progress

... is a beautiful thing.

 

:doug @ 1:40 PM

three hun-dred six-ty five de-grees...

Wow. It was a two alarm kind of weekend at the Atwell ponderosa. The more I think about it, the more omens come to mind over the last few days. There was the smokeless ashtray I saw in the backseat of the company car Saturday evening, Friday I was watching the fenslerfilm GI Joe PSA with Barbeque that day, the cover band at the bar's take on that Talking Heads classic, etc... So yeah, I am no longer allowed to smoke my cigarettes within twenty yards of mi casa. Just when I thought I'd made every mistake I could in a lifetime, add amateur arson to the list.

Sunday was host to a freak confluence of events including a light breeze in the afternoon that fanned the smoldering wood, a tiny lit cherry of a camel light, turn of the century wood nice and dry from the July heat, and foolishly applied insulating foam the lieutenant from the FD informed me is "like friggin napalm" - all these things and more led to the destruction of a segment in the third floor master bedroom.





Yes, we're fine, no injuries major or minor. I can confirm the horror stories of others though in saying the fire dept. is pretty freaking axe-happy. I know they're doing their job and god bless 'em, but ten burly dudes sitting in the station watching The Shield reruns definitely have some pent-up hostilities. Thankfully the damage was minimal, though it may not look so from the images. Couple panels of drywall, one new non-load bearing stud, new window sill and some insulation (the non-incendiary variety this time) and we'll be back in business.

The good news? Finishing touches were recently made to our guest room. So it's pretty much a lateral move in comfort.



That's all for now from the front. Stay tuned for a likely recruiting call for a painting party. Free beer and pizza anyone? 

:doug @ 9:01 PM

the last word

So although not talked about much on this infrequently used blog, I have been spending my handful of free hours in a test-kitchen cobbled together on the 3rd floor office of my bar.

A couple trips to suburban liquor stores, ten-plus books ordered online, and a few internet procured products and tools later - I finally have about 95 percent of the gear needed to construct an opening cocktail menu for the upcoming (and much delayed) restaurant we've been working on. The struggle to bend my taste buds to accept anything other than bourbon or whiskey has taken some time.

Some of the drinks have been disastrous failures, lesser still are the ones that have been glorious triumphs, but most fall into the fair-to-middling. Once and a while I stumble across something truly amazing that I simply cannot believe went out of style. The following is a drink I discovered months ago that I simply had not gotten around to shaking up yet, glad I found the time today :


The Last Word

1oz gin
1oz maraschino liquor
1oz green Chartreuse
1oz fresh lime juice


Now I've also noticed that this cocktail, like the Mojito and others, has it's share of popular variations. Pegu Club in NYC switches rye for gin and lemon juice for lime (less herbal, just as tart) and PDT has a Vieux Mot which switches the maraschino for St Germain and lemon for lime again (more floral, still deliciously tart).
Correction : the Vieux Mot contains no Chartreuse and in it's stead simple syrup

Out of the three I think I prefer the original the most. If you're nearby on a Sunday night, stop by and see me for a taste test - it's the kind of drink anyone would appreciate.

P.S. - And because I never gave him a public shout out, a very special thanks to Mike for making my recent NYC reconnaissance trip both fun-filled and fruitful. Cheers, buddy. 

:doug @ 7:39 PM