Hey, check out today’s Barcode column in the Boston Globe. There’s an interview with a local blogger — me — about drink trends in Beantown. Cheers.
Tags: Boston Globe, drink trends
Posted in Boston bars, drinkboston in the news | 12 Comments »
Has anyone been following the New York Times’ recently launched blog on drinking, Proof? Here’s its mission statement:
“For the past 10,000 years or so, wherever humans have gathered, there has been alcohol. Some never touch the stuff. But most do. It is used to celebrate, commiserate, mourn, remember and, often, to forget. It is different things to different people: libation, anesthetic, emotional crutch, social lubricant, addictive substance, sacred potion, killer or commodity. In ‘Proof,’ contributors consider the charms, powers and dangers of drink, and the role it plays in their lives.”
OK, now read between the lines: “We acknowledge that alcohol is a legal substance consumed by most of the people on earth for reasons too numerous to count. But the Times is not — we repeat, NOT — using this space to promote booze. In fact, we talk about how bad it can be. A lot.”
Actually, I am thrilled that the New York Times has a blog about drinking. As far as I know, the only other prominent newspapers with a regular, substantive space devoted to this topic are the Wall Street Journal (Eric Felten’s “How’s Your Drink?”) and the San Francisco Chronicle. However, with seemingly over half the posts since October devoted to alcoholism and its aftermath, Proof has largely been a solemn read. Even the posts written by active drinkers have been underwhelming. Until Christmas, that is. The NYT brought the excellent Paul Clarke of Cocktail Chronicles into its stable of bloggers, and the man gave us imbibers a nice, shiny gift box of love. Paul talks about his formative drinking years in New York, then being swept up in the classic cocktail movement upon moving to the West Coast, and closes with a survey of improved cocktailing habits in locales across the nation (with a shout-out to Boston).
Also, the Atlantic Monthly has a two-issue-old column on drink. It’s called Drink. And this month, it discusses Drink, the Boston bar. (God, I’m glad I named this blog drinkboston.com.) The column, written by the awesome Wayne Curtis, has the intro: “Our correspondent toasts a growing trend: the return of the classic cocktail.” It’s so adorable when magazines notice a trend three years after it becomes hot. But honestly, I’m thrilled that a publication launched in 1857 — during the first cocktail craze — has come back full circle!
Posted in Booze in the news, Cocktails | 10 Comments »
Even though Scott and I have lived pretty much our entire lives in New England, we had never been to the cute ski-resort town of Stowe, VT until this past Christmas-New Year’s holiday. We did all the things one does in Stowe: ski (downhill and cross-country), skate, shop, eat cider donuts and drink lots of local beer, mostly Switchback and Rock Art.
As is the case in most touristy areas of the world, the best (and best-priced) eats and drinks are a bit off the beaten path. In our case, that meant driving to the neighboring town of Waterbury. We arrived at the Alchemist, a brewery-restaurant, on the Sunday after Christmas at around 7 p.m. and were told there’d be an hour-long wait for a table. A good sign, of course, but very bad news for our hungry group. Lo and behold, after our first round of beers, a few seats opened up at the bar.
The Alchemist has a lot of the traits that make Vermont so loveable: a charmingly hippy vibe, local art on the walls, a dedication to using local ingredients, and fresh, well-made beer — some of the best New England beer I’ve had, in fact. The Pappy’s Porter was a nice cross between the English-style brown and robust, roasty versions of this style. The Nightstalker, a Belgian-style dark wit, had a malty complexity on top of the traditional coriander and orange peel flavors, and the Holy Cow IPA was a pleasingly herbal, resin-y hop bomb.
Wandering around looking for lunch on a freakishly warm, rainy day, we stumbled upon another place in Waterbury, the Cider House BBQ & Pub. The establishment, only about a year old, specializes in southern-style cooking and hard cider (on draught and in bottles). Although barbecue aficionados would turn their noses up at the distinctly sweet, New England-type sauce on the ribs and pulled-pork, the food was tasty and, as at the Alchemist, as local as possible. The sides and appetizers — cornbread-and-Andouille-sausage stuffing, Vermont cheddar mac and cheese and, my favorite, fried dill pickle chips — were reason enough to seek the place out. That, and the warm, cozy vibe and sassy waiter, who teasingly anticipated a big tip after hearing that we had splurged on a rental in the heart of Stowe Village.
A really good place to drink beer in Stowe has an unfortunately twee name: Ye Olde England Inne. But the inn’s restaurant, Mr. Pickwick’s, is a warm, welcoming homage to an Old World pub, and the draught beer selection includes hard-to-find specimens like Anchor Christmas (both 2007 and 2008 vintages), Belgian abbey ales and a rotating selection of cask ales. The beer-selector and owner, a Brit named Chris Francis, walks around the place unobtrusively checking in on customers and engaging them with a sly sense of humor.
Finally, a shameless but honest plug for one of the best-known places in Stowe, which happens to be managed by my cousin, Brian Clark: the Cliff House. It’s a grand dame of a restaurant perched on a cliff at Stowe Mountain Ski Resort, and you have to take a gondola to get there. Like the Alchemist and the Cider House BBQ & Pub, the Cliff House is part of the local-ingredient-espousing Vermont Fresh Network. It stocks Otter Creek, Magic Hat and other Vermont beers, and serves cocktails made with local maple liqueur. While it’s as pricey as you’d expect a mountain-top restaurant at a major ski resort to be, the range of options includes affordable items like soups, sandwiches and salads, plus you can always just order a drink at the bar. If you happen to be skiing at Stowe, it’s well worth the splurge. Nothing like lunch with a view.
Tags: Stowe, Vermont bars
Posted in Beer | 3 Comments »
Since I’m out of the New Year’s Eve loop this year (I’ve temporarily abandoned Boston for Vermont), I decided to reach out to drinkboston.com’s readers to get a snapshot of what the discriminating Beantown imbiber is up to on Amateur Night. Here are a few of the answers I got.
James S. has a plan I can get behind. “I often entertain at home on NYE, but this year I have friends who expressed an interest in exploring cocktail culture more deeply, so I’m bringing them over to the bar at No. 9 Park, followed by dinner at The Marliave (downstairs, which has a far more modest menu that the ritzy upstairs, but the same worthy bartending).”
Brian D. said, “I’m having dinner at my wife’s sister’s house. Her husband is a wine importer, so I’m expecting something good. Then, I’ll probably just have a few beers on my couch. It’s a bad night to be on the road.” Indeed it is.
A romantic named Patrick has the following plan: “Probably heading to Bina for an early dinner, then getting home before the madness and getting under cover with my sweetheart to make out at midnight. I’ll make her a tremendous breakfast on New Year’s morning, and congratulate ourselves for not dealing with the douche-bag factor fighting for cabs at 1:30 a.m. Have a peaceful New Year’s Eve.” Same to you.
Sensible cocktailians Fred and Andrea of the Cocktail Virgin Slut blog say: “We’re eschewing all commercial establishments and the concept of driving anywhere for New Year’s. We’re probably going to start at an ex-co-worker of mine’s house whose wife was a Boston bartender and move on to friends of Andrea’s who are new-school creative cocktail wizards. We’ll probably visit our favorite bars and bartenders in the days before and after New Year’s.” Smart.
“We always stay in, low key, with bubbly and treats,” says freelance food/drink/sports writer Jacqueline Church. Mmm, bubbly and treats.
Meanwhile, Winn G. will be out and about in your ‘hood, Jackie: “I shall be attending the New Year’s Eve party at Sorriso, 107 South Street, in the Leather District. It should be good fun.”
The ever-acerbic MC Slim JB offers this opinion of the annual year-end ritual: “Pure amateur-night hell, about as good an idea as dining out on Valentine’s or Mother’s Day. Rookie drinkers, restaurant gouging on chintzy prix-fixe menus, a risk to life and limb on both sidewalks and roadways, and a better-than-average chance of getting your shoeshine ruined by someone else’s vomit. I’ll be cooking a luxurious meal (by the standards of my kitchen) at home for a few friends, serving some classic cocktails (I’m thinking maybe Scofflaws, as I made my own grenadine recently and they look so festive), and busting out maybe one fancy bottle of wine from my meager cellar. I may serve some Champagne as an aperitif, but most of my crew are wary of it, ascribing rough morning-afters to bubbly even in sensible quantities.” About that bubbly — make it a good one and no one gets hurt.
Jennifer H. is (thankfully) not afraid to share this: “My roommate and former boyfriend — yes, it’s true — is getting a root canal that day so I may stay in that evening out of pity. I have the afternoon off and would like to run around doing First Night stuff if my knees are up to it. My best New Year’s, however, began at the Independent, moved to Atwood’s by foot via the Shell station for cigarettes and whatnot for the rest of the group, then to Joey Mac’s (I love dives), which was closing, then on to a party Joey’s bartender had been invited to at the East Side Bar & Grill. All I remember is that in the back the walls were shell pink and there was a DJ and dancing … no, I remember a little more than that. This was exactly what I wanted to do … not be in the big city for the fireworks, something I did at nineteen, but celebrate and drink with a bunch of friends, not ignoring the night either.”
Poor Mary J. needs our help, as she’ll be “in Pittsburgh, PA, desperately seeking a good Manhattan! Ideas?” I told Mary to track down one of the Pittsburgh broads who started the original chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails.
Finally, Amie D. plans on “hunkering down with my best sweats, lo mein, and a delicious bottle on whim. Will hit the Southie Brownies in the a.m. if I have back up …” No f-ing way! OK, maybe next year.
See you at the bars in ’09, everyone.
Tags: Bostonians, New Year's Eve
Posted in Boston bars | 9 Comments »
Like you, I’m too busy doing last-minute holiday errands to accomplish much of anything else today. That’s why I’m thankful to borrow this gem from the Modern Drunkard: Tis the Season to Get Falling Down Drunk: Holiday Hints for Hooch Heads. Highlights:
If you receive three cocktail shakers every Christmas, you are a drunkard.
If you receive ten, get ready for an intervention.
Spread the holiday cheer by going to your favorite bar dressed as Santa Claus.
Because nobody under-pours Santa. Nobody.
If you’re going to travel during the holidays, be aware that you can no longer bring alcohol onto the airplane.
Unless you hide it in your bloodstream.
Merry Christmas and stuff, everybody!
Tags: holiday drinking
Posted in Books & resources | 3 Comments »
"Lauren Clark takes readers on a supremely sudsy tour of New England ales, lagers, pilsners, and porters. This is the New England the Puritans warned everybody about, but few have chronicled."
– Wayne Curtis, And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails
Drink sites
For club kids
Friends
Old Mr. Boston Deluxe Bartender’s Guide (6th edition, 1946, or before; 1st ed. 1935)
3/4 oz brandy
3/4 oz white rum
3/4 oz triple sec
1/2 oz lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. This drink is also better known as Between the Sheets.