Laissez les bons temps rouler!
It’s 5pm and it’s been a long day and I need a place to relax, so I walk across the street and down a few blocks to a+, one of the swankiest bars in downtown Houston.
Looks like I’m the first customer in the bar today. Matt, the bartender, is still setting up tables and prepping the room.
I’ve been here before and I’m back today because on the first Tuesday of every month a+ introduces a featured cocktail with special happy hour pricing. The happy hour price is nice, but I really come to see and taste what’s new. I’d hate to get stuck in a rut by not sampling what’s available.
Matt finishes his work, comes around the bar and I ask, “What’s the featured cocktail today?”
The young bartender (he drives in from near the Woodlands for this gig) tells me, “Le bon temps. It’s Navan Cognac, lime juice, simple syrup and pineapple juice. It’s a little sweet but you might like it.”
I know that le bon temps is French for “the good times.” Somehow that’s appropriate since most of the folks in New Orleans are letting the good times roll today. It’s Fat Tuesday, the movable feast of Mardi Gras.
I’ve never tasted Navan and the happy hour price is right.
“Yeah, I’ll try one,” I say. (My french is no good so I don’t embarrass myself by trying to say the name.)
le bon temps
2 ounces Navan Vanilla Cognac
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
4 ounces pineapple juiceshake and serve on the rocks
Matt is pouring le bon temps already premixed and ready behind the bar, so I don’t have to wait very long.
“Fresh squeezed?” I ask. The pineapple flavor is spot-on and the drink is sweet, but not too sweet.
“Yes,” beams Matt, “both the pineapple juice and the lime juice are fresh squeezed. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“The cognac shines through,” I say, “you know, with all this pineapple juice it’s too bad you don’t shake it. That would give it a nice foam in the glass.”
I nurse the drink for the next thirty minutes or so, after all, I’m here to relax.
The crowd in the bar is growing steadily. Seems Alden is hosting a book signing at 6pm. Some nights the crowd would be welcome. Not tonight.
“One’s my limit, I’m driving home,” I tell Matt. I pay my tab and I’m out the door.
a+, the bar at Alden-Houston
1117 Prairie Street
Houston TX 77002
(832) 200-8800
www.aldenhotels.com
Chilled out at Ibiza
Wes, a burly waiter who could have played football for his college team, brought me the glass of Spinyback Sauvignon Blanc 2006 I had ordered just a few minutes before. Across the table from me sat Barbara and next to me sat her husband, George.
With eager anticipation I held the glass and swirled and sniffed and then sipped.
“Arg!” I snarled with a grimaced look on my face. “That’s terrible.”
“Send it back,” said Barbara.
“But it’s not corked and it’s not oxidized. It just tastes bad,” I said. “I can’t send a glass back just because I don’t like it.”
“Send it back,” Barbara said.
“Ibiza is a fine Houston food and wine bar. Owners Grant Cooper and Charles Clark hand-picked the wines on this impressive wine list. There must be a reason why this wine is on this list and I’m gonna keep tasting it until I find out why.”
“Send it back,” repeated Barbara.
“I like Sauvignon Blanc and I’ve always especially liked Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, so why does this wine taste like pure lemon juice?” I said as I took another sip. “Sauvignon Blanc should be fruity and citrusy, but also floral and crisp. This is all acid and all lemon and all not so good.”
I knew that this Sauvignon Blanc should be zesty and subtle, balanced with just a little gooseberry. Maybe what Wes poured into my glass was not Sauvignon Blanc after all, maybe this was lemon juice?
“It’s too cold,” chimed in the previously silent George. “Give it time to warm up.”
George was onto something. I cupped the glass in my hands. Brrr. According to Jancis Robinson, a good Sauvignon Blanc should always be served at 48 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Grabbing the glass like this, it was obvious: my wine was as cold as ice.
Wes, that huge guy who doesn’t look at all like a waiter in a wine bar, must have poured my glass from a bottle he just took out of the chill chest.
“Let’s order an appetizer,” I said to George and Barbara. “That large plate of Spanish olives, jamon serrano ham and manchego cheese sounds great and it’s only ten bucks. By the time it gets here, the Spinyback should be just the right temperature to drink.”
George winked and smiled a silly little grin.
Ibiza Food and Wine Bar
2450 Louisiana Street
Houston TX 77006
(713) 524-0004
www.ibizafoodandwinebar.com
