days.
• I don't know why beignets come in three when I can only consume one.
• New Orleans likes their cocktails sweet.
• Germany is perceived as the Ohio of Europe here in the states.
• I don't care about cooties and I will put my lips on any bottled offered to me...
• But I would never take my shoes off anywhere near The Olde Absinthe House.
• Sleep? Who needs that?
• Hangovers can be avoided if you just never stop eating and drinking.
• There is some sort of Voodoo blessing on me that makes me charming, witty and pretty within the confines of the Crescent City.
• I should move to New Orleans as soon as possible. (see above)
• Jesus and his followers were probably alcoholics, "Look Jesus! A puddle! Look!"
• GatahChop: when you are down for the count in NOLA.
• Bacon sandwiches made with french toast and dipped in maple syrup. That is all.
• Texas has adorable people in it.
  
• If I wanted to get married and have kids, once again, I have chosen the wrong profession.
• But everyone had dogs instead of kids and showed pictures on their phones squealing, "Look at my Baby!", so I guess I fit in.
• Oysters are good. Shrimp is good. Hush Puppies are good. Scallops are...well you get the idea.
• Cute bartenders from LA make a good Birthday gift (Enjoy your presents Andrea!)
  
• Carlos at Luke is my favorite waiter in New Orleans. Go visit him now.
• I like a town where everyone wears a dapper hat.
• I would like to spend part of every day poolside with a frosty cocktail.
• Karaoke in New Orleans can be a drag.
• Why sing with crappy background music when you have great live stuff all around you?
• I, apparently, live in the center of the cocktail universe and all my local favorites (Clover, Pegu) are the best cocktail bars in the world.
• But apparently the judges don't go abroad much so I still need to visit friends in Amsterdam, LA, Belfast, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, Munich, Tokyo, etc...and judge for myself!
• Belfast got its cocktail on! Gotta be better than Dublin (up the Dubs!)
  
• Textquited: when you quit your job via a text message.
• The people in this new business can be kind, generous and very sweet. Much like the aforementioned NOLA cocktail.
• What am I forgetting? Probably a lot.

Poolside libations