When: March 19th, 2014
Where: Rooftop of the Eastside Exchange
Honeys Heart: The whole night!
At family gatherings we often played a little game of "High-Low" where you share the best and worst part of your day. Last week at IZZE's "A Spark of Spring on Friendsday Night", my high was getting to attend and sample amazing food from Naomi Pomeroy of Beast and cocktails by Kyle Webster of Expatriate. It was apparent that these two are extremely excellent at their crafts. My low was not having Katie there with me! My lovely co-blogger had a prior engagement and most of the time I was thinking "Katie would love this!"
This was my first experience at the Eastside Exchange and the venue felt very urban and trendy. Attendees were welcomed by a fun living wall with the IZZE brand inviting you towards the elevators.
While waiting to head to the fifth floor, Kyle was preparing shots of Becherovka and IZZE Peach on a pretty fantastic ice sculpture (Katie, I suggest you consider this for your wedding...). It was a great way to set the tone for the evening.
Once on the fifth floor, there was a tented and beautifully decorated, though chilly, rooftop with assigned community style seating and a bar. I started my IZZE cocktail experience with the IZZE Granada Cocktail featuring IZZE Pomegranate, Plantation 3 Star Rum, Lemon Juice, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, and Campari. Really nice.
Before settling in, I wandered around the intimate venue which was decorated with IZZE bottles as vases and included a DIY candle station where IZZE bottles had been cut down to make homemade candles. I went for grapefruit!
The menu needs no explanation. Read the below photo and drool. It was pretty amazing.
While I got lost in my soup, Naomi demonstrated how to make the BBQ sauce featured on the upcoming ribs out of IZZE Pomegranate. She whipped that up like it was no big deal, obviously.
I don't have a good pic of the ribs and tuna so you should definitely scroll down in Jane's blog, In the Pink and Green, and get a visual. The tuna was perfect.
The family style vegetables included Broccoli Raab, Maitake Mushrooms, and Fregola and Currants. The mushrooms were my favorite part of this dish and I'm pretty sure Naomi picked these up at a local farmers market- cool!
The incredible food being passed around was a strong distraction, but I suddenly realized I had only tried one of the cocktails (this is another benefit of having both of us at events, we can try double the amount of cocktails)! Next up, the IZZE Irish Whiskey Bramble with IZZE Blackberry, Jameson, Lemon, creme Yvette, and Angostura Bitters. I was assured I would like the whiskey, and I did.
As the band, Fort Atlantic, began playing, Naomi and her team dished up this little Blackberry Trifle Cake with blackberry and lime IZZE sorbet and candied violets.
I listened to the music, waited for my candle, and then headed home, but not before getting my IZZE swag bag. You know how sometimes the gift bags at events are a bunch of branded stuff that you don't really want and quickly Goodwill? That was not the case here! What a thoughtful bag of useful and quality items!
A huge thank you to IZZE for a fun evening and a re-introduction to their sparkling juices. Major thanks to Naomi Pomeroy and Kyle Webster as well. The evening would not have been the same without their involvement and special food and drink menus!
