24 cats and another among the countless manhattans

I picked up this lovely 3 year old girl midweek. She is foster cat number 24 for me. She was found wandering the streets of Dorchester by Animal Rescue League and has been in the shelter since December 28. She's with me for 10-14 days so she doesn't get an infection after being fixed. She's as skinny as a rail but is eating well.

She is quite the starlet. She'd take a few steps, pause, face the camera and then repeat. Very sweet temperament but has a real problem with being picked up and held so it's a good thing she doesn't require any medication. She is sleeping with me and has jumped up on my lap while I'm working at my desk so I'm hoping by the time it gets to put her back in the carrier, I won't be mauled to badly.

The tradition in my house is I get a cat, I welcome her with a manhattan. This one is a perfect sazerac...in my perfect frozen glass.

JJ Foley's Boston

Not much to write home about with this place, typical Irish pub. This Maker's Mark manhattan with a twist that was really a wedge was decent enough at $9.50. All the little sparkly things are the reflections of the Christmas lights hung around the backroom. It was a last minute/early outing on New Years Eve. Tonya supplied party favors to all the girls (boxes with hula dancing paraphernalia Gross.

I did meet two people who might shovel the walk; one at the bar and one who was shoveling at the Epiphany School. Why can I find 4 people to to this chore and the other two unit owners can't find anyone? Rhetorical question since we know the answer.

Starlite Lounge, Cambridge

This riff on a manhattan is from Trina's Starlite Lounge in Cambridge. I went there a few weeks ago and must report that this place might just be perfect except for the fact that it is a short half block or so from the back door of work. The drink is called The Gentleman (Buffalo Trace Bourbon according to the menu, Belle de Brillet and lemon juice). I think the oh so charming bartender, Dan, made mine with Maker's Mark. The pear flavor and the lemon flavor are very distinct and occur one at a time, pear first, then the tartness of lemon. I didn't taste the bourbon at all. The way I found out the drink was made with Maker's Mark was when Dan asked me how I liked the drink. I must have given a lukewarm, "Interesting," and asked what type of bourbon he used. Did I want more bourbon? Seriously, has a bartender ever asked you that? I hadn't quite made up my mind when my drink was whisked away and returned with no discernible flavor other than the Maker's Mark. More like what I typically want and I am not complaining. I did wish he hadn't taken that drink away so quickly so just I could have more time to decide if I really liked it. My friend got a mojito and didn't have a complaint. Now this place has been reported to have upscale picnic-like food and we obliged by ordering the $4.00 burger. Yup, you read that right. $4.00. Granted, it might not be much to look at...yes, kind of what you get at the back yard barbeque. But it was very good.

We split this order of onion rings. I have mixed feelings about these. They are light and thin with no greasy look or taste, almost like eating onion flavored air. The problem is that they are all connected and when you pick up just a bit you get quite a bit.

The bathroom is filled with with posters and there they were - Manny, Moe and Jack aka Pep Boys (for those who don't know, they are an auto supply chain store in California.

Service was great: hostess was very welcoming - pretended she knew what we were talking about when we started going on about the Rolling Stones Some Girls while she escorted us to the back bar past all the record albums that decorate the walls. Bartender - just lovely.

The Squire, Chatman, MA

One of the most wonderful things about the Wequasett Resort was that they offer free shuttle service to a couple of local towns, Chatham being one of them. We couldn't wait until 8 to eat the The Wild Duck and knew we wouldn't make it by 5:30 (the only two reservations they had), free shuttle or no, so we went to The Squire. It was going to be about 20 minutes for a table so we went to the bar and I got this lovely Basil Hayden manhattan.

By the time the hostess came to get us, we were happily into our cocktails and decided to stay at the bar. I got these yummy fried clams.

When we first sat down, there was a lovely older gentleman next to me and two older women next to him. He and his "lady friend" (from him, this was completely charming) were staying at their Chatham house and her friend was visiting. Sad to see them depart but even sadder at the arrival of the couple who took their seats. She was the drunkest woman I have ever seen (sorry, the pictures just don't do the situation justice). Dinner, drinks and a show...it doesn't get much better than that. They ordered spring rolls and she kept aiming for the dipping sauce and missing it. She apparently kept missing her mouth too because there was quite a bit of sauce and food particles on her face. The mess in front of and around her plate was astonishing. They eventually stumbled out and we went to the Wild Duck for dessert. Horribly chalky brownie sundae but good decaf cappuccino. They called the hotel to come get up and we enjoyed about one minute on the side patio until someone started smoking a stinky cigar. Are there any other kinds?

Green Street Grille, Cambridge

I've only been to Green Street Grill, Cambridge once before. I had a very good time but apparently my date didn't as I never heard from him again. You know that things are going to be good when you see all the cocktail glasses lined up and chilling. Bartenders here have a good reputation and one in particular is quite fetching. Sadly, when I asked the bartender who was serving us about some drinks, he informed us that he just started working here but could tell me about the drinks based on the ingredients. They have several drinks with rye, both Old Overholt and Rittenhouse. I don't remember the ingredients of the Creole and it's not on the menu online so apologies for the lapse. The Creole was a rather mild tasting drink (rye will do that); nothing remarkable or horrible about the concoction. My friend seemed pleased with her Mojito.

We ordered the chicken lobster croquettes which came with a salsa dressing and the bacon cheeseburger which we asked to split.. The croquettes were fried to a perfect color and texture. Unfortunately, there was not much lobster or flavor to them.

The cheeseburger, on the other hand, was very good. The cute bartender explained to us when it was served that he asked them to put it on two buns. So we got individual buns with decent sized burgers, a good amount of cheese, lettuce and tomato and two very long, perfectly cooked slices of bacon on each. The coleslaw was decent, the home made chips were flavorless. Overall the experience was a good one and we will most likely return.

Deep Ellum, Allston

Sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone. After standing on the Green Line train for an interminably long time, I finally got to a T stop somewhat close to Deep Ellum (Cambridge Street, Allston). Then walked for a bit. So I was ready to think that this was just not one of those times to get out of my comfort zone (i.e., Red Line). I walk into a pretty dimly lit place, thinking it's one or two steps up from a dive bar. Don't see my friend. Quick call to her and head out to the tiny but oh, so pleasant patio with 8-10 tables, where she is patiently waiting. Or maybe not so patiently, she is three-quarters of the way finished with her drink but quickly points out a crucial section of the drink menu. Down in the bottom, right corner is a heading called "Manhattans - 8 ways." Yes, folks, you heard it correctly. Half with rye, a couple with bourbon and a couple with blends



I inquire to the very competent waitress about the Brooklyn. It is made with Old Overholt Rye and a housemade vermouth. We take a minute or two to look at the menu while she gets my drink. It arrives promptly. My only gripe is that the drink is not sufficiently chilled but it is just about the most perfect drink I have experienced. Second only to and maybe not even second to the Southern Manhattan from Jurys in Boston. It is obviously stirred and the taste is perfect. Smooth as can be with just a hint of bitter orange vermouth.

Cheese plate? OK, it's Bastille Day so we get that and ask them to split the summer vegetable pasta.



Cheese plate arrives and is quite nice. The blue cheese and the stilton with mango are the winners. The harder cheese...meh. There are candied almonds, pitted olives and a dried citrusy fruit combination and several slices of good bread. The summer vegetable pasta has yellow squash, peas, asparagus, cherry tomotoes and penne with a cream sauce. Vegetables are all crispy, sauce has been, perhaps, a bit too heavily seasoned with pepper.

My friend gets a coffee which she reports to be weaker than she would like (Deep Ellum serves no tea or decaf) and a brownie with a strawberry banana concoction that is more like a thick smoothie than an ice cream. My one bite was tasty enough.

This is definitely what I would call a low key crowd, kind of hippy-ish. Does anyone besides me still use that term? Boys with long hair, girls with no make up. Mix of ages but my friend and I are probably the oldest (and best dressed having both just come from work) two there. Bill for all came to $53. My drink was $9; the cheese plate and the pasta were $12 each. Didn't pay too much attention to the rest.

Result is that I will have to suffer the Green Line 7 more times while I work my way through the eight manhattans.

Alibi, Hotel Liberty, Boston

I was dreading going here.  Original plan was to go to Drink but they were closed Saturday and Sunday of July 4th weekend.  My company from NYC wanted to see the fireworks and I really wanted to avoid the crowds.  The train was crowded with revelers, I kept saying that I didn't want to go to Charles Street but that's where we ended up.  Not horribly crowded at the hotel but they were doing a brisk business and there were bouncers outside inquiring where we were going.  We ended up at Alibi, the downstairs bar with the outside patio.  Bar inside was empty so we ordered in there.

Unblended rye?  Sazerac.  So that's what this manhattan was made with.  Decent enough but two issues.  The first: this is not a lemon twist in this drink.  For the thing pictured here, it would have to be in a cocktail the size of a milk carton to be proportional.  It did effect the taste of the drink.  The second issue (and I have experienced this in a couple of places lately) is the size of the glass.  No matter what size you decide to make your cocktails, you should serve them in glasses that size.     

We snagged a couple of coasters with Frank Sinatra's mug shot (mug shots of celebrities adorn the walls of this place).

We headed outside.  It's filled with lots and lots of 20-somethings.  But we get a nice spot on the couch and see the entire fireworks show.  Good times.  

Lucca, North End, Boston

Do you have unblended rye?  

I don't know what that is?

Then you probably don't have it?  What kind of bourbon do you have?

Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Rittenhouse Rye.

Yes, that was the exact conversation.  But they had unblended rye so I guess I should just be happy and shut up, right?

Very good.  The bar at Lucca has been very good every time I've been there.  

Orleans, Somerville

I keep forgetting to take pictures of the drinks until I'm almost done with them but wanted to write a post about this. No, it's not because it was so great. It wasn't. My manhattan with Maker's Mark was OK. Deer in the headlights look from the bartender when I inquired about unblended rye. General feeling I got: inexperience. My friend said her mojito was made with sugar instead of simple syrup. The food was mediocre at best. Oh, who am I kidding, the food was pretty close to dreadful. We got the scallops appetizer. They were the only good thing we got. Nicely carmelized but the puree that came with them. I thought it was squash or sweet potato because it was orange but it tasted so dreadful, I couldn't decide what it was. We split the gnocchi and didn't finish it or take the leftovers home. So sad.

They do have very comfy big couches and the windows were open (it was actually one of the nice nights in June) which we retired to after we finished eating.

Manhattan, Noir at the Charles Hotel, Cambridge (or how did I miss the news story where they announced that the US Treasury was dispensing with coins)

Noir, in the Charles Hotel at 1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, 617-661-8010, http://www.noir-bar.com/, was recommended by a few people on chowhound.com.  I prefer to sit at the bar unless I'm having a complete dinner but there were not two seats together so we got a table.  They have a nice cocktail menu and I noticed they had Old Overholt Rye in another drink so got the above manhattan with that.  I asked for it stirred which is probably wasn't based on the foam that I hate.  Cocktails cost on average $12 but they offer almost their entire food menu in the bar for between $1 and $5 from 5 pm - 9 pm. And they give you this delicious nut bowl for free, unsolicited.  

It's got almonds, peanuts, and some lovely spicy chinese crackers.  We ordered this lovely flatbread with grilled chicken flatbread for $5. 

I had my doubts about the broccoli and was right.  It was burnt and should be forever left off this otherwise delicious appetizer.  Easy enough to pick the off though.  We also got the greek wrap that came with a bowl of chips.  

Not a big olive fan but that's what you get with greek stuff, right?  I was pleasantly surprised that they were marinated olives instead of those black ones that come in cans.  The sandwich was only $4.

My minor gripe with this place was the noise level.  We were practically shouting to hear each other.   My more than minor complaint was the lack of change.  Our bill was $27.45 (a bargain to be sure so rest assured, I'm not complaining about that).  But the third waitress who provided service to our table (yeah, third) and the one who brought the change simply didn't bring the 55 cents (and she didn't give the "extra" dollar to us as she claimed).  I did mention it but prefaced that we had a wonderful time and didn't expect her to run and get us our 55 cents.  No, my complaint is that she acted so shocked that we expected correct change.  I swear she said, we don't do that.  You read that correctly, we don't do that.  

That said, with that one bit of weirdness, Noir was a very good experience and hopefully next time the weather will be nicer and we can sit on the patio.   

And the perfect end to the almost perfect evening was that the singer/guitarist on the platform at Harvard Square was singing "Brown-Eyed Girl" (just for me, of course) and the Ashmont train came first.

Manhattan (number...whatever)

This manhattan was procured at the Ashmont Grille in Dorchester (right across from Ashmont T station).  The bartender did get a half glazed over look when I inquired about non-blended ryes but recovered enough to reply they didn't have any before I could move on to the bourbon questions.  Oddly, he said Baker and then stopped.  Would I like a taste?  That's what is known as a rhetorical question.  I wondered if there were no others but since I'd never had Baker's, I thought I give it a shot.  It was very strong.  

My friend got the white pear sangria and promptly returned it saying it left a bad aftertaste in her mouth.  
Bartender was very helpful with suggestions for appetizers.  We got chicken satay with cucumber salad and artichoke spinach dip.  The satay was fine; the cucumbers were thinly sliced (instead of diced) and were a little soggy; the spinach artichoke dip was not memorable for any reason.  Total for the night was $38 plus tip.  

Manhattan #5

This manhattan was procured at on of the ubiquitous Todd English restaurants: Bonfire is in the Park Plaza Hotel. We went there last night after a lecture about the still unsolved robbery almost 20 years ago at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The bar was constructed very oddly with big red pillars (you can see one behind the drink) placed about every 3 or 4 stools. So for about 1/3 of the patrons, the bartender has to reach around the pillar to serve them.

The manhattan was made with Basil Hayden and was "perfect" which it probably wasn't. Do you notice the whitish bit of foam around the edge of the liquid? I've experienced this before (even at home) and not sure if it is a result of the water or ice quality or of the shaking vs. stirring. I don't return drinks that come to me this way figuring that the alcohol will kill anything that needs to be killed. When this happens at home, I just figure it's time to replace the filter on the water/ice dispenser on the frig. My problem with the service was that the female bartender let my drink sit in the cocktail shaker while she was discussing wine selection with my friend. Just poor the drink please. And please, in the future, put the cherry in the glass before you poor instead of pouring the drink and then running back to the end of the bar, carrying the cherry over and plopping it in the drink. Total turn off.

Still working on technique for taking pictures in the dark - as you can see, I'm not quite there yet. Bar stools were full, tables in the bar were completely empty. Restaurant was full - it's Restaurant Week after all.

Manhattan #4 (sort of)

This lovely cocktail was procured at Highland Kitchen in Somerville. My friend and I got there around 6 pm on Friday night and the place was already getting crowded. The bar stools don't have backs so we opted for the dining room. Our server was and older guy (OK, not old. Maybe about 40 but that was old in comparison to the other servers). He was very knowledgeable about the drinks being offered and this one was on the special board. It's called the Beehive and was made with Jameson's, Lemon Juice and Bahren Jaeger (a honey flavored liquor). I didn't ask about the proportions but I found it a bit too lemony.

The appetizer I got was the gnocchi with braised beef. Better in concept than execution. The gnocchi were over cooked and half of them were burned. Yes, burned. After boiling, they must have been put in a pan but had been left on one side for way too long. The meat, on the other hand, was fantastic. The bread, although not a generous portion (1 smallish piece per person), was used to soak up the broth.