Your weekend is upon you, folks. Here at the Independent, much like that creepy coworker who keeps texting you, we'd like to be a part of that weekend. Here's what's going on this weekend, along with a major announcement regarding an upcoming event [suspense builds].
A Steak Sandwich ... and a Steak Sandwich
Monique has some pretty mean specials this weekend, beginning tonight with her grilled-steak sandwich*: 3.5 ounces of NY strip steak topped with Havarti cheese, wilted spinach, roasted mushrooms and Madeira sauce. It's a sandwich so good that you'll order "a steak sandwich and ... a steak sandwich." Just put it on the Underhill tab.
Saturday Night Live (Cocktails)
Adam is back behind the bar on Saturday, and, per his usual custom, he has a number of tricks of his sleeve. Cathcing my interest are two new drinks: (1) the "Tropic Thunder" is a new Tiki drink featuring 5 rums and 14 total ingredients, upon the initial trial creation of which, Adam texted me "just made the best tiki drink I've ever made. Going on next Sat as the Tropic Thunder." Indeed. I'm sure there's a movie reference in there somewhere, but you'll have to drink it to find out. (2) the "Nom de Plume," a new molecular cocktail featuring fig-infused cognac, slivovitz (yes, that slivovitz), and a vanilla-orange dry ice aromatic fog. Dry ice is no parlor act as used in this drink -- it's the vehicle by which Adam delivers aroma to the cocktail by pouring a flavorful liquid over dry ice, to create instantaneous sublimation. Consider my interest piqued.
Big Bottom Beers
It's that time of year again, when our beer list has turned ... [chooses word carefully] ... nasty. See Four Seasons, Barleywine, Grist House, Master of the Galaxy Double IPA, and (one of my winter favorites) Full Pint', Tri-PA. But, if big beers aren't your thing, we still have a few tasty beers that you can consume without turning into Barney Gumble. Hitchhiker's Roadie IPA made it's debut last night, and. at 5.4% abv, you can have a few, and still have a relatively coherent discussion regarding the Swiss National Bank. Sure your words will be a bit bolder than usual, but your friends will mistake that boldness for a keen intellect. And for the wheat beer fans, we have Grist House's "Wheatin' for the Weekend," an American apricot-wheat beer. Served to you in a large, 23 oz Hefeweizen Vase, it will prompt your friends to remark on what a large volume you've ordered, and they will immediately respect you for it. By the end of the glass, if you order another one, you'll be a hero. They don't need know that at 4.8% it's the lowest ABV on the board. But, if you are a brave enough soul to order a Tri-PA or a Barleywine, your friends will ever-so-slowly take a step away from you. They know what's coming. It'll start off seemingly civilized: lamentations about job-exporting international trade arrangements and the infringement of civil liberties. But, by the end of your glass, you'll be jabbering at total strangers about imperialism and NFL concussions, the attenuated if not entirely non-existent connection between the two of which will seem suddenly apparent to your rapidly diminishing mental capacities. By the end of your second glass, you'll have been reduced to a completely atavistic condition. Your needs now are apparent. You're operating on an instinctual level. There is no conductor. "The possibility of complete mental and physical collapse is now very real."
Anniversary Announcement
After cribbing from Hunter S. Thompson's prose for a full paragraph, it's time to announce a very special event. Yes, it's been a whole year now since that awkward Satruday night when you and the Independent started dating, and it's time to celebrate our mutual love and the passage of time. We're doing two events: the first, a nice, sophisticated prix-fixe food, beer, spirit, and cocktail dinner, on Tuesday, February 17. The details will be announced next week, along with information regarding reservations. The dinner will celebrate how far we've come since our humble roots a year ago. We're going to show off a little bit. The second event, however, will be a gonzo and atavistic salute to our first year in the booze business. I now introduce: "Fear and Loathing at the Independent: a Gonzo Salute to our First Year," to be held on Saturday, February 21. Details will be announced in an email next week, but suffice it to say that this is going to be a theme party dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson and suffice it to say that things are going to get weird.
See you at the Independent, my friends.
Pete K.
* Technically, Monique is calling this a "steak torta," but no fancy-pants romance language was going to get between me and a good Fletch reference.
