MySideOfTheBar

Believe it or not another year has gone bye, which means it is time once again for the Best of MySideOfTheBar. Without further ado here you have it. Best Surprise Bar – The Season’s 52 Grill on the KC Plaza is a clear choice for best here This is a great bar, with a great menu and they have live piano music every evening. This will be a new favorite hang out for us. Best Lounge for Atmosphere – The bar at The Fogo de Chao on the KC Plaza. This is a great bar just to relax in and the Mixologist Vegas is the best. Be sure to ask for the cheese platter while relaxing in the bar or waiting for a table in the restaurant. Best Manhattan – This years nod goes to The Fogo de Chao on the KC Plaza. While Joel still makes a great Manhattan he no longer is available so the nod goes to Vegas at the Fogo de Chao. Best Single Malt Scotch – Glen Farclas Single Malt. This truly is a smooth Scotch with hints of vanilla and spices. Best Blended Scotch – Grants Scotch another very smo...

With the Holiday Season upon us we are all very busy, however I thought it would be good for everyone to take a timeout to enjoy some of my favorite items from the archives. I Triple Dog Dare You Christmas Vacation Original Trailer A Charlie Brown Christmas - Christmas Time is Here Song The Andy Griffith Show - A Christmas Story Christmas with the Kranks Trailer CATION BELOW THIS LINE IS NSFW The Three B's of Christmas Merry Christmas from the Family (Thanks C. and S. S.) Thanks to J.B. for the next one :) For all of you who keep thinking you are computer experts... Try this! So, you think you're so smart. Let's see how computer literate you are ... WHAT WOULD CAUSE THIS TO APPEAR ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN? 123490=qweriop[ asdhjkl (zxcvnm GIVE UP? SEE THE ANSWER BELOW! Happy Holidays The Professor

I blogged on Holiday Cocktails last holiday season Holiday Cocktails 2010 Thought I would share some of the better concoctions that I have found this year. Yes I can vouch for each one of these. Eggnog Martini I have experimented with several versions of this (some listed below) but here is my favorite 1 Jigger Vodka 1 Jigger Vanilla Vodka Ice Eggnog of Choice Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well Pour into Chilled Martini Glass Top with Nutmeg or Pumpkin Spice Irish Peppermint Cream 1.5 oz Irish Cream with a Hint of Mint Chocolate 4 oz Hot chocolate Whipped cream Candy cane Pour the Irish Cream and hot chocolate into a coffee mug. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle crushed candy cane on top. Garnish with a mint leaf. This next one is one of our favorites here at MySideOfTheBar for those cold evening in front of the fire Gluhwein (courtesy of L.S.) 1 lemon, quartered 2 oranges, quartered 6 cloves 2-3 sticks of cinnamon 1 bo...

The Transgression Part IV In case you missed the first Three parts of the Transgression Part I http://mysideofthebar.blogspot.com/2011/09/transgression-part-i.html Part II http://mysideofthebar.blogspot.com/2011/09/transgression-part-i.html Part III http://mysideofthebar.blogspot.com/2011/11/transgression-part-iii.html We continued to chat, drink and smoke on the patio and it seemed like each time we looked around we had more people listening to the story. As Tom continued you could tell he was not as comfortable as he had been earlier and I was not sure if it was due to the crowd of listeners or if the subject matter would soon be begin to stir some emotions long forgotten Tom continued, for other of the girls the money was used in ways, needless to say to cover for low self esteem or drugs. But who was I to judge; after all I spent all my free time (and money) in this world. The number of dancers on a given night was about eight to ten and their group consisted of tw...

Being the Holiday season I thought it would be a good idea to present some great gift ideas for the Usual Suspects on your list from Your Side of The Bar. Here are the links from last years post on Christmas Gift Ideas Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Bar Friends Part I Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Bar Friends Part II Alcohol – This is a no brainer, however it is easy to buy the usual brand for a gift. Try something different and buy the same type, but a different brand than usual. For example if your gift receiver usually drinks Maker’s Mark, try giving them another brand of Bourbon, like Four Roses . Cigars – This one can be a little tricky as I have received different brands for gifts and not all have been winners. (I know, they can’t all be winners kid) Error on the side of caution here and give a gift of the same type of cigars the recipient usually smokes. A Practical Cork Screw – There are many different varieties available and I have tried most of them. (I received s...

It was a busy Thanksgiving week here at MySideOfTheBar so thanks to S.O. for reminding me it was that time of year again. What time you might ask? Time for Christmas Vacation so I thought it would be appropriate to share these quotes: Clark : Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse. Share this quote Bethany : Is your house on fire, Clark? Clark : No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights. Share this quote [ Todd and Margo Chester, the Griswold's yuppie neighbors, appear ] Todd : Hey Gri...

The Blue Heron A couple of week’s back we had the pleasure of dining with some good friends D. and D. G. at the Blue Heron at the Lake of the Ozarks. The Blue Heron is a 5 star dining establishment and we have had the pleasure of dining there many times, however this was not the high point of this night. You may recall the blog post, The Toast , and yes the Blue Heron was the dining establishment where Central Patti discovered good Cognac. Now back to the present: We finished dining with our friends and paid the bill and were on our way out the door when we stopped to pay our respects to the owner Joseph H. Boer (Joe) Our friends knew Joe and for the life of me and as many times as I had dined there I could not remember him. We told Joe we had enjoyed the meal and I made an off handed comment about a story I had written (The Toast) part of which centered on his house blended Cognac. Before we knew it he had reached into the liquor cabinet in the lobby and pulled out a very large...

In case you missed the first two installments here they are. The Transgression Part I The Transgression Part II We moved back to our bar stools and ordered yet another round as Tom continued. As I moved from being a new patron in my new home club to a regular the girls became more and more comfortable with me, which was great if you know what I mean, Tom said with a small grin. I nodded that I knew exactly what he meant. Tom continued, I was making good money and my expenses were very small so my tips were very generous. So generous in fact that some of the performers attempted to take advantage of this, especially on a slow night. I being young and single, of course did not mind and obliged them, at first. As I grew from regular to a know face in the club I also got to know most of the bartenders and waitresses so I became the beneficiary of not only some extended (and sometimes free) drinks, food and yes personal dances. I used to joke with myself that with beer as wa...

While sitting at MySideOfTheBar a week or so back enjoying some Four Roses with several of the Usual Suspects at a local pub, I realized that songs about drinking made me smile! Now it is no secret that this niche in music is held in high esteem here @MySideOfTheBar, however while drinking an listening I decided to compile a Top Ten Play list for this genre.   So here it goes…. 10. Escape “The Pina Colada Song” – Why would a song about infidelity be so entertaining? No clue but try to listen to this classic and not sing or day dream along. This live Version is great! 9. Misery and Gin – A great feel   not so feel good song. Can you name the movie that help to rekindle the popularity of this song? How can you NOT like the great Merle Haggard who is still going strong at age 74. 8. Friends in Low Places – I have always enjoyed Garth (remember the VACATION Blog) he always tells a story when singing a song and you cannot help but to have a moment of reverie. 7. One for ...

This past week we were fortunate to have a good friend in town who was staying at the Marriott in downtown K.C. We agreed to meet in the lounge and and as we arrived by cab I had not realized how nice of a hotel this place was. I had previously stayed at the Marriott on the KC Plaza and while this is a nice place it pales compared to the downtown location. While there were several bars in this hotel we were fortunate that both parties picked the same one. The Lobby Bar Muehlebach Tower is where we met. This was a lovely bar and had it's own personality you would notice as you first entered. There was a piano bar portion and then a slightly elevated bar where met our friend, C.G. The bar was very comfortable in both seating and atmosphere and we ordered our drinks. I ordered a Manhattan and was a little disappointed they did not stock Four Roses, however not many watering holes in K.C. do so I went with the standard, Makers Mark. The bartender here did a decent job of making thi...

In case you missed Part I - The Transgression Part I We ordered another round and my new friend continued. We talked about God's grace, and all the hell we raised We talked an hour or two, 'bout every girl we knew What all we put them through, like two boys will do In my days as a young man in the late 70’s I frequented gentlemen’s clubs.  I spent so many late afternoons and evenings at one club in particular I got to know the bartenders, doormen, bouncers, the two owners and yes the performers.(the did not like the name strippers, but more on that later) Do not go jumping to conclusions, he continued, the girls who performed were really only interested in customers, as well, customers. Meaning they worked for tips. At least in the beginning. Sure they were nice and sure they treated me great and sure they were absolutely beautiful, but remember, as I just said they worked for tips. So the nicer they treated you the bigger the tip. While I spent a large amount of my ent...

I am asked this question several times a month: How much do you drink? Well the term "how much" is a very relative term and to me probably a close relative. :) and depends if this is on a weeknight or a weekend. So I decided to keep a journal yesterday of the drinks I consumed. Remember, I am a professional do not try this at home :) 8:40 A.M. Double Bloody Mary 9:14 A.M. Double Bloody Mary 10:00 A.M. Screw Driver 10:50 A.M. Green Tea and Vodka (GTV) (a Green Tea Highball) 11:40 A.M. GTV 12:40 P.M. GTV 1:20 P.M. GTV 2:35 P.M. GTV - Slowed down some having a cigar and doing a cross word puzzle 3:28 P.M. GTV 4:00 P.M. GTV 4:30 P.M. Vodka Martini (Shaken Not Stirred) 5:00 P.M. Glass of Chianti 5:30 P.M. Glass of Chianti 6:00 P.M. Glass of Chianti 6:45 P.M. Glass of Chianti 7:30 P.M. Hemingway Highball 8:30 P.M. Hemingway Highball Thus ends the day Cheers The Professor

We have been a little out of sorts the last couple of weeks as indicated by the lack of posts. But being out of sorts did not mean we did not have some time to visit four great establishments. Bucca Di Beppo I believe I may have blogged about the Bucca previously, but this place is so good it is worth repeating. The Bucca is a fantastic Italian Bistro on the K.C. Plaza and both the menu and ambience are excellent. The décor is old pictures from days gone by on almost every square inch of the wall and the bar is very comfortable and cozy. The dishes are all served family style and the night I was there the two of ordered the small portions and had easily enough to feed four. The Chicken Parmesan was great and so was the Baked Rigatoni. They serve an excellent Sangria by the glass and the Bucca is a must stop if you are on the Plaza. Kelly’s Westport Inn We visited Kelly’s Westport in last Thursday, for a Xikar / Fidel’s Cigar and Product event. Kelly’s has been a local establishm...

Well seeing that cold and flu season seems to be upon us here in the Midwest and indeed I feel it a little more than most this week as I caught (or it caught me) my first cold in almost two years. That being said I thought it would be a good time to blog on The Hot Toddy! (And not you T.B. (the second most interesting man in the world)) According to Wikipedia a Hot Toddy is a mixed drink , usually including alcohol (duh!), that is served hot. While that seem elementary to you I remember a day years ago in my youth when I had an August sore throat and cold. I was looking for a remedy and remembered a friend who would know the answer. I called Joe Heinen Sr. I always called him Mr. Heinen and I will never forget when he answered the phone it sounded like I had just woke him from a nap. Once he knew it was me he cheerfully gave me a recipe. Hot Tea Whiskey Honey Lemon Well that was a miracle cure for sure and it works as well now as it did then. Most of you may remember a pos...