Delmonico: What's in a name?

Here's the story of how the brothers Delmonico introduced the idea of fine dining to America. More than just a restaurant, their name would become a synonym for deluxe.

A New Map! A New Page!

Extra!  Extra!  There's a new map from the good people at Herb Lester Associates called Writing Manhattan, a guide to literary locations in the borough. We wrote it and designed the map. A lot of research went into this little baby, but because of the constraints of space, many choice bits were left on the cutting room floor. It is bursting at the seams with 78 fascinating entries, if you can believe it, but we still couldn't cram in all the goodies we collected. In some cases we found too much material on an author and had to make a hard choice on what to include; other writers had to be left out entirely. So we thought it would be fun to make an appendix to Writing Manhattan. Click on the Writing Manhattan tab above to see the extra material, and then go buy the map.

O Tavern Bound

 

Every year since 2007 your editors have unveiled a new cocktail for the season, live on-air, with Rex on the Fool’s Paradise program on WFMU.
This year’s bracer, courtesy of the Radio Bartender, is O Tavern Bound.  For the base of this cocktail we use apple brandy, in tribute to New Jersey’s lush colonial history of taverns and applejack.  Local applejack was made by the Lairds at the Colt’s Neck Inn (1717-1849) and is today distilled by their descendants down the road in Scobeyville (that’s west of Long Branch).  If you’re not familiar with Licor 43 – “Quarente Y Tres” – it’s a heady Spanish liqueur with pronounced vanilla and botanicals.   

O Tavern Bound

~ or ~ Yes, Rex, There Is A Cocktail

Another original holiday cocktail from Grade “A” Fancy as presented December 22, 2012
on WFMU’s “Fool’s Paradise featuring Rex”

2 ounces Laird’s Apple Brandy
½ ounce Licor 43 (Quarente Y Tres)
½ ounce fresh-squeezed orange juice
a dash Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters
orange peel

In a shaker half filled with ice, add the first four ingredients.  Shake and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass.  A small twist of orange peel for garnish. 

Here’s to us all.  Drink up every one!

Ears to a Happy Holiday!

This Saturday everyone's fave holiday tradition, the Radio Bartender, returns to the "Fool's Paradise" featuring Rex on the mighty WFMU! As always, Grade "A" Fancy's head mixist Karen will unveil a new cocktail for the occasion, live on air, amid much radio hi-jinx.

You say you want to play along at home?  Alrighty.  As you know, our exclusive Fool’s Paradise cocktail requires no special-order syrups, no eye of newt-infused spirits, no eyedroppers or custom gadgets; all of this stuff is available at your grocer’s, and from the local spirits emporium.

Have these items on hand:

Apple Brandy
Licor 43
an orange for juicing and for peel
Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters
lotsa ice, a sharp knife, a measuring glass and your best cocktail shaker

Tune in to Rex from 1 to 3pm on the Fun 91!  WFMU 91.1 fm in New York, at 90.1 fm in the Hudson Valley. If you are not in the tri-state area you can listen in real time via the World Wide Web, or sample the archived show any time, any season.

Here's to us all! Drink up every one.

Guest Starring at Herb Lester

Breaking news: All this month Grade "A" Fancy will be posting as the guests of Herb Lester Associates on their Journal page. Our first contribution looks for the center of New York City. Check back next week for more.

UPDATE!
The second installment of our journalistic scribblings takes an historical gander at Sutton Place, the Dead End Kids, and one swell looking warthog.

'NOTHER UPDATE!
It pays to watch where you're walking in the third edition of our guest spot.