Happy Hour

Live From New York: Brian Van Flandern Trains at Salar

May 7, 2013 by Brian Petro

It was in New York that an actor was working his way through school. The year was 2003; he had one more semester to go, and the bar he was working in was failing. He was no ordinary bartender. While working in theater and other pursuits, he had nearly two decades of bartending under his belt. Knowing he had one more semester to go, he agreed to take one more restaurant job in New York and work there until he was able to get “a real job”. The new restaurant was the brainchild of Chef Thomas Keller, who had already created the very successful French Laundry in California, and now wanted to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Happy Hour, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Brian Van Flandern, cocktails, craft cocktails, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, downtown, Downtown Dayton, Harry Trubounis, Margot Blondet, Opening soon, Oregon District, Salar, Things to Do, Things to do in Dayton

Lovely Day for a Guinness!

March 15, 2013 by Brian Petro

Until the discovery of germs and bacteria, water was unsafe to drink. Europe had it the worst, with so many people and so much industry located near bodies of water that people also drank out of. People were turning to spirits in droves, since it was much safer to drink then the water. Gin was the popular choice; it was cheap, it had some flavor, and brandy had been banned because of England’s on again/off again love affair with France. It was getting so cheap that people were abusing it. At the height of the Gin Craze, the British were drinking an average 2.2 gallons of gin a year. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Dayton On Tap, Happy Hour Tagged With: Beer, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, Downtown Dayton, Events, facts, Guinness, history, irish dry stout, Pints, Stout, Things to Do, toucans, trivia

Seven Years in Mexico – The Kahlua Story

February 27, 2013 by Brian Petro

What were you doing in 2006? It was not an incredibly memorable year overall, but some major events happened. It started off with the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Italy had a big year that year, also beating France in the World Cup 5-3. The St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Carolina Hurricanes all took the championships in their respective sports. The Oscar that year went to Crash and the Grammy for Album of the Year was U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The population of the United States hit 300 million in population that year as well. It was not all fun and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Happy Hour Tagged With: black russian, cocktails, coffee, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, history, Kahlúa, liqueur, Mexico, Things to Do, white russian

Tasting the Stars in Champagne

February 14, 2013 by Brian Petro

"I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty." ~Madame Lily Bollinger Madame Bollinger would know the best time to drink champagne. As one of the greatest women to work in the champagne industry in the house whose name she bears, Mme. Bollinger brought champagne through the Great Depression and World War Two. She promoted a style of champagne that changed the industry, moving it from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Happy Hour, The Featured Articles, Wine Tagged With: cava, champagne, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, facts, France, fun, history, prosecco, trivia, Valentine's Day

A Spot of Tea to Warm the Soul

January 11, 2013 by Brian Petro

There is something absolutely thrilling to people about looking at fossils in a museum. Staring up at the skeletons of huge, ancient lizards allows your imagination to wander. What did they really look like? What sort of coloration did they have? You can stand there and look at the artists renderings of them, what the scientists tell you they should look like based on what they know about modern lizards and how they might have changed over the years. However, you can also look at them and imagine what you think they might have looked like. Add some spines, or smoother skin, or different … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Happy Hour, The Featured Articles Tagged With: brandy, cocktails, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, history, honey, hot tea, hot toddy, India, rum, tea, The Century Bar, Things to Do, Things to do in Dayton

So You Want to Bar Tend…

December 2, 2012 by Brian Petro

Bartending has a fog of grandeur around it. We lean against the bar polishing glasses, we are in touch with deeper wisdom than many mortals, and we know the ins and outs of every drink known to man. In the middle of the chaotic bar scene you are used to, we are the men and women who navigate through it all with ease and confidence, remembering drink orders of most of the patrons. That is why we always get one or two numbers a night from the people in the bar. I hear more than once or twice a week how nice it must be to be a bartender, and how they would love to do what I do. Bartending is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton On Tap, Happy Hour Tagged With: bartending, Beer, cocktails, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, Downtown Dayton, how to, Things to Do

Short, Dark, and Strong – National Espresso Day

November 23, 2012 by Brian Petro

Europe is a culture always on the move. In the 1600’s, coffee was introduced to Europe, allowing people to stay up longer to get more done. After it was given the blessing of Pope Clement VIII, it spread like wildfire through the continent, allowing people to stay up longer, be sharper, and get even more done. It overtook beer as a breakfast drink in New York by the 1670’s, and just kept getting more and more popular. Things moved really fast for coffee. The only thing that was not moving fast for coffee was how it was made. There were some innovations, like the French press and the vacuum … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Happy Hour, The Featured Articles Tagged With: coffee, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, Downtown Dayton, espresso, ghostlight coffee, Holiday, Martini, Press Coffee Bar, Things to Do

Hello Sunshine!

November 8, 2012 by Brian Petro

Cocktails made a very slow recovery after World War II. The basics, like the Manhattan and the martini, came back rather quickly. In all honesty, they never really disappeared. During the 1950’s, like most of the culture, we were slowly getting back into the swing of things after three decades of unrest. We tried to put things back together the way they were, but it really did not work that well. Vodka became the staple spirit, once people realized that three martini lunches could be had without smelling of strong liquor. That led us to the 1960’s, where boundaries were pushed as far as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Happy Hour, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, Downtown Dayton, Galliano, Harvey Wallbanger, oranges, vodka

Punching It Up

September 20, 2012 by Brian Petro

Our cocktail history is a long and rich one. Starting with the Pilgrims stopping at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer, up to the current rise of the craft cocktails, we have seen a little bit of everything. One of the longest runs in our cocktail history is one that for the most part has been forgotten, other than remnants of them in some of the cocktails we enjoy today. It was present up right to the end of the 19th century, encouraging people to gather around and spend a few hours with each other, ladling out glasses of potent liquid to cool off in the hot summer months, and to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Happy Hour Tagged With: cocktails, Dayton, DaytonDining, fall, history, National Rum Punch Day, punch, rum, summer

Highland Fling

July 27, 2012 by Brian Petro

The first true royal and celebrity to fall in love with Scotch was Scotland’s greatest king, James IV. He kicked off the popularity of the strong spirit, and it has been growing ever since. The English parliament tried to tax it heavily at the beginning of the 18th century, and it went underground. People still had no problem getting it (and not paying the tax on it). After one hundred and fifty years, the British came to their senses and realized that they were losing tons of revenue. They lifted the tax and charged for a more modest license. It was a timely move. A few decades later, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Happy Hour, The Featured Articles Tagged With: July 27th Nattional Scotch Day, Scotch, SideBar, The Pub