Ottmar & Employees Only

We jumped back on the subway and the next stop is the Staten Island Ferry. An hour round trip to get a view of the city. After this trip, we will have to make our way back to the same area as brunch and then part ways again.

The girls have tickets to see Joan Osborne and Susanna Vega at The City Winery. I made last minute plans to see Ottmar Leibert at the Highline Ballroom.

The view of the Statue of Liberty was awesome as well as the New York skyline!

Once we got back on the train, Jess told me where I needed to get off in order to make my concert. It was close to Bathtub Gin and once again Siri guided me to my destination. A very small venue and no room to move.

He was amazing but the crowd was a bit overbearing. If you moved from your spot too damn bad. So I stood my ground and waited until after the show to get some food and beverages.

My show ended at 8:15 and I sent Tish a text letting her know I was on my way to meet them at our last stop. Their show would be another hour or longer. So I made my way toward Employees Only and figured I would find something along to the way to eat and drink.

One steak house quit serving at 8:30…really?  So I was just 4 blocks from our meet up and I smelled that wonderful aroma, cigars.

Hudson Bar & Books was a happy accident  and I had time.

They had everything on the cocktail menu and cigar menu. The eats menu not so much. Very limited but was able to find a snack to munch while I burned one in NYC.

I ordered an Old Cuban and selected the Arturo Fuente Short Story to burn. Several cocktails later and the girls texted me they were leaving soon. Perfect timing and I left this nice nugget of a find.

Being as fat as I am, I took a nice stroll through the city of NYC. Then I rolled up on a small building with a “Psychic” sign in the window. Texted Tish and Jess, they said it would be 15 minutes until they arrived. Okay I can hang.

The crowd control, okay…the days of bouncer is long gone. He was a big ole boy and had an impressive presence. We chatted about things from days gone by. The ole ‘80s and how you dealt with the A-holes at that time period. Many stories were shared and some were quite funny. Within 10 minutes, Tish and Jess arrived. At this point of the night, we were going to be just standing at the bar enjoying craft cocktails.

Little did I know my new friend was about to hook us up with a good evening. He said: “Follow ME!” Okay the fat man was ready to see what could be an epic night.

“Sit them at a good table.” Okay, redneck is down with that!

Menu’s were dropped off and I new what I wanted for a drink. Employee’s Only signature drink…

Mata Hari!

Remy Martin 1738 Cognac shaken with Chai-infused Martini Rosso & Pomegranate Juice. Served straight up.

A wonderful blend of flavors and amazing presentation. And I was very impressed with their wine list. Although this joint is known for its craft cocktails, many of the folks around us were ordering bottles of wine.

I have to say, E.O. & P.D.T. are tied as my favorite speakeasy thus far. Although, the Booze & Boobs at Bathtub Gin was another highlight of my trip.

We head home tomorrow and I’m already planning another visit and tour of the other speakeasies on my list.

I made my last visit to Hot & Crusty for coffee and croissants. The lady who took my order really took control:

Me: “Coffee & Croissant”
Chick: “You take cream?”
Me: “No.”
Chick: “Oh, you take cream today!”

Obviously she mistaken me for a regular. So I got to enjoy coffee with cream. How the hell do people do that to perfectly good coffee.

After Tish had her coffee, we went for a walk at Riverside Park before we packed up the car. A young lady riding a bike looks and smiles and that’s when I stop and turned to Tish. Her expression confirmed what I thought…it was Amy Schumer.

So, I ended my first official trip to the Big Apple with my first celebrity sighting.

It was an amazing time and I can’t wait to return. Thank you Jess for your hospitality and we will see you soon with more speakeasies and watering holes to visit.

PDT

It was a short stroll to our last stop of the evening. As you know, most speakeasies are disguised and you need to look for landmarks. As soon as I saw the Crif Dogs sign or the other that says: “Eat Me”, I knew we were there.

The long counter of stools were filled and there was a short line to use the phone booth. Yes, I said phone booth and it was sporting an “out of order” sign.

The routine is simple, dial 1 and wait. The adjacent wall opened to a magnificent dim,  yet sultry lit bar. The young lady asked for my name and said it would be 5 minutes. So we hung out with a very young crowd and when they called my name, we heard grumbles from the peanut gallery.

I was borderline righteous at this point and said:

“Hey Scooter, you should have made reservations…Rookie!”

We took seats at the bar. Gorgeous backlit bar with high-end spirits. Several taxidermy items on the walls made my two vegetarians nervous.

Our bartender presented us with our cocktail menus and I spotted my first drink:

Paddington
Banks 5 Island Rum, Lillet Blanc, Lemon & Grapefruit Juice, Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade, St George Absinthe

An amazing presentation of a craft cocktail with magnificent balance of citrus flavors. If the first one was this good, I can’t wait to try my second choice.

Shark
Butter infused Bacardi Silver Rum, Wray and Nephew Overproof Rum, Frangelico, Blue Curaçao, Lemon & Pineapple juice, Cream, Bitterman’s Elemakule Tiki Bitters

A true Tiki drink, I wanted the bartender to turn on some Buffett tunes at this point. The girls truly enjoying their drinks too.

And was it worth the trouble of getting reservations…

I can honestly say, this is one of my favorite bars of all-time. I will be back and will tell all my friends about this place.

At the end of the night, NYC got the best of me but tomorrow will be another day of go, go, go. This country boy is ready for another day of fun. Music and more cocktails are on the docket.

Did I mention brunch and boobs too!

Some Hard Rock & Some Vino!

This was one of those weeks where I could have used an extra day or two added on to the normal seven. I did enjoy five days off, but when you have company coming and the cleaning needs to be done (as well as the cooking), you need to have a day of relaxation.

I took an extra day off and my work week ended on Wednesday. So to get the weekend started I took a trip to Springfield, Va. to a small venue called Empire (formerly Jaxx Nite Club), and listened to a bunch of crazy guys from Memphis known as … Saliva! My first time seeing Saliva was at the DC101 Chili Cook Off in ’03, and I thought they sounded amazing — even for an outdoor event where it was raining. They have played in the area several times before, but scheduling issues kept me from attending.

This time, before I stood in line with the young folk, I went across the street to Austin Grill for a few adult beverages and good Tex Mex food. An appetizer of chicken quesadillas and the house burger was a good way to end a rough week at work. Washed it down with a few Negra Modelos, and then it was off to hear some tunes.

Empire is following the way Jaxx presented their music: three or four local acts perform before the groups that are tagging along with Saliva.

Some of the local artists who performed were good and I would give them a second listen if given the chance. If It Takes Forever, Silva Addiction from Oklahoma, Royal Bliss from Salt Lake City, Utah, & 12 Stones from New Orleans, played to get the crowd stoked for the headliner. At 11:15 p.m. Saliva took the stage! The set list included “Superstar,” “Ladies and Gentlemen,” “Rest In Pieces,” “Click Click Boom” and “Always.” The set lasted just under an hour, and even though it wasn’t long it was a hell of a show! If they stop to play in your town, buy a ticket and get your Saliva fix.

Wine pretty much dominated the rest of the mini vacation.

For four years running and as long as I’m able to do it, I’ll participate in the annual barrel tasting at Linden Vineyards. When January rolls around, I can look forward to the invitation from Jim Law to taste his future vintages and sample his newest releases. Each year we are amazed by how Jim has taken precautionary steps to ensure we get the best he has to offer. And like the previous years this one should be no different. Tish and I met her Papa and his main squeeze at the vineyard to get our drink on!

This was the year of the Chardonnay! The barrel tastings were dominated by the reds in the previous three years and the crappy conditions from ’11 were signs of low production of reds. His Chards were amazing along with his only red:

Barrel 1 ’11 Avenius Chardonnay
Barrel 2 ’11 Hardscrabble Chardonnay
Barrel 3 ’11 Boisseau Chardonnay
Barrel 4 ’11 Claret (Merlot, Cab Sauv & Cab Franc)

All were well-rounded and smooth, with one leaving a lasting impression: the Boisseau Chardonnay. The lone red (Claret) was young and it was low in tannins, so I’m sure it will evolve after it sits in the barrel.

Then it was time to taste his Special Releases:

’08 Boisseau Red (Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cab Franc)
’09 Boisseau Red (Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot)
’08 Hardscrabble Red (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot)
’09 Hardscrabble Red (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc)
’08 Avenius Red (Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv)
’09 Avenius Red (Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv, Merlot)

All from the above list were very enjoyable and I will have to see how they pair with a stogie in a few weeks.

After consuming a bottle on Jim’s deck, we headed over to Glen Manor Vineyards to let our guests taste the some of the new releases, and of course the girls and I got a bottle to enjoy on this warm day.

Once the bottle was empty, we headed back to the house for dinner. For the vegetarians, shitake & oyster mushroom pizza, and for the carnivores a sausage pizza. Both with a garlic and sun dried tomato crust and fresh mozzarella and basil. The wine was this years Governor’s Cup winner, ’09 Glen Manor Hodder Hill. And for dessert, lemon snow drop cookies with ’10 Glen Manor Raphius dessert wine. Everything was succulent and everyone was full of wine and food — or as I like to say, “Fat & Sassy!”

Sunday was a day of rest for me and Tish. I had spent 2.5 days cooking and cleaning and closed the third day with good company and libations. Even dozed off while watching television, which is rare for me (quit rolling your eyes Tish). That alone will tell you it was an exhausting weekend. Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to go back to the rock quarry until Tuesday, so Monday was a day of complete rest. It was a good time, Tater. Ready for the next round of madness!

Fun Times!

The past two weekends have been quite entertaining and I can honestly say I’m going to need a weekend to rest very soon! Every spring, it seems Tish and I are always over-scheduling our free time and not kicking back and relaxing. Of course, I’m a firm believer that we will get all the rest we need when we are dead. So, suck it up and keep going full force Tater!

Shamrock Fest took place two weekends ago at RFK Stadium grounds in D.C., and even with rain all day it didn’t dampen our spirits (Dampen! Get it? Rain!) or discourage us from bailing early from the event. Trying to find a booth that served beer was a mess. And after we were able to locate the area, we needed to have tickets in order to savor the frothy goodness. Now where the hell are the damn tickets located? Yeah, we walked around a while before we asked one of the young ones where they got their beer. After locating and purchasing a few tickets and trading them for a Guinness, we set out to take up space near the Miller Lite stage and listen to Gavin Degraw.

“Wait a minute, who the hell is that on stage?”

The band didn’t look like Gavin nor did it sound like him. As we talked with a couple who were there primarily to see Gavin — like we were — the singer of the band announced, “We’re sorry Gavin couldn’t be here.” The comments of “Well That SUCKS!” could be heard from quite a few people. Even though I bought tickets just because of Gavin, we did stick around to hear Dropkick Murphy perform and learned that the VIP package includes all drinks. So for $180 I could have had a bottomless cup of beer. Sounds like a good deal, but after seeing some of the kids sprawled out on the stadium grounds I think I’ll pass on that option. (But maybe we’ll review it next year when this event rolls back into D.C.)

So we hit the Porta Potties before jumping on the Metro to head to our hotel room. As we boarded, I mentioned we could hop off at Eastern Market and go somewhere for a few adult beverages. Didn’t have to twist Tish’s arm too much. Two and a half blocks from the Metro station is the Ugly Mug, a cool little pub with a lot of activity. It was still early (9:30) and we wanted some more beer. They have a nice selection that includes choices of pitchers and beer towers. If you’re not familiar with the tower, it is a tall, round vessel that they bring to your table. It holds 2.5 pitchers of beer with a tap at the base to draw you a cold one. We opted for a pitcher of Anchor Steam and decided on two orders of pretzel sticks and beer cheese wiz.

Now relax, this wasn’t the old-school aerosol cheese wiz we grew up on, this was The Ugly Mug’s creation and it was quite tasty. Three 6-inch long pretzel sticks, that resemble a bread stick — fluffy, baked perfectly with a hint of butter. This was a great snack to help with the beer consumption. A group of six sat down at the next table and we agreed that they were crazier than a bag of squirrels! After four beer towers and multiple shots, this bunch was primed for the night. We rolled out at 2:30 a.m. after a pitcher and a couple more pints.

The Ugly Mug is a great place to go and have one hell of a good time. Respectable food, great beverages and a friendly staff. We’ll be returning soon!

This past weekend was a subdued outing … Glen Manor Vineyard barrel tasting. There’s a romance to getting to taste straight from the barrel, to see how the wine is evolving. Of course, since we were able to taste two vintages (’10 and ’11) we have to remember that 2011 wasn’t a good year for most vintners in the state of Virginia.

It was looking like another banner year until the month of September rolled around and the dreaded hurricane season made its presence known. Having only two days with ideal conditions, harvesting was a challenge for most. Some pulled grapes early, some late, and with the latter came rot and mildew.

But I have to say that both of Glen Manor’s vintages are going to be very good wines. The only difference will be the tannin levels. 2010 was fruit forward with heavy tannins and ’11 had a smoother low-tannin taste. I’m looking forward to see how they pour next year when they are bottled.

They have some new wines that will be released in upcoming weeks, and when they are ready I’ll be waiting for the first pour. If you’re wondering about Virginia’s Governor’s Cup winner, Glen Manor’s ’09 Hodder Hill, sorry folks the barrel is empty and there’s none to be found on site.

My advice is to get out of the house and drive up Browntown Road to visit Glen Manor. Friendly staff and incredible views as well as damn good wine!