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Category Archives: Booze

Thirsty? Where To Take The Edge Off This Weekend.

Welcome to the first weekend of December, the official kick-off to this holiday shopping season.  Does running around, buying gifts and wrapping presents like a crazy person stress you out? Then take the edge off by treating yourself at one of Philly’s exciting new restaurants. Check after the jump to see which spots are here to help.
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Cocktail Corner: 3 Recipes To Raise Your Holiday Spirits

We were lucky to have cocktail maven Resa Mueller of Twenty Manning Grill at COOK last Thursday with a trio of seasonal drinks.  She featured produce that is abundant during these chilly months and readily available at your local grocer. Think favorites like sugar pumpkins, figs and Honeycrisp apples — these drinks have it going on!  Click through the jump for recipes that will have you wowing family and friends during upcoming holiday gatherings. Flair bartending is strongly encouraged, though we are not liable for any bodily injuries.

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Bonkers for Bongo

Have you ever tried to brew your own beer at home? Well, I’ve dabbled in home brewing a few times in the past, and what I’ve definitely learned from the experience is that it is not an easy craft to perfect! It takes more then a few attempts before you are able to control the beer that comes out in the end. And in my case it ended with beer or what ever smelled like beer, all over my ceiling…

Recently at COOK, I meet Dan Berlin, a local home brewer who literally brews out of his home kitchen. Dan’s “Bongo Zeptobrewery” beers were showcased in a few beer pairing dinners with Carmen Cappello of the Moshulu.

Dan has been making beer in his home kitchen for more than four years. He makes everything, from Kolsch to Stout, and brews by a seasonal rotation. Although you still can’t buy his beer at the local stores, they are definitely something worth waiting for or you might be lucky enough to score a seat at his next COOK class.

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Springtime Cocktails with Ryan Fonash of Vintage Imports

This past Saturday night, we were delighted to host Ryan Fonash of Vintage Imports, a frequent instructor and friend of COOK, for a class about springtime cocktails. Preparing everything from a refreshing sparkling drink with absinthe and raspberry shrub to a concoction featuring his own homemade rosé vermouth (our guests got to take some home!), Ryan wowed the crowd with his grasp of spring-friendly spirits. We were also lucky to have chef Sam Jacobson, formerly of Sycamore in Lansdowne, in to pair some of his incredible cooking with Ryan’s drinks. Favorites here included scallops dusted with juniper and served with an orange-cardamom cream; and an airy lemon gnocchi chef Sam paired with hearty duck ragu and quail eggs. Check after the jump for more photos from this exciting evening!

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Open Stove VII: Not as Think As You Drunk I Am

COOK’s Open Stove night is characterized by intense clashes between chefs — or so I thought up until the latest installment, something completely different for this monthly series. While past Open Stoves have pitted country against country, brother against brother and farmer against guy from Conshohocken, the common thread was that all the participants were cutting-board jockeys from the back of the house. For October’s Open Stove, COOK made a beeline to the bar, tapping George Costa of Pub & Kitchen and Al Sotack of Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. to orchestrate a cocktail mix-off for the ages.

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OMMEGANG WITH A BANG!

Let me tell you about a magical place, way up in the mountains of upstate New York where the trees are evergreen, cows are forever happy, Belgian beer flows like water and baseball memorabilia is in every possible direction you look!  My friends, I’m talking about Cooperstown NY. Friend of COOK, Hahri, and I got invited to Cooperstown to participate in the annual Ommegang Brewery Festival.
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Beer in the ‘Burg: A tour of Brooklyn Brewery

The COOK crew loves the many Philly-region breweries that come through to share their knowledge (and products), but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for a little non-local beer love, too. Take Brooklyn, one of America’s most visible and successful craft breweries, which teamed up with Di Bruno’s for a beer and cheese pairing class last month. A recent trip up to NYC’s most populous borough wasn’t complete without a stop into the brewery’s HQ, currently in the midst of a multi-million-dollar expansion.

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