Beer Blog

Atlanta is honestly one of my favorite cities. I think it’s the combinations that the place offers. You have an amazing array of regional and national music acts stopping in with a frequency that’s downright astonishing, and you couple that with mouth-watering Southern cuisine and a sense of hospitality that’s tough to find in other large-scale cities – it’s a gem for sure.

The main challenge in heading out in Atlanta, however, is traffic and transportation. Whenever you are imbibing, I have two words for you people – “Taxi” and “Cab.” (Or wait? Is it “taxicab?”… Screw it – here’s the point. Don’t drink and drive).

Atlanta presents a drinker with a challenge because cabs are much pricier than places like New York and Chicago, and the distances and amount of traffic in this Southern mecca are often large and in charge.

So my solution is to bring you two spots within walking distance of each other that will lend you an outstanding night out in Atlanta. Virginia Highlands is your best choice.

Neighbors Pub

Around since the mid 1980s, Neighbor’s Pub is famous for it’s highly anticipated, lovely afternoon Happy Hours. It’s a easy going, few-frills kinda place that makes a nice to jumping off point to your evening. Begin with a few draft beers on the large patio and a plate of tator tots (I mean, really? Who doesn’t love a good tator tot?). The ones at Neighbors come with jalapenos.

For draft beer, take your pick between 34 that rotate. Personally, I like a Birra Moretti because I think the bitter on this goes nicely with a combo of cheesy goodness and spice from jalapenos on the tator tots (sorry – yeah, I’m a bit obsessed with this particular menu item).

Details on Getting There:

752-C N Highland Avenue Northeast

Atlanta, GA 30306

(404) 872-5440

www.neighborsatlanta.com

Dark Horse Tavern and 10 High Club

Just a short stroll down the street, you land at a more suitable place to party until they kick you out. (At which point, if you know the managers like I do, you can stroll back to Neighbors for more tator tots – but I’m getting ahead of myself here).

Dark Horse Tavern is upstairs and the sister club 10 High is below in a setting that really gives the words “basement,” the full punch of the meaning. Dark Horse reminds me of some place in Dublin – hearty food, dark gleaming wood accents, stiff cocktails and a staff that always seems to be having the time of their lives. Ten High downstairs is dark with super low ceilings, kind of smelly till you get that third drink down, and loud as all Hell when the band strikes up. If you are in Atlanta on a Monday night, DO NOT miss out on 10 High’s Metalsome Mondays – with Live Heavy Metal Karaoke. There is a sign up sheet. If you have the nerve to select a heavy metal or rock song and get up with the band – more power to you on your power ballad. But if you don’t, still attend. It’s amazing fun to sit in the corner and watch strangers scream out their homage to Axl Rose.

Details on Getting There:

816 North Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306

(404) 873-3607

www.darkhorseatlanta.com

This Week’s Have it At Home:

Secretariat – Courtesy of Dark Horse Tavern

1.5 oz. Woodford Reserve

1 oz. Tuaca

Dash of ginger simple syrup

Splash of fresh lemon juice

All ingredients shaken
and served up in a Martini glass. Garnish with two cherries.

The Delights of Denver

Tavern Locations

While I’m not normally a huge fan of chain establishments (California Pizza Kitchen being an exception), but in the town of Denver, Co., there is one group that does it right in terms of bars. Tavern Hospitality Group owns five Tavern locations in the city, each with a patio component that’s simply put – “delightful” – this time of year. One of the best things about imbibing at a Tavern is that they don’t feel like a chain. Each spot is a different layout and design, but every one holds the idea of being outside in high regard. There are fire pits on some of the patios, waterfalls on some others and misting systems throughout each. In the winter they roll out Infared heaters! Now that’s a bar that cares about your comfort. Not sure if you readers know this, but those suckers will send your heating bills through the roof.

Other perks to taking a few back at Tavern include made-to-order fresh meals, great high definition televisions with packages to show all the big games, live acoustic guitar on Sunday afternoons and killer Happy Hour specials. Soon to come, the location downtown will open a brand new rooftop patio, which undoubtedly will be THE place to catch the Rockies games when you don’t have tickets.

Details on Getting There:

www.tavernhg.com

Root Down

My brother and I somehow became foodies. I’m not sure when it happened, considering he lives in Denver and I live – well – in airports these days. But somewhere, somehow, we both fell in love with going out to eat, ordering four appetizers and two entrees, having three cocktails a piece and basically snobbing out on “roux-this” and “fennel-that.” So now, when I have the wonderful pleasure of spending a meal with him, we tend to find the coolest spot in town. A few weeks ago, it was Root Down in Denver.

The place is a converted gas station, with the roll down doors setting a back drop for the bar, which is replete with things you definitely need in a bar – like Hendrick’s Gin and 42 Below vodka – and things you don’t – like telephones and film canisters turned into funky ala 1950’s art.

The staff is super friendly and the food is awe-inspiring. I wish we’d had more chance to talk, but scrapping over the last morsel of goat cheese while flagging down the waitress for another cocktail took some precedence. Cannot stress this enough readers – go there. Sit down. And have at it. The menus – both food and drink – are all around outstanding. I should know, our check total almost made us faint.

Details on Getting There:

1600 West 33rd Avenue

Denver, CO 80211

(303) 993-4200

www.rootdowndenver.com

This Week’s Have it at Home:

The Homecoming Caipirinha – courtesy of Root Down Mixologist Anika Zappe

1 ½ ounce Boca Loca Cachaca

2 fuji apple slices

2 lemon slices

½ ounce cinnamon agave nectar

unfiltered organic apple juice

sage leaf

Muddle apples, lemons, sage and cinnamon agave nectar in a glass. Add ice, cachaca and top with apple juice. Roll in a shaker until blended. Pour into an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice.

One of the most frustrating things in the world can be a night out with friends in New York. Elbowing your way through a crowd, only to arrive bar-side and have to wait eons to get a good cocktail or a beer for you and your 9 buddies … let’s face it – no one likes this.

It’s certainly not the bartender’s fault. They want to be busy. It’s good for them. You want to be in a place with people. It’s good for you. Thankfully, many bartenders are answering the annoying problem of large groups waiting for drinks with something a bit more cost effective and – let’s face it, less lame – than bottle service.

This week’s drinker’s weekly salutes “Alternatives to Bottle Service!”

SUPERDIVE

If you are over the hype of getting hammered, check out Superdive. This East Village bungalow is filled with everything from rowdy beer pong tournaments to Tim Burton-worthy decorations at Halloween. There are private, secluded banquettes, as well as couches in the middle of the action, but the greatest thing about Superdive is their keg service. Here’s how it works. You jump online at superdivebar.com and reserve your spot and your choice of keg. You arrive when you say you will – with your many, many friends in tow – and they seat you and wheel over your keg.

Details on Gettting There:

200 Avenue A, bt 11^th and 12^th

(646) 448 – 4854

BOBO

Looking for something a bit more upscale with cocktail after the keg service? Only now you have 12 people in the group? No problem. Try out Bobo in the West Village for a big bowl of punch. While you can’t really “call it in early” like you can at Superdive, the fresh preparation of Bobo’s punches more than makes up for it. The bartenders squeeze citrus, drop in some sugar and spice and everything nice (ahem … booze) into a beautiful antique punchbowl that serves five at once. May I suggest the New London. It comes with Beefeater Gin, St. Germain, Maraschino, Green Tea, and Prosecco for a really reasonable $58.

Details on Getting There:

181 W. 10th St., at 7th Ave. So.

(212) 488-2626

Without a doubt the drinking capital of America, New Orleans is not a city known for its well-crafted cocktails oddly enough. Sure you can get sideways on a giant pre-mixed powder-package Hurricane, walking around with a mouth so red you look like some psychotic clown that went haywire with the lipstick. But finding a properly built Vieux Carre cocktail or a contemporary creation bearing words like gin and elderflower? Well, for those you have to know where to look.

For cocktails, stop in Cure on Freret. You are going to have to take a taxi out of the French Quarter for this spot, but trust me it’s worth it. The food is a menagerie of duck-this and Anjou pear-that, all outstanding, if a bit pricey for the Big Easy. The cocktails are really your reason for attendance, however, and my recommendations include the Yerba Agave, a mix of El Tesoro anejo tequila, agave nectar, Benedictine, Marie Brizard white mint, Angostura bitters and mint, and whatever the bartenders feel like making you. If they are busy, order off the menu. If they are slow, sit back and put yourself in capable hands.

4905 Freret Street,

New Orleans LA 70115

504.302.2357

After a few cocktails, move back to the recesses of the Quarter for a little more local flair. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is located at the very end of Bourbon Street, and it’s been located there since the late 1700s. Purported to be the oldest liquor-serving establishment in America, the pirate Jean Lafitte bootlegged liquor from the building with his brother for years, until the building began a series of owners. There has never been electricity inside save the generator that runs the freezer. You are engulfed in shadow and soft piano music, candlelight and very, very strong cocktails. Order the Voodoo Daddy. If you ask what’s in it, the bartender will call it a “big cup of happy.” You will call it “Satan” or maybe “the sledge hammer that broke your face” the next day. Basically, I have been unable to pry out what’s in this gulp cup of purple slushy. In my expert opinion, it’s white rum … and possibly a Quaalude.

Details on Getting There:

941 Bourbon Street

New Orleans, LA 70116

(504) 522-9377

The Drinker’s Weekly:

Charleston South Carolina

“Get off the mainland!” I like screaming that at my friends who are headed to Charleston, S.C., when they come clamoring for bar suggestions. Nothing tastes better than a cold beer or chilled cocktail when it’s coupled with the sound of waves nearby or really cool surfer people. It doesn’t matter who you are, you know you think surfers are cool. Admit it.

I’m not one. But I do know a good drink and a good drinking spot. Thanks mom and dad for the college education (yes, that’s right, I went to the College of Charleston!), and paying my rent for a year while I lived “off the mainland” on a little barrier island beach called “Folly.”

The name is perfect. The drinks are plentiful, and folly always ensues.

The Surf Bar on Folly Beach serves a menu that changes not seasonally but daily.

Out back, a smoker produces mouthwatering, 10-hour pork, hand pulled and perfect with one of the six beers on tap. Fresh fish is filleted in the kitchen and prepared on an oak and pecan wood-burning grill, and local bands rotate as frequently as the specials. Surf Bar recycles everything from the fry oil to the beer bottles to the walls –the entire building is made from salvaged wood – and 3 flatscreen TV’s supply surfing videos for when you’ve had too many frozen Painkillers to manage the real thing.

Details on Getting There:

103 W Cooper Ave.
Folly Beach, SC 29439

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Folly-Beach-SC/Surf-Bar/48551016004

While on the beach, also make sure to check out the new Drop In Deli.

Barely a year old, this spot is owned by four boys who somewhat Peter-Panned it and never grew up, opting to stay beachside long after college. Hey, they are making a profit. You get great service. What’s the harm?

The décor is a blend of bits and pieces added by friends and relatives, and you are for certain going to make friends with a large local contingent any night you wander inside The Drop In.

Order the Above Ground cocktail. It’s a playful twist on a French classic called The Swimming Pool. Actually, it’s officially called La Piscine (But that’s French for – you guessed it – “swimming pool”).

Also stunningly delicious are the sandwiches. Piled high with things like turkey and ham, little touches include cream cheese or willingness to throw an egg on any sandwich upon request. If you happen to drop in on the Drop In, however. Do me one personal favor. Tell the owner with the mustache that the 1980’s called. They want their bad facial hair back. Shave that thing.

Details on Getting There:

32-B Center St., Folly Beach, SC 843.633.0234

http://www.facebook.com/dropindeli

This Week’s “Have It at Home”

The Above Ground

2 oz Plymouth gin

Splash of Champagne

Fill remainder with ginger ale over ice and garnish with lime.

Since SXSW is taking the stage – or stages as it were – this next week in Austin, Texas, I thought it was a great week to blog about one of the best bar cities in America (shame it also happens to be stuck inside Texas).

For those of you who don’t know about South by Southwest or SXSW, go to (sxsw.com). It’s a full eleven days of amazing music, independent films, and seminars by some of the best minds in Internet technology, web sites, video, etc. and so forth.

But I’m not here to tell you about SXSW, I’m here to tell you about two of my personal picks for drinking in Austin, Texas. After all that music and information on Internet-know-how, you are going to be thirsty, right?

I advise you get off of the tourist trap that is the city’s legendary Sixth Street. Sure, you can get a great shot and a beer down on Sixth, but you have to get it with every other drunk jackass on the planet. Who wants that? Especially when there are amazing alcohol-friendly eateries like Opal Divine’s and rock havens like Club de Ville.

Opal Divine’s is a stellar place to people watch over a cold beer and a plate piled high with cracked pepper fries. The beer specials on Wednesdays include all local craft brews – like 512, Live Oak, Real Ale and Independence – priced at just $2.50. There are several locations around the city, but I suggest the one on South Congress, because the misting fans are a delightful experience on the patio in warm weather.

Details on Getting There:

3601 South Congress Avenue

(512) 707-0237

www.Opaldivines.com

Once the night really gets rolling, make sure to taxi it to Club de Ville. This music mecca has been an Austin right of passage for more than a decade. The cocktails inside worth your attention include the Sake Bombs – sweet cucumber, vodka and sake – and the pomegranate Mojitos. The beer? Order a Live Oak in a 20-ounce pint glass and settle in to pet the puppies in attendance. The spot is dog-friendly (for friendly dogs), and the livw music puts it on the map nationally. Bands play against a red rock, limestone wall out back on the patio, lit behind by candles and from above by the moon.

Details on Getting There:

900 Red River

(512) 457-0900

www.Clubdeville.com

There are a million-and-one places to grab a cold beer or a cocktail in New York City. However, Diablo Royale earned my attention this week because they are willing to bring us both – in the same damn glass. That’s right. There’s beer in your Margarita at Diablo Royale. Or, Margarita in your beer. Either way you spill it, the bar’s signature drink The Ricky is outstanding – from the first sip to the tear-inducing hangover the next day.

Here’s how it works. You sit on a barstool while the bartender (not Ricky, because he’s long gone these days) fills a giant pint glass ¾’s of the way up with cold Tecate. The glass is then topped off with a heavy pull of frozen Margarita from a machine in the wall.

As a drink’s writer for the last six years, I have seen a lot. I’ve seen stuff that would upset your tattooed cousin from The Bronx. So it takes a great deal to make me pause in a bar and go, “what in the hell?”

I walked into Diablo Royale expecting to get the city’s best Ricky. As in Gin Ricky, people. So yeah, I was more than a little freaked out when it seemed some crazy man had managed to get a job at what seemed to be an upstanding place, and was now was ruining icy cold Tecate with Margarita.

The combination is amazing, though. You get the biting crisp carbonation of the beer and a sweet limey finish against the salt on the rim. Remember when you used to take roadtrips with your parents as a kid and you would get a Coke Icee at the gas station? This is that – only you’re an adult and the buzz is completely worth the $9.

Details on Getting There:

Neighborhood: West Village

189 W 10th St

(between 4th St & Bleecker St)

New York, NY 10014

(212) 620-0223

www.diabloroyale.com

My other favorite New York spot for this week is Louis 649 in Alphabet City. It’s been a long-time darling of mine, and I think this place has a great deal going for it.

Let’s start with the décor. The bartop is white hexagonal tiles (don’t see that everyday), and scattered red candles and sultry lighting give the pasty hipster next to you that instantly tan look. Gotta love that. The drink list is insanely long – dozens and dozens of cocktails are divided up by spirit category, not mention there is a very serious selection of bourbons and single malts.

But perhaps my favorite thing about Louis 649 is the people. The bartenders have managed great drinks sans the pretention you find in other speakeasy, East Village places, and the crowd is always a mix of Alphabet City neighborhood dwellers and new faces – meaning if you find a friend there, you are likely to find another and another and another.

For drinks, hit up bartender Glenn Lucci’s Mexican Firing Squad. This cocktail first hit print sometime in the 1930’s, and the one made at Louis is a fantastic blend of tart citrus and sweet pomegranate-based grenadine. Add to this a $10 price tag and no door policy, a Mexican Firing Squad at Louis 649 makes my list at least once a week.

Details on Getting there:

Neighborhood: Alphabet City

649 E. 9^th Street

(On the corner of Ave C)

New York, NY 10009

(212) 673-1190

www.louis649.com

This Week’s “Have It At Home”

The Mexican Firing Squad Cocktail

2 ounces Partida Blanco Tequila

¾ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

½ ounce grenadine

Note: To make the grenadine, boil one large bottle of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice until it reduces down to half, and add 1 pound of sugar