Went
here a few weekends ago on a Sunday afternoon nice enough to sit out. I got the Basil Berry - oxley gin, strawberry puree, basil, lemon and lime ($13). Sounds good, right? Well, not so much. It was a pretty loose concoction, enough gin, some mild strawberry flavor and some ice cubes.
The appetizer, on the other hand, mmm, mmm good. These are cheddar bacon apple fritters ($10) - fritters with green apple, cheddar and bacon with horseradish dipping sauce. Oh baby, these were tasty. I know they didn't but these had so much bacon flavor I almost asked if they were fried in bacon grease. Nice combination of flavors, perfectly fried and a nice, cool dipping sauce.
Would I go back? Not sure, drinks were pricey and just not that good. Or maybe I should just never stray from Manhattans. The appetizer was very good so maybe if I was in the neighborhood.
It's coming up on three years since I moved into my condo and broke my cocktail pitcher on the first night. After a long-tortuous-hot-everything but the boxspring getting up the stairs day of moving, I made a manhattan and tapped the pitcher against the hutch, shattering it. Since then it has been one antique store after another, one china shop after another, searching for a suitable replacement. Everything is too wide or if not too wide, no handle. Finally, here it is. Wandering around the shops at The Circle in Orange (It's About Time, 131 N. Glassell St) one morning waiting for the June gloom to burn off so I could hit the beach, I find it. The picture does not do it justice - but it is heavy glass/crystal with a nice bevelled pattern. Looks better with the cocktail in it, no? Something ridiculous like $32 and the guy at the counter wrapped it up so good. I was practically dancing out the door.
