Cocktail Confessions

Over the weekend Monica and I had a very expensive, but good, dinner over at Simply Fondue in Mission Viejo.  It’s in a strange location (not one that I would ever pick) and I’m curious to see if it will make it in the long run.  It’s tucked away in a corner of Mission Viejo that doesn’t get much traffic other than the people that live in the immediate area.  Even the manager we spoke to said they are doing a lot of advertising for this place, more so than their other locations because people simply don’t know its there.

Fondue is a very social, and long experience.  We shared a 3 course meal ($49 a person), and from the time we sat down until the time we signed the check and left, it was close to two and a half hours later.  Drinks are also pretty expensive there and I’m not a big fan of $10 martini’s although I decided to have one called ‘Italian Ice’.  It’s made with blue curacao, some vodka, and a sugar rimmed glass.  It was good, but not $10 good, so I only had one.

One thing that Simply Fondue does have though is a pretty extensive martini menu.  They list just over 100 martini’s, although many of them seem to be novelty or desert martini’s and maybe the next time I go back I’ll try some of the more interesting concoctions they list.  One particular martini they listed was called a ‘Christmas’, and the ingredients are simple:

Christmas

• 4 parts gin (preferably Tanqueray)
• 1 part Creme de Menthe
• Combine in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, pour in martini glass

The Creme de Menthe is a brilliant green color and is a bit potent in flavor and can dominate the gin.  Make sure the gin is not a flavored one with lime or some of the other citrus blends on the market.  Creme de Menthe is basically mint, or concentrated peppermint and probably more commonly used in a ‘grasshopper’, so I imagine the sweet ’Christmas’ martini gets its name from both its pine green color and peppermint taste.  Quite a tasty little drink, but dangerous as the sugar content could lead to a bad headache, and who wants to throw up bright green?  Try rimming a glass with red sugar for more aesthetics.