Boilermaker

Hopefully by the time you read this, the sun will be shining in Ithaca. If not, we will just have to accept the latest fashion trend: Rain is the new sun.

Over the past few months, umbrellas have been accidentally and shamelessly abandoned at Felicia’s Atomic Lounge; most of them are shiny black or navy blue, with the occasional hot pink, red polka dot or blue striped umbrella intermingling with the drab. While inspiring fashionable raincoats and designer umbrellas, the rain has not been inspirational in the creation of sunny summer cocktails.

We fall back instead on one of our old standbys, the Boilermaker. A Boilermaker is a simple concept: a shot of whiskey with a beer on the side. A tradition maintained by our grandfathers and their grandfathers before them, the Boilermaker is the perfect drink to blend your mood in with the drizzly landscape.

Amelia’s tasting tip: Whiskey tastes best when drunk out of one of your dad’s old, beat up rocks glasses.

Leah’s tasting tip: Try Dogfish Head's Raison D'Etre mahogany ale with a shot of Glenlivet scotch.

Boilermaker

1 beer
1 shot of whiskey (or tequila or vodka)

Drink. Mope. Hope for sunshine.

Bacon

No, we have not tried infusing bourbon with bacon yet. Yet. But we are excited to tell you we have added a BLT Panini to our Felicia menu.

Bacon rules. Period. Our BLT's are made with bacon from happy pigs who contentedly roam a nearby farm, oblivious to the fact that they are going to be lovingly slaughtered one day. Our tomatoes and lettuce are also local (and sin-free - they come from the Amish farm). The happy eggs in the aioli are local and free-range, too. The best part: Mandy has been slaving in the kitchen to make homemade foccaccia bread.

The pizza doughs are now also house-made. Our pesto pizza will have a seasonal pesto in the summer; currently it is made with arugula, spinach and basil. While we have nixed the apple walnut and fig tapenade for the time being, we will have occasional seasonal pizza specials depending on what local vegetables are capable of growing with basically no sun and all rain since that's been the weather in Ithaca since 2001.
Being that I kind of pretty much suck in the kitchen, I rolled out some of Mandy's dough too thick and had to bring the doughs home where we cooked (burnt) them on the grill. That's what you see in the picture above. We are oven-less at home, ever since the mice infested the old oven and the new oven broke immediately after the warranty expired. Curse you, Frigidaire!

The Chicken BBQ Phenomenon - Week 9

Nothing happened on Father's Day weekend. No chicken BBQs. Dads apparently don't need BBQ because they are BBQ embodied.

When I started this Chicken BBQ Phenomenon blog topic, I imagined that I would find a dozen BBQs every weekend because that's what my exaggerated mind remembered from the previous summer: small town chicken BBQs everywhere.

Maybe it's the recession. Maybe it's my memory. Maybe it's the rain. (Fashion note: Rain is the new sun in the Northeast.) At any rate, if I see one chicken BBQ on any given weekend this summer, it's a good weekend.

Despite the chicken BBQ shortage, the Trumansburg Rotary was out barbecuing chicken yesterday for July 4th, but business was slow. It's a grill-at-home-with-the-family holiday. Even I was at home grilling chicken - happy, free-range chicken.

Fourth of July Cocktails

This blog post is almost stupidly late, since it's Fourth of July already, and who sits inside at the computer and reads blogs on July 4th? Oh, that would be me.

My pal Ellen at Deussen Global Communications contacted me a few weeks ago and said, "Oh, Felicia, you are my hero. If you post some of my cocktail recipes on your blog, I will love you forever, ship you free samples of every booze imaginable and send you naked pictures of me wearing nothing but a Felicia knit cap."

OK, the conversation wasn't exactly like that, but the recipes look pretty darn good so here are a few:

The American Collins

1 ½ oz. Bombay Sapphire
¾ oz. Simple Syrup
½ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
4 Bing Cherries, pitted
8 Blueberries

In a Collins glass, muddle the blueberries and cherries in the lemon juice and simple syrup.
Add Sapphire and ice and stir briefly. Top with club soda. Garnish with a bing cherry and a lemon wheel.

Firecracker

3 ounces Flor de Caña 7 Year Grand Reserve Rum (we don't have this at the lounge. in fact, i've never even tried it. but if i got an email about it, it must be good, right?... right?)
1 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup (boil and cool equal parts water and sugar)
4 watermelon chunks
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whirl all ingredients together and pour into a glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. Oops! The blender is broken. I swear it's true.

Stars and Stripes

1/4oz Lucid Absinthe
1 oz Blueberry Vodka
1/4oz Simple Syrup
Splash of Lemon Juice
Drizzle of Raspberry Liqueur
Gingerbeer
Fresh Blueberries

Muddle fresh blueberries and add syrup, Lucid juice and vodka.
Add ice and shake and pour into highball glass. Drizzle Liqueur and top with Ginger Beer. Garnish with one sugar cube.

Disclaimer: I have actually not had time to try any of these yet since I have been too busy making our latest snack at the lounge, BLT Paninis. If you want one of these drinks, print out the recipe and bring it with you in case you get to the lounge tonight before I do. And bring your own berries cause I'm sure as hell not going berry picking any time soon.

God Bless America, and God Bless Bacon.

xo
Felicia

Strawberry Cocktails

Drink your strawberries while you can! Back by popular demand, Felicia is going to be serving up Strawberry-Basil Cocktails, starting today and ending really soon since strawberry season just doesn't feel long enough.

Of course, you can always buy strawberries off-season, but they are genetically altered giant mutants (that's a quarter next to the two in the above picture) who will eat your dog while you sleep.

Last week, we smashed strawberries into our mojitos, and we have also been known to sneak strawberries into everything else, too, like our State Street 75 and fresh spiked lemonade.

I can personally attest to how incredible the Strawberry-Basil Cocktail is since I drank five of them last night (Mom and Dad, I did not really drink excessively. Honest. I am exaggerating to amuse my reading audience). Seriously. Best. Drink. Ever.

Oh - one other tip - bourbon lovers should try replacing the vodka with Knob Creek, if you can get your hands on some ever-elusive Knob before the predicted outage.

Sustainable AlleyArt

Sustainable AlleyArt installations invade Felicia's Atomic Lounge

by Amelia Sauter, Ithaca, NY

Felicia’s Atomic Lounge owners Leah Houghtaling and Amelia Sauter have made it clear during the past five years that they care about the community. Now these two women have taken Felicia’s commitment to do-gooding one step further: They are opening Felicia’s alley for sustainable art shows.

The premise, according to Houghtaling, is to host monthly AlleyArt installations comprised of artwork created with a minimum of 50% recycled or reused materials. Artwork must be designed to withstand - or transform with - the elements, including but not limited to rain, wind, sun, and interaction with people. Preference will be given to those artists whose pieces are created with a higher percentage of recycled materials.

“We have a long, blank blue wall in the alley,” says Houghtaling. “We are committed to being green, and we care about the arts. The AlleyArt show fuses these two passions together.”

July’s featured artist, Charlie Elrod, read Felicia’s request for proposals on the lounge’s blog earlier this month and responded immediately. Elrod started welding in 1980 when he owned a dairy farm in Georgia, and a few years ago he successfully tried his hand at metal sculpting using pieces of old farm equipment. He calls his business Springfield FarmArt.

“I try not to alter the individual parts since they have such cool, sinuous curves and angles,” explains Elrod. “I let their shape determine their placement and interaction with the other pieces. I also don’t use any finishes on the metal, but let the patina that has developed over decades say what it will of its history.”

For Felicia’s AlleyArt show, Elrod will be displaying artistic patio furniture welded from farm machinery.

Elrod adds, “The emphasis on recycled/reclaimed materials is a great opportunity for me to move away from the glass table tops I have been using and into searching for reclaimed materials that bring their own history to the pieces.” Elrod’s tabletops for the Felicia exhibit originally came from the Tompkins County Courthouse. He found them at Finger Lakes ReUse.

Houghtaling and Sauter are thrilled to be partnering with Elrod for the show. “His art work is perfect for our alley,” says Houghtaling. “It’s functional art, which to me is the best kind.”
Elrod’s FarmArt will be on display in Felicia’s alley from July 1-July 31. The opening reception on July 1 will be from 7pm to 9pm, and Felicia’s will take this opportunity to introduce a newly expanded food menu. Samplings of spring rolls, paninis, new flatbread pizzas and other food will be on hand.

Elrod’s FarmArt can be seen online at http://www.sfetech.net/farmart.html. Felicia’s Atomic Lounge is currently accepting submissions for summer and fall AlleyArt installations. Click here for guidelines.