Dear Pearl: I Still Do Like You

Dear Pearl,

Before I say all this, I have to say that I really do like you. I’ve written about you and your unique list of modern tropical drinks in the past. And I still like your spacious layouts, with three bars and all types of nooks, high tables, tall stools and soft, velvet cushions. Your happy hours are so pleasant—the discount drinks and appetizers, the easy accent lighting. Your staff is even kind and friendly. And, of course, your drinks were a delight, especially your old-fashioned.

But this last occasion something felt off. It all started when I ordered this first drink:

The Cherry Manhattan

Ingredients: Phillips Union cherry whiskey, sweet vermouth, two dashes of bitters, and a splash of cherry herring.

It looked pretty, up in a martini glass, all red and glossy. But it tasted like medicine! More syrupy than fluid. So sweet and no earthy whiskey.

And then I ordered:

Papa Doubles


Ingredients: 10 cane rum, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, rock candy syrup, fresh grapefruit and lime.

Luxardo is one of my favorites, so I splurged and reached for this second drink, supposedly a Cuban daiquiri, according to the menu! But it was too thick, weighed down by muddled grapefruit and lots of syrup. It tasted like concentrated juice.

Alas, perhaps myself is to blame for not sitting at the bar. I do have to say, though, that your food was stupendous. My friend Phil ordered Kobe beef and seared ahi. The tender beef arrived on a tall stack of wide potatoes, fried just right so that they were crunchy on the exterior and fluffy on the inside.



The ahi was so fresh, too, and sauce was just amazing! Not too fishy. Firm and not mushy.


In the end, I still respect you, Pearl. And I do plan to return another happy hour some day. Your environment is just so comfy, and my friend experience was so wonderful. But perhaps I may not order these specific drinks.

Love,

Noelle

A Word on Port

For that of you who read our laudations of alcohol in certain of its multifarious manifestations, you may wonder why we neglect all things spawned from grapes. To put it simply: It’s too damn complicated and too much has been said about it already.

But...

I have to talk a little bit about Port. I have to tell you, I feel guilty doing it. We’re strictly about cocktails here at the Joy of Drinking. Our offices are filled with swizzle sticks and julep strainers, not merlots and shirazes. I’ll take a glass of scotch over a glass of wine, thank you, and I’ll write about it to boot... See? There I go again, off on another anti-wine rant. It’s not that I don’t like the stuff, it’s just that I’m ignorant, so I keep my mouth shut.

But...

How do I dare talk about Port? Well... How can I justify it? Hmm, what is Port, exactly? Wine fortified with brandy, eh? That’s sort of a mixed drink. In fact, that’s definitely a mixed drink. PERFECT.

Moving right along: Quinta de la Rosa’s “Lote No. 601.” This Ruby Port should run you about 22-25 bucks, and it’s just about worth it. It’s head and shoulders above your average Graham’s Six Grapes, that’s for certain. I recommend this Port, with that caveat that it’s easily accessible, and you can definitely get more bang for your buck elsewhere.

It’s flavors are very, very nice. It’s a perfect drink if you have a sweet tooth, which I have. It’s sweet, but not store-bought-apple-pie-warmed-with-ice-cream-sweet. It’s not a restaurant cocktail, is what I’m saying; it won’t make you cringe. It’s got such a depth to its sweetness that you’ll find yourself savoring it, trying to unpack its flavor. There’s a hint of toffee there, which reminds me of my all time favorite, a Tawny by the name of Old Codger Port (from Australia! I’ll be damned, mate).

I highly suggest, Meredith (assuming you’re still reading this. If not, our readership has dropped to nil), that you invest in a nice bottle of Port. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. If you can find Quinta de la Rosa, grab it. You can tell your friends you paid three times what you did for it, and they’ll probably believe you. It’s also an excellent introduction into the world of Port.


(I apologize for the lack of moodily lit photos.)

Kitchen Concoctions: A Cocktail for the Holidays

To me, Tanqeray tastes like Christmas. Somehow the juniper spirit reminds me of crisp December days with my nose to the family room tree and cider mulling on the stove.

So I thought I'd try to make a holiday drink with Tanqeray--my gunggung's (grandfather's) spirit of choice and one of my own favorites. Here's the recipe for what I threw together:

In a mixing glass with cracked and large ice, stir in:

1.5 oz Tanqeray gin
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz maple syrup
dashes Peychaud/orange (preferably Regan's) bitters

Stir for 30 seconds and strain it into a martini glass.

Garnish: flame an orange peel above the glass.

Hope you like it alright. Happy holidays to you!

*Note: You'll see in this picture that I actually didn't use a martini glass. This is because someone else was using the only martini glass I have! :-\

The Empire Tap Room (Part Noelle)

I’d like to add a little to Josh’s review of the Empire Tap Room. The main problem with the place as a bar is that it’s really not a bar. Despite what the name suggests, it’s more of a restaurant where patrons can find rich food in a fancy pub setting. Tables with tablecloths take up more of the room than bar seating. On one occasion, I actually went there for lunch and enjoyed a really lovely warm goat cheese salad and polenta (this expedition documented on my food blog). On warm afternoons, you can sit in the courtyard, where there are sunshine, vines and a fountain.

And if you’d like a beer with your meal, by all means…

Empire Tap Room
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/empire-tap-room-palo-alto
651 Emerson St
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 321-3030

The Empire Tap Room

Across the street from the trendy frozen yogurt bar Fraiche sits this even trendier bistro/bar. I’ve been trying to think of a word other than “yuppie” for this place, but so far, I’ve been unable.

Normally, I’m very pro-yuppie atmosphere. I love me some coziness. Oak finishing, softly lamp lit tables, I’ll take it all. But there’s one part of the yuppiness I can’t tolerate (not anymore, at least): Stuffiness. As soon as their goofy, awkward, coke bottle-bottomed bespectacled waiter approached me, I knew. The place was a morgue. It was where white collar, Silicon Valley folk go to die, at least for the night. The rotund bartender managed to disprove my theory that all porky people are jolly. The end; don’t go here.

651 Emerson St
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 321-3030

Lots of beer on tap. $4 for 10oz, $6 for 20oz. No idea how the cocktails are.

Panya Bistro + Ichiriki Loft

You know the weird thing about karaoke is that songs simultaneously have more and less meaning. I can finally understand what some singers are saying when I read the words on the screen.

But karaoke was how the night ended.

The night began by trying the sangria at Panya with my parents.




The drink: Panya Sangria, $5
Taste: If I were to use a simile for the special sangria at Panya, I would say the sangria is like a wine cooler. Does the comparison seem shallow? Well, I guess it fits then. I tried the red wine one (there was also a white wine). It was extremely sweet and also bitter like citrus rind. The bottom of the glass had collected quite a lot of fruit debris.
Ingredients: The waiter said he didn’t know what was in the Panya Sangria.

Happy Hour at Panya will knock a dollar or so off of drinks. The menu is full of exotic-sounding cocktails of simple preparation. A guava martini, for instance, is vodka and guava juice. All specialty “martinis” are $6 and sangria is $5 (regular price martinis are $7.50). All the happy hour food is $5 or less. There are selections of spring rolls, chicken karaage, papaya salad and cold tofu.

Not a place to go out of your way for the drinks, but the atmosphere is fun and the food is moderately priced and tasty.

Then Nicci took me to Ichiriki Loft for my goodbye.


I really enjoyed Ichiricki Loft. There was lots of comfortable seating, the music was pleasant, the staff was super nice, and the low lighting gave a nice ambiance. The drinks aren’t hardcore if you’re trying to line it up to classic mixology, but they’re sure tasty. I’d go again.

Here are the various drinks everyone got (and I tasted hehehe).


Midnight tea: asian tea, lychee liquer, lemon
Taste: It’s a nice girl drink. I think they used real tea in it, so it tasted like green tea leaves. Very sweet.

Lychee martini: vodka, lychee juice, lychees
Taste: I find most lychee martinis too sweet, but this one struck a perfect balance between real lychee flavor and sugar. I think the key was using real lychee juice. There was also no burn in this drink, which was nice.



PP: 151 & watermelon puckers.
Taste: This was actually a shooter Nicci enthusiastically ordered. It’s really smooth. I’d recommend it.
Also, “PP” is not the real name of the shooter, but the actual moniker made everyone uncomfortable, so you can just use your imagination. If you feel uncomfortable, you are probably in the ballpark.


Shiso mojito: twist on the mojito with shochu shiso instead of rum.
Taste: This was OK. I’m not a huge shochu fan. Personally, I think that shochu makes a better substitite for vodka instead of rum. On the bright side, this drink brought out the mint a little lightly. It didn’t taste as sweet.

Then we went off to the karaoke place. Nopes, I wasn’t drunk, but the Norwegian girls next door sure were. One of them talked to me for a long time in the bathroom, and then waved enthusiastically as I left the building. Well, always nice to make friends one way or another.

Thanks, Nicci, Ryan and Will for taking me out! Woo hoo!

Panya Bistro
Ala Moana Center (near Longs, Sears, and Gap)

Ichiriki Loft
510 Piikoi St. - Honolulu

Postscript: I'm really sorry this post is so late! Also, I have been rather absent as of late. Two reasons: 1. Spending hiatus (otherwise known as unemployment). 2. Josh has most of the pictures, and then we don't upload them!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

If you've never made Mexican hot chocolate at home, you're missing a real treat. It's super easy, so I'll break it down for you real quick. Here's the general recipe:

A few triangles of Abuelita chocolate (should be in the hispanic food/international food section. Or go to any Mexican market)

Some milk

See how easy that is? Start with a triangle or two, and then add more to taste, if you like it creamier.

If you want to be REALLY adventurous, try the same recipe, but with an ounce or so of Amaretto.



If you are bat-shit crazy, you can add about 1/2 an ounce of Grand Marnier to that. Noelle like it, I didn't... I don't really like mixing Grand Marnier with anyway