Swizzle Sundays @ The Hawthorne Tiki Bar (Patio), Hotel Commonwealth, 500A Commonwealth Avenue

Jill F.

Swizzle Sundays at The Hawthorne's Patio Tiki Bar is lots of fun! 
What better way to cool down after a balmy Sunday than to enjoy classic and creative tiki cocktails on the patio.  

Scott Marshall, Tiki Master is brilliant!  

We really enjoyed his creations! 

Check out Swizzle Sunday this Summer through the end of August!

Scott Marshall, Tiki Master!

The menu defines:
swizzle   
1) (n.) a tall drink of dark rum, lime juice, crushed ice, and sugar: typically served with a swizzle stick.
2) (vt.) to agitate (a beverage) with a swizzle stick.
3) to gulp down; guzzle.

 
The theme for my tasting was smoke...I couldn't get enough of Mezcal-laced blends.  

My two favorite cocktails of the evening:


 


 

Have A Cigar: Made with Mezcal, St. Germain, Lemon, and
Punt e mes (an Italian Vermouth).







Naked and Famous: Made with Mezcal, Aperol, Yellow chartreuse, and fresh lime juice. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed the spicy Roscoe Pound made with Weller bourbon, lemon, honey, and ginger syrup served up in a coupe and the Maximillian Affair made with Chichicapa mezcal, lemon, St. Germain, and Punt e mes prepared for us as a digestif.

The Maximillian Affair

 My friend ordered the Attention made with Tanqueray gin, Dolin dry vermouth, Absinthe, Creme de Violette, and orange bitters.  Neither of us could stomach this cocktail. I blame this on the fact that I'm not a fan of gin or absinthe...so no surprise there.

Photograph Credit: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

 We snacked on the white bean dipped topped with piccadilly relish and served with crudités (carrot, cucumber and watermelon radish), mimollet crackers and crostinis.  The dip was bland and the spice of the piccadilly was over-bearing.

The chicken salad sandwich (with the crusts cut off) was pretty tasty.  My friend loved the tarragon and said "it took it to another level."  The sandwich was served with homemade potato chips.

Though we didn't have the pleasure of sampling them, two orders ($16 worth) of the deviled eggs somehow appeared on our receipt.  Unfortunately, I just realized this when preparing to write this review.

I am looking forward to using my Gilt group certificate for dinner with cocktail pairings for two.

Check out The Hawthorne's Swizzle Sundays on the patio through August 26th.

Save-The-Date: July 15, 2012 Chef Louie Night @ The BCAE!

Chef Louie Night at the BCAE! Join Chef Louie DiBiccari   on Sunday, July 15, 2012 as he takes over the BCAE!    Choose from 3 different levels:  Kitchen Experience Chef's Table General Admission  REGISTER HERE!    Chef Louie Night is an interactive dining experience hosted by Boston-based Chef Louis DiBiccari. Guests vote on themes and ingredients that are not revealed to Chef Louie and his crew until the morning of each event. It's up to the team to scurry about like deranged zoo animals and create a multi course meal in the span of just a few hours. It's all very Iron Chef meets underground supper club, and the next one is right around the corner... Boston Center for Adult Education 122 Arlington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 267 - 4430

Source: Boston Center for Adult Education email.

L'Abattoir: Gastown, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

"L'Abattoir is located in the center of Gastown between historic Gaoler's Mews and Blood Alley. The restaurant was built in the 19th century and is the site of Vancouver's first jail. Originally buttressed to the city's main butchery and meat packing district, the name L'Abattoir pays homage to the neighbourhood's colourful past." - L'Abattoir


L'Abattoir features intriguing, complex menu items in a hipster gastropub environment.

Romano, server extraordinaire, took very good care of me!  I sat solo at the two top bistro table between the open kitchen and the bar as beautiful plates were served.

 


I began with a lovely aperitif: a Alfonso made with
Sparkling wine, Dubonnet, sugar, Angostura bitters, citrus oils.

I found the smoked sturgeon carpaccio to be overwhelmingly tart.  The grapefruit and fried jalapeno overpowered this appetizer with acidity.  The avocado seemed out of place and the caviar was just so-so.  It was, however, a beautiful dish.

The pan-fried (veal tongue) sweetbreads on toast with rich, creamy, herbal sauce gribiche was amazing! 

Veal tongue sweetbreads

Smoked sturgeon carpaccio with grapefruit, fried jalapeno, and caviar.

The description of the next dish was the most interesting I've ever read!
 Loin of rabbit stuffed with its legs served with radish, panisse, bacon, and mustard sauce.  It was wonderful; tender, flavorful, sweet and savory meat.  The bacon really completed the dish!

Another dish that was bland but pretty was the Dungeness crab, chickpeas, in a toasted brioche cuff with light garlic custard and carrot pickles.  The presentations was lovely, the execution, not so much!

Stuffed rabbit loin

For the most part, I enjoyed my meal at L'Abattoir; from the decor, history, service, and beautiful food.

I definitely recommend visiting if ever in Vancouver!

Ceiling candy 1

Ceiling candy 2

http://www.labattoir.ca/index.html

My favorite taxi driver during my visit!