Subject: Liquor and Spirits

• South By Southwest, Part 1

  Well, it's 8:35 Austin time and I've finally got my room, internet access, and festival badge. Haven't had a chance to see any actual music yet, but I've certainly seen plenty of jaded industry types, giddy young music writers, and desperate publicists. I'm headed out into the evening to actually find some material on which to write, but in the meantime, I'll leave you with a quote from page 209 of Lone Star Swing, Duncan McLean's book on his travels through Texas searching for the original perf

  March 14, 2007

• All Coked Up

  Vanilla Coke is back! You might not have realized that it went away, of course, especially if you eat regularly at Rubio's, the only major food chain to keep it on its soda fountains. But yeah, they replaced it with Black Cherry Vanilla a while back, which was decent but not as tasty. Now plain Vanilla has returned, along with Vanilla Coke Zero (which is basically Diet Vanilla Coke with one additional additive that I can't spell off the top of my head). But as awesome as it is to have VC back

  May 29, 2007

• Most boring drink ever?

  It's always tedious to hear health-freaks go on and on about the benefits of this or that special shake. But now there's a drink that gets right to the point, putting you to sleep all by itself. (I thought such a thing already existed, and was called "whiskey." The things you learn in this job...) So behold "dreamerz," billed as an "All Natural Sleep Beverage" and a "Dietary Supplement." The product's officially trademarked tagline is "Good Night, Better Day!", and the flavor, of course, is "c

  September 28, 2007

• Check Out My Package

  It's pretty well-known that I'll go almost anywhere I'm invited if there's free food and booze, but some invites make more sense than others. Movie premieres, I understand. Art gallery openings, sure. But a meeting held by a package tour company to pitch their getaways to local travel agents? I mean, I don't make near enough money to afford African safaris or whatnot, especially since some of them cost as much as my rent for the entire year. And I'm fairly sure that most of you who pick our free

  January 9, 2008

• Just Like Rainforests in a Glass

  September 25, 2003

• Babylon Heights

  June 4, 2009

• Valient Thorr, Black Tusk and Tweak Bird at Detroit Bar

  October 23, 2008

• Stereo Lab and Atlas Sound at Detroit Bar

  September 18, 2008

• Bucking Convention

  July 17, 2008

• Rage Among the Weight Machines

  August 24, 2000

• Drinko de Mayo

  May 1, 2008

• Thursday - 11/22

  Cirque du Soleil: Corteo at the OC Fairgrounds, Hank Williams: Lost Highway at the Laguna Playhouse

  November 22, 2007

• Clubbed!

  September 11, 2003

• Post-PBR, Not Post-Punk

  September 22, 2005

• Cocktails and Dreams

  July 22, 2004

• Locals Only

  Sub-Bourbon Rock: Digging Satisfactions solid-gold loose meat

  June 14, 2007

• The Land of the Rising Beer

  October 21, 1999

• A Wing and a Prayer

  July 11, 2002

• Skunk As a Drunk

  How to stay hammered until 2007

  December 7, 2006

• Big-House Volume, Small-House Mentality

  Talking about the end of seafood while enjoying it at Blue Coral

  November 9, 2006

• Grub Guide

  March 16, 2006

• This Week in Great Scot Whisky

  February 16, 2006

• Respeck!

  Aestheticus Maximus in Laguna Beach

  November 24, 2005

• Alex Hernandez

  October 13, 2005

• This Week in Frenching

  September 2, 2004

• This Week in High-Class Grubbing

  August 19, 2004

• Ive Got Your Number

  May 6, 2004

• Proclaim This

  April 8, 2004

• Tax Shelters, Riding Crops and Grand Marnier

  November 27, 2003

• Not Embalmed Yet

  May 1, 2003

• M

  October 24, 2002

• Summer Eats (Drinks)

  July 25, 2002

• Trawling for Tinis

  July 25, 2002

• The Island of Lost Drinks

  July 25, 2002

• Thaifoon, Azteca, Fling

  April 18, 2002

• Plenty Trepidatious

  November 15, 2001

• Container Stumps Experts

  April 6, 2000

• Summer Beach & Beer Guide

  June 3, 1999

• Calling All Loquat Tree Owners!

  Ernest Miller is a cook at the Disneyland Resort who also blogs at Culinary Safaris and is enrolled alongside my chica in the Master Food Preserver that has me going to San Bernardino more times than any non-909er should ever have to. He has an interesting request for SAFII readers: anyone has loquats you can give him? As a final project for the class, Miller wants to make loquat barbecue sauce, loquat jam, loquat butter, loquat preserves, and loquat brandy. He has a loquat tree in his Whittier

  April 23, 2009

• Scots Fest

  May 21, 2009

• Karaoke with Tom Terrific

  May 28, 2009

• Drink of the Week: The Lindsay Lohan

  It's a Red-Headed Slut with some Coke in it. Ha! The recipe is as follows: 1 oz peach schnapps, 1 oz Jagermeister, cranberry juice and a splash of Coca-Cola. This shot is a real gem for party girls and people wanting a good laugh. You can order them anywhere fine drinks are made. Have a great weekend!

  June 12, 2009

• Sunday Karaoke

  December 6, 2007

• Drink(s) of the Week: The Ricardo's $3 Menu

  ​Gustavo probably wouldn't have many kind things to say about the food at Ricardo's Place in San Juan Capistrano. It's one of those brightly-colored, family-friendly joints with big plates of just-ok-if-you-don't-know-any-better Mexican-American standards. For the record, I don't know any better, so it tastes pretty good to me. But forget about the food for a second, because the place has something better than bland burritos: cheap drinks.On each table, there's a card proclaiming, in classic M

  August 24, 2009

• Drink of the Week: Peach Soju Cocktail at Avalon Bar

  Grace Le​Oh, Avalon Bar... home, sweet hole-in-the wall. Those of you familiar with this local dive already know at least two major details:1. Contrary to what the kitschy, light bulb-lined arrow pointing down at the bar's entrance may lead you to believe, this is place is no disco.2. This establishment doesn't serve hard liquor, so you can leave any hope of a vodka and Red Bull at the door.Now, detail number two might be a bit of a drag for those looking to get trashed by 10 p.m., but it does

  October 9, 2009