DIY: Lemon Drop Martini

Posted by Kelly

Our days in the dorms resulted in many a horrible cocktail concoction...

Leslie and I in our dorm room Sophomore year
undoubtedly drinking room temperature vodka and juice

...so when we moved into our house in North Portland it was time to create something delicious! Lemon Drop Martini's became one of our go to cocktails throughout college when we were feeling classy and preparing for a great night, or when we just needed a tasty drink to take our minds off the pile of homework ahead of us.

Leslie and I, Junior year, sipping on tasty lemon drops!

The recipe is easy and sure to impress.

Lemon Drop Martini Recipe:
1 1/2 oz Vodka (Plain or Citrus)
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz Lemon Juice
Simple syrup to taste, about a spoonful

You will need:
Juicer (electric, old school, or we've used our hands, a spoon...whatever gets the juice out!)
Martini Shaker
Ice

Start by making simple syrup. This is easy, and you can make extra to put in a glass container and store in the refrigerator for future creations. I like to make the mixture using approximately 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. This way the syrup is thicker and I use less of it. Heat 1 cup water, add 1.5 to 2 cups of sugar and let the sugar dissolve completely. Allow it to cool and store the extra.

Next juice your lemons, quantity will depend on how many drinks you're making and how juicy your lemons are.

In your martini shaker, for 1 drink (double for 2), combine ice, 1 1/2 oz of vodka (for affordable plain vodka I prefer Monopolowa, for citrus anything goes, we've used Burnetts, Smirnoff, Absolut, Sky....use your favorite) 1 oz Triple Sec (also use your judgment, but some have more alcohol content than others, just saying) 1 oz lemon juice, and a spoonful of simple syrup.

Shake.

Pour into sugared rim martini glass. Garnish with a small slice of lemon peel or a lemon twist.

Enjoy!

Photos of a handful of other Lemon Drop Martini worthy occasions...

Leslie's 21st Birthday!

Jenna comes to visit!


A night out downtown!

Boston: Daisy Buchanan's

posted by Katie

When we first moved to Boston, my roommate Shannon and I saw a lot of each other, but now that she's busy working two jobs and I have school, my internship, and work, we can sometimes go days without catching up or even seeing each other.

These last couple of weeks have been crazy, especially for Shannon, so we decided to take advantage of her Monday night off and meet up for happy hour after I was done with work.

One of our favorite places to go is Newbury Street, which I like to think of as a mix of NW 23rd St. in Portland and Santana Row in San Jose. Think tree-lined streets with restaurants, some cute and affordable stores, and then some super expensive ones too.

Daisy Buchanan's is located on the corner of Newbury and Fairfield and though I hear it's pretty poppin' on Thursdays and during the weekend, it was nearly empty when we got there around 6pm. The place definitely has a dive-y vibe complete with a funky smell, but hey, that's part of it's charm right?


The food at Daisy's is pretty cheap anyway so that makes the happy hour prices even better. Shannon and I decided to go with the bruschetta di pomadori ($2), the onion rings ($2) (which are quickly rising to the top of my list of favorite guilty pleasures...shoot), and the hamburger ($4.50). Since Shannon's a beer drinker, I decided to follow her lead. She ordered a bud ($4) and I went with a PBR ($3).




Shannon and I were expecting the bruschetta to be small pieces of baguette topped with some tomatoes and instead we got two huge slices of bread heaped with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Good, but I probably wouldn't order it again. The hamburger was tasty, and the onion rings, while a bit on the salty side, were nice and crispy.

I think my favorite part of our Daisy's experience, however, was our waitress. She reminded me of my friend Emi: cute and sweet, but a little spacey. When she came to get our dishes she asked how the food was and I answered that it was good. She replied "Oh really? I've never had it. But that's good. I'm glad you liked it." Um, okay....

Daisy's happy hour is one of the longest I've seen: 3:30-7pm Mon-Fri. Not fine dining but as long as you know that going in, you'll be fine.

Sip on This!: Literary Edition
(sorry, it's the English major in me)
I think it's safe to say that whoever named Daisy Buchanan's was most likely a fan of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald relied heavily on his own life experiences to create his characters and Daisy Buchanan is believed to have been inspired by Fitzgerald's own youthful romance with Chicago heiress Ginevra King.

Boston Restaurant: The Fireplace

posted by Katie

Last week was just one of those weeks. But we all know that fortunately there is a cure for such things and that is drinks and dessert at a classy restaurant.

Katie H. mentioned a few weeks ago that she had really good sangria at a place just up the road from her at Washington Square (yep, Boston has one of those too. Not a mall though.) While I may not be the best at remembering certain details (I think my roommate will kill me if she has to remind me one more time that she spent 1st semester sophomore year in Australia), any mention of good drinks goes on memory lockdown. The original plan had been to get drinks with a few people at Sunset Bar & Grill but when that fell through, a good sangria place sounded like the perfect substitute.

The Fireplace is a cozy little restaurant which, as you might have guessed, features a big fireplace that is right next to the bar. Katie and I also appreciated the big drapes around the door that keep the draft out, just like the ones at Mint (what I wouldn’t give for a Bella and bowl of sweet potato fries…).

Once we finally got a seat on the bar (more on that later), we decided to each get a drink and a dessert. Katie’s my kind of girl, no wimpy sharing one dessert for the two of us. Love it.

To drink, Katie ordered the Mulled Wine ($9) which was served hot in wine glass with a cinnamon stick. I went for the Honeyed Capirinha ($9) with Leblond Cachaca (Brazilian rum), raw local honey, and freshly muddled limes. Katie’s wine was delicious and the warmth and spice of the drink made it a perfect choice for a chilly night. My drink was good too, but definitely more of a refreshing summer drink. Going with the mulled wine (or sangria) next time for sure.


All of the desserts on the menu looked good, but we agreed to try the more seasonal choices to keep with the fall spirit. Katie ordered the Cranberry Pear Crisp ($8) with brown sugar oat crumble & cinnamon ice cream. We both liked it best when the ice cream got a little meltier and mixed with the fruit filling. I went with the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie ($8) with pumpkin seed brittle & pomegranate sauce. It actually came with two little whoopee pies and was absolutely scrumptious. The crunch of the pumpkin seed brittle was the perfect complement to the creamy filling and luxurious pumpkin cake.


The only downside of The Fireplace was the iffy service. Katie and I arrived around 10pm, but were told by the hostess that the tables were reserved for dinner service only. That’s understandable, but the restaurant was closing in an hour, there were multiple tables open and we were there for dessert, not just drinks. After standing by the door for a good 15 minutes, and awkwardly being approached by the hostess again because she did not recognize us from 5 minutes earlier…, the hostess finally decided she could seat us but we’d have to order our drinks ourselves from the bar. Luckily, by that point, a couple was leaving the bar so we had a place to sit. We also weren’t too sure about the bartender. I think we might have had a bit of a Kelly on our hands but maybe he had been having one of those weeks too so I’ll hold off on judgment for now…

Portland Happy Hour: Red Star Tavern

Posted by Kelly

If you are downtown doing holiday shopping and looking for an affordable bit to eat and maybe a post-shop drink, head over to Red Star Tavern on the corner of SW 5th and Alder. Rachel and I barely racked up a $25 bill after both having three glasses of the red wine happy hour special ($3) each, the chicken tacos, and the nacho fries. Pretty great deal!