BEER
OTC is one of the few restaurants in Miami that has given me the same kind of satisfaction I received after having meals in Paris, which is saying a lot when one compares our local burgeoning food culture to that of the perhaps the most important food city in the world (read review here). The order-at-the-counter restaurant has been making waves in Brickell’s dining scene ever since it opened with its honest, flavorful, and reasonably priced à la carte menu that enables diners to create their own meals from a variety of proteins, sandwiches, sides, and salads in addition to its ever-changing selection of craft beers. If you have yet to become addicted to this casual eatery’s cuisine, then now is as good a time as ever as OTC has recently unveiled a brunch menu and is launching its Beer Week this coming Tuesday, January 22nd.
In the mood for a cold beer, but not your usual brew? Every once in a while it’s good to ditch the Budweiser and drink something a little more original. More and more bars are popping up that allow customers to bottle their own jugs of beer to take home and enjoy.
One hotspot that offers this service is the One Stop Beer Stop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Stop in and fill your growler with one of their fifteen drafts. The bar uses pressure machines that inject carbon dioxide into the bottle to ensure it is sealed for maximum freshness.
One Stop Beer Shop also welcomes customers to come and stick around. We’ve heard that it stays packed until the early morning hours! They also offer a full menu until 2am every day. Bonus!
Can’t make it to London to celebrate with international athletes after the games? No worries, you’ll be clinking glasses and saying cheers in languages you don’t even speak at Village Pourhouse. Learn how to say cheers in ten languages by participating in Village Pourhouse’s Drink Around the World Passport Program starting this Saturday during the Summer Olympics’ Opening Ceremony. To participate, simply go to Village Pourhouse on Friday July 27th and sign up. When you do, you’ll instantly be entered in their international beer/Olympics sweepstakes to win tickets for two to anywhere in continental United States, Canada, Mexico, or the Bahamas courtesy of American Airlines.
As if you could ever run out of things to do in New York City there are a plentiful amount of food festivals to keep you fueled during you adventures this summer. Generally a tourist attraction, these festivals crawl with locals looking to experience new and innovative foods. Whether home is a plane ride away or a few stops on the subway, you'll have a tasty story to tell when you there.
Before you head to the salon and spend hundreds of dollars highlighting your locks, take a look in your kitchen cabinets. We’ve found five natural and common household items that can do the job for you without the use of harsh chemicals. Combine these items with natural sunlight and you've got yourself some gorgeous hair! Check them out below, you may be surprised!
Chamomile tea
Chamomile tea has more uses than settling an upset stomach or conquering insomnia. This tea can actually give brunettes natural blonde highlights! Simply boil a pot of the tea and allow it to cool completely. After washing and conditioning your hair, rinse with the cooled tea. Head outside in the sun with your tea-drenched hair for 30-60 minutes to achieve maximum results.
Last call was twenty minutes ago, but you’ve still got a full can of Miller Light in front of you. Just shotgun it. That’s what it was designed for. Dubbed the ‘Punch Top Can,” this new design increases air flow which reduces that pesky glug. It's science! Is this the most important invention since public sanitation? You decide.
This new product isn’t all inclusive, as you see in video below, you’ll still need some sort of tool to puncture the second tab. This is sure to cull an entirely new breed of party tricks.
Nowadays you can’t go to a bar without seeing an array of Pinnacle Vodka bottles. Pinnacle comes in 30 different flavors (including vodka flavored vodka). Pinnacle isn’t alone. All the major vodka companies, Three Olives, Absolut, and others have flavored vodkas that have branched away from simple fruit-infused flavors. Our cocktail menu has become inundated with cake vodka, cookie dough vodka, and everyone’s favorite whipped cream vodka. Even something as timeless as a highball glass full of whiskey can be bacon-infused. The infused liquor trend is bound to continue as companies try to out do their competition with more creative, and most likely strange, flavors. Imagine Willy Wonkas’ 3-course chewing gum was in liquor form. Why eat when you can knock back some shots instead? Your other choice is to eat actual foods that are prepared by adding liquor to their recipes. No matter your DOC (drink of choice), unless you regularly drink Three Olives Bubble Gum, you’ll be able to find a delicious meal or snack using whatever liquor wets your whistle best.
Forever immortalized in Broken Lizard’s Beer Fest, the beer boot is a unique breed of alcoholic drinkware that stands alone atop the podium of imbibing royalty! Varying in size from 40oz-80oz, das boot is a legend amongst men. While its reputation certainly precedes it, one must ask: how does one effectively incorporate das boot into a night of casual revelry?
The answer, friends: impossible. Unleashing this frothy leviathan on unsuspecting masses forcibly conscripts any and all involved into immediate binge drinking. When the glassware is overflowing with the frothy ambrosia, one can’t resist the allure of their “Cinderella moment." This glass “slipper” ensures a fairytale ending of rapid intoxication, and the correspondingly brutal hangover. Therefore, one may now be asking: what would possess someone to attempt the Everest of all drinking endeavors?
As is the wont of select social circles, beer enthusiasts also have a functioning nomenclature pertaining to all facets of the brew-dom. While some terminology has inevitably made its way into the main stream—hops, cask-conditioned, IPA’s—the “growler” has been relegated into the dusty archives of beer dispensaries. Perhaps due to its natural onomatopoeic associations, or simply because it’s not as widely marketed as vintage beer packaging (12 pack, 40 oz, kegs), the growler is sorely under-represented within the imbibing community.
The restaurant Beer Table in Park Slope is a mecca for beer lovers with appetites. They boast 25 specialty changing bottles, 7 rotating drafts, a cask ale and a cellar of vintage and rare beers - not to mention a full menu of thoughtful food.
In a huge bonus to midtown commuters, owner, Justin Philips, opened The Beer Table Pantry in 2011, a retail store in Grand Central stocked with craft bottled beers and a to-go growler bar.
We had the opportunity to talk to Justin about opening and running his beer business.
 |
 |
 |
 |
