SeanMike

From tonight through Monday: to my brother. It's his bachelor party. (Or, at least, his first one...)

We went there Saturday night with my parents. Service was still getting a bit cranked up, but they've not been open long - and our server was very enthusiastic. Like DonRocks said, I was impressed with the beer selection. I had a draft beer I'd never heard of before (a winter ale, if I remember correctly), a farm beer (pictured in the WaPo the other day), and an Old Rasputin which I haven't had in ages. We got an appetizer and for the life of me I can't remember which one - just that it was smaller than expected but quite good. My mom and I got the flank steak with chimichurri (I know I misspelled that) sauce and both of us enjoyed it quite a bit. No, it's not Ray's, but it was still a good steak and felt like a good deal. My brother got the chicken breast and absolutely demolished it. His fiancee got the pasta and really enjoyed hers. My dad got the mac and cheese with chicken, bacon, and roasted red peppers. It was really good - though one of the things that we all liked about it was that it wasn't overly cheesy. It had just enough. There were desserts, they were raved about, I drank a stout.

So - the ham... I told my brother on the phone I was bringing him some ham and he just said "uh, sure, okay, whatever". I got it home and he tried it...then proceeded to destroy a good portion of it. "This is really great!"

My liver and wallet would probably be happier in November...any time right now is fine with me.

Loads of fun. My friends who didn't go, even though I said "hey, you can come along if you want", were jealous. That fried chicken was AMAZING. Great beer from ferment everything, awesome bacon, serious crack in some kind of peanut/chocolate bar stuff...I'm just regretting having eaten Papa John's later while watching Rambo...I completely blame that for my "oof" feeling, not the incredible overeating I did at the picnic.

When I wake up tomorrow, I make wangs. errr, wings. Waings. Wiangs? Some thai peanut, some with fresh habanero.

I might have a +1 with me. Our buddy Roy is debating if he wants to come or not. I still haven't decided what I'm bringing...

I drank a six pack...worth of beers...from the kegerator. But really, the drink of the night: Firefly Sweet Tea vodka, on the rocks, with two dashes of lemon bitters.

It's not bad. It's not good, but compared to other Taco Bell offerings it's not bad. It's barely spicy, as I expected.

I didn't see what Kliman said but I haven't checked his transcript yet... EDIT: Just read it, and I really didn't see anything "unflattering" except maybe some confusion as to why he picked Great Wall.

I just wanted to say that I had a heck of a time at last night's blowout. Justin, great drinks as always, and it's worth being miserable at work today. Everyone else - glad to see everybody. Now to keep telling myself "it'll be okay" as I mentally try to prep for Tabard Inn tonight...

It's actually the topic of this month's Mixology Monday ( http://mixologymonday.com ) hosted by the awesome Stevi Deter of Two At The Most ( http://www.twoatthemost.com/ ). I posted mine yesterday; I think it's my newest addition to the bar, the Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.

(samples it) (samples some more) (samples a bit more) This stuff is DANGEROUS. If you've heard the story of Maine and coffee-flavored brandy (and Joe will happily tell you about it and sell you some if you're interested) this reminds me a lot of that - but better. It tastes just like good sweet tea but with a bit of a burn. I mean...damn. I think I know what I'll be sipping while getting the grill going...

From what I understand, a particular customer has already (temporarily) wiped out Ace of Firefly - I'd been hoping to get some there earlier today but was foiled. Drats! However, Joe told me that it was available at VA ABC. It wasn't available at the Lee-Harrison Center ABC in Arlington that I went to at first, and where also someone else was looking for the same thing. Had the guy who had been looking for it given me a chance to speak, I would've told him where he probably could've found some - the ABC store up at 4709-B Lee Highway, next to the CVS and the Silver Diner, near Thirsty Bernie's. As ABC stores go, that one has a pretty eclectic collection, and I was right - they did have it there. It's $21.90 before tax, so an even $23 (fnord) with tax. I haven't cracked it yet, but I'm excited as heck to do so! (Man, I gotta lot of drinking materials to try today between that and going to Ace...)

That's it, I wasn't going to go drink anymore tonight thanks to Justin, but after reading what Don said I'm cursing my lack of Velvet Glove and going for my Willett bourbon...

I had a taste of both tonight and I'd just like to say "Great googly moogly, these are very tasty bourbons". The 12 year old was surprisingly subtle at first for a 114.8 proof bourbon, and the 16 year old (which Owen says was pushing 17 when bottled) was just a spicy, sweet great drink. And that was neat...

Huge shout-out to Justin for his hospitality at Central. You've not only showed off how awesome your drinks are and how adept your barstaff is, but Marshall and my friends Roy and Danielle are now in love with Central as well. Also, shout outs to Owen and Patrick at Bourbon, and to goodeats, who unfortunately got out of work just as I got off the Metro back in EFC, stuffed to the gills and wiped out from too much good food and drink. It's been a helluva year, and I can't wait to see what the next one holds!

Some of the mixology bloggers have been all about it - and I have to admit that the buzz about it makes me excited to try it out. Besides, I love me some rye. Let us know when you get it! (And when you get those cherry and rhubarb bitters!)

Having seen goldenticket's post, and realizing that's just the kind of place I've been looking for - well - ever since I got down here, I used my lunch slow time (known as the hours between 9 AM and 5 PM when you work where I do) to wander up Wilson Boulevard. Given the familial preference towards peanuts, and having more chicken waiting at home for me than you can shake a dead chicken at, I went with the peanut mustard beef. With drink, it was $9.75, having gotten the large, and at first I thought "oh man, this is small!" I was, after all, rather hungry, having enjoyed this beautiful fall day and the walk between Courthouse and Rosslyn twice already. Digging into it led me to realize that it has a substance that was perhaps belied by its size and I regretted (happily) having finished it all, just wishing I had a pair of those shoes with wheels in the heels for getting back down to work. I thought the peanut mustard sauce was a bit too thick at the end for me, as a lot of it had dripped down into the rice and gotten a bit cloying. If I had, perhaps, stirred it up better it would've been a lot better. Next time I'm definitely going with the spicy, however. I wonder if they'd mix the two sauces for me...

I'm not the greatest taster in the world and didn't have that much. But to me, it tasted like a richer, smoother Cointreau. Much more of a "by itself" drink than a mixer - in some ways, the mouth feel and the taste of it reminded me a bit of Creole Shrubb. I didn't really notice any walnut taste to it, but I wasn't looking for it. I'd forgotten about that when I was entranced by the shiny bottle...

Perhaps also defining a bit more what the intention of the event helps, too. "This is intended to be a loud, raucous, fun social event with good food and drinks" "We're hoping to do this quietly, concentrating on the food" Something like that? So people can have the right expectations? I haven't been to a ton of stuff but when work moves me back out to Ashburn it'll be more difficult for me to reach some of the weekday events. I personally like seeing the "hey, let's go hit a few places" kind of events, especially with people who know their way around. I don't, but that isn't stopping Marshall and I from harassing people into joining us Friday night! (And the added bonus of then harassing Justin!)

I could see myself going to this - it is, after all, not far up the street from me... Just don't let goodeats get into any bar fights there. Again.

I tried this last night at CommonWealth. Short: It was really good. $60 good? I dunno. And I thought the bottle was AWESOME.

Yesterday: Manhattan made with 6 year old Sazerac rye, Noilly Prat sweet vermouth, and a couple dashes of Fee's cherry bitters. Yummy.

It's kind of amazing to me - the fact that Marshall and I have been doing the blog for a year as of Friday, October 10th. We went from "uh, I hear drinks are better with, uh, measured ingredients and fresh juice" to - well, whatever we are today. In the meantime we've met a lot of great people, moved from LiveJournal to our own domain, and in general had a great time, had lots of great drinks, and I'd like to think helped people drink better in general. To celebrate, we're going out on the town Friday night, and if you're around, we'd like y'all to join us. Right now our tentative plan is just that - tentative and cloudy. I think we're planning on hitting Bourbon in Adams Morgan after work - let's call that around 6 - and some time after that we were thinking of going to Central Michel Richard. We miss Justin. If you'd like to join us, we'll update this post with the exact plans as we determine them, and if you have any ideas, feel free to say them. We're not trying to overplan, but we'd love to see all y'all at least to say hi and have a cocktail or beer or two (or three or six or seven). Other places we've talked about going: Urbana, Tabard Inn, Bar Pilar, etc. If you're interested, feel free to post here also to let us know, or e-mail or PM one of us and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop.