@ Blessings

My friend Lauren is one of those women with a signature scent.  In her case, it's Chanel No. 5, but I've never known another woman to wear it with the same finesse.  The perfume joins with her own personal fragrance to create a scent that's distinctly her own--- Tenacious, luxe, Lauren.  You can sense when she enters the room, know when she's just walked past, and track her movements through a crowd.  I hadn't seen Lauren since May, when we were back in Boston and saying sloppy goodbyes after a long night at the F; but we saw her yesterday and picked up right where we left off nine months ago- continued with laughter and stories, photos and dreams.  And Lauren, she smelled exactly the same.  Some things, like friendship, just don't change. 

>  Photos taken at Lauren's friend's new bar in East London, Blessings.  <

"I Drank It, And I Was Gayer"

After much debate and many tears (on my part), David and I have decided that we're going to spend Christmas in the UK this year.  Financially, it makes the most sense for us right now and even though I'm heartbroken at the idea of Christmas without my family, I'm confident that the two of us will have a marvelous and quiet celebration on our own.

Besides travel, another indulgence we've cut back on as we establish our company and scrape together as much savings as possible, is that of going out for cocktails.  If you've been following me for a while, you know that I love a good cocktail.  It's not just the craftsmanship of the drink that I love, it's the way a good cocktail bar brings people together, the way a drink and moment of eye contact can spark a conversation, and how a little alcohol can greatly enhance an atmosphere.  Cocktail bars are my third place, if you know what I mean- somewhere to call home for an hour or two, a place to make new friends, share some laughter, and then dance away from, toward home.

Now that we're not traveling for the holidays, I feel like we deserve a fabulous, cocktail-fueled night as some sort of consolation for sacrificing one of my favorite holiday traditions: family.  These pictures from a trip to Burger and Lobster make me mighty thirsty- a perfect Manhattan with orange bitters and a twist is certainly in my future. 

top: bloody mary
bottom left: Rittenhouse 100 on the rocks    bottom right: Rittenhouse Manhattan

Photos taken at Burger and Lobster on St. John Street in London

And just for fun, here's something I've had saved to my desktop for an eternity.
I don't know where I found it anymore, but I love it.

Tuesday With Moi

Tuesday, October 30

Sitting in Restaurants & Losing Track of Time Edition

The morning started as any other, slowly.
The Redcoat and I tip-toed around the apartment drinking coffee and reading reports from the storm with our eyes wide and our mouths hanging open as we waited for my parents to get up.  Around 9:30 I realized Oh, it's Tuesday! and fetched my camera.

This is what my boots look like after our long and muddy walk through the Cotswolds on Sunday.

Mid-morning came and went.  I continued to scroll through the news as I finished some work.

Around noon I had a small bite to eat and prepared to leave for a day of playing the tour guide and eating a lot.  So so so much eating.  And drinking, too.

I haven't been using it as much as I ought to these days, but I still never go anywhere without my pen.

After walking through Hobbit Town, which my parents loved, of course, we stopped in a restaurant for a proper midday meal. 

Mum and Dad came here with the opinion that English food is terribleterribleterrible and thought they'd likely starve for most of the trip.  They're happy to report, however, that they've actually loveloveloved the food in the UK and are dining like foreign dignitaries.

(If there's one thing I can consistently deliver on, it's finding a good meal.)

The Redcoat and I left my parents to an evening of solo exploration and hopped on a train to London to meet some friends visiting from California.

We met them at the St. Martin's Lane Hotel.  Owned by the Morgans Hotel Group, the bar consistently delivers on both style and quality cocktails. We like that.

Somewhere around this time, I think I lose an hour, but bear with me...
Our friends, who are lovely, admitted that they hadn't eaten well since arriving in London.  They found the food mediocre and the restaurants unwelcoming.  David and I were appalled and decided to save them from another terrible meal by making a last-minute reservation for the four of us at St. John, a restaurant where I would happily dine every day for the rest of my life.

I get a little self-conscious whipping my camera out at dinners with people I've only just met, so I escaped to the bathroom for this shot.  I look vacant and terrible, but whatever.

My necklace and my camera strap are BFF. 

After a stunning dinner, David and I took our friends to the St. Pancras Hotel.

Perhaps you remember the stunning tequila drink I once had at the Booking Office?

Well, I asked the bartender to re-create it.  This was the first attempt.

And this was the second.  It was quite delicious but not as exemplary as the cocktail on my previous visit.

Like I said, we lost an hour somewhere, but I know for certain that I took this picture at 22:00.

After a night of much laughter, David and I made our way home where we promptly went to sleep after an ever-so-brief visit with my parents.

Happy Halloween, friends!  And, as always, thank you for reading!

Rooftop Romps

I caught some sun on The Madison's rooftop early Sunday evening with my favourite gent and lady.  The view of the river and of St. Paul's Cathedral was stunning and solidified the fact that one day I want to live up high, one day I want a view. 

London Libations

I'm thrilled to report that I've finally settled on a favourite* bar in London- The Booking Office at St. Pancras (their website is horrible, FYI).  Of course this is subject to change, but for right now the place is in my good graces because it offers the rare combination of good (and relatively fast) service, a robust cocktail and spirit menu, quality nibbles, and a pretty kickass ambiance.  Granted, everyone there is either staying at the adjoining hotel, on a date, or is throwing one back before hopping on a train, but regardless I think it's a pretty quality place to camp out for a couple hours over a cocktail and good conversation.

Pictured on the left is a delicious-to-the-max whiskey sour with Buffalo Trace Bourbon (they don't have any rye on the menu, rye whiskey is as rare as unicorns in this country!) and egg white.  I wish I'd taken the straw out for the photo opp... The drink on the left is a white tequila, grapefruit, Creme de Peche, and lemon concoction with a rock-salt garnish that made me happier than a newborn fawn with a salt-lick.   Yumz to the extreme! 

*Did you see how I snuck that 'u' in there!  I am soooooo British now!

@Pret A Diner- Italians Do It Better

As I arrived at Pret A Diner- Italians Do It Better I took note of the candle-lit entry and the enormous neon cross, cocked an eyebrow and said to David, "This is either going to be terrible, or really really fun."  When we were invited to the dinner, I accepted on the fact that 69 Colebrook Row was responsible for the cocktails so I walked into 50 St. James's Street on Sunday night unsure as to what, exactly, we were in for.  Was it a restaurant, a gallery, a theater?  Even now, three days later, I'm having trouble describing the experience- for that is truly what it is, an experience- though I can say with much certainty that my initial feeling was right and the evening was really really fun.

So what is it?  Well, Pret A Diner is an avant-garde dining experience designed with careful attention paid to aesthetics and details that pleasure the senses.  It is a creative compilation between taste-makers in various industries who share their talents to create something special for a limited space of time.  It encourages diners to do just what the Olivia Steele piece in the bar suggests and go get lost.  Get lost in the music, the food, the art; let the senses take over and enjoy the moment, the company, and the surroundings.  Pret A Diner is fantasy dining.  It doesn't ask the diner to take anything- not the food, the drink, or the setting- too seriously, but does encourage them to truly enjoy it.  What struck me most is that despite the theatrics, the bold decor and pretty plating, the entire experience felt so authentic and everyone seemed to be having a really fantastic time.  

Pret A Diner is only open until June 30th, so do yourself a favor and book a table while you can.  If you can't, at least stop in the bar for a drink.  I promise, it won't disappoint.

@The Anthologist

David and I beat the after-work rush and strolled into The Anthologist around 4:30 on Friday afternoon.  David asked for his staple- a Manhattan- and I ordered a Very Old Creation, which is their twist on an Old Fashioned and is listed on the cocktail menu.  Now you guys, I never order from the menu but have decided it's important to start doing so time and again in order to become familiar with a cocktail bar's unique perspective, i.e. I'm doing it in the name of research.  The barwoman we ordered from didn't know how to make a Manhattan, and as my warning flags started to rise, she passed us off to the manager, Pete, who was incredibly obliging and promised to take excellent care of us.  I'm very happy to say that he accomplished this quite easily.

I generally find that the Old Fashioned is a little too sticky and syrupy for me, so I was pleased to find that the Very Old Creation was pleasant, tart and charmingly citrusy instead.  The base bourbon, Buffalo Trace, is complimented with pink grapefruit juice, angostura bitters, rhubarb bitters, and brown sugar (I asked them to go light on the sugar in mine), is served with a giant ice ball and garnished with a lemon peel.  Overall, it was quite nice.

After our first cocktail, we were introduced to the head mixologist who's named Ben.  When I meet people who know what they're doing, I become very trustworthy and adventurous, so when Ben offered to make me something off the menu, I was more than happy to let him work his magic.  The end result, a French Canadian Sazerac  is made with Canadian Club and features hints of maple syrup, lavender, and cardamon.  It's garnished with a beautiful star anise which I thought complimented the bottom of the glass quite nicely, no?  I was pleased with the drink's bright and forward flavor and, as I sipped, was completely won over.

Now, a good cocktail bar needs to boast more than just a good cocktail and thankfully there are a few other reasons to like The Anthologist.  They include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A comfortable atmosphere that nicely transitions from restaurant to bar to lounge as you meander through
• A stunning lavatory with yummy smelling hand soap and plenty of mirror space for lipstick applications and iPhone mirror photos (ladies, you know how important this is!)
• Quality bar ingredients (did you see that fresh mint?)
• Reasonably priced drinks 
• A laid back crowd that didn't seem to get too sloppy (but we left earlyish so you never know...)

Many thanks to my lovely friend Jill for inviting us to to meet her at The Anthologist - I hope my second visit proves as successful as my first!