I frequent Trabant, a coffee shop near work, because they make excellent coffee using a Clover, a $12,000 brewer designed and built by local coffee enthusiasts and engineers. The machine quickly became de rigueur for so-called “third wave” cafés, until the whole company was bought by Starbucks. (The story is that Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz [...]

The Mexicans may not understand why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo; I’m not sure I understand myself. But I never turn down an excuse to eat Mexican food: this fifth I hope to wash chicken tamales down with one of these delicious margaritas as seen on Well Fed. The short version: 1 part simple syrup [...]

Sauza or Hornitos are what you usually see in a “top shelf” margarita, but with all of that lime juice in the glass, I like the bite of José Cuervo’s 1800 tequila. Now I have an excuse to go buy some: limited edition, artist-designed bottles. (It’s like colored-vinyl, but booze.) More designs for bottles and [...]

Referenced in the recent New York Times review of Seattle restaurant Tilth, a recipe for Bourbon Hot Chocolate: 1 ½ cups whole milk 2 cardamom pods, roughly chopped 3 ounces Theo dark chocolate Pinch of salt 1 ounce Woodford Reserve bourbon Marshmallows If nothing else, it’s reason to have those ingredients on hand at all [...]