Campari Cocktails: Negronis, Punches, and More

Most people think of Negroni when they hear Campari, a classic that you can't really go wrong with.

Negroni
1 oz gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari

But any liqueur deserves more than one cocktail to be made from them, so various mixologists have played around with this red spirit.


Nicaraguan Negroni Punch
Created by mixologist Jon Gasparini of Rye on the Road


15 ounces Campari
10 ounces Flor de Cana 7 year
7.5 ounces Cinzano Rosso
10 ounces Grapefruit Juice
2.5 ounces Honey

Combine juice of ten lemons and 30 cloves in a tupperware container or cake mold and freeze. Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl with flavored iced block.

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Since I didn't have Flor de Cana and it was New Year's day, I tried substituting Appleton rum. After trying the above recipe, we kind of decided that grapefruit + campari is just too bitter overall, so we topped it off with Sparkling Cider and more rum for good measure.

The Butchered Negroni Punch went something like this:
2.5 oz honey
7.5 oz sweet vermouth
10 oz grapefruit juice, fresh squeezed
15 oz Appleton Rum
7.5 oz Campari
7.5 oz Sparkling Cider (or to taste - some like it more bitter than others)


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They also sent over a Valentine-themed Campari cocktail that sounded good, I'll be trying to replicate this soon :)
(PS. Don't get confused by "Small Hand Grenadine" - it's not a typo, this is just grenadine made by Small Hands Food and is actually made of - gasp! - pomegranates as opposed to food coloring!)

Love Letter
Created by Adam Wilson of Beretta


1 oz Campari
1 oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
0.75 oz Cointreau
0.25 oz Maple Syrup (should be 1:1 with water)
0.25 oz Small Hand Grenadine
3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters

Shake. Add Soda. Pour over ice in highball. Garnish with a lime zest.

Hot and Soupy #5: Mariscos Chente's New Winter Menu

Mariscos Chente made a big wave in the past year in the Los Angeles low-brow dining scene with their much lauded Sinaloan seafood cuisine. Recently they rolled out a Winter Menu and Street Gourmet LA, a long time Chente supporter, set up a small blogger tasting. Throughout the dinner, Street Gourmet LA guided us each dish, and where they come from , etc.

To get authentic Sinaloan seafood, the owner Maddalena routinely buses down to her hometown of Nayarit to procure some fresh seafood!

Tortilla chips and salsa while you wait. Watch out for the green salsa - it was way spicier than the red!

Our first soup was the Albondigas de camaron(shrimp albondigas), a common Sinaloan dish. Albondigas is meat/shrimp balls and is in fact a national dish that varies throughout Mexico. Seafood albondigas are typically found on the coasts. The broth consisted of shrimp stock, tomatoes, oregano, jalapeno, cilantro, and vegetables.

The albondigas were firm and chewy. The broth has quite a kick to it, and on that foggy night near the ocean, this hot soup was quite a treat.

There are three other seafood soups they're offering, which uses a common broth (made of fish stock, tomato, jalapeno, vegetables) but just varies in the seafood proteins they put in them.

The fish soup contains moist and tender pieces of seabass, including the skin and jowl.

The 'mixto' contains shrimp, fish (seabass, same as above), and octopus.
The octopus in this soup was so chewy and delicious I would highly recommend getting the mixto over either the fish or the shrimp (which they also offer). The broth here is not as spicy as the albondigas but I personally prefer it because it was richer and flavorful (though the rest did prefer the albondigas' broth).

Mariscos Chente is also offering a series of seafood tacos this winter.:
The deep fried fish(halibut) and shrimp tacos are topped with cabbage, tomato, onion, and homemade Thousand Island.
The batter here isn't as crispy as I would like, but the thousand island dressing is a really nice touch.

The highlight among the tacos was the Gobernador, a specialty of Mazatlan which consisted of sauteed shrimp with Monterey jack cheese, peppers, and onions in a flour tortilla finished on the grill.

Sweet and rich, these nicely grilled tacos packed a punch.

To wash it all down, we had Maddalena's special jarritos (also known as Palomas) which is typically made with Squirt, salt, and tequila but she squeezes in some orange in there for a flavor boost! Served in these clay vessels, the drink was quite refreshing and addictive. Mariscos Chente doesn't have a full liquor license so you can order this as a "virgin drink", but if you want to sneak your own tequila into the jar, I'll keep mum ;).

Who knows how long they would keep the winter menu up, so you might want to hurry and taste the Gobernador and their soups for yourself.


Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 391-9887

Pasadena Wine Bar Renaissance? Part 2: Wine Detective

I passed by Wine Detective while they were still undergoing construction on one of my walks around Pasadena months ago. I didn't know when they would open but then I recently received an invitation from one of the co-owners, Lev, to check the place out.

Since this wine bar is just a few blocks away from Caltech (and my apartment) and thus an easy walk, I was more than happy to try it out for myself. A wine bar opening up within a stone's throw from Caltech can only be a good thing!

Wine Detective employs the Enomatic wine dispenser system, where the customer inserts a smartcard into the machine, chooses the wine they want, presses a button and receives a 1 oz pour.
The 1 oz pours (usually priced between $2-4) let you try a lot more wines than you would normally have, but it is cheaper if you opt for a glass. You can also get a bottle here and pay retail price + corkage fee.

The white wines are of course chilled and each pour is precisely controlled.
The wines here are all chosen by the four owners - and the four of them have to agree on the wines, which is probably quite an ordeal given people's differing palate. But, hey, I won't complain if I have to taste wine for work :P

Here you can also find some wines that you can't get at retail stores or are harder to find including Turley Howell Mountain Zinfandel and a selection of Charles Smith's wines.

While Wine Detective is not a restaurant, they do serve cheese plates, charcuterie, and some pintxos.

We got a cheese plate to share. A selection of three cheeses run $11.00.
Each cheese was served with the appropriate condiments. we got the verdecapra (a blue cheese from Italy), Roccolo (Cow’s Cheese from Italy), and a goat cheese that I can't remember. The blue cheese was pretty amazing, do try it sometime.

Duck Trio (duck pate, duck prosciutto, duck salami) - $17

Photo courtesy of Mattatouille

A plate worth getting, we loved all three but I loved the pate most of all, it was smooth and rich in flavor. I probably ate more than my share that night. I should also note that the bread that came with this and the cheese plate was quite good and went well with the cheese and charcuterie.

To soak up all that wine, LA&OC Foodie and I also decided to get some pintxos to share. A selection of 3 pintxos is also $11 and we chose: Pate (Duck Pate, Cucumber, Piquillo Pepper), Mozzarella
(Buffalo Mozzarella, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Basil), and Serrano (Serrano Ham, Manchego Cheese, Oven Roasted Tomatoes).
These are pretty basic bites that work well with wines. I thought the Serrano could've used something extra since it was a bit dry for my taste, but again, I loved the pate.

Not only could I walk home after drinking wine, they also offer a 10% discount for those with Caltech or JPL id!
Also, for happy hour (M-F, 4-7pm) they are offering $5 glass of house wine and 25% off all food items.


Wine Detective
146 South Lake Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 792-9936
www.winedetective.com



Other wine bars in Pasadena:
Noir Food and Wine
Vertical Wine Bistro