Eater Dallas - The Complete Eater Dallas Cocktail Week 2014The Dallas Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2015-07-22T14:05:00-05:00http://dallas.eater.com/rss/stream/68431902015-07-22T14:05:00-05:002015-07-22T14:05:00-05:00Where to Drink Cheap: The Best Cocktail Happy Hours in Dallas
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<figcaption>Parliament. | Kyla Davidson</figcaption>
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<p>Where (and when) to drink top-notch cocktails without emptying your wallet.</p> <p>With all that (very necessary) air-conditioning sending utility bills skyrocketing, finding a good place to drink on the cheap is especially important this time of year. You don't have to settle for ice-cold cans of PBR and crappy vodka, either — it is, in fact, possible to drink fancy-schmancy cocktails in Dallas on the cheap. Here's where to go.</p>
https://dallas.eater.com/maps/map-cheap-cocktails-happy-hour-dallas-where-to-drinkAmy McCarthy2014-10-24T17:17:46-05:002014-10-24T17:17:46-05:00How Parliament Shakes Up a Perfectly Creamy, Dreamy Ramos Gin Fizz
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<img alt="Parliament's Ramos Gin Fizz." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EZ0ruCT9pqyw-NyPerASaDkuAn4=/110x0:1887x1333/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42657922/Eater_Parliament072.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Parliament's Ramos Gin Fizz. | K. Davidson/EDFW</figcaption>
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<p>Lucky Campbell and his band of merry bartenders execute a perfect rendition of the classic cocktail.</p> <p> <figure class="e-image">
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<p class="caption">Parliament's Brad Bowden really, really loves the Ramos Gin Fizz. [All photos: K. Davidson/EDFW]</p>
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<p>Lucky Campbell's <b>Parliament</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>made its long-awaited debut at the end of August, and the Dallas cocktail scene is all the richer for it. With a sprawling menu that reads like a booze-soaked manifesto and some of the best damn bartenders around, it's a must-visit for anyone who appreciates the art of a fine cocktail.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Famously labor-intensive, a request for a Ramos Gin Fizz often elicits eye-rolls from bartenders, something Lucky can't abide by: "Surely when you sign up for your first bartender job, you know that it requires <b>a certain level of athleticism</b> and willingness to entertain," he proclaims. "What greater drink to showcase that than the Ramos Gin Fizz?" <span>Lucky, his partner Andrew Brimecome, and bar manager Stephen Halpin all agreed that perfecting the classic drink — which dates all the way back to 1893, when it first appeared on the cocktail menu at New Orleans' Rooesvelt Hotel — should be a priority for the Parliament menu. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, Parliament bartender <b>Brad Bowden</b> demonstrates the method behind making a perfect Ramos Gin Fizz.</p>
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<p>"The first step in making any good Ramos or Ramos derivative is cracking the egg and delivering <b>a good clean egg white</b> into your shaker tin," Lucky explains. Even the tiniest amount of yolk will prevent the egg white from living up to its full foam potential.</p>
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<p>Two ounces of cream, one ounce of lemon juice, one ounce of simple syrup, and two ounces of Ford's gin are added to the shaker along with the egg white.</p>
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<p><span>The essential ingredient that gives the Ramos Gin Fizz its signature, slightly floral flavor is five drops of highly aromatic <b>orange blossom water.</b></span></p>
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<p><span>Then, the mixture is shaken "ridiculously vigorously" — </span><span>or</span><b style="line-height: 1.5;"> "until your arms fall off," </b><span>as </span><span>Lucky's recipe instructs.</span></p>
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<p>Parliament's secret to the towering head of foam is a simple one: The soda water is poured into the glass first and then the shaken mix is added on top.</p>
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<p>"Though the classic Ramos has the bartender topping the mix with soda, by adding the soda first, it fluffs the Ramos while it's being poured, thus increasing the head," Lucky explains.</p>
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<p>The drink is then garnished with an artful orange peel garnish.</p>
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<p>Regularly priced at $15, it's worth noting that during happy hour, (5-8 p.m. weekdays, all night on Mondays, or anytime it rains) the classic Ramos Gin Fizz can be had for a mere <b>$7</b>.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Parliament patrons will also find a <b>Pistachio Ramos Fizz</b> on the menu made with Lucky's <b>pistachio gin</b>, a creation from his days behind the bar at Bolsa that he refers to as his "greatest secret."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"It’s a little tricky and I’m proud to say, many of our friends have tried to reverse engineer it and been unsuccessful," he laughs. Traditional or pistachio, happy hour or no, the carefully crafted Ramos gin fizzes at Parliament are worth your drinking dollars. (Blown kisses from Bowden are free of charge.)</p>
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https://dallas.eater.com/2014/10/24/7064539/parliament-dallas-cocktail-ramos-gin-fizz-how-toWhitney Filloon2014-10-24T13:40:25-05:002014-10-24T13:40:25-05:00Craft Cocktails, Quickly: 7 Places to Find Drinks on Tap
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<img alt="A draft cocktail at Barter." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j2dvNKmIy-9fR2JI4r_mk2UOzgs=/52x0:905x640/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42635290/barterskinnycougar.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>A draft cocktail at Barter. | <a href='https://www.facebook.com/barteruptown/photos_stream'>Barter/Facebook</a></figcaption>
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<p>Because sometimes you just don't want to wait 10 minutes for a well-mixed drink.</p> <p dir="ltr">Bartenders are constantly thinking up new and interesting ways to get their willing patrons sloshed, and sometimes, that means just switching up the delivery device. At the same time that mixologists are painstakingly chiseling their own ice and mixing tedious old-school cocktails, creative barmen like <b>Barter's Rocco Milano</b> are also figuring out ways to make it easier to get delicious and consistent cocktails out to their customers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Make no mistake, Milano is still a fan of complicated mixed-to-order cocktails, but <a href="http://dallas.eater.com/venue/barter">Barter's</a> high-volume location in Uptown presented some unique challenges. "When we first opened, Frankie's Sports Bar was across the street, and people would stumble their way in here after having a Bud Light," says Milano. To ensure that he was able to provide uniformly high-quality drinks on the fly, Milano utilized a fancy (and pricey) tap system that would produce a perfectly mixed, perfectly chilled drink each time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">According to Milano, his bar may have been one of the first in the area to adopt the practice, but several local bars have joined him since. At these seven restaurants and bars, you won't be waiting fifteen minutes for a bartender to mix your next round of drinks - because face it, we're all a little impatient sometimes when it comes to booze.</p>
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https://dallas.eater.com/2014/10/24/7062559/map-dallas-draft-cocktails-on-tap-barter-truck-yardAmy McCarthy2014-10-23T16:07:46-05:002014-10-23T16:07:46-05:00Lakewood Landing's Roger Nelson Fibbed His Way Into Bartending
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<figcaption>Lakewood's favorite dive. | EDFW</figcaption>
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<p>The award-winning bartender first got into the biz so he wouldn't have to cut his hair, believe it or not. </p> <p dir="ltr">When Roger Nelson got started bartending, he was an 18-year-old kid with hair down to his belly, bluffing his way into the only job he could find that wouldn't make him chop his beloved blonde locks. Twenty years later Nelson is still at it — minus several pounds of hair — and after a journey through Dallas' peak club days and then back to neighborhood bars, he just snagged the title of "Best Bartender" for 2014 from the <i>Dallas Observer</i>. These days Nelson co-manages beloved dive Lakewood Landing. Eater recently caught up with the award-winning drink slinger to talk about his lifetime of bartending.</p>
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<p class="caption"><em>Bartender Roger Nelson: then and now.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>How do you feel about winning Best Bartender from the <i>Observer</i> this year?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">It's interesting that I got it this year. Something like this, we're a local neighborhood bar, friendly, talk to everybody, get drinks out as quick as you can. But I've done so many things over the past 20-some-odd years, I've been a high-volume, ring-higher-than-anybody-else bartender at the clubs and stuff — so it was unexpected. I don't even know how my name got put in there, except that the Landing's kind of an iconic type bar here in Dallas.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>How would you say this style of bartending differs from working in a fast-paced club?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, it's a lot different. This is on a more personable level. You'll know at least 30 percent of the people that come in the door, what they want to drink. It's more interactive with the customers. You get to know them. You talk. You're friendly. You make them feel at home, as opposed to Trees or something like that where you're just throwing drinks out at them as quick as you can. <span>They're here to see a show. They want a Jack and Coke. Send them on their way.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Where did you get your start in bartending?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Well I'm 45, so I can't remember if I was 18 or 19 — I think I was 18 — but I started in a place called Boss Cafe on lower Greenville Avenue. It's right by where J. Pepe's used to be. This would have been 1988-ish, and the reason I got into it is I had a friend of mine who got a job there as a waiter, and I had long hair down to about here <i>[motions to just below his chest].</i> It's what was cool back then. And I lied my way into it. I just picked it up really quickly. From there, a lady by the name of Cindy Peterman came in there for lunch all the time and thought I had talent and put me in the club business.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>What do you mean you lied your way in there?</b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">I had no experience whatsoever. I just said I did. It was a total bluff.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">I had no experience whatsoever. I just said I did. It was a total bluff. <span>Like I said, I was a teenager. I wanted to figure out something I could do without cutting my hair off, in all honesty. I know it sounds stupid, but back then it was a big deal.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>So Peterman got you into the club business.</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Yeah. Took me down to Coyote Bar in the West End. At that time, West End was really huge. Deep Ellum was fine, but it was really big money down there. <span>We had Top 40 in dance bands. We had chicks in cages in all the windows dancing. We had a big bar </span>—<span>the guy I got hooked up with, Tony Martin, who is still, in my eyes, the best bartender that's ever been in Dallas, I got paired with him. He had really long dark hair, I had really long white hair, and that guy could do all the flow and shit, flipping stuff around, and I, well I had no idea how to do that stuff, so he would take me home and practice. And we got so good that we kind of became a team over the next five or more years.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>How did you end up at Lakewood Landing?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">The owner and I are good friends. He's been trying to get me to come here for years and years, and he finally caught me at a weak point and I was like, "All right, I'll come in." This place is real difficult to start. There's such a regular clientele, and nobody likes change.</p>
<p dir="ltr">For about three years, [co-manager Brandy] Buther and I worked every shift together. Then, one of the old icons decided he wanted to do something different and moved, so she and I took over as co-general managers.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>How do you think the bartending world has changed since you got your start?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">A lot of things have changed. Number one, laws have changed quite a bit, where you can't do two-for-ones, and you can't do coin nights where you can get everything you want for a nickel, as well as technology has changed a ton. Now you have touch screen registers, which, you can't go very fast on them. You can go pretty quick, but that would have never worked at the time I'm talking about.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Gypsy Tea Room, I suppose this was 2007 when I was a GM there as well as a bar manager. We had seven registers around the main bar, two in the other room and then two door registers, and man, it was fast. You didn't have time to play with a little video screen. You wrote your stuff down and slammed it out on, we called it a banger, basically a calculator with a drawer, and it was quick.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nowadays, you go to House of Blues or any of these clubs, you're not going to get in and out as quickly by any means. It's all about keeping track of your liquor and stuff now.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>What do you like about the bartending life?</b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">Bartending for a living is just like skipping school, you know?</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">There's a lot of things I like about it. Most people complain about the hours in this business. I love it. I like being off work Mondays and Tuesdays when there's nobody else out on the streets. I have a boat. I fish a lot. There'll be five miles of traffic on 635, backed up and stopped, and I'm going 70 MPH the other way with a boat. It's fun. It's just like skipping school, you know?</p>
<p dir="ltr">I like being able to go to work and not knowing what the hell's going to happen that night. This is never boring. It's something different every day. You think on your feet. You've got to be able to deal with or eliminate problems. Whatever comes at you, you've got to be able to take care of it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's almost like going out and partying but getting paid for it, for the most part. It's different every day. <span>I guess I was probably 30ish, or a little over 30, when I realized, "I love this. This is what I do, and I like it."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr">In a bar like this, one of my favorite things is you get a shy guy — because this isn't a pick-up bar, it's a hangout bar — and he's socially inept, and he's kind of scared of everybody, breaking him in and kind of giving him a little confidence. In a couple of months, he's hanging out with everybody and he's a whole different person. I know that means something to those people.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>What's your weirdest story bartending?</b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">I've seen people ODing in the bathrooms. I've been high with Willie.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>I've seen everything from people ODing in bathrooms to meeting celebrities all the time. I've been high with Willie. I partied with all these bands I grew up with. Most of the time, I always seem to be the guy throwing people out.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Here's a story. Back in the old days, Dallas Alley had Monday night concerts for free, and I was working at Warrants, which was an old '80s place, and they rioted. I was beside the stage with just a little mini-bar outside, and all of a sudden, people are rushing the stage and stuff —<span> it just goes berserk. So, I've got a cash register, a thing of beer and a thing of liquor, and all I have time to do is grab my drawer and flee. The rest of it got sucked up into the crowd. It was all over the news. That was the last concert they every had.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>What do you like to do in your free time?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm a wannabe artist, not as good as I'd like to be. I've got a boat on Lake Ray Hubbard. That keeps me off of drugs, and that's my therapy.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>What's the future look like for you?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">I wish I knew. <span>In all honesty, I know that I'll be here for a little while. Obviously, I'd like to have my own place. Whether that'd be in Dallas, I don't know. Dallas is a rough market. I think it'd be cool to take what I know about Dallas and take it outside of the realm. </span><span>If I had my choice, I'd have a fishing guide service with my marina with a bar and restaurant on it. I think that would be the coolest thing ever.</span></p>
https://dallas.eater.com/2014/10/23/7052383/bartender-interview-lakewood-landing-roger-nelsonJoshua Knopp2014-10-23T14:24:22-05:002014-10-23T14:24:22-05:0010 Dive Bars With Tasty Food to Soak Up the Booze
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<figcaption>Louie's, home of awesome pizza. | Margo Sivin/EDFW</figcaption>
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<p>Because man cannot live on vodka-sodas alone.</p> <p>After a night of running up a bar tab at one of Dallas's finest dives, you may be tempted to have your Uber driver swing by the Whataburger drive-thru window — but seriously, don't do that to yourself. There are plenty of bars in Dallas offering not only cheap drinks, but also <b>reasonably tasty food.</b> Here are 10 dive bars you can count on to help pad your stomach.</p>
https://dallas.eater.com/maps/map-dallas-dive-bars-best-food-lee-harveys-angry-dogWhitney Filloon2014-10-23T14:06:03-05:002014-10-23T14:06:03-05:00The Finest Dive Bars in Dallas, Mapped For Your Drinking Pleasure
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<img alt="Good ol' Lee Harvey's." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TP7jggzjbFCM1dFGWz0RB5aMilA=/0x10:400x310/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42552004/leeharveys.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Good ol' Lee Harvey's. | <a href='http://leeharveys.com'>Lee Harvey's</a></figcaption>
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<p>Because sometimes you just want a friendly bartender, a great jukebox, and a cheap bar tab.</p> <p>Twelve dollar cocktails and handlebar mustache-sporting bartenders are great, and we appreciate fancy ice as much as the next person — but sometimes you just need <b>a good dive bar</b> in your life. Next time you're in the mood for a strong, cheap drink and maybe a game of pool, consult this list of the city's best dive bars (and don't forget to bring some quarters for the jukebox).</p>
https://dallas.eater.com/maps/map-dallas-best-dive-bars-lee-harveys-lakewood-landingWhitney Filloon2014-10-22T13:42:46-05:002014-10-22T13:42:46-05:00Nobody Panic, But Midnight Rambler Is Putting Fish Sauce in Your Cocktail
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<img alt="At Midnight Rambler, there's more than meets the eye." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AhH4sr8QHI4iAbsvLuSjWxlvbkM=/110x0:1887x1333/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42476038/MidnightRambler-5752.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>At Midnight Rambler, there's more than meets the eye. | Lori Bandi/EDFW</figcaption>
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<p>Chad Solomon and Christy Pope are using high-tech equipment and surprising ingredients to make cocktail magic at The Joule.</p> <p>Long-awaited cocktail bar <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://dallas.eater.com/venue/midnight-rambler">Midnight Rambler</a> opened earlier this month in a sexy subterranean space at downtown's Joule Hotel, and the bar's been filled with curious drinkers every night since. Cocktail gurus <b>Chad Solomon</b> and <b>Christy Pope</b> of beverage consulting group Cuffs & Buttons have some serious pedigrees, with gigs at legendary NYC bars like the Pegu Club and Milk & Honey under their collective belt, but now they've settled down in Dallas — at least for the time being — to dazzle cocktail fans with their clever concoctions.</p>
<p>While the bar itself is decked out in a sort of retro-glam styling replete with vintage light fixtures and coasters made from old vinyl records, there's also plenty going on behind the curtain. Tucked back behind the main bar is a pint-sized space where Solomon and Pope create their cocktail magic, and it's not just outfitted with shakers and jiggers — it's downright mad scientist-y in there. Eater caught up with Solomon recently to chat about what goes on in the Midnight Rambler cocktail lab.</p>
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<p class="caption">The cocktail lab. [Photo: Lori Bandi]</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>This space is pretty tiny. Is there a strict "one person at a time" rule in the cocktail lab?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Coming from working in New York for a long time, space is at a premium there, so this is actually not terribly cramped to us. This room seems small but it feels bigger than it actually looked on paper when we planned this all out. So it's definitely tight, but we get a lot done.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Obviously a lot of this is not equipment that you'd find in your typical cocktail bar. What the hell is all this stuff?</b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>This type of equipment really allows us to push the envelope with flavor and aroma.</span></q></p>
<p dir="ltr">This type of equipment really allows us to push the envelope with flavor and aroma and accomplish things that we wouldn't be able to do without it. Christy and I, through our company Cuffs & Buttons, personally own all this equipment and it fits into work that we've done for a long time consulting, but Midnight Rambler is a platform to showcase that type of work, and it's great to have<span> this stuff on-site to support this bar.</span></p>
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<p class="caption">Dehydrated garnishes and the illustrious rotovap. [Photo: Lori Bandi]</p>
<p dir="ltr">But you're right, this is not typically found in most cocktail bars. You see it a little bit more in the modern high-end or advanced kitchens, things like this rotovap which is a vacuum still. Basic distillation principles apply but what's unique about this piece of equipment is that it's a closed system and you can pull a vacuum and basically lower the pressure inside thereby lowering the boiling point so you can do cold distillations. It's important because heat can damage aroma, and really what we're looking to do with this is to capture aroma and be able to use that in drinks, either as an ingredient or as an aromatic garnish.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In terms of cocktail bars with these types of equipment, there are only a handful in the country. Booker & Dax in NYC, The Aviary in Chicago, Canon in Seattle, but otherwise you're mostly talking about restaurants that have this stuff.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">With the immersion circulator, we're getting fuller flavor and aroma in a shorter time.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">The centrifuge is also a very cool piece of equipment that supports our carbonation work. The main purpose for this here is to take a whole product, be it fruit or vegetable, then juicing it, clarifying it, and carbonating it so we can turn it into a soda. We've been sourcing these amazing strawberries for strawberry soda in the summer, but going into fall it'll be something different [currently poblano ginger].</p>
<p dir="ltr">We have an immersion circulator<b> </b>which is really advantageous for speeding up infusion times but also we're finding that with this type of infusion versus just a traditional sit-and-wait type maceration, we're getting fuller flavor and aroma and in a shorter time.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <figure class="e-image">
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<span> </span></p>
<p class="caption">An immersion circulator. [Photo: Lori Bandi]</p>
<p>The dehydrator helps us to do some fun garnish work and visually offers this cool kind of elemental decay. We make these dehydrated lemon slices that are a great platform to spritz an aromatic garnish onto.</p>
<p> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Outside of just the big pieces of equipment, we're blending essential oils to create aroma and in that way we're working in the same vein as a natural perfumer would. So we use very CSI piece of equipment called a micron pipette so we can get very, very precise and minute quantities of essential oils and then be able to consistently replicate these aromas to spritz onto drinks. We do an aromatic garnish for the Night Marcher, primarily ginger and nutmeg with a little jasmine underneath. Very, very tropical flavors and a little bit of vanilla. This mimics kind of classic Asian perfumes and we spritz this on top of the drink to be carried by dry ice as the gas sublimates.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>I see you've got a lot of savory ingredients in here — too beef stock, fish sauce, hoisin.</b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span> We're using </span><span>a little bit of MSG to really push that umami quality </span><span></span><span>in the drink.</span></q></p>
<p dir="ltr">There's a drink called the Bull Shot that I think is a little bit New Orleans in origin, we took that idea and reworked it through a lense of pho [for the Pho-King Champ shot]. So instead of just beef stock, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lemon juice, and vodka, we kept the vodka and added oloroso sherry, then we're aromatizing beef stock with star anise, cardamom, cassia bark and then hoisin, sriracha, fish sauce, and a little bit of MSG to really push that umami quality in the drink. In another drink called the Night Marcher, we're aromatizing sriracha with fresh kaffir lime leaf and fish sauce and using it in a very, very minute dose to bring not only some heat but a little bit of funk. Fish sauce we're also using in very small quantities in another drink called the Savory Hunter, which almost has some tom kha-esque qualities to it.</p>
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<p class="caption">Old school meets high tech: a centrifuge and a mortar-and-pestle. [Photo: Lori Bandi]</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>I've been to some bars that do some fancy, "molecular" stuff with dry ice and stuff, but it tends to be very flashy, all about the technique. It seems like you guys are not really concerned with showing off your technique, but rather with what's in the glass.</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">The tech is nice, but the tech is not the point. We don't overly merchandise or call attention to that on the menu because the point that we're using a rotovap in a drink doesn't or shouldn't really affect the guest's experience. When you have that drink placed in front of you, it should succeed or fail based on the end result you're drinking, not whether or not you knew about all the fancy equipment we were using in the process. We've tried to separate that out.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>We want this to be a fun bar, and if the drinks get too intellectual then that can tend to get in the way.</span></q></p>
<p dir="ltr">We're happy to discuss all this with [patrons who are interested], but it's not important when you get that drink. We've been of the mindset that it should succeed or fail on its own merits. If somebody has knowledge of this stuff or is interested in the process, great, but I think Midnight Rambler, we want this to be a fun bar and if the drinks get too intellectual then that can tend to get in the way of that. Then it becomes more about us than the guest's experience.</p>
<p>These are just additional tools we use, no different from a stirring spoon or a mixing glass or a muddler, and we're just adding them into our equipment repertoire to produce ingredients. We view this as our own personal little flavor house to produce some cool stuff for drinks.</p>
<p><i>And now, a bit of menu porn: scope out Midnight Rambler's full offerings below.</i></p>
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https://dallas.eater.com/2014/10/22/7012767/midnight-rambler-dallas-joule-hotel-cocktail-labWhitney Filloon2014-10-21T12:00:03-05:002014-10-21T12:00:03-05:00The Dubliner's Mick Wallace Says Bartenders Are a Bunch of Prima Donnas
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<img alt="Mick Wallace behind the bar at The Dubliner." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r9oe779J-bRp2rVl2id7R2gHql4=/0x0:1000x750/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42280110/dublinerJK.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mick Wallace behind the bar at The Dubliner. | Joshua Knopp/EDFW</figcaption>
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<p>An industry vet talks about two decades of life behind the bar.</p> <div style="width: 23%; float: left; margin: 1% 0 1% 0; min-width: 100px;"><a href="http://dallas.eater.com/cocktail-week" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2365520/cocktail_week-01.0.png" alt="cocktail week logo" class="small" width="90%"></a></div>
<p>Bartender Michael Wallace has worked for the owners of popular Lower Greenville watering hole the<b> Dubliner</b> since six months after the bar first opened back in 1994; after working in an Irish bar for two decades, everyone now knows him as <b>Mick</b>. The group also owns Capitol Pub and The Gin Mill and while Mick has done some shifting around over the years, these days he can most often be found working weekday evening and Saturday afternoon shifts at the Dubliner. Eater tracked him down to talk about his life behind the bar, the unsung heroes of the bar industry, and the surprising drink that everyone should order at his bar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>Have you always lived in Dallas? How'd you get here?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>My dad worked for the government, so we had to move around a bunch, but mostly I lived between here and St. Louis. Once I got out of high school and finished part of college, I moved back to St. Louis. I lived in Chicago for a minute, and then I realized I needed to finish school and I hated Chicago winters, so I moved down to Texas 22 years ago, finished college, came to Dallas and then started working with the people I work with now, more or less.</p>
<p><b>Where did you graduate from? What was your degree in?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Stephen F. Austin State University. English.</p>
<p><b>Is bartending what you had in mind?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Ha, no! I was going to do what you were going to do. Journalism or something like that. Write or whatever, but... I don't know. Did a couple internships here and there and figured out it wasn't for me.</p>
<p>I was in a couple of bands, and I used to go out and tour with bands and stuff like that. Was a roadie, basically, and got to go out in the world a little bit. And then bartending was something cool and easy to get into, and it never stopped, you know?</p>
<p><b>Can you tell me about your first foray into bartending? </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Well, I was in this place and this guy was like, "They need a bar back." That's how you do it. You become a door guy, and then you become a bar back if you're interested in that and then you've got to suck it up and be a bar back for two years even though that only takes about six hours to learn. <span>You move on from that, and then you get some shifts, and then you get some regulars, and then you've got shifts and you've got to work them.</span></p>
<p><b>What exactly is a bar back? </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">Bar backs are the unsung heroes of the entire thing. They're the ones that keep it together, because bartenders are a bunch of prima donnas.</q></p>
<p>It's just somebody that restocks your beer and ice, and you run out of something and they're always there. Basically, they're the heroes of the entire thing. They're the ones that keep it together. Because otherwise, mostly bartenders are a bunch of fucking prima donnas, you know what I mean? Like, everything has to be handed to them. So they're the unsung heroes of the entire thing.</p>
<p><b>What's your favorite place you've travelled?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Berlin. It's the only place to be.</p>
<p><b>They like their beer there too, don't they?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>In Berlin, they like it all. Why do you think Iggy Pop and Lou Reed lived there for so long? <span>It's a cool town. The first time I went there was almost exactly one year after they tore down the Berlin Wall. I was on tour with this band. That's when I fell in love with it — everyone was so fucking electric, anything went.</span></p>
<p><b>You've been working with the owners of The Dubliner almost since it opened. How has it changed over the years?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>Well it's grown exponentially, obviously. They went from just this tiny bar to other, bigger places. In this town it's just a neighborhood thing — it used to be like everybody would drink on Lower Greenville, but then Uptown came along.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">I've been through three generations of customers at The Dubliner. It's like a weird time-lapse photo.</q></p>
<p>I've been through three generations of customers at The Dubliner. I've seen their kids have kids since I started. It's kind of a wild thing to look at. Mostly now it's just that they're neighborhooding everything, like, "Oh, I only drink in Uptown," which is fine to me because it keeps all this certain crowd over here. Like, SMU crowd only drinks in this certain area. Henderson, now, is super weird. There's all these trends and stupid shots.</p>
<p>It's a weird, organic progression of things that people go through. It's wild to be in one place. It's like a weird time-lapse photo.</p>
<p><b>What's your favorite beer?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>I don't know, what's your favorite color? It doesn't matter. What's your favorite band? It doesn't matter. I like all kinds of beer.</p>
<p><b>What's your favorite drink overall?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>I drink something different at every different bar that I go to. I'm not sure why that is. I think, just because the first time you go into a place you just order something in a hurry because you don't want to bum out whoever's working there if it's busy. If I go to Louie's, I always order a Maker's and Seven, but I would never drink that anywhere else. Ever. But when I go there, it's like, "Eh, Maker's and Seven." And also they kind of know, so it's there if they see you. And I enjoy it all the way to the bottom. But I wouldn't order one of those right now. No fucking way.</p>
<p><b>What would you order at the Dubliner?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>This may sound weird to say, but a caipirinha. They make a pretty mean one over here. And it's the simplest drink ever, but they make them really tasty.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">A caipirinha is like the antithesis of everything The Dubliner is, but we make a pretty good one.</q></p>
<p>Basically, you get a bunch of limes and some sugar and you muddle it really well, and then you pour cachaça on it, which is a Brazilian sugarcane liquor, shake it up real good, pour it over ice. It's like the antithesis of everything The Dubliner is, but we make a pretty good one.</p>
<p>We had it for the World Cup because it was in Brazil, and we all just decided, "All right. I'm going to make you one, and it's going to be the best one ever." We just kept raising the bar every time, so now it's awesome.</p>
<p><b>Speaking of the World Cup, has there been a particular time when it was good — or bad — to work in a bar?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>When Korea and Japan were in the World Cup. It was the worst. Those games were on at 4:30 in the morning and you had to open up and you couldn't serve anybody, it was the stupidest shit ever. It's a time zone thing I guess.</p>
<p>At The Dubliner, that time comes around once a year — St. Patrick's Day. Shut down the block. Fifty to seventy thousand people come there throughout the day. It's ridiculous.</p>
<p>People are always like, "Hey, I'm Irish!" I'm like, that's cool. Your credit card here says "Valdez," but sure.</p>
<p><b style="line-height: 1.5;">So what do you like about bartending?</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">I've performed marriage ceremonies for people from the bar before. It's a crazy, awesome, tight-knit community.</q></p>
<p>You always know what's happening. I work in a pretty locals-only kind of pub. I've performed marriage ceremonies for people from the bar before. I've been on vacation with people who come into the bar. It's a crazy, awesome, tight-knit community.</p>
<p>I don't know if I really like anything about it, because it's a job and inherently to me that's just something that you have to do, you know? But it's flexible. You get to see a lot of crazy shit. You get to meet a lot of really cool people. Well, you meet way more fucking terrible people, but it's cool.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just for doing it so long in this town... I can go into a lot of places I frequent and I always know somebody. Sometimes you get into a free show. Sometimes you get a couple of drinks slid your way. I can't complain.</p>
<p>Personally, for me, it's a means to my own ends. I can, once every couple of years, take off and go to some crazy country for a couple of weeks and it's no hassle, or take a weekend and go someplace else to hang out and see what's going on there, then you come back and you're just right back in it. <span>It's just this weird freedom that I love.</span></p>
https://dallas.eater.com/2014/10/21/7012783/lifers-interview-the-dubliners-mick-wallaceJoshua Knopp