A vortex is created from spiraling motion of air or liquid around a center of rotation. If you have ever witnessed a “dust devil” kick up in the desert, then you have seen a vortex. In Sedona, folks believe that vortexes are created, not by wind or water, but from spiraling energy. The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate to prayer, mediation and healing. The four “vortexes” of Sedona are said to be found at Red Rock Crossing, Saddle of Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Boynton Canyon.
Well, can’t say as I know much about the spirituality thing. I keep looking but am just unable to find it. After spending several days on a recent family trip to Sedona, I can say that the place does bring a certain inner comfort and peace. Looking out at the place makes one just kind of feel good. I don’t really know another way to describe it.
With the spirituality thing out of the way, I can tell you that while in Sedona, I was able to find vortex of a different sort, based in the soul of the agave plant. Although the town’s night life seems to live and die with tourism, I was able to find a few vortexes of my own.
At the Cowboy Club in the downtown area, I washed down a nice plate of ribs with an old stand by, Tres Generaciones. Went with the plata, icy cold and backed it with a tall bottle of Bud. The family tried a little snake for an appetizer; personally I stay away from anything reptilian – dead or alive. The TG is nothing fancy – you can get it most anywhere and I am sure the aficionados who read this will call me a “poser”. Screw em. The stuff is sweet, refreshing and tastes pretty damn good.
A strong sense of spirituality was also wafting throughout the “Elote Café”. The Elote was apparently opened recently by a fairly successful LA /Phoenix chef. Don’t know much about him, but can say that the food was fantastic. You could fill a bathtub with the elote’ appetizer, a roasted corn kind of thing. Just great.
The bar at Elote’ was manned by a particularly skilled young woman, Celia. The house specialty, a grapefruit margarita, is hall of fame worthy – fresh juices, Herradura Reposado and Grand Marnier. Nice. Personally, I stuck with what I stick with – a nice tequila neat – in this case, the Partida Plata – and a cold beer – went with a local lager from the Oak Creek brewery. The Partida was just perfect with the beer. So perfect, I had two of each. We may have won that Mexican-American war thing more than a century ago, but I am sure glad those folks left a little to remember them by. And again, I just cant say enough about Celia, the barkeep. She filled every glass in the restaurant, and kept the bar patrons happy to boot. She could wear an apron in my place any time.
Our stay in Sedona was at the Amara Resort. A perfect intersection of spectacular scenery, comfort and Sedona location. The bar flowed nicely from inside to a spectacular outside view. In a seemingly fitting complement to the atmosphere, the bar was frequently manned by a fellow named “Merlin”. You heard me. Anyway, more magic was certainly found in a new tequila try for me, the Republic Anejo. A bit lighter than most anejos, but a real smooth taste that combined flavors of caramel, chocolate and some spice. Backed with another of those Oak Creek lagers, this was “good eats” from a TQB standpoint.
Our trip to Sedona was one all will remember. I did find a certain peace in the place and undoubtedly a great joy in its watering holes. The hunt for spirituality, however, continues.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
TEQUILA & GIRLS - A date with Don Julio's 1942
So, after yammering on for months in areas hardly of a tequila nature, the boys are are back, so to speak. The Tequila Boys cracking into a new bottle of agave, that is.
A few days ago, a good buddy who also happens to be a good client, stopped by at my divorceland doorstep offering gifts. Not wine, women or song. No sir. Now that I think about it though, maybe this gift does remind me of a woman I know.
At a fraternity party several years ago, I crossed paths with a tall dark haired beauty. Great smile, great legs, curvy thing she was. Ay, Captain! If you are on the "Mars" side of the gender equation, you know exactly what I am talking about. No metaphors needed.
As it turned out, the contents inside matched that unforgettable package. Funny, smart, just great to be around. Jeez, I loved that girl. Married her, actually.
I certainly don't want to minimize that memorable night when I met my little lady, now my wife of almost 25 years, by comparing the historic event to a little anejo in a short glass, but - hey brother - it fits.
The Don Julio 1942 Special Reserve anejo is , quite simply, outstanding. Eva Longoria in a bottle, so to speak. Great packaging, a trim,slinky, long legged beauty. Inside - well, my friends, pure Mexican magic. Creamy vanilla malt, oaky back and maybe a little spice and pepper all forged and blended into your own drinkable Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Mmm.
Now listen fellows, this little darlin don't come cheap. Of course, nothing worth your while usually does. Dig deep and pay the price. She's worth it.
A few days ago, a good buddy who also happens to be a good client, stopped by at my divorceland doorstep offering gifts. Not wine, women or song. No sir. Now that I think about it though, maybe this gift does remind me of a woman I know.
At a fraternity party several years ago, I crossed paths with a tall dark haired beauty. Great smile, great legs, curvy thing she was. Ay, Captain! If you are on the "Mars" side of the gender equation, you know exactly what I am talking about. No metaphors needed.
As it turned out, the contents inside matched that unforgettable package. Funny, smart, just great to be around. Jeez, I loved that girl. Married her, actually.
I certainly don't want to minimize that memorable night when I met my little lady, now my wife of almost 25 years, by comparing the historic event to a little anejo in a short glass, but - hey brother - it fits.
The Don Julio 1942 Special Reserve anejo is , quite simply, outstanding. Eva Longoria in a bottle, so to speak. Great packaging, a trim,slinky, long legged beauty. Inside - well, my friends, pure Mexican magic. Creamy vanilla malt, oaky back and maybe a little spice and pepper all forged and blended into your own drinkable Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Mmm.
Now listen fellows, this little darlin don't come cheap. Of course, nothing worth your while usually does. Dig deep and pay the price. She's worth it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
"TASTE" ADDS TO OLNEY'S EXPANDING RESTAURANT SCENE
I know, I know. "Restaurant scene" in good ol' little Olney, Maryland? Not too long ago, that particular "scene" consisted of a Pizza Hut and , uh, a Pizza Hut. Sure, I am exaggerating a bit, but not too much. With the ongoing "facelift" on the town center area, new places for us Olney locals have been popping up. The most recent addition is the tapas restaurant, "Taste".
I purposely waited until I visited "Taste" twice in order to give the place a fair read. As I left "Taste" after my second visit last night with the lovely Julia, I could not help but be reminded of the title to one of Clilnt Eastwood's cool spaghetti westerns, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". A visit to "Taste", at least for now in its relative infancy, gives you just that.
Lets start with some "good". This is a really nice joint. Once entering, you completely forget that "Taste" is located in an old and dicrepit Olney shopping center, circa 1975. Great little bar, dim and sort of sexy lighting - always a plus for this bar fly. The dining area is separated from the bar by some etched glass type panels, giving the place a real "downtown" kind of feel. I like it.
More good. The food, tapas style, is not usually my cup of tea. As all who know me are painfully aware, I like my own dinner. I pick mine, you pick yours, I eat mine and you eat yours. You know, the way us Americans are supposed to eat. So it is a bit out of the box for me to have to "conference" with others at my table in order to pick items we all might like. But no matter - everything I have had to eat at "Taste" on two separate occasions has been delicious. The food is out quick, it looks great and tastes great. Absolutely no complaints. Even for the discriminating foodie type, which I am not, it is a winner. Hands down.
Now, lets turn to the bad. The wait staff is mediocre, and borders on incompetent. Dont get me wrong - as I said, the food comes out fast enough. The problem isn't with speed, its with knowledge of your menu, your bar, and attention to your customers. It took me three requests on both visits to get a glass of water. Last night, the complimentary breads and hummus did not come out until after our food arrived, and only then when we asked for it. When we were ready to go, the waitress walked by me about six times before coming over to see if she could bring a check. I finally had to wave, a la an elderly jewish fellow at a Brooklyn deli, in order to get my check. Unfortunate.
The real "bad" was my drink. I ordered a bourbon, light ice. It came delivered to my table, looking like a slushy, buried in ice and served in a brandy snifter. Get outta here. Seriously? Bourbon in a brandy glass? I think I went to a party once where the host poured me a little Jack in a Brandy glass. I broke his nose and burned the house down. Not really, but you get my drift. Anyway, in my nice daddy voice, I asked for my drink to be put in a short whiskey glass with two cubes of ice rather than the initial Big Gulp portion. The waitress looked at me a little cockeyed, but complied.
Now, the ugly. After all, this is a tequila oriented blog so I need to make a brief observation in that direction. The observation I made, quite simply, is that you get a better selection of tequila at the local Red Lobster. Cuervo (cheap garbage) and Patron (over priced garbage). Thats it. You want tequila in Olney, better bet is UBQ down the road a bit. Even better bet is to get an invite to my bar.
All and all, I think "Taste" is worth your time. I will most definitely return. One can only hope that the owner spends some time better training his staff and, of course, spends a few extra bucks to beef up the anejo shelf. If he does, maybe a different movie title will come to mind...
I purposely waited until I visited "Taste" twice in order to give the place a fair read. As I left "Taste" after my second visit last night with the lovely Julia, I could not help but be reminded of the title to one of Clilnt Eastwood's cool spaghetti westerns, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". A visit to "Taste", at least for now in its relative infancy, gives you just that.
Lets start with some "good". This is a really nice joint. Once entering, you completely forget that "Taste" is located in an old and dicrepit Olney shopping center, circa 1975. Great little bar, dim and sort of sexy lighting - always a plus for this bar fly. The dining area is separated from the bar by some etched glass type panels, giving the place a real "downtown" kind of feel. I like it.
More good. The food, tapas style, is not usually my cup of tea. As all who know me are painfully aware, I like my own dinner. I pick mine, you pick yours, I eat mine and you eat yours. You know, the way us Americans are supposed to eat. So it is a bit out of the box for me to have to "conference" with others at my table in order to pick items we all might like. But no matter - everything I have had to eat at "Taste" on two separate occasions has been delicious. The food is out quick, it looks great and tastes great. Absolutely no complaints. Even for the discriminating foodie type, which I am not, it is a winner. Hands down.
Now, lets turn to the bad. The wait staff is mediocre, and borders on incompetent. Dont get me wrong - as I said, the food comes out fast enough. The problem isn't with speed, its with knowledge of your menu, your bar, and attention to your customers. It took me three requests on both visits to get a glass of water. Last night, the complimentary breads and hummus did not come out until after our food arrived, and only then when we asked for it. When we were ready to go, the waitress walked by me about six times before coming over to see if she could bring a check. I finally had to wave, a la an elderly jewish fellow at a Brooklyn deli, in order to get my check. Unfortunate.
The real "bad" was my drink. I ordered a bourbon, light ice. It came delivered to my table, looking like a slushy, buried in ice and served in a brandy snifter. Get outta here. Seriously? Bourbon in a brandy glass? I think I went to a party once where the host poured me a little Jack in a Brandy glass. I broke his nose and burned the house down. Not really, but you get my drift. Anyway, in my nice daddy voice, I asked for my drink to be put in a short whiskey glass with two cubes of ice rather than the initial Big Gulp portion. The waitress looked at me a little cockeyed, but complied.
Now, the ugly. After all, this is a tequila oriented blog so I need to make a brief observation in that direction. The observation I made, quite simply, is that you get a better selection of tequila at the local Red Lobster. Cuervo (cheap garbage) and Patron (over priced garbage). Thats it. You want tequila in Olney, better bet is UBQ down the road a bit. Even better bet is to get an invite to my bar.
All and all, I think "Taste" is worth your time. I will most definitely return. One can only hope that the owner spends some time better training his staff and, of course, spends a few extra bucks to beef up the anejo shelf. If he does, maybe a different movie title will come to mind...
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