Reflection. My Time at Food Matters

Funny, one of the very first cocktails I ever put together, The Reflection, an after dinner drink that consisted of clear Sambuca and Stolichnaya Vanil served in a small port glass, has a bit of irony by today's standards.  I'm still using Stoli to make great cocktails (Such as the current Seasoned Strawberry Sangria).  It's funny how full circle things can be and it's in this reflective mode I remember my roots.

But I've come a long way from the simple blendings of store bought mixers, liquors and juices.  Food Matters showed me an entire culinary world in the art of cocktail making utilising whatever is in season, at it's peak of freshness to concoct some of the best drinks I've ever had any where in the DMV area.  Almost "Chef-Tending", I factored in layers and balance to making cocktails much like Chef's Tom & Christy Przystawik look at creating a great dish.  There needed to be salt, acid, sweetness, bitterness and the perfect level of heat from the alcohol and it was important to be able to taste every ingredient that went into the drink or else it did not serve a purpose.   Food Matters taught me that cocktails didn't have to be constricted to the confines of commercial ideals.  Because of them, I've made drinks with strawberry infused balsamic vinegar, fresh dill muddled kosher salt, black peppercorn simple syrup, sweet sorghum, roasted cardamom, orange blossom water, wine, beer and sherry.  I've made amazing drinks using fresh eggs and from vegetables like beets, cucumbers, carrots, celery and peppers.  I've used just about every fruit, spice and herb under the sun and took on speciality tasks such as creating my own barrel aged whiskies, salts, sugars, syrups, home made lemoncello's, infused whiskies, home made sparkling waters, ginger beers and other mixes.  They've given me the greatest method to producing the best Sangria's and Eggnog's money can buy.  They really took a chance on someone like me but gave me one of the greatest opportunities in my life, for this I am forever grateful.

Reflection.  I remember the first time Christy made a mint iced tea for me just because or when Chef Tom asked me to try a sauce or other project he'd be working on.  To better ourselves, I remember doing boot camp every morning before sunrise with Chef or that time we put a bottle of Tennessee whiskey up in a contest to see who could lose more weight in one month.  The day when he turned forty and I gave him a Miller High Life big boy and a card wishing him "to have a good 40".  I'll forever remember their daughter Amelie, because she was the very first child I ever picked up and held.  Food Matters is the reason I can say things like "Ayrshire, Wegmeyer and Hollin are some of my favorite local farms!"  I'll take with me the countless (Free, mind you) wine classes Christy gave me and other staff members.  Because of her, AOC's like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, regions like Chile, Uruguay, Oregon and grapes like Gavi, Torrontes, Tempranillo and Tanat create wines that I can truly say I love over your traditional Chardonnay or Cab (These two are very good grapes, just massive commercial success drives me to find the next thing).  I was taught that real men eat quiche and you can still be bad ass but enjoy a South African Rose.  I love sparkling Mascato, raspberry Merlots, Tanat and Monastrell dessert wines, things I would never consider to drink until  I learned how to appreciate them for what they are.

Names like David Powell, Rachel Martin, Doug Fabbioli, Bill Butcher, Rick Wasmund, Joe Dangler and Scott/Becky Harris are not only in my Rolodex because of what transpired here at Food Matters, but I can even consider them as friends.  I am fans of their wine, their beer and their whisky from here on out and are among my favorites of each respected category.  Thank you for the chance to meet, eat, drink and work with these people.

And thanks for getting Mary and I through the Great Urban Race.  Calling Chef on reconnasaince and getting tip offs from Dad made that race all the more exciting!

Reflection.

So many things in Cameron Station consolidate it as such a remarkable neighborhood.  They've impacted me so hard, that I had to ask for some of them to come be apart of my wedding and reception.  A reception where Mary and I shared a beautiful evening at Food Matters amongst friends and family.  I thank all of those who participated in that event and the contributors to our three honey moon getaways.  Gerry & Victoria for making Cape May New Jersey a go to location for Mary for the rest of our lives.  You are more generous and lucky to have had that space and to have shared it with so many people.  Truly, you are some of the most spectacular people I will ever know.  Anyone who bought a framed picture during the Art in The Parks.  How the staff blasted me with silly pet names like Johnny Bravo/Bannana, Tween Hands or the now Canadian residing guest Tim gave me DQ (short for Dancing Queen; long story, ask me about it sometime).  Nance and Adan, thank you for making the signs supporting my cocktails, you both always made a coolest picture displays, it made this place homely and personal.  It made people want to drink my cocktails.  I appreciate the books given to me from Peter, Ellen, Christy, Nance and Sam.  I thank Wolf for the first few years bartending always being there on those nights where it would be just the two of us shooting the mess for hours on end.  Good times!  Sheryl for helping me win just about every "sell the most of this product" contests by buying out more than your share and getting everyone involved, that and your over the top generosity.  I will always remember you.  Everyone who brought me a clip from a magazine, website or news paper regarding drinks and drinking, knowing it would inspire me one way or another.  Sheryl, Yoko, Brad, Michael / Michelle, Jen, Wolf, Harry, Cliff / Kitty, Addie, Lenore, Niel, Clara & John, Mary, Carla, Cassandra, Jim, big Mark, Brett & Mark, Eva, Nance, Giovanni, Daniel, David, Stevie, Luca, Tom, Christy, Gerry, Victoria and everybody else who ever contributed a bottle or sample towards The Next Rounds on Me.  And to Barbie and Jeff for hiring Mary and I to do all your promotional and retirement parties.

Reflection.  Mary, I love you so much and I thank you for showing me this place, your time here was invaluable and truly made Food Matters the well oiled machine it became and you simply always threw the greatest events.  You made things like Oscar night and the Derby real parties that people just HAD to come to, things that most people would simply over look in my opinion.  You are the best.  To this day you make every day feel special no matter what's going on in the world.  I love you.  To all the families who hired me to do private events and tastings, thank you.  Christy and Tom for all their pot lucks, bowling and house parties, you have always been so gracious.  The amazing Joe, for giving me a magic gig when that was hot on my to do list, that and for teaching me how to make it snow, a great Christmas gift to Mary and one for the books.  Carla for all your continuous support for Mary and Wish Craft, you are such an awesome person and forever giving, I wish there was more than a sash from Middleburg to give you.  Michael and Michelle for the computer, the IPhone and the Nano Adapter.  Remy and Jackie for that video and photo shoot during my Catoctin Creek Cocktail Event.  Cliff and Kitty for hanging out on Rolling Thunder that afternoon and for reintroducing me to Travis, a past life friend of whom neither of us could remember until I saw him. 

Patrick and David, during the blizzard when you shovelled my car out of the streets so I could get home.  Thank you Gwen for teaching me how to handle flowers, it's really come in handy!  Nance for fixing my house, mainly installing that toilet and the slip cover (That and Bourbon Pie).  Chocolate Smoovies prior to being on the menu were exclusive to my house parties right?  To her and Atena as well for making yard sales one of the funnest activities in the summers of Cameron Station.  Phil for all the hot CD's he would always bring me.  Rob & Shara for the Riedel glasses we simply were never supposed to have as we continued to break each piece of that set one by one!  Tom and Gerry both for all the great cigars.  Brandon and Bryce for the video games.  Bill for all of those Market Watches, it's like my favorite magazine now!  I think Ann from the Grooming Lounge in Tysons thanks us too as half her clients live in that neighborhood and were either introduced by me or people with good taste ironically request her exclusively.  Such a riot!

To the crew that was the direct cause and affect of every day there, I don't have enough words.  The days when Alicia, Atena, Nance, Mary, Giovanni, Acacia, Bryce, Mauricio and myself were the ONLY people there making a miracle out of a means, I enjoyed those times at Food Matters most of all.  I went to the hospital when both of Gio's kids were born, Nance ventured off with Mary and I countless times and Atena's house parties were some of the most famous, until Bryce had a going away party or a game night.  Phil helped to remind me that there were only 18 seats at the bar and sometimes I had to do "Less talkie talkie, more workie workie", though no matter how much we needed it, if Eggnog was needed, he wasn't the one to ask upon as he would scream to the kitchen "I DON'T MAKE NO EGGNOG!".  Our latest bartender, Paul, I can't help but say, because of you, I will never look at Grand Marnier or Vanilla Vodka the same.  Thanks for sharing the same passion as me, I hope you keep that with you.  Kaitlyn for always being a bubbly person and someone legitimately fun to be around.  Keep playing around with the drinks, learn as much as you can and don't stop creating.  To think girls like Kate and Christy's sister Brooke used to bartend here!  Those were awesome times!  That first kitchen click; Oscar, Vicki and Russ set the tone for the place and created the atmosphere for what Food Matters became.  Folks like Ana, Marilu, Liz, Kat, Stevie, Bill, David and Daniel who just stuck around that made the place what it is.  Particularly, Bill for his self humbling nature (he walked outside in a carrot suit for Earth Day and was the butt of so many jokes, but he gave himself to that role and we love him for it).  Stevie was a work horse, but the countless Top Golf nights brought clarity in working friendships.  The spontaneous sessions between Daniel, David and myself brought sanity and reason to some of the most hectic nights and working out with the newest and last crew, Adan, Karina, Eva, Scott and Claire, has rejuvinated me into believeing that I can do absolutely anything if I simply put my mind to it.  Thank you for being here, you are all the best.  All of you made it what it was though, don't think for a second becomes names like Alex, Hannah, Blake, Abby, Luca, Sean, Tamer, Davey, Sammy, Aubrey, Eugene, Paul (BOH), Phil 2, Carlos, (understand that this list would seriously go ON and ON and ON) weren't mentioned due to being forgotten or level of importance, but the fact that this list is so long to stay individual, though let's say, I gave it my all to do my best and you have all, at some point, touched my life.

Reflection.
 

I want to single out Addie too, she's like a mother to me and has always brightened each day with her always promised high energy, wit and sharpness.  I love her so much and she's always been so great to me and my family, I will miss her possibly  most of all.  Thanks for your lucky number, when Mary and I went to Las Vegas, you paid us out big at a roulette table!  She always kept my bar stools straight and perfectly spaced for service and I always enjoyed betting a dollar on games with her, she was always going to go for New England, I can tell you that!  She LOVES creamy clam chowder and is able to eat it at the heat of liquid fire and it still could possibly be cold. 

I'll never forget her one liners.  Her car doesn't know how to make left turns and it doesn't ever travel very far.  The fact that the only Mexican food she likes is Margaritas and that her favorite wine is "red and wet".  Some nights, Addie has dessert.  The only dessert she's ever had at Food Matters came in a flute shaped glass with bubbles.  "I only have one beer once a year on Oktoberfest!"  The fact that regardless of what she's been drinking, whatever glass she is holding is the "first one today" and sometimes my Bloody Mary's would be "I don't know....PICKY!" - She always told me not to spend my money, "I can't afford it", to live in my means and one day she's going to own the apartment I live in because of all the rent she pays through her nightly tips.  "AHH JEEZ!" - She always likes to tease and speak her mind.  Every night she'd ask me "What are you going to eat tonight John?"  Whatever my answer, she would puff her cheeks up with air to make a fat face.  Unless I told her I was having salad, then she'd stare at my stomach and say "I don't know John, sounds like a pretty good idea to me!" - Such a brat!  I love her to death and aim to remain forever in touch, she is absolutely the greatest and Cameron Station/Food Matters was very lucky to have her around, she made the place a restaurant on the corner of a neighborhood all more real.  It felt like home because of her.

Reflection.  To everyone else who graced my life while working at Food Matters, thank you.  Thank you for your generosity, your patience, your love and your support.  In almost five years, there is really too much to cover in one post this size already, but you've all touched my life, help mold me into the character I am today and really took me in to your hearts and homes.  Thank you, thank you and thank you again.  This has been life changing and a huge blessing for me.  Continue to look for me on The Next Rounds on Me, Twitter and Facebook.  I'm sure I'll be somewhere shaking things up.

Passion, Laughter & Love

cheers!

And the Winner is!!!!

In a Shot:  I won the 3rd Annual Cherry Challenge in Alexandria and ended up in their George Washington Birthday Parade!




That's right!  Not only did I get a press release: I got the mention!
But I also received outsider's pics:

And a follow up press release (To be published at a later time)

The Sweet Cherry Rye not only proved to be a spectacular cocktail, it received acclaimed following from all of The Next Rounds on Me supporters and Food Matters enthusiasts alike.  The drink was sophisticated and subtle.  It was a great drink for the season using ingredients locally produced and preserved from cherry season's finest hour from last year and topped with a bourbon I macerated for nearly two years!  The garnish alone was almost two years in the making with house made maraschino cherries and "cherry bombs" soaked in bourbon since July of 2009!  It was so much fun not only making the drinks but watching people experience the drink, especially ladies with the cherry bombs!  WOOOOOOO!  With an exasperated look of "please extinguish me!" on all their faces!  CLASSIC!

I got to walk in the annual George Washington Birthday Parade in old town Alexandria!  I wore a dress red shirt and black dress pants while rocking a water resistant coat and a green Food Matters hat.  The whole time I was carrying with me FM coupons and a huge cocktail shaker filled with GW BDAY paraphernalia and house keys which led to sounding like I was shaking up something great.  I ran from one side of the street to the other throwing coupons at families letting them know kids eat free on Tuesdays and that happy hour's between 5 and 6:30 everyday (except Monday) all while hardcore playing to the crowd.  I warned my other champions (Murphy's and Tempo) that we would soon approach my groupies and sure enough, after embarking on our journey from So. Fairfax St. when we reached the bin towards Royal  round Cameron, there they were!  I got to them and they not only started screaming wildly, the rest of the corner did as well and I got signs and photos to  prove it!  I jumped from street corner to street corner and had the time of my life!  I kissed the prettiest woman in the crowd and hi fived the best man out there!  I got a surprise from a few FM and TNROM affiliates, most honorary was Michael, easily identified by his reflective glasses in the rain.  He witnessed the biggest folly of all though.  When it came time to announce the Cherry Challenge winners, they stalled on saying any one's names after Tempo due to their complicated cherry challenge name and knowing the owners.  The stall almost lead to me walking past without recognition till I stood there waving my Food Matters hat at them and then FINALLY they stated my name and the cocktail for winning - I ran all across the arena like street yelling for crowd participation and got a huge uproar out of it!  Everything about the experience was so awesome though and I hope the name of Johnny Cocktail and Food Matters was left on the pavement that day.  There were military and military school marches, school bands, clowns, comedy, history and re-enactment  groups, the whole like out there ( I got a hat tipped to me with my cocktail shaking finesse by Abraham Lincoln himself, though some were yelling to him that he was a liar lol)

By the time it was all said and done, the family and I met back up on Cameron, celebrated my victory and went to Murphy's for Guinness, Smithwick's, Jameson's stew/bangers/duck, Irish meat pies and Bailey's cake.

On this note - Be sure to check out the next tasting I'm hosting at FM - The Irish Whiskey tasting, I'll be sure to include things that are not Bushmill's and Jameson's in hopes we all get a chance to try some thing tellamore-NEW

Thanks to all my fans and supporters and hope to see all of you behind the bar soon.

Cheers!!!!

Catoctin Creek Tasting & Cocktails

In a Shot: Loudon County famed Catoctin Creek comes to Food Matters and showcases their spirits and my cocktails for each expression, all while wearing a kilt!

This past month has been insane. With so many changes in my home and work life alongside so many great opportunities, it's been a common thread for me to lose site of The Next Rounds on Me and all the different things relating to it. As we stand, there is a blog up for a scotch tasting along side others for Awamori, aged rums, and rye's. There's the A. Smith Bowman distillery tour, Port City Brewing Company and a few others I can't even remember.

I want to find the time to be able to release these images, memories and thoughts into electronic paper. There was one such instance recently that should've been posted a while ago and that's the Catoctin Creek Distillery cocktail tasting I participated in at Food Matters.

Scott and Becky Harris showed up wearing kilts, also bringing an additional one for me! We introduced the Harris' to Food Matters and the guests in the private dining room. As Scott and Becky took turns explaining who they were, what they were pouring and answer any questions, I returned to the bar with the help of other staff and manually prepared twenty drinks based on the spirit being poured. Cocktail shaker, kilt and the whole nine yards!

The 1st drink based on Mosby's Spirit, was christened by Scott Harris himself as "The Cool Hand Cuke" - The fruity aspect of Mosby's really blends well with raw vegetables, herbs and spices. With very little time, I, Johnny Cocktail, blended cucumbers and lemon/lime juice with house made rosemary salt and a peeled cucumber syrup. this drink, is clean, refreshing, flavorful & a favorite of Scott & Becky Harris themselves.

The second drink, Sweet Cherry Rye is a variation of a cocktail I've been developing for a George Washington Cherry contest taking place February 6th - 12th - Wish me luck and stop by the restaurant during that time period and cast your vote for my drink as your favorite! You combine Roundstone Rye whisky with freshly muddled cherries and allow them to infuse over night. Then it's a combination of ice, preserved cherries, peychaud's bitters and a squirt of lemon. Topped with house made maraschino cherries & a two years aged cherry bourbon, the cocktail has been described a rye Manhattan/Old Fashioned with complex levels of cherry and spice while others described it as a really strong and flavorful cherry coke.

The final cocktail has been described by the Food Matters owners as a liquid sweet tart, I've always considered it a G&T with character. Traditionally, a G&T is gin and tonic mixed to taste and usually garnished with a lime. Most people who buy G&T's squirt the lime in the drink or ask for more limes. It was a no brainer to start squeezing fresh lime into the gin before mixing it with tonic. Then, a few years ago I was introduced to orange blossom water and began mixing that into my gin and tonics and love it. With time, I started adding different bitters into my tonic and it made sense to blend citrus bitters into the drink. I'm on my way to making a cocktail. I try not to use one spirit in a cocktail unless it's a showcase and now that this gin and tonic is no longer a simple showcase of two ingredients I wanted to big up the floral perfumey blossom water and citrusy fruits while accenting the botanical/medicinal qualities of gin and tonic. A splash of Cointreau orange liqueur and St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur rounds off this drink. I recommend using a light and higher quality tonic for this drink, such as Fever-Tree or Q-Tonic.

By the end of the evening, Scott and Becky answered more questions, told more stories and plugged in their low stock hard to find quality product, the Pearousia, a pear brandy made from pears harvested at Fabioli Vineyards of Leesburg fame. They gave out T-Shirts, shot glasses and brochures and we all enjoyed the company of distillers, restaurant owners, chefs, mixologists, Catoctin Creek enthusiasts old and new. It was truly a night worth writing about and I hope to write about many more just like it.

Thanks Scott & Becky Harris,

THE NEXT ROUNDS ON ME

(P.S. --->  Thank you to Remy (And her Aunt Jackie) for all your support and the really cool videos/photos.  To you, I give the next round on me as well!)

To all those who continue to support me, for me and for the drinks I passionately create I give to you, my glass held high.  I salute you.

Cheers!

Stolichnaya: White Pepper & Madagascar Vanilla Bean Tonic

In a Shot:  Stolichnaya follwed me on Twitter, I promised them a drink and I gave them one ten fold!

When I first turned 21, my older sister gave me an electronic flask shaped cocktail book called "The Bar Master". It was the coolest thing in the world. At the same time, I got a lot of Christmas money and had quite a bit stashed away and decided to collect many different cordials, spirits and flavored varieties to create the ultimate cocktails found in this electric spirit dossier. The first bottle of vodka I chose to buy was Stolychnaya. It was my father's favorite brand and he had a pride behind it. I bought every line available (At that time it was the standard red label, the gold label, Citros, Ohranj, Razberi & Vanil) - At the time I was eagerly making basic cocktails and really sweet mixed drinks. Within three years I started making drinks for a living.


Stolichnaya, lovingly referred to by its fans as simply Stoli, is a Russian vodka with a shroud over its year of origin. With roots from as early as 1901, the first confirmation hits between 1938 and 1948. The label showcases a picture of the unfinished Moscow staple, the place where Stalin onced slept over, the Hotel Moskva located in the "Capital City" and guess what "Stolichnaya" translates to?  Beginning with Samara/Kaliningrad artisanal water and made primarily of wheat, Stoli also benefits from rye and is distilled four times then filtered through quartz, sand, activated charcoal then finally through a woven cloth. The final product is clean with minor citrus notes, wheaty vanilla (Stoli's website describes it as marshmallow), white pepper and its predominant flavor, anise finished with an affirmative rye spice and minerality. Some magazines, adds and websites describe it as a "crispness and palate of a Siberian glacier", though I must be honest, I and no one I know personally have ever tasted one before to compare it to.

One thing for sure though, it's the licorice, vanilla, white pepper, citrus, minerality and the bite that had me fall in love with Stoli in the first place. I loved having it as a martini on the rocks with olives, straight up with a twist. Actually, one of my first after dinner drinks was called The Reflection and was technically Stoli Vanil and Sambuca in a cordial glass with espresso beans lit on fire prior to serving.

Recently, Stoli asked to follow me on Twitter. I didn't come to them, they came to me. I promised them a cocktail and I wanted to make sure I did it in style. In a private event, I delivered with a huge response, a drink that expressed Stolychnaya's amazing adaptation to casual mixing as well as sophistication while brightening up the natural flavors it already expresses.

Served alongside an apple brandy based sparkling cocktail, the Stolichnaya with Madagascar vanilla bean and white pepper tonic cocktail proved skeptic to many believing that sweetness would dominate or that the flavors would be too strong to appreciate. The bite from Stoli naturally cut against the vanilla and white pepper while citrus brightened up the vodka against the third most important ingredient, a high quality tonic water. Throughout the evening I bounced around several different tonic waters I had at my disposal, all of which can be read about by clicking here! The vodka speaks for itself; the tonic speaks for itself so the real test was my own addition to a classic situation. The addition of rose water, lime juice and a simple syrup devised from vanilla beans, white peppercorns and apple peels truly stood up to practice.

Recipe as follows:

Vanilla Bean Syrup Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup white pepper corns
Peel from one honey crisp red apple
1 Madagascar vanilla pod

Method:

Using a sauce pan, bring to a boil sugars, water, apple peel and pepper corns. Remove from heat. Take vanilla pod and split in half and cut into quarters. Insert into syrup mixture and let steep for at least 4 hours (or overnight) strain contents and save pepper corns, apple peel and vanilla. Sautee in a pan over medium high heat until very aromatic. Discard apple peels and save vanilla/peppercorns. Crush pepper corns and use as garnish for drink; add to food or around rim of other beverages for a wonderful kick. Refrigerate the syrup and use for up to a month.

For cocktail, in a rocks glass over ice build:

1 1/2 oz Stolychnaya Red Label Vodka
1 oz vanilla/white pepper syrup
Juice from half a lime
Top up with ice
Crack white pepper over top of drink and serve with lime wedge and split vanilla pod (Optional) as garnish.

My vanilla bean and white pepper Stoli tonic drink had aromas of strong vanilla and citrus (strangely enough, grapefruits) with hints of medicinal, minerality and a true Stolichnaya finish and lots of acid and white pepper. The mix takes little effort and the drink is quick to fix, a great part beverage and recommended to any Stoli lover. From one fan to the next.

Cheers!