Category: Deep Thoughts
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The Gribiche Versus Tartar Debate No One Cared About
We did an event last night with Found Oyster and yes, I told the same old story I always do about one of my favorite times in life when I would do my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve at the Prudential Center mall and finish it all off with a nice meal at none other…
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Sandwiches Ranked
I’ve got just one thing on my brain this Black Friday, and that’s a post Thanksgiving sandwich. Sourdough bread, enough mayonnaise to choke a Frenchman, fresh black pepper, then the stuffing, turkey, a thin layer of gravy, and the coup de grace, cranberry sauce from the can. Just for the record, I don’t put any…
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Cormac McCarthy, the Muse, More Notes on the Espressotini
Big news in the literary world this week. The late, great Cormac Mccarthy, one of my favorite writers of all time, had a teenage muse when he was in his early forties. Yeesh. Creepy. The woman has now come out of the woodwork to explain herself and him and swears she was never taken advantage…
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The Old Vodka Switcheroo
Listen, I judge no human being on their drink order. I really could care less if someone wants to quaff vodka sodas all night and experience no flavor or zest in their own life but there are two substitutions that drive me absolutely batty. And yes, yes, I know that technically everything is vodka…Whiskey is…
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Through the Looking Glass
An entire lifetime ago I drew up a pretty goddam great version of the Jabberwock in black and white ink, framed it, and gave it to a girl I loved as a birthday present. It was a cool time in life. Her dad was a famous Italian chef from Naples who owned this big place…
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A Clarified Milk Punch Conundrum
As a quick aside before we even start here…Think of this: Back in the day, people would have milk delivered to them. Fresh from the udder, delicious, and depending where and when you lived, probably raw. Pasteurization was a thing in the late nineteen hundreds, as well as homogenization, yes mostly to control and sterilize…
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Maybe I’ve Been Too Hard on Citrus Season
For whatever reason I’ve been extra harsh on citrus season for no particular reason and now I’m embracing it and relearning to really love it. Not sure why I ever was a hater in the first place…I think maybe because the season was so damn long and arduous last year and became rather boring. A…
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Citrus Season has Already Begun
When did this happen? I blinked and all of a sudden there’s kumquats in the walk in, white grapefruit, and even some decent blood oranges. Is it going to be another weird year for fruit? If I remember correctly, “decent” blood oranges usually come around in late February. I say decent because blood oranges are…
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Bar Resolutions?
Is this even a thing? Last year was our best one in terms of creativity. Over 40 seasonal cocktails ain’t no joke and if you’ve ever seen what our bar looks like, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s tough to think about anything coming next. I’m still a bit in awe of what…
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Booze, Books, Plants…
…The perfect bar, in my opinion. No, not the one I work in, although it’s close…But a bar where I would want to go. Dark. A shelf full of old dusty books. Lots of plants and jars full of infusions. Maybe a little record player in the corner? It would probably look like Old Man…
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Nog Thoughts…
Anyone else notice how popular egg nog was this year? Shit, every company, even goddam Eggo came out with a nog. It seemed to replace pumpkin spice during the 2023 holidays. Every bar manager with any sand has a nog, and probably a damn good one. It’s one of those things that’s pretty hard to…
The Aging Bartender 