Cocktail Confessions

Making Jeff Foxworthy proud.

Okay,  that title isn’t really fair, but it’s not that far off either.

Jeremiah Weed currently makes a small selection of spirits and malt berverages.  Here, I am refering only to the malt beverage, Roadhouse Tea.

My wife bought me a six pack of this stuff after I expressed some interest in it after Adam Corolla has been pimping it on his podcast for the last few months ad-nauseum.  I originally tried the vodka laced Sweet Tea of theirs thinking it may be a nice substitute for the Seagram’s brand of Sweet Tea Vodka.  Well, I’ll tell you right now, I think the Seagrams version is a bit better.  I found the Jeremiah Weed a bit too sweet for my liking.  I mean, I wouldn’t pour it out, but given the choice of Sweet Tea vodka’s in the future, it wouldn’t be my first choice.

Anyway, back to the canned malt beverage variety (pictured, can on far right).  It is 5.8% and comes in these 1 pint, 7.5 oz cans they label “premium”.  I think the only thing “premium’ about this is the artwork that goes into the cans…you have to admit, they are a bit interesting looking and I’d wager standout a bit more while staring back at you from their refrigerated cases at Wal-Mart.

Now I personally think it’s a gimmick, and I’ll admit they got me to try it based on some marketing level, but it’s not what I was expectinga nd am really surprised (or am I?) how popular these are becoming in certain markets.  Maybe the Spiked Cola or Lightning Lemonade does in fact taste better, but knowing it’s based on a ‘malt beverage’ , don’t expect it. 

Actually I found this to taste: 1) Thicker (if that’s even a taste) than I expected, 2) “syrup-ey”, 3) and has a tin can after-taste.  No joke on that last one.  I had a few of them, and with each swig, I thought I could taste metal in the end.  The first thing I’d like to suggest to them is to line the can, ala Keystone beer did as a gimmick in the early 90′s and maybe that would help eliminate that metallic bite.

Cokctail in a Can. 80's hoopla for piss.

Overall it really reminded me of those God awful Club Mixers in a can that used to be the rage in the 80′s.  We all watched too much Miami Vice and wanted to pretend we were all as swanky as Crocket. 

As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine (whose ironically in law enforcement these days) used to buy these for me occassionally when we were under age and in High School (sorry mom).  There was a small liquor store in the area, and I have no idea what those guys behind the counter were thinking (they probably didn”t or could care less), but they’d sell my friend wine collers, beer, and booze with his shitty fake I.D. when we were all but 17 and 18 years of age.  Back then I tried the Club “Long Island Ice Tea”….and it tasted like crap out of a can…but hell, we were 18 years old and I wasn’t about to toss that down the drain no matter how disgusting they were.

So when I drink the Jeremiah Weed canned Sweet Tea, it reminds me of sneaking crap back in 1988.  Those tasted like tin as well.

I live this drink to the lower demographics….yeah, you know what I’m talking about.

This past weekend Monica and I were able to join our friends for a Flamenco dance and dinner show at the historic El Cid theatre located on the sunset strip near downtown Los Angeles.

The initial incentive was that our friend Brian was able to score some heavily discounted tickets for the show via an offering from groupon.com.  Personally, I have yet to use groupon myself, but I understand that have killer deals daily for various group activities at all kinds of different locals.  I need to check it soon for some additional outings.

In attendance would be Brian and his fiancé, Shea, their friends Chris and his wife, Michelle, my old college buddy Sam and his wife, Alicia, and finally my wife, Monica, and myself. 

We all decided to meet at the El Cid just prior to 7pm, so we took 3 sets of vehicles.  Our own drive wasn’t so bad until we transitioned from the 5 fwy to the 101 north.  The last 15 miles or so seemed to drag on as our average speed was about 15-20mph.  But that is pretty much Los Angeles traffic at any time these days, and we finally pulled up to valet parking at 6:50pm.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was expecting to think the El Cid to look like.  The building itself was built around 1900 by D.W. Griffith and was used to screen the now famous movie, “Birth of a Nation” back in 1915.  In 1950 the building was converted into a mini theater and was know to be a local hangout for stars at the time.

In 1961, the building was converted once again, this time as the ‘El Cid’ restaurant, and made to look like a replica of a 16^th century Spanish tavern.  There have been a few ‘minor’ cosmetic changes over the years I imagine, but for the most part the building itself looks somewhat dated.  That’s not necessarily bad, mind you; it has an intimate and somewhat charming setting and retains a certain Spanish aesthetic one might recognize from a 1970’s Spanish villa.

The walls are a faded white adobe stucco with dated cracks here and there accented with faded red brick and large wood beams.  As you make your way through the sidewalk main entrance you immediately wind down a steep concrete and brick path surrounded by greenery and flowers with irregular steps, (ladies be careful with high heels) until you arrive at a lower patio veranda. 

The patio area has both a few booths lining the outside walls and free standing tables located in the center.  There are free standing space heaters strewn about and a small outside bar that serves various domestic and imported (mainly Mexican) beers and of course cocktails.

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Monica and I located our party in a booth at the far end of the patio and enjoyed a couple of cocktails with everyone.  We also posed for a few pictures prior to be seated inside and enjoyed the last remnants of the western setting sun in the open air.  Prices for drinks were a tad hefty.  My Jack on the rocks was $9, and Monica’s Crown on the rock was $10, and these weren’t huge glasses.  Perhaps just a shot, maybe slightly more, poured over ice into a lowball glass.  The girls said the mojito’s were pretty good and Shea was enjoying some fruity looking martini.

At approximately 7:00pm we were asked to line up to be seated at our dinner table.  After a brief wait outside we were led inside down a short and low ceiling hallway to the main dinner floor.  Luckily we scored a nice table right up front next to the raised stage.

Looking about the room, everyone is seated at long tables and surrounded by typical Spanish decorations including the obligatory velvet bull-fighting poster and faux balcony windows lined in ornate rod iron fixtures.  It was a tad dim in the room with stage lighting fixtures overhead.  With everyone seated inside, (I’d guestimate about 75 people or more are here for the show) it was a bit cozy, but the aesthetics lent an air of authenticity.  Restrooms are located in the back and are small.  Despite it’s charm the restaurant does feel a bit dated and could use a fresh coat of paint, a little dusting here and there, and a few minor repairs.

Our tickets included a three course meal (soup, salad, & main dish).  The soup was delicious and reminded me of a Spanish interpretation of Miso soup.  It was a thicker, creamy broth with a light mixture of fresh vegetables.  I really enjoyed it as it had a rich, yet light flavor.  It had the texture of a bisque and a very unique flavor.  Following the soup, the second course consisted of a garden side salad with raspberry vinaigrette.  All in all, it was a typical salad, nothing special but at least it was fresh. 

Since we all considered this evening a treat and we all arrived on an empty stomach, of course we opted to purchase some additional appetizers, or ‘tapas’, as they are known in Spanish.

The Tapas were very good.  In addition to standard chips and a hearty and spicy salsa our table also ordered the following: fried calamari rings (served with lemon wedges), crab stuffed mushroom caps (with a lobster cream sauce), fresh ceviche, and fried manchego cheese (served with pesto sauce).  I can tell you everything was good, but the stand out item was the manchego cheese, well, more so the fresh pesto sauce.  That pesto was da bomb!  Everyone really enjoyed that, but we all agreed that all of our selections were good.  On average, the tapas range between $8 – $11, except the chips and salsa ($4), although I’ve been to other Spanish restaurants where the tapas were a bit more unique and felt more original than the offerings here at El Cid.

The actual main dish was next and as stand alone items they range from $15 to $20, unless you get the paella, (made for two) and has a price $35.  The one thing I didn’t understand is that if you chose to have a single serving of the Paella, they charge an additional $10!!  That seems pretty extreme since paella is just a rice dish to begin with, so why the need to charge $10 more for half a portion makes no sense to me.

Flamenco Exceprt: Part I

To be continued…..

One of my closest friends, Albert Ihle, came over this past weekend to help me replant an earthbox he gave me over this past holiday season.  The past few months, this earthbox gift supplied a bountiful and rich bounty of lush and organic lettuce leaves.  With the original four heads that were planted (along with some parsley to boot), Monica and I had tons of green leaves for both salads and sandwiches with left overs to share.  Of course, being organic not only did they taste better and we knew they couldn’t be any fresher from our pickings, but they were chock full of vitamins

However, with the seasons changing from winter into spring, it was time to replant.  Al called me up and asked me what I may be interested in trying to grow this time around, and with the weather going to warm up soon and summer in just a few months away, I opted to go with some fresh chili peppers.  Monica and I enjoy entertaining with large BBQ’s with our friends, and since we also like Mexican dishes, I opted to buy a few jalepenos plants, some anaheim chilis, and cilantro.

It was a perfect 8 am morning roll call when Al showed up this past Saturday and with Bloody Mary’s in hand, we got down to business. What you see in these pictures is a what an earthbox looks like.  Albert and his wife Lisa have been growing many of their own produce for the last three years and we’ve tasted their homemade sweet marinara sauce, had numerous grilled veggies, and of course their own salads.  Click on the links yourself if you want to learn more about this way of planting and growing your own sustainable foods in your garden.

Earthbox example

What’s nice about this episode is that it is a great example of using the portable Zoom H2 recorder out in the field.  I recored approx. 50 minutes of straight audio which I got o edit down for your plreasure, all while learning about earthboxes and plenty of gardening and growing tips.  I also shot some video as well using a Kodak Playsport flash cam at the same time and I’m in the process of editing those for a future posting as well.  So not only can you enjoy this very educational podcast, with a few shots of vodka mixed in by yours truly, you’ll also eventually see some video clips as well.

Bloody Mary’s featured in this episode were made with Snug Harbor mix, winner of the ‘outstanding beverage’ award at the 1998 International Fancy Food Show.  What makes this Bloody Mary mix unique is it’s inclusion and blend of both clam juice and Chesapeake Bay Seasoning.  If you aren’t making a cocktail, try using it as a cooking sauce, maybe even a booster in Mexcian Ceviche.  You can find this online or unique liquor and gifts stores like Home Goods.  The bootles are 25oz in size and retail for approx $8.

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