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by ML

Some Beers are Worth the Wait

Normally when I’m thinking about booze, filling cups and consuming it as fast as humanly possible seems about right to me.

So when I heard about the Bottoms Up system — a beer dispenser that fills beers up from the BOTTOM, and takes only seconds — I figured it was worth a shot, if I ever encountered it. No beer line? No wait? Sounds good to me.

As it turns out, at the Phillies game a few weeks ago, the bottoms up Bud Light stand was the closest one to my section. Let it be known I never drink Bud Light by choice, but…sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So…Bottoms Up: God’s gift to sports fans? Not quite…

by ML

What to Do with That Leftover Easter Candy

On Saturday morning, in my pajamas, I impulse-bought two pounds of coffee, two pounds of bacon, and a package of Reeses’s Peanut Butter Eggs.

I just moved, so this was the entire contents of my fridge, besides a case of beer (obviously). I realized I had no idea what I was going to do with six peanut butter eggs and all that bacon, so one of my friends tweeted that I should combine the bacon, coffee, and chocolate….and my new favorite bacon and eggs were born. I left out the coffee because…well…I just did. The suggestion may have been a joke, but I’m pretty sure these peanut butter bacon strips are going to be the next big thing. Or at least replace bacon & eggs in my house.

Bacon and (Peanut Butter) Eggs

in Bacon / Desserts / Eggs / Recipe 6 comments

by ML

ES Local: Booze for Good

From Philadelphia…

It’s all the rage for “celebrity” chefs and restauranteurs to do good things. Marc Vetri just launched his program to save school lunches, and remember when Jamie Oliver had that TV show? Yeah. Next up: Stephen Starr. No, really.

Philly’s Starr restaurant organization isn’t exactly known for its philanthropy or even being nice to its employees. However, this year, some employees have joined together to do the Broad Street Run…because of course, if something is going to sell out in five hours, Starr has to be a part of it. But instead of just running down Broad Street like assholes, they’re using the race to support Teens4Good, a program that transforms vacant lots into urban farms to improve access to healthy food for communities, while creating jobs for at-risk youth and empowering them to become healthy, responsible adults. My favorite part of this is that they’re raising money for the program through my one true love: booze.

If you’re interested in giving back without actually doing anything, need an excuse to get to Route 6 for the oyster crackers, or just want to meet a celebrity (me), head up to Route 6 on Wednesday night after work. Rumor has it the beers are $3 and there may be a specialty cocktail thrown into the mix.

in Celebs 0 comments

by ML

Award-Winning Lamb Nachos

If ES can do anything, we can make bar food appetizing, and we can make it win competitions. Yes, really.

After you all voted for Russell’s Welsh Rarebit Lamb Nachos, he was paired with Chef John Critchley of Urbana to help perfect the dish for the big event, and perfect it he did. Russell and John took the nachos and turned them into, well…really fucking fancy nachos.

We headed to the Lamb Pro-Am after a hearty breakfast at Urbana (read: bottomless champagne). I stocked up on Lamb swag, then sampled beer while Russell and John served the masses their delicious, cheesy, fancy-looking nachos.

Here is Russell and John’s award-winning recipe!

Slow Roasted Lamb Nachos with Welsh Rarebit and Scallions

in Cheese / Contests / Recipe / Red Meat 3 comments

by ML

Cocktail Trend: Flowers in Our Booze?

We love cooking with booze, eating flowers, and putting booze in our food. So what about flowers in our cocktails?

To celebrate the opening of the Philadelphia Flower Show and the current Van Gogh exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Granite Hill Restaurant is offering a floral-themed Chef’s Table tonight featuring menu items such as quiche lorraine with edible pansies (PANSIES, not panties).

But what really caught my eye is the Van Gogh cocktail. The drink in question is a mixture of Bombay Sapphire gin, crème de Violette, lemon juice and simple syrup, with, yes — a flower floating on top.

Have you ever had flower cocktails, ESers? Yay or nay?

I vote yes, because, for the love of god, IT’S ALCOHOL.

in Drinks / Trends 2 comments

by ML

All Oyster Crackers Are Not Created Equal

A few weekends ago I found myself ordering clam chowder and two beers at 10pm. I was pretty hungry, having not eaten lunch, so I tore into the packet of oyster crackers and ate one as my chowder cooled. I turned to my friend and asked, “are these supposed to taste like this?”

She replied, “chalk? Yeah. That”s normal.”

I didn”t give it much thought past that. I used to eat oyster crackers for a snack as a kid and I loved them. I think it was just because my dad would bring them home as leftovers from lunch and tell me he “brought me a present.” Many years later, it seemed my friend was right: oyster crackers all taste like chalk.

in Restaurants 2 comments

by ML

Once It Hits Your Lips, It’s So good

I like doughnuts. I like them better than cupcakes and most other desserts, because doughnuts are fried and have that savory bit about them. They’re one of the sweets I can eat a lot of, and I do when I go to the doughnut shop at 8pm and the guy gives me 6 extra for free. Chocolate iced? Forget it. They’re my dessert kryptonite.

So when Krispy Kreme contacted ES and asked if one of us wanted to go to their first-ever Blogger Summit, I jumped on it. To be honest, I was really reserved at first. I’ve never been a Krispy Kreme fanatic, and I felt like I was walking into the McDonald’s of the dessert world — could these doughnuts really compare to my beloved local doughnut shop? Did it matter? Could I like them knowing they’re mass produced from a mix? I knew I wouldn’t see anyone making batter by hand, but I tried to keep an open mind as I departed for the Krispy Kreme Factory Tour in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Turns out there weren’t any oompa-loompas. Mostly, it was just a big factory with a lot of pallets of ingredients and bags of mix that they produce to send out to the stores. I think I saw shelf stable egg yolk. I’m not sure. Much of the tour resembled my college chem lab rather than any food-serving establishment. We weren’t allowed to take pictures in many parts of the factory…to preserve integrity, and I guess also for liability purposes. Nobody needs pictures of me falling into the glaze river.

The theme of the tour was consistency; every doughnut needs to taste exactly the same. In the lab, they test every batch of dry mix that goes out. After a few hours at the factory, I was feeling discouraged and over the whole “factory farmed doughnut” thing. But then I ate a doughnut fresh off the line. It was still warm with glaze, and I decided that maybe I’d give this company a chance.

in Breakfast / Desserts / Personal 1 comments