L'Etranger

chartreuse, dark rum & phallernum with a lemon twist.

Albert Camus, French author of L'Etranger ("The Stranger") once said, "In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”

Drink this cocktail any day in February, and you’ll feel an invincible summer inside, too. This cocktail is made with lots and lots of chartreuse, that herby, fragrant French liqueur churned out by monks in the Chartreuse mountains of the French alps. It’s really high proof, so sip with respect as you get to know this foreign cocktail.



Here, Al lights up a smoke after savoring one of these.... A sante!

Everyday the 14th...

Our staff spread the love through a packed house all weekend long, and served up an extra-special prix fixe menu on Sunday the 14th.

The meal started with une petit hors d’oeuvre: an oyster hushpuppy with herbsaint-caviar aioli, served with a glass of sparkling Kenwood Yulupa Brut N.V.

The courses came rolling out, with wine pairings, as follows:

Sweet Crab and Fragrant Pork Dumplings,
House Pickles, Hot Mustard Sauce, Galangal-Tarragon Dipping Sauce
Paired with Schloss Saarstein Riesling, Qualitatswein, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Spice Market Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad
Toasted Sesame Battard, Whipped Goat Butter, Avocado, Labne, Sumac
Kanu Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch S.A. 2008

A quick inter-mezzo: Fromage Blanc Sorbet-Ginger Float

And then entrees: a choice of...

Hazelnut Crusted Diver Scallops
Spaghetti Squash Griddle Cakes, Shiitake Chips, Pomegranate Sabayon
Paired with Foris, Pinot Noir, Oregon 2007

Or

Wood Roasted Duck Breast
Aligot Potatoes, Grilled Fennel-Apple Confit, Roasted Garlic-Parsley Pistou
Paired with Los Rocas Garnacha, San Alejandro Catatayud Sp. 2007

Or

Syrah Poached Tenderloin of Beef
Porcini Risotto, Cavalo Nero, Lemon-Truffle Butter
Paired with Barrel 27, ‘Right Hand Man.’ Syrah, Central Coast, 2007

Raspberry Liquid Caramel-Dark Chocolate Sphere
Fudge Brownie, Honeycomb Brittle, Rosemary Anglaise
Paired with Benjamin Tawny “Port” Australia

THE GRAPE RECESSION

cîroc, lillet blanc, verjus & muddled grapes.

If you take the time to learn about Cîroc vodka, you’ll understand why Diddy likes it so much. French vodka, made exclusively with grapes (the “snap frost” grapes Mauzac blanc and Ugni blanc), and penta-distilled. (That’s five times. Five!)

Our bartenders add muddled green grapes to the Cîroc and shake them with lillet blanc (white wine plus citrus liqueurs) and verjus, the perfectly tart juice of under-ripe grapes.

Ciroc vodka. It’s what the beautiful, classy people drink (according to this video).

Manhattan Scarf

figgy bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters & a cinnamon stick, served up or on the rocks.



The oldest known recipe for a Manhattan is from Harry Johnson, author of the 1882 guide, "Bartender's Manual of How to Mix Drinks." His recipe calls for a pony of vermouth, a half pony of whiskey, Angostura bitters, and “gum syrup.” We’ve nixed the gum syrup, whatever that is, and we’re using a house-made, fig-infused bourbon for an extra layer of flavor.

Grapefruit Gimlet

lime & grapefruit juices with your choice of bombay gin or ketel one vodka.

The gimlet: a classic cocktail that’s been around since at least 1928. Although purists will say that a gimlet is absolutely nothing but gin and lime juice, we’re bending the rules ever-so-slightly and adding some fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. We’ll make it with ketel vodka or bombay gin – your call.

McGEENEY TODDY

jameson, B&B, bärenjäger, clove, cinnamon stick & a lemon slice.

Justin McGeeney, KU architecture graduate student and bartender, tweaked the classic “Pach Toddy” into an even better version. This toddy has sinus-clearing pungency; lift the snifter anywhere near your face, and the scent of clove and cinnamon are funneled into your nose. The Irish whiskey is mellowed with bärenjäger, a German honey liqueur, and made extra boozy with Benedictine.

A Drink a Day: The Berry Stain

Blueberry-vanilla infused vodka, açai berry juice & a squeeze of lemon.

We’ll start our drink-a-day posts with a cocktail that isn’t new: the Berry Stain. This is our classic, loved-by-everyone, never-shall-we-discontinue-it-or-else cocktail. True, it’s girly, but it’s good. Our bartenders infuse the vodka with blueberries and vanilla beans in-house, steeping the brew for two weeks until the vodka turns a deep purple. To order, they add a liberal splash of açai berry juice, which is so full of anti-oxidants that we wish we could call this drink a “health martini.” Our bartenders shake up these two ingredients with a spritz of lemon, and garnish with a lemon twist.