Not to worry, I NEVER drink martinis!

Bitter et al, I'm thinking we need to limit ourselves to three establishments, lest we engage in the "technicolor yawn".

Shall we start at Vittorio's, say 6:30 p.m.

Dang, I can't go. My husband's birthday is that day and the oldest son is coming home from college for the weekend. I can't very well say, "Hey, honey, welcome home! Gotta go - Mommy needs a drink!"

Family-Always getting in the way of the fun things.

We'll leave an update barstool in your honor.

Happy Birthday to your husband.

Thanks. If there is any martini drinking in the future, count me in. As most of my friends tend to stick to wine or beer, I'm always looking for fellow imbibers of the hard stuff.

OK Yoss, I'm in.

I'll be judging the following categories:

Establishment:
1) Ambiance
2) General Service

Gin Martini:
1) Stemware
2) Garnish
3) Temperature
4) Flair


Send me an email as to when and where you would like to start.

Deal.

I sent you an e-mail.

quote:

Originally posted by scribbler:
Thanks. If there is any martini drinking in the future, count me in. As most of my friends tend to stick to wine or beer, I'm always looking for fellow imbibers of the hard stuff.

Martini swilling women in GE? Who woulda thought?

I'll bet the only thing that sets you apart from the rest of them is that you have the decency to start drinking them after 5 PM.

Have a great trip, JRB!

Well, somehow I always feel like I'm re-enacting "The Lost Weekend" whenever I order my martini, and they all sip their white wine. (Of course, it doesn't stop me at all.)

Now, perhaps they've been sipping white wine since breakfast...I'll give you that.

Gus and JRB-Thank you for supporting our research project. Bitterboy & I will post our full review of Vittorio's bar this weekend.

I am so going to pay for this tomorrow.

Poor Bitterboy...deleting posts in the light of day. Couldn't have been that bad off...were you?

I did receive a strange call at 12:10 AM. I wonder who that was.....

Deleted my prior post because it made absolutley no sense. Thought I called Gus late night and left a message (don't recall what it was though). Thanks for round 1 and thanks to Gus for a few rounds as well.

My review won't be posted for a while as I am going back to bed.

You lie like a rug, you said you were calling "Clam", but I think it was around 11:00.

Long story short-Roger rocks, the martini's were primo, as was the atmosphere. Detailed review to follow.

You guys were there over four hours?

In my opinion, a martini is a cocktail made with gin, and only gin, period (sorry, Yoss). I order mine completely dry, usually absent a garnish. Sounds simple, right? I mean, how difficult can it be to serve a drink containing a single ingredient? Well, you’d be surprised. Typically, problems arise as a result of my server and/or barkeep failing to heed my specific instructions. For example, over the years, somehow/someway vermouth - most always - has found its way into my glass. Also, despite ordering my drink naked - one, two, sometimes as many as three olives have been tossed recklessly into my libation, like coins into a fountain – totally unacceptable. Another peeve, which has nothing to do with one’s ability to follow instructions, comes immediately following the pour. More times than not, prior to it being served, my precious gem is left sitting - all alone - exposed to the room’s temperature. A martini with NO chill, has NO appeal. Lastly, a martini is meant to bring a sense of character, great looks and sophistication to the drinker. The stemware in which it is served is absolutely crucial to the overall experience. All other incidentals, such as garnish, panache and ambiance are important, but don’t make or break the drink and can be tolerated.

Keeping the aforementioned in mind, our first stop was Vittorio’s Ristorante, located at 504 Crescent. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by Tony (proprietor) who, with a big smile and a pat on my back, delivered a firm handshake welcoming me to his eatery. Something as simple as an acknowledgment, a true appreciation of my business set the stage for the remainder of my evening.

The bar area is small and navigating our way through at 6:30 PM, on a Friday was challenging, but within 10-minutes, we all had seats. I ordered a see-through and this time, I requested a garnish. Roger followed my instructions “to a T”. Vigorously shaking my cocktail over his shoulder, he served it ice-cold with three, perfectly skewered, medium-sized pimento stuffed olives (bleu cheese is available). The bar was dimly lit while Frank and Dino played in the background, a very nice touch. With the exception of my first order, I never again had to tell Roger how I liked my drink - he had committed it to memory.

One big problem that I can’t seem to shake though is that the purple sword-like skewers used to pierce my olives happened to match the stem of my glass. Although an improvement from yellow frosted stemware (used as recently as a week ago), a martini served with a curvy, purple stem is a big NO-NO.

The artist formerly known as “Clamato” happened to be eating dinner with his family - what a pleasant surprise! Gus joined Yoss and I and made for wonderful company.

Although Yoss and I had the intent of making this a “martini pub crawl”, our evening was enjoyable, so-much-so, that we made a conscious decision not to leave. Wow!

Ratings (A through F):

Establishment:
1) Ambiance B
2) General Service A+

Gin Martini:
1) Stemware D-
2) Garnish A-
3) Temperature A+
4) Flair B

Overall, Vittorio’s receives two thumbs up. In my opinion, adding new stemware could make it king of the hill, a rather small investment which will pay big dividends.

Wow, Bitterboy, such detail and dedication. I think I'm impressed, not worried. How about you and Yoss getting on this financial mess.

My review will focus on my favorite "martini", the Cosmo. For the majority of my life, I've been a beer guy, but about seven years ago I started with mixed drinks. For me, the perfect Cosmo is one that tastes like pink lemonade. Now for my review

I concur with my esteemed collegue Bitterboy on Vittorio's ambiance- when you step in, Tony greets you like a long lost friend. Feeling welcome at any business is rare these days, so when it happens, I take note. I think the fact that we stayed at Vittorio's all evening speaks volumes.

Our bartender was Roger, he was attentive and when he had time a good conversationist. The Cosmos were tasty and consistent in quality. If there is one thing that drives me crazy is a lack of consistency, either with food or drink. I could have used a bit more lime juice, but overall I with very pleased with the result.

Establishment:
1) Ambiance B
2) General Service A+

Cosmo:
1) Stemware C
2) Garnish A
3) Temperature A+
4) Flair B
5) Consistency A

Where to next my friend? Cabs? Do you think Cosmo's Beauty Bar would have us or, would we have to agree to get our nails done first?

I'm thinking Cab's.

Mrs. Yoss says Cosmos is booked and I'm not sure we could just come in and drink.