Results tagged “chicago”

Episode 92 - Letherbee Malort/Bësk

Episode 92 - Letherbee Malort/Besk.

Jen and Erica are trying Letherbee Malort, a variation of the Chicago classic wormwood bitter liqueur. In the time since we filmed this episode, Letherbee has renamed it “Bësk”, evidently in response to a trademark claim by Jeppson’s Malort. Letherbee’s version was developed by The Violet Hour’s R. Franklin.

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Episode 23 - Jeppson's Malort

Drunk Monkeys - Episode 23 - Jeppson's Malort.

We started out our third 'season' with the very girly Girl and now we round it out with a hardcore wormwood liqueur, Chicago's own Jeppson's Malört. As Jen notes, many people have a strong reaction to their first shot of Malört, but it's been gaining something of a cult following over the last few years. Even though it's a sign of the end times.

So now we'll be taking a little bit of a break until we film our next season. This is a great time to remind you that you can subscribe to the show in iTunes and then when we do release new episodes they'll just show up on your computer or iThing like magic. Magic, I tell you. (And, you know, if you wanted to give us a five-star rating, that wouldn't be terrible, either. Magic!)

Margarita Tour

Here was the plan: a Saturday afternoon with nothing important to do, two couples, four places known for margaritas. Each person would order an appetizer and take care of the bill at one restaurant, so that it all evens out.

Stop 0: Sotol

It's important to be properly fortified before you set out on a journey like this, so we had a sip of Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol before we took the train south. Hmm... smooooth.

Stop 1: Uncle Julio's Hacienda, 855 W North Ave

We all were going to mostly stick with traditional (or at least, non-frozen) margaritas, but the Swirl is the signature drink at Uncle Julio's and I'm a sucker for a signature drink. The florescent flamingo lets you know you're not in for subtle flavors, but I did enjoy it.

Everyone else got the Julio's Gold margarita on the rocks and we got a bowl of Chile con Queso for the table. Hmmm... cheeeese.

The Swirl at Uncle Julio's Margarita at Uncle Julio's

Stop 2: Adobo Grill, 1610 N Wells

At Adobo the signature dish is the Guacamole which is prepared fresh, tableside. (I'm also a sucker for food that's a show) so that had to be our appetizer. And we had the Adobo Margarita all around. None of us were brave enough to add a "smoky floater" to our Margarita (an extra shot of del Maguey Chichicapa), which in retrospect I regret.

Margarita at Adobo Grill

Stop 3: El Nuevo Mexicano, 2914 N Clark

We had a lot of choices when we were assembling the route for this tour, and Cesar's, just a few blocks north, was a strong contender with, if nothing else, their huge neon sign proclaiming that they have "killer margaritas". So I'm not sure how El Nuevo Mexicano made it onto the list, but it turned out to be a good choice if for no other reason than that it was getting to be dinner time and Cesar's was pretty packed. (Margarita tours can't wait!)

I was starting to feel the alcohol by this stop and so I ordered a pomegranate margarita under some sort of mistaken impression that the fruit juice would be healthier or something. Instead, it was a bit too sweet for my tastes and so it was the only drink I was unable to finish on the tour. We had a plate of Garnachas with ground beef which were tasty, but a small portion for four people.

Pomegranite Margarita at El Nuevo Mexicano

Stop 4: La Fonda, 5350 N Broadway St

I was back on my game by the time we got to La Fonda. It was my turn to order the appetizer and I was feeling a bit noshy so we got two kinds of plantains (hmm... plantains) -- the Tostonachos Caribenos and sweet plantains, and some rice and beans. We got the Gold or Special or whatever (I forget their name for their Top Shelf margarita) all around. I think it might have been my favorite of the tour, though that may have been the 4 previous drinks talking.

Margarita at La Fonda

Like I said, there are plenty of places that didn't make the cut just because of time and not drinking-ourselves-into-oblivion. Next time maybe we'll hit Frontera Grill, Cesar's, and wherever you suggest in the comments...

(Originally posted on FuzzyCo, Sept 8, 2009: Margarita Tour)

Dolomite at Piece

Dolomite Malt Liquor at Piece

Piece (1927 W North) is already a favorite of Team Gerdes -- Erica likes the exotic pizza toppings like mashed potatoes and artichoke hearts and I like the New Haven-style Plain Crust because I'm not actually a big cheesey-pizza fan. We both like the beer -- the Worryin' Ale has, indeed, washed away many of our worries and the beermosa (a sour German beer and orange juice) is fifty times better than it sounds. Tonight, I ordered the "Brewer's Choice" to get a dollar off my beer and it was the Dolomite -- Piece's own micro-brewed malt liquor. Which they serve in a glass in a paper bag. Erica laughed every single time I took a drink and refused to let me take it out of the bag. It also got me well-buzzed. Got-a-quarter?

(Originally posted on the Chicago Metblog, May 30, 2007: Dolomite at Piece)