Because I have lost the ability for quantity, I have found my liquor interests turning to quality and a little imagination.
I love the trend for hand-crafted drinks, and I have heard that the new Gadsby's Bar American has brought in a new bartender with a reputation for creative cocktails. Chad Spangler competed in a national cocktails competition earlier this year after working at Founding Farmers and Farmers Fishers Bakers. No, he is part of the new regime in the Columbia space that used to be Greystone Grill.
Spangler has been profiled by local blogs like Sophie Pyle in In The Capital and in video by GQ, which sponsored the competition. This is the kind of bartender who messes with ingredients and techniques like a chef -- fruits, spices, foams, shrubs. They even think about ice, the way that different kinds of ice would chill or melt or not melt in different kinds of drinks. In my new-found taste for bourbon and rye, I have tasted some brilliant drinks that I could have never made at home.
To me, a cool bar would be a fine reason for people to check out Gadsby's. I know people who love the fresh juices and tequilas at Azul 17 in Columbia, and these fun drinks can draw the hardcore fans and the "date night" folks who just want something special. I'd love to hear what people think if they try Spangler's cocktails -- or if they recommend other local spots for cocktails.
Of course, my thoughts turn to the Two Dudes who scored the first interview with chef Robert Gadsby by showing up there for lunch with their parents. It would really push the boundaries of "teenagers who blog about food" if the whole family sidled up to the bar to interview Spangler. I bet Spangler has some non-alcoholic ideas.
7 comments:
Do you know what happened to the subway in downtown ec? It looks closed.
The Subway on Main Street in Ellicott City closed.
See the Patch article.
http://ellicottcity.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/subway-shuttered-on-ellicott-citys-main-street
I had a great Cosmo at Facci last night. Even better that it was $5.00! Mondays all their "signature drinks" are $5.00 and they're usually in the $8.00-$12.00 range.
I agree, Howard has a bit of dearth of the craft-cocktail scene that has been the rage in urban areas for many years now. When the location was Greystone, they did at least have a house-special mixed drinks list, but it wasn't particularly imaginative.
We stopped by to try them out for a Saturday lunch this weekend to but the place was closed & dark. Anybody know what their hours are? The hours posted on the outside door(which indicated open for Sat lunch) must be leftover from the Greystone Grill.
We tried them out for dinner last week. FYI, if anyone wonders, there is no kids menu. This was fine; our kids are reasonably adventurous and fries came with several items. However, we found the menu so far a mixed bag. Two of us tried the mussels in two different preparations. The portions were large, and that was good, but they served them in a round high-sided dish so it took some mining to get to the sauces. A larger shallower serving dish would have been better. The salmon was small and very oversalted. The fish and chips was pretty good, but breaded in a southern cornbread style which was unexpected when it is called "fish and chips" (perhaps call it "southern fried fish"?). Service was good at first, but tailed off dramatically by meal's end. All-in-all, we'll give them another chance, but they are definitely still growing into their menu. We noticed a lot of people were there to try the bartender's skills!
Finally made it out here. Very glad for this post, because I would have otherwise skipped right over the cocktails and missed out on an amazing Manhattan, brought to my table under a bell jar along with a smoking plank of charred cedar.
Highly recommended.
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