Ask El Diablo

[Matt Flynn]

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el d.

i recently had an expensive bottle of wine and it had a plastic cork. good cork is hard to get but an expensive wine using plastic corks?

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Ray,

wait til you have a $60 bottle of wine with a screw cap.

matt

[Will.]

El D,

I'm visiting NYC this weekend and will be staying at the W at $200/night. How did I do?

also, i was wondering which clubs/bars you reccomend for a newly 21 year old who makes ~80k/year, but doesn't like things too posh.

[ethan]

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Of the 10 best restaurant experiences I've had in my life, approximately 10 were at Urasawa.

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Bastard.

I've known for several years that I need to go here, but so far haven't managed it. In the interim I've done well with Sushi Gen downtown which tends more towards the $75 range, but from what I hear of Urasawa it's difficult to find better.

[MrWookie]

Ethan,

I've had the privilege of drinking Caipirinhas at a party thrown by a Brazilian student. I'll vouch that it's a good drink. I'd definitely go with the substitution of a good white rum over the vodka. At the same party, a guy from Peru had some fine Peruvian Pisco that was out of this world. Also, that Old Cuban sounds amazing. I've long been a fan of the Mojito during the summer, but I def. want to try it with the Champagne substitution.

[[censored]]

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El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

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You might try the Caipirosca.

1/2 lime, quartered
1 tsp fine sugar, or 1/2-3/4oz sugar syrup (brown sugar is a good variation)
2oz vodka

Muddle the lime and sugar/syrup together in a rocks glass, add cracked ice and the vodka, then stir.

The Caipirosca is a variation on a traditional Brazilian drink - the Caipirinha, which is essentially the same except that the liquor used is cachaca and not vodka. Good cachaca isn't the easiest thing to find cheaply here, and white rum is a perfectly good substitute.

Not too far from these drinks is the Mojito:
1 sprig mint
1oz simple syrup (again, fine sugar works but this requires less mixing)
3/4oz lime
1.5oz rum
dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
soda water

Muddle a mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime, add everything else (but the soda water) and shake over ice. Strain over cracked ice into a highball, top with the soda water. You can substitute champagne for the soda water and make this into an Old Cuban, which is one of my favorite drinks.

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Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[Six_of_One]

You need to go, but be careful. Before I tried it for the first time (about 2 years ago), my intention was just to go once for the experience. Then, I talked myself into going once every 3 months, since different items are served in different seasons. Before long, I was going just about every month.

Yes, it's expensive, but you just have to keep your priorities straight. I'm not rich by any means, so $400 does mean something to me, but there's a bunch of other things in my life I spend more on that don't give me nearly as much pleasure.

[edtost]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess is it would be more widely recognized by bartenders as a vodka gimlet.

[ethan]

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You might try the Caipirosca.

1/2 lime, quartered
1 tsp fine sugar, or 1/2-3/4oz sugar syrup (brown sugar is a good variation)
2oz vodka

Muddle the lime and sugar/syrup together in a rocks glass, add cracked ice and the vodka, then stir.

The Caipirosca is a variation on a traditional Brazilian drink - the Caipirinha, which is essentially the same except that the liquor used is cachaca and not vodka. Good cachaca isn't the easiest thing to find cheaply here, and white rum is a perfectly good substitute.

Not too far from these drinks is the Mojito:
1 sprig mint
1oz simple syrup (again, fine sugar works but this requires less mixing)
3/4oz lime
1.5oz rum
dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
soda water

Muddle a mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime, add everything else (but the soda water) and shake over ice. Strain over cracked ice into a highball, top with the soda water. You can substitute champagne for the soda water and make this into an Old Cuban, which is one of my favorite drinks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[/ QUOTE ]

As far as the bartender knowing what you're talking about, the mojito's your best bet. They won't know what an old cuban is, but it should be easy to explain since they'll know the mojito. As far as the caipirosca/caipirinha go...again the bartender might not know them, but they're not too complex. If I didn't know a bar/club could make them competently I might first ask for them on a night that's not too busy.

"cap-ir-oh-sca" is about right - the "r" should ideally be fairly short (like a rolled "r" minus the rolling, if that makes sense.) You may also hear "cai-PRI-oh-sca".

Glad you like the recommendations.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to go, but be careful. Before I tried it for the first time (about 2 years ago), my intention was just to go once for the experience. Then, I talked myself into going once every 3 months, since different items are served in different seasons. Before long, I was going just about every month.

Yes, it's expensive, but you just have to keep your priorities straight. I'm not rich by any means, so $400 does mean something to me, but there's a bunch of other things in my life I spend more on that don't give me nearly as much pleasure.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of my not going is that while I can occasionaly find $400 to spend on this, it's difficult for me to do that while at the same time finding a friend up for it and I usually don't do dinner alone. $400/month is probably pushing it - that's the difference between having my RSX and a Porsche - but once or twice a year should be doable.

[David LoPan]

El D,

How old are you?