Mixology Mayhem

In case you were not able to attend Tales of the Cocktail, the mixology festival, which occured this past weekend at the Monteleone, you can still find a minorly-pretentious, extra delicious mixology cocktail in the city! For those who do not already know, “mixology,” or “molecular mixology” is the term for the art and science of creating cocktails. There are many watering holes in town that serve tasty drinks, but only two follow the mixology trend that is sweeping the nation, those being Cure and Bar Tonique. 

Cure is located uptown on Freret Street in a rather beautiful brick building. The high ceiling bar is quite striking on its’ own, but nothing compared to the vine covered courtyard attached to the cream colored building. Tonique on the other hand, is located on Rampart Street downtown, right across from the Louis Armstrong Park. It too is a brick building with tall ceilings, but unfortunately there is no courtyard to be found. Once owned, by the owners of Delachaise, Bar Tonique has similar decor even down to the chalkboard menus, which hang high on the brick walls. Both Cure and Tonique have rather large cocktail menus, holding recipes for strange new concoctions that seem to overshadow a simple gin and tonic.  

Each offers a miniature book filled with long lists of enchanted drinks. Tonique’s menu is organized in somewhat of a scientific fashion, placing their drinks into lists categorized by spirit. The bars similarly mimic the scientific theme with their strange manner of mixing cocktails, using droppers and tiny glass beakers to create their cocktail science experiments. With all the gadgets and knickknacks behind the counter, these bars almost look like old fashioned pharmacies, which makes sense for Tonique, who rumor has is it, originally wanted to be named Apothecary.  

These beaker-esque glass bottles hold things as commonplace as lime juice and simple syrup, and as rare as elderberry essence and orange flower water. They also utilize house-made basil and ginger infused simple syrup and have a raw herb supply that contends with a whole foods isle. Each bar garnishes their fancy drinks with these fresh sprigs of mint, spearmint, basil, and things you and I probably didn’t even know existed. 

This was a particularly fun article to research and I think I made the most of it. I happened to go to Cure during their fabulous happy hour, which serves 5 dollar simple cocktails from 5:00-7:00 every day of the week. Of course, I couldn’t pass up this awesome deal so I ordered one of their Pimm’s Cups, a classic drink that most gin lovers adore. As a gin enthusiast I was very pleased with my cucumber infused light and summery drink. Nothing about it really tasted all that different from the Pimm’s Cups I’ve had at other bars and restaurants, but it was quite good. Unfortunately, the happy hour cocktails seem to miss out on the crazy mixology add-ins, but they are still exquisite cocktails.

When I visited Tonique I knew immediately which drink to choose, their “Blanche Dubois” was calling my name. As a Streetcar Named Desire fan, they had me at the name of this cocktail, but when I read further, their menu description continued to steal my heart. Fresh strawberries, mint, Death’s Door gin, Senor Curacao, house-made orgeat, and lemon juice, definitely a “girly” cocktail (a name I hate), but I must admit that those are my favorite. The Blanche Dubois was delicious, subtly sweet and tart and perfect for a hot July afternoon. It also had a larger dose of liquor than I anticipated. Beware: it’s not as girly as it sounds, swig back a few of these and you will definitely be stumbling a bit. Aside from their fabulous Tennessee Williams inspired cocktail, Bar Tonique has just about the prettiest ice cubes I've ever seen. Granted, that is quite a strange compliment, but these large perfectly square, crystal clear cubes really did add some pizzazz to these cocktails.

Between Cure and Bar Tonique, there are not too many differences. Obviously their cocktail menus provide variety of different house-made concoctions, but both have such extensive menus that you really can find something you like at either bar. However, their drink specials luckily do not conflict with one another. Unlike Cure, which has a daily happy hour between 5-7, Tonique has a daily special of one drink a day that is discounted all day long. Wednesday is the only day that has a time restraint. Every Wednesday they offer 30% off select bottles for wine tastings between 6pm and 8pm, not bad. 

So if you’re bummed you couldn't attend Tales, head over to Cure and Tonique and order up some spectacular mixology cocktails!

1,000 Hits In Under a Week!

After 7 months of steadily growing in popularity I think the Hungry Heretic is finally picking up speed. We got over 1,000 hits in under a week this week! And it is all thanks to all my loyal friends, family, and random folks who accidentally stumble on this site and keep coming back fro more! Thanks to all your support I now am being published in places other than my own blog!!!! Yipeeeeeee!

To celebrate the recent success I figured I should include some never before seen pictures of delicious food. The best kind of porn is food porn, enjoy! I've taken the liberty to plan out your friday in case you're at a loss of what to do with the best day of the week. First things first, you always have to start off your day with a healthy (or not so healthy) breakfast. I'm feeling a little rebellious today, so I'm going to recommend probably one of the least healthy breakfast options (aside from the Paula Deen Brunch Burger), a McGriddle! My good friend Jenn and I have been weening ourselves off these things for months, but they're so gosh darn good! Warning: the sweet and salty combo mixed with crispy bacon and syrup infused hot cakes is dangerous: they ARE addictive. But they come with southern fried chicken now so I need to go to Mickey D's ASAP and get me one of those bad boys!!!

If you wake up too late for breakfast you can always go straight to lunch, especially if you're going to be eating BBQ! Voodoo BBQ is by no means the best BBQ in the city, but it does the job if you have a hankering and you're on St. Charles. Their Jerk Chicken is my favorite thing on the menu, and the corn pudding is soooooooooooo good! Sweet and buttery like all the best things in life!

For a midday cocktail definitely head over to Cure on Freret and get a fancy cocktail for only 5 dollars during their happy hour special. I love their Pimm's Cup, the cucumber is super light and refreshing, great for a hot summer day.

Finally, for dinner head on over to the CBD to Rock n Sake, a fun sushi bar that's great for large groups. Honestly, the music is a little loud for me and the sushi isn't the best you can find but their BBQ eel roll is super tasty and their drinks are even better! Plus, they are just a hop skip and a jump away from Vic's Kangaroo Bar, Lucy's, and even the Republic or Red Eye, if you're feeling like having one of those nights.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Drink Responsibly, Eat Lavishly and Dance your Ass Off:

A Recipe for Success!

Date Night

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I felt it necessary to post about fun date locations around the city. When the weather is better my first choice for a date is definitely a picnic on the levee, in Audubon Park or City Park. But alas, it is February and very cold. So here are some indoor alternatives.

Whether you're on a first date, or going out with your husband of twelve years, one of my absolute favorite date spots in New Orleans is Creole Creamery. For starters, they have the best ice cream I have ever had in my entire life (on par, if not better than Mashti Malones). They feature over thirty insane flavors, which change every day.

Some of my more tame favorites include Creole Cream Cheese, Red Velvet, Thai Basil and Lavender Honey; but the best flavors are always the really strange ones. I've tried hundreds of quirky combinations over the past 3 and a half years, but the ones that stand out are Cucumber sorbet, Goat Cheese and Fig, Blue Cheese, and Smokey Salty Chocolate.

Leaving their ice cream aside (because I could go on for days about it), it's a great spot for a casual and inexpensive date. Plus, Creole Creamery is only a few blocks away from the Prytania Theater, a great spot for a movie date if you don't want to drive far away.

If you're looking for something a little fancier for your Valentine and you live uptown, Cure is a great choice. It's a gorgeous mixology bar with incredible cocktails, mood lighting and a romantic courtyard. It's hard to go wrong there, but you should probably expect a crowd on the 14th, so it may not be the right choice if you're looking for some privacy.

Of course, you can never go wrong on Valentine's Day at a Wine Bar. My top picks would be Oak or Delachaise (for the duck fat french fries), but Bacchanal and Wino are supposed to be lovely as well.

If you're looking for more of an activity focused date, look no further than Rock n' Bowl. Live Music, Drinks, and Bowling turns out to be a great combination!

Another fun place for a casual date is none other than Cafe Du' Monde. Famous for their piping hot heavenly beignets, it is perfect for a couple on a budget. But be forewarned, you will absolutely get powdered sugar all over yourself, which is half the fun of course... so you may want to dress accordingly. As they say at Carl's Jr. "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face."

As long as your in the Quarter for beignets, you can spice up the date with a walk down Royal Street or around the Riverbend.

The views over the water of the steam boats are spectacular at sunset, perfect for a romantic evening.

Speaking of views, I have a secret spot for catching the best views of the city, and in honor of the upcoming holiday I'll share it with yall. Get ready for it... the Harrah's parking structure. I'm not even kidding, it's not romantic, but it is one of the tallest points in the city so the views are incredible. If you're already planning to go downtown, it's a great place to park so you might as well drive up to the 10th floor and look around. I promise you won't regret it.

Another great looking spot is the Canal Place parking lot (just across the street from Harrah's). It's more expensive to park there, but they're building is even taller! There isn't much in the Canal Place Shops that's very date friendly except the movie theater, which actually has seat service (including cocktails).

Of course, you can also splurge on a fancy dinner at one of our many fine dining restaurants around the city, but these dates are way more creative and wallet friendly.