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Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts

10 November 2010

Infusions....

I never though I would be one to have a bartender, but I do.  Rob of La Capitale has a way of making his customers feel like they are his only customer.  He knows their names, greets them by name each and every time, and knows their favorite drinks (mine is the Hot and Cold Margarita).

As my husband said, Rob is like a mad scientist, mixing and concocting into perfection.  His specialty is infusing different kinds of alcohol with things like fruits, veggies and herbs.  That margarita I love so much?  Made from Citrus and Serrano infused Tequila. 

So I sent Rob a tweet several months ago, asking if he had considered doing an infusions class, that his loyal devoted followers would surely want to learn from his wisdom.  And, in September, I had the honor of being one of the lucky 20 to attend @robdrinkenstein's infusion class at La Capitale.

After mixing us drinks (no pre-made mixers here, only fresh ingredients), class began.  And for two and a half hours, I learned how to infuse.  I also drank and ate.  All around great evening spent with friends.


My first infusion was inspired by Rob's chocolate martini, made with vanilla rum.  I hunted down the vanilla bean, I sliced it open and added it and the scraped out beans along with the rum to my new infuser, one of the gifts from the class.  After letting it sit for 8 hours (and tasting after 4 and 6 hours), I added the required amount of sugar and was ready to make my chocolate martini.  Which turned out pretty darn good.  But not quite as good as Rob's!

Rob's going to continue to offer classes.  He's talked of doing a Holiday Cocktail class, where he teaches you how to make Christmas cocktails.  I would highly recommend it.  Rob's a fantastic teacher and a great guy!  I just might see you there!

10 September 2009

My Best of Salem...

This post involves a confession. I have Sirius Satellite radio and listen to the Martha Stewart channel every time I am in the car. It's true. I do. But there are a lot of interesting programs on her channel about food and pets, very few done by her. But, even if they were done by her I would listen.

I was listening to Morning Living, which is on during my drive to work. They do this great segment frequently where they interview a local food critic and ask them to name the best places for breakfast, lunch and dinner in their city or town. This got me to thinking about my best restaurants in Salem. Here's what I've got:

Breakfast: Word of Mouth - the Chicken Fried Steak or the Creme Brulee French Toast

Lunch: La Margarita Express - Arroz con Pollo in the creme sauce or Enchiladas Suizas or Huarache (sp?) or pretty much anything.

Dinner - La Capitale - Bistro Burger, add mushrooms. The beef is grass fed and it is the best burger I have ever had. I also had a delicious grapefruit mojito and it was very refreshing. Might I also recommend the Orange Creme Brulee?