Brian Jackson is an expert on adult libations and currently shares his talents at Sweet in Worcester Massachusetts:
At this blog we will be sharing information about signature drinks and dining, we will also include guest posts by DaTechGuy and Joe Mangiacotti of “Out with Joe”.
We hope you enjoy the blog and look forward to sharing good time with you here.
2. In ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to assure guests the wine was not poiso
3. A “cork-tease” is someone who constantly talks about the wine he or she will open but never does.
4. Since wine tasting is essentially wine smelling, women tend to be better wine testers because women, particularly of reproductive ages, have a better sense of smell than men.
5. An Italian study argues that women who drink two glasses of wine a day have better sex than those who don’t drink at all.
6. Red wines are red because fermentation extracts color from the grape skins. White wines are not fermented with the skins present.
7. In the whole of the Biblical Old Testament, only the Book of Jonah has no reference to the vine or wine.
8. Early Roman women were forbidden to drink wine, and a husband who found his wife drinking was at liberty to kill her. Divorce on the same grounds was last recorded in Rome in 194 B.C.
9. The world’s oldest bottle of wine dates back to A.D. 325 and was found near the town of Speyer, Germany, inside one of two Roman sarcophaguses. It is on display at the town’s Historisches Museum der Pfalz.
10. There is increasing scientific evidence that moderate, regular wine drinking can reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and gum disease.
1. The smell of young wine is called an “aroma” while a more mature wine offers a more subtle “bouquet.”
2. In ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to assure guests the wine was not poiso
3. A “cork-tease” is someone who constantly talks about the wine he or she will open but never does.
4. Since wine tasting is essentially wine smelling, women tend to be better wine testers because women, particularly of reproductive ages, have a better sense of smell than men.
5. An Italian study argues that women who drink two glasses of wine a day have better sex than those who don’t drink at all.
6. Red wines are red because fermentation extracts color from the grape skins. White wines are not fermented with the skins present.
7. In the whole of the Biblical Old Testament, only the Book of Jonah has no reference to the vine or wine.
8. Early Roman women were forbidden to drink wine, and a husband who found his wife drinking was at liberty to kill her. Divorce on the same grounds was last recorded in Rome in 194 B.C.
9. The world’s oldest bottle of wine dates back to A.D. 325 and was found near the town of Speyer, Germany, inside one of two Roman sarcophaguses. It is on display at the town’s Historisches Museum der Pfalz.
10. There is increasing scientific evidence that moderate, regular wine drinking can reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and gum disease.
Back: A back is a non-alcoholic drink served alongside a shot. Backs are also sometimes called chasers. Sometimes a small beer served alongside a shot is considered a back.
Blend: Blended drinks have been mixed in an electric blender to combine all of the ingredients. In a frozen blended drink, the blender mixes the ingredients and breaks the ice into tiny, frothy crystals.
Dash: A few drops of an ingredient is considered a dash. A dash is usually 1/16 of an ounce or less.
Frost: A glass is frosted when it has been dipped in water, then frozen. This process leaves a thin layer of frost on the glass and is suitable for serving cold beverages.
Garnish: A garnish is something of an ornamental nature served on the rim of the glass or in the glass. Examples of garnishes are olives and pearl onions (in martinis), slices of fruit (in tropical and blended drinks), and maraschino cherries.
Highball: A highball is any liquor beverage served with ice and soda in a tumbler.
Jigger: A jigger is used to measure approximately an ounce to an ounce and a half of alcohol.
Layered: A layered drink has the different liquors in layers, usually with the heaviest ones at the bottom. The drink is served unmixed.
Mist: A mist is an alcohol poured over crushed ice. It is usually not mixed prior to pouring.
Mixer: Mixers are non-alcoholic beverages that are used in cocktails along with alcohol.
Neat: When a drink is served neat, it is poured into a glass with no ice or mixers.
On the rocks: The proverbial rocks are ice cubes and a drink served on the rocks is simply a beverage served over a tumbler of ice. Often, the drink is prepared “up” and then is strained over the rocks.
Over: A drink served over is an alcoholic beverage served over ice cubes. It is usually not mixed prior to pouring.
Pony: A pony is equal to one ounce.
Salt: Several mixed drinks, for example the margarita, should be served with salt on the rim of the glass. To salt the rim of a glass, rub a cut lemon or lime around the rim and then dip the glass into rock or kosher salt.
Shaking: Some drinks are served shaken, not stirred. Use a cocktail shaker to blend the drink; shaking about 10 times is adequate for most drinks.
Splash: A small amount of mixer added to a drink is a splash.
Twist: A bit of lemon peel that is rubbed on the edge of a glass. Sometimes the twist is dropped into the drink.
Up: A drink served up should be mixed with ice, for example in a cocktail shaker, but then strained so there is no ice in the drink when it is served cold
This week’s Diner is the Marketplace Diner in Hollis NH
It’s a place you might miss if you as passing through. If but if you go beyond the intersection of routes 130 & 122 bypassing the place at the center of town and continuing on Ash street (route 130) toward Nashua you will find a small “market” area. Turning in you will discover the Diner that out of townees miss but the residence of Hollis love
The place is small fitting maybe 7 at the counter and another 30 or so at various tables.
The menu is fairly standard with simple breakfast and lunch choices
I hadn’t eaten so I had the hungry man special and boy, even without the homefires
it was a lot of food
Even though I had a huge meal, Mike Rogers of Granite Grok’s Chicken Sandwich was looking really good.
So if you find yourself on the way to Nashua or perhaps to Silver Lake get yourself down to the Marketplace diner, you’ll be glad you did.
Today’s Saturday Diner is the West End Diner 247 West Street in Leominster mass.
I was unaware it was an award-winning location:
Best new restaurant 2006
The very first thing I noticed was the giant menu board
Forgot my glasses today but it didn't matter here
All of the specials are in large letters all over the walls, that’s very good since I forgot my glasses again today and must be very handy for any older customers.
Many places to eat have HD TV’s in their places but in a retro move the individual booths have small Monitors with their own controllers.
They are incredibly creative from the individually named stools to the ceiling tiles.
Oh and you’ve heard of “Hungry Man Specials”? Well they have a hungry man special to end all specials:
Now THAT'S a hungry man special!
Of course in the end, the way you judge a diner is the food…
#2 special Sans Watermelon slice $5.75
and the food was GREAT! The eggs were exactly how I like them and the pancakes were better than most. Lots of places tend to give you giant pancakes with a small taste, these are normal sized pancakes with an over-sized taste.
Without a question this place makes my top three Diners since I’ve began the feature. I very much recommend it.
Brian Jackson, Mixologist, will sit with Joe from Out With Joe and Chef Jeffrey Fournier. You don’t want to miss this….
Jeffrey P. Fournier grew up in an untraditional culinary environment. In his French-Armenian home, delicacies such as raw lamb kibee were a regular part of his grandmother’s menu. For Fournier, this exposure to eccentric dishes resulted in a fascination for the kitchen, a space that he often chose over the playground.
By 1991, at the age of 23, Fournier had left his native Amesbury, Massachusetts, and headed to California to explore the culinary world on the West Coast. His first job was as a line cook at the renowned Rockenwagner in Santa Monica, where Chef Hans Rockenwagner himself taught Fournier Austrian-Californian cuisine. Just two years later in 1993, he earned the position as sous chef at Café Montana, also in Santa Monica. At this Italian-Californian restaurant, Fournier broke from the norm with his fried linguini with wild flowers and carrot pesto with linguini, roasted lamb and fried basil among his most popular creations. A star was born.
Three years later, Fournier moved back to his hometown and found himself at the upscale Pignoli under Chef Daniel Baliani, learning the fundamentals of Baliani’s contemporary flare and Marco Polo cooking-cuisine influenced by the countries once traveled by the explorer, including Japan, China, India and East Africa. Once Fournier learned all of Baliani’s secrets, he left Pignoli and joined the team at the Linwood Grill. A few years later, the critically acclaimed Chef Lydia Shire wooed Fournier away from the Linwood Grill and into the position of Sous Chef in the city famous 125 year-old Locke-Ober kitchen. Fournier then moved to Chef Shire’s well-regarded Excelsior.
Whenever given the opportunity to create his own special on any of the menus in any of the restaurants he has worked for, Fournier’s creations always wound up with some Latin influence. Whether it be from befriending kitchen staff from Colombia or the Mexican cuisine he experienced when living in California, Fournier’s signature culinary style is truly Latin inspired.
This revelation of sorts led Fournier to the executive chef position at Sophia’s, a Latin restaurant and club located in Boston’s Fenway district, in 2004. Here, Fournier created Latin inspired small plate menu combined with food and liquor pairings, without discrimination. From the shrimp and calamari tacos, the handmade hibiscus liquor with bresaola, and the tuna ceviche, there are flavors of all regions of Latin America.
Fournier felt The Metropolitan Club was the ideal place to further exhibit his talent and run wild with his imagination by putting a twist on a traditional steakhouse as the Executive Chef, and left Sophia’s in 2005. His signature dish – watermelon steak – is just one of the many examples of the carefully chosen blend of ingredients Fournier created at The Metropolitan Club.
The best part of Fournier’s creativity is that is does not stop in the kitchen. In late 2006 when an opportunity presented itself for a new space where he could blend his creativity for art and food, Fournier could not resist. As such, 51 Lincoln was born and, as they say for all creative minds, the sky is the limit. After enjoying great success Fournier continues to strive to make 51 Lincoln the best restaurant it can be.
51 Lincoln’s core philosophy revolves around the principles of quality, value, and creativity. The best ingredients, a passion for flavor, innovation, and attention to detail are the foundation of what we offer our guests.
A practical approach to cost, in both food and wine, and our support of local and organic farmers ensures that we meet our high standards and deliver them to our guests.
Today’s Diner is Michael’s Bridge Cafe in Lancaster Massachusetts
It is a very Rustic looking place from the outside once you walk inside you can’t help but notice the 8 ft+ bear at the door
And if that doesn’t impress you the details of his arrival will:
I don’t think that with a bear that size 12 yards away I’d have the nerve to hit the broad side of a barn let alone take out a bear with one shot.
Once you get past the bear there is a fair selection of tables available, but I’m a counter guy, I like counters because I can see the food as it’s being cooked and Michael’s has a system down pat.
There was a good-sized late Saturday breakfast crowd. The wait staff was both attentive:
and had cool shirts:
The “Get Stuffed” motif is not just a metaphor for the taxidermy the portions are large and the food was frankly the best I’ve had so far to this point on the diner tour.
And just as important these days, the good food comes at a fair price with ambiance at no extra charge:
This as a mandatory stop on your DaTechGuy Diner Tour and if you’re a member of PETA, I suggest getting a blindfold, having a friend lead you in and putting on horse blinders so you can concentrate on enjoying the food and the excellent service, it’s worth it.
This week’s Diner is Don’s Diner in Leominster:
It’s located right on Route 12 in the same plaza as Buckley’s religious gifts.
The place is quaint with an interesting collection of clocks
And I love an old cash register
As I sat down at the counter I realized that I forgot my reading glasses, no problem at Don’s they have a pair of reading glasses handy
Reading glasses provided by Don's Diner
I had the Pancake eggs and sausage, it was pretty good.
And if you are a lottery player Don’s Carries all the various scratch tickets for you to play.
So if you are near Rte 12 in Leominster head on down to Don’s you won’t regret it, my wife particularly recommends the Hash.
Today’s Diner is the 5th Street Diner a longtime hangout of mine right next to Romano’s Market.
5th Street Diner and Romano's Market
Tina and Ed opened up 3 years ago during the Ice Storm and have been making a go of it ever since
Ed with his triple layer fudge
It’s one of the smallest of the Diners in the area, seating only about 22 people but the food is first rate.
They are known for their photos of customers for their first visit
They’ve had at least one blogger you might know in the house
I'm seen that Alabama shirt somewhere before
The one hiccup you might run into is the street name. On one side of the bridge the street is Harvard Street, on the other is John T. Centrino Memorial Drive (renamed from 5th street after Mr. Centrino was killed fighting a fire at the old Sabino’s bakery at the corner of 5th and water.)
But the best move is to just look for the sign.
Today’s Saturday Diner is the Five & Diner in Worcester Mass.
Five and Diner Worcester
It is the only location in the franchise east of the Mississippi other than one in Florida.
The place simply oozes nostalgia (but offers free wi-fi).
And the wait staff dresses the part.
But all the Nostalgia doesn’t matter in the end it comes down to the food, and the place doesn’t disappoint.
A warning though, the full stack of pancakes should not be attempted unless you have a big appetite to satisfy
So give the Five & Diner a try in Lincoln plaza Worcester
Welcome to Guiseppe’s Grille where the gathering of family and friends is combined with tradition, memories and laughter
Joined us April 14th.at 7 am on WROL am 950 Boston.
The Chef at Guiseppe’s Grille, has eight years of experience perfecting the many Italian entrees and specialties that we serve. Enjoy Italian favorites, such as Chicken Parmagiana or Meat Lasagna, handmade with fresh, authentic Old World ingredients, all created by a Chef who has truly honed his craft.
Guiseppe’s Grille
35 Solomon Pond Rd
Northborough, MA 01532
508-393-4405
