Dos Perros

It’s what I call my new favorite cocktail, though I admit my Golum impersonation is really quite lacking.  Fear not, this drink more than makes up for its silly name, and may someday earn a better one.  It’s so simple and honestly may be the single most delicious thing I’ve ever consumed.

The parts:

I’m actually going to start with the accent and work back to the main spirit.  What makes this drink is Cardamaro, which is an Amaro (bitter Italian liqueur) infused with cardoons, a relative of the artichoke.  OK, I’m guessing I probably lost some of you at “artichoke liqueur”.  Because, honestly, who in their right mind would want that?

Back story:  See, I grew up relatively close to a town that called itself “The Artichoke Capital of The World”, so I know my way around these interesting thistles.  Even in my lifetime, we could buy 10 good sized ones for $1.  So, we ate a ton of them.  But my dad always wondered, “Who in the hell was the first person to come along and eat one of these things?”  I mean, they’ve got thorns all over the top of them, they look like they’re from the moon, and, there’s a resin on the leaves that, before being cooked, is one of the nastiest and bitter things you’ll ever taste.  Seriously, if you fail to clean your cutting board or knife after working with them, the next thing that touches either will taste like tar.  It is absolutely foul.

Of course, when prepared, they’re delicious.  We always just wondered what visionary worked past all these initial barriers to get there.  Or, for that matter, what nutjob decided they’d be great in a wine-based liqueur?

At any rate, I digress.  Cardamaro, by itself, certainly has its charms, but it does make you work for them.  I wouldn’t call it “undeniably delicious”, rather, something that geeks like me are duty bound to love because we’re supposed to.  It reminds me of certain wines that way.  Oddly tasty, but you can’t help but wonder if you’re giving it more extra points than it deserves simply because you’ve never had anything like it.

Enter Redemption Rye.  A deep and satisfying liquor that is, without doubt, the best Rye that is reasonably available in the state.  Rich caramel and that fruitiness that I love to find in both rye based beers and spirits.  I don’t need to say as much about this as the Cardamaro because, well, it’s nowhere near as hard a sell to get anyone fired up about sweet brown liquor as it is artichoke wine.  I’m assuming that anyone deranged enough to stay with me after the cardoon bit, was not going to need much coaxing to get on board with Rye.

So, the drink itself:

3 parts Redemption Rye
1 part Cardamaro

Gently shaken and served over rocks with an orange twist.

The result?  The Rye smooths out any of the obstreperous angles and barbs the Cardamaro does have and simply lets the unique and aromatic charms poke through.  The Cardamaro, in turn, takes the Rye, delicious on its own, and paints a regal and exotic border around it.  The orange just sets it off.  If there was ever an example of the whole being greater than the sum of parts, here it is.  My dessert island drink.

My precious.

APPETIZERS

Cheese and jalapeno-stuffed plantain fritters with Oaxacan cream and salsa   6

Marinated cactus salad with tomato, avocado, and house-made “chicharones”   8

Sweet potato empanadas with chipotle, fig sauce   7

Guacamole  5

TACOS AND BURRITOS

Carnitas taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 13
Twice cooked pork with chipotle and tomatillos

Tinga de Pollo taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 13
Shredded chicken with cilantro and lime

Vegetales Mixtos taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 13
Roasted mushrooms, poblanos, and squash

Barbacoa taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14
Braised beef with chile and tomatoes

Carne Asada de Borrego taco: 4 burrito: 10 platter: 15
Grilled lamb with pickled onions and avocado salsa

Chorizo con Nopales taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14
Grilled cactus and onions with queso fresco

Higados de Pollo taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14
Crispy chicken livers with spicy red sauce.

Coliflor con Mole Coloradito taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 13
Roasted cauliflower with red mole.

Camarones Fritos taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14
Lightly battered and fried shrimp with cucumbers and spicy mayonnaise

Platters are larger portions and come with pinto beans, rice and tortillas.

ENTREES

Herb-roasted Poulet Rouge chicken with adobo, yucca, queso fresco, and chiles   16

Cochinita Pibil- Spicy Yucatan-style roast pork with pickled onions and heirloom shell beans  17

Pozole de Jalisco- Pork and hominy in a red chile broth with radish, onions, and lime  16

Vegetarian Chile Relleno with black bean puree 12

We were afraid the vegetarians were going to be left out of all the fun on restaurant week and decided to be one of the places they could take part in the event.  So both our lunch and dinner menus for the week are vegetarian.

I’m excited about the “vegetales pibil” and am frankly surprised it’s taken us this long to do it.  It’s based on a classic pork preparation where the meat is rubbed with a Yucatan spice mix before being slowly roasted in banana leaves.  We’ll be using a combination of cauliflower (because it’s just so meaty, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and onions.  It should be delicious.

I recently had one of our particularly loyal vegetarian customers ask if or when we were bringing back the vegetarian mole amarillo (a tangy stew of vegetables and masa dumplings in a red-chile, tomatillo sauce).  So, this seemed like a fine enough time for it to make a comeback.

I think everything else sort of describes itself…

Dinner $20

Goat cheese-stuffed Anaheim chile with guajillo-citrus salsa

“Vegetales Pibil” – Achiote spice rubbed vegetables roasted in banana leaves.  Served with black beans and pickled onions

Maple-walnut tres leche cake

Lunch $15

Black bean sope with soy barbacoa, white onions, and queso fresco

Mole Amarillo with masa dumplings and vegetables

Mexican chocolate ice cream with walnut cookies

OK, so a bit of a refresher as to what and why this is.

For a variety of reasons, we end up with odds and ends of various delicious beers.  Some times they’re left-overs from a beer dinner.  Sometimes we buy a case of something to pour as a special and sell all but one bottle.  Some were casualties of a recent list over-haul.  Two in particular are because we’re transitioning our beer list to be completely North American.

I’d call it making lemonade from lemons, but none of these are lemons.  Not even close.  They’re all delicious craft beers that would normally cost more than the $3 we charge for them if you’re willing to roll the dice.  Some, a whole lot more.

See, that’s the rub, you don’t know which of these beauts you’re going to get when you order the mystery beer.  Nobody does.  The bartender just reaches blindly into the mystery door and pulls one out.

Oh, and we only call it Mystery Beer Night because that sounds better than Mystery Beer Day.  However, as with all drink specials in the state of NC, this deal is good all day long.

Without further ado, here’s the line-up for this Tuesday’s Mystery Beer Night.

Now, in full disclosure, in some of these cases, there may be only one or two in the hopper.  However, as you can see, there’s not a loser in the bunch.

Anchor Christmas Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Leffe Golden Ale
Highland Oatmeal Porter
Highland Mocha Stout
Founders Porter
Brooklyn Lager
and more…

New to the Top Shelf

Sombra Mezcal

First, I thought I’d give just a quick primer on the difference between Tequila and Mezcal.  And, no, it’s not just about the worm.  In fact, according to the folks who make Sombra, the worm was added as a marketing gimmick to get people past the poor, chemical taste of mass-produced Mezcals.  Needless to say, there’s no worm in a bottle of Sombra.

So, what is the difference?  First off, Tequila comes from Jalisco, and Mezcal comes from Oaxaca.  Secondly, each uses a different variety of agave (that cactus-like plant).  The biggest difference, at least to me, is the manner in which it is made.  In both cases, the large pineapple-shaped heart of the agave is harvested after 8-10 years of growing.  This long maturity period, by the way, is why Mexican law allows producers to add up to 49% grain spirits to their mix.  Unfortunately, that results in an inferior product but does represent the majority of the tequila made.  All but one of our tequilas and mezcals are made from 100% agave, and we’re phasing out the one that isn’t.

At any rate, these pinas are roasted to intensify the sugars and here is where the big difference occurs.  In the case of tequila, the roasting process is gentle and the sap is pressed off the roasted pulp.  That filtered sap is then fermented and distilled to create tequila.  In the case of Mezcal, the heat is more intense, causing the skins to char a bit.  Also, the fermentation occurs prior to filtration, so the charred and roasted skins of the pinas contribute the trademark smoky quality Mezcal is known for.

There’s obviously more to it than that, but I didn’t want to bore you with too many details.

So, what’s so cool about Sombra?  The only Mezcal readily available in the state is Monte Alban.  It’s fine enough, but it would be like if the only bourbon you could get was the basic Jim Beam.  Again, certainly a tasty enough bourbon, but nothing truly remarkable.  It took a local guy who’s recently begun brokering some amazing spirits (and more are destined for our bar) to bring this Sombra into the state.  Mind you, we still have to special order it, so don’t expect to see it everywhere, but at least it’s here.

Wow, what a revelation?  It’s just so distinctive!  So smoky, so rich and yet, with a bright and clean citrus finish.  Honestly, it may take some getting used to for those unfamiliar with the style.  For me, it happened in the course of my first cocktail.  At first sip, I wasn’t sure what to think, but by the end, I’d realized how much I loved it.  Now I get it all the time.

The agave is grown organically on the steep slopes in the small village of San Luis Del Rio (elevation 8000 ft).  Now, I know more about wine than I do spirits, but, in the wine world, steep slopes and high elevation mean the plants have to work harder than normal and that results in more intense and distinctive fruit.  I can only imagine the same thing is in play here.

Since Sombra is so distinctive, Andrew and I wanted to come up with a truly unique cocktail to feature it.  We’re working on a special margarita based on it, and I often just get one of our classics with this instead of tequila, but for now, we’ve created what you might think of as a Mexican Negroni.

THE SOM(br)A HOLIDAY:

Sombra Mezcal, Campari, rosemary syrup, and lime.  The Campari brings a bitter edge to the drink and the rosemary really plays well with the smoky aromas.  I love them now and can’t wait until summer time when I’m even more inclined to want a Negroni.

So, if you’re looking for something truly unique, either ask for a SOM(br)A HOLIDAY or just sub Sombra in your margarita the next time you’re in.

The highlights for me tonight are the lamb barbacoa and the cochinita pibil.  The lamb has been making some frequent appearances on the specials menu to rave reviews.  These latest batches of cochinita have been as good as we’ve ever made.  Using a whole local hog and roasting it just slightly differently has resulted in a rich batch that blows previous efforts away.

APPETIZERS

Queso fundito with pico de gallo, chorizo, and poblanos   6

Marinated cactus salad with tomato, avocado, and house-made “chicharones”   8

Sweet potato empanadas with chipotle, fig sauce   7

Classic caesar salad 7

Crispy calamari with “escabeche confetti” and salsa verde aioli   8

Cheese and jalapeno-stuffed plantain fritters with Oaxacan cream and salsa    7

TACOS AND BURRITOS

Carnitas taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 12

Twice cooked pork with chipotle and tomatillos

Tinga de Pollo taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 12

Shredded chicken with cilantro and lime

Vegetales Mixtos taco: 2.5 burrito: 7 platter: 12

Roasted mushrooms, poblanos, and squash

Barbacoa taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14

Braised beef with chiles and tomatoes

Barbacoa de Borrego taco: 4 burrito: 10 platter: 15
Braised lamb

Camote con mole amarillo taco: 3 burrito: 8 platter: 13
Roasted sweet potato with yellow mole and spiced crema

Cochinita Pibil taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14

Whole-hog slow roasted Yucatan-style.  Served with pickled onions

Camarones Fritos taco: 3.5 burrito: 9 platter: 14

Lightly battered and fried shrimp with cucumbers and spicy mayonnaise

Platters are larger portions and come with pinto beans, rice and tortillas.

ENTREES

Spice-crusted pork loin with ancho chile-raisin sauce, pickled beets, and masa pudding   17

Herb-roasted Poulet Rouge chicken with adobo, yucca, goat cheese, and chiles   16

Tequila, lime-marinated hanger steak with potato-poblano gratin, greens, and habanero relish   18

Vegetarian Chile Relleno with black bean puree 12

Please inform your server about any dietary restrictions you may have

18% gratuity added for parties of 6 or more

OK, so a bit of a refresher as to what and why this is.

For a variety of reasons, we end up with odds and ends of various delicious beers.  Some times they’re left-overs from a beer dinner.  Sometimes we buy a case of something to pour as a special and sell all but one bottle.  Some were casualties of a recent list over-haul.  Two in particular are because we’re transitioning our beer list to be completely North American.

I’d call it making lemonade from lemons, but none of these are lemons.  Not even close.  They’re all delicious craft beers that would normally cost more than the $3 we charge for them if you’re willing to roll the dice.  Some, a whole lot more.

See, that’s the rub, you don’t know which of these beauts you’re going to get when you order the mystery beer.  Nobody does.  The bartender just reaches blindly into the mystery door and pulls one out.

Oh, and we only call it Mystery Beer Night because that sounds better than Mystery Beer Day.  However, as with all drink specials in the state of NC, this deal is good all day long.

Without further ado, here’s the line-up for this Tuesday’s Mystery Beer Night.

Now, in full disclosure, in some of these cases, there may be only one or two in the hopper.  However, as you can see, there’s not a loser in the bunch.  And one, the Lindeman’s, costs me more than we’re charging.

Dogfish 90 minute IPA

Founders Harvest Fresh-hopped Ale

Dogfish Punkin Ale

Leffe Belgian Golden Ale

Brooklyn Lager

Stone Pale Ale

St. Rogue’s Red Ale

Lagunitas Brown Shugga

Linedman’s Apple Lambic

Oskar Blues Little Yella Pils

Lagunitas IPA