Between Two Shells: Raw Gulf Oysters topped with Cucumber Mignonette and Fresh Grapefruit Margaritas

by Blair "B-Rex" Loup

The Fresh Grapefruit Margarita and Cucumber Mignonette at Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar

If you've stepped outside lately, you may have noticed it’s hot out. This time of year presents me with an unsolvable problem: when I get out of my car, my glasses fog up because I’m blasting the air conditioning, then my vision gets hit with 90% humidity. It’s my cross to bear, and the only respite is a fresh-squeezed margarita from Jolie Pearl.

Aside from serving fresh oysters from all over, they freshly squeeze all of the juices for their mixed drinks. When the heat gets unbearable, I hop on that citrusy-drink-and-ice-cold-seafood train.

I highly recommend dropping everything and grabbing a few grapefruit margaritas, a dozen raw Gulf oysters, and top them with Jolie Pearl's flavor-packed cucumber mignonette.

This pairing tastes like summer.

One second I’m downtown, and one bite later,  I’m by a pool with attractive people fanning me and pouring grapefruit margaritas down my throat. The sweet and spicy cucumber mignonette paired with the cool creaminess of the oyster matches up perfectly with the tangy citrus of the grapefruit and that element only tequila can bring.

It’s summer, y’all, and it’s hot outside, so treat yo self and head over to Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar. They can get your life right.

Below some of the other pairings we suggest at Jolie Pearl:

Raw Gulf Oysters and Fresh Margaritas
Oysters Rockefeller and the Louisiana Mule

Irish Mule: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

The Irish Mule at Lock & Key

There comes a time on every trip to a cocktail bar that a patron glimpses at a menu and sees some sort of play on a Moscow Mule. The normally potent but refreshing vodka drink features lime and ginger beer. Fortunately, those flavors go with all sorts of spirits. Take for example, Irish Whiskey.

Lock & Key's Irish Mule features Tullamore DEW Irish Whiskey, an excellent choice for those of you who want to drink some quality Irish elixir. Add to that a squeeze of lime, orange bitters, and some ginger beer, and you've got quite a spin on the mule in every amazing way.

This drink could be suitable ever for people who aren't the biggest whiskey fans out there. The Irish variety is smooth and subtle in the cocktail, so you really won't miss the vodka. That being said, this is also a great drink for you if you enjoy whiskey and just want a little twist on a mule. Bottoms up!

Cultivar Wine Club: Happiness Delivered

by Blair "B-Rex" Loup

These days I feel like I get everything delivered to my door. Perhaps the best and most recent gift technology has granted me is the wine club. Team Bite and Booze is part of the Cultivar Wine club which ships a mystery box of wine to our door each quarter. Because we love our readers even more than we love great wines, we'd like to offer you a code good for 10% off of Cultivar Wines: CultivarWineBiteAndBooze.

Our most recent shipment contained a particularly palatable bottle of their 2012 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Layers of aromas fill the nose: floral, wood, and a hint of tobacco; and then your mouth is enveloped with strong dark fruit flavors followed by a decent level of tannins. It's earthiness is subtle and the sweetness is dulled by the slight tartness of fruit. 

This kind of wine jives with strong, but complimentary flavors. Paired with the Cultivar Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, I made sous-vide and seared grass-fed New York strips from Iverstine Family Farms, roasted kale sprouts, and smashed purple potatoes roasted in jalapeño olive oil from Red Stick Spice Company over a sweet potato and white turnip mash.

Grass-fed beef has a different flavor that compliments the notes of dark fruit in the the wine. While the slight bitterness of the kale sprouts brings out some funky notes, the smashed, slightly spicy potatoes balance out the tannins. 

I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site, Bite and Booze, and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product or experience. All opinions presented are my own.

Touch of Smoke and Fruit Flight: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

The Touch of Smoke and Fruit Flight at Lock & Key

A lot of posts that I've made about the whiskey and whisky at Lock & Key has featured reviews of individual bottles of booze or an insight into the cocktail menu at the bar. This week, however, we'll examine a whiskey flight at Lock & Key, and why they present a terrific way to consume the water of life.

The Touch of Smoke and Fruit Flight ($23) provides a tasting of three single malt Scotches that are nicely balanced but complex enough for any Scotch drinker to appreciate. Typically the Dalwhinnie 15 is included in this flight, but since Lock & Key was out of stock on my most recent visit, they replaced it with the Aberfeldy 12 Highland Single Malt. I didn't complain. The Aberfeldy had a nice peat flavor without overwhelming smoke. A hint of mint and splash of pear were also there.

The Cragganmore 12 from Speyside presented a lovely balance of fruit and smoke, as advertised. This is a nice sipping Scotch to be sure. The Clynelish 14 from coastal Highlands may have been my favorite of the bunch. It carried the most smoke upfront and then finished a little more fruity.

All in all this flight impressed, and getting three pours for $23 is a great way to enjoy different flavors while at a whiskey bar with the kind of selection that Lock & Key has. I highly recommend it!

Looking Ahead to the Food Network Star Premiere Party

Time to catch you up to speed just in case you're lagging behind somehow. I'm going to be on the upcoming season of Food Network Star, the network's largest competition reality show. As one of twelve finalists, I'll be competing in various cooking and presentation challenges in an effort to win my own show on Food Network!

This is how Food Network introduced me on Twitter:

Meet Jay, a blogger, radio host and expert tailgater competing on #FoodNetworkStar this year: http://t.co/rGEreg3MHU. pic.twitter.com/gwgQ7M59DT

— Food Network (@FoodNetwork) May 18, 2015

And here's my audition tape:

The premiere party for the Season 11 of Food Network Star will take place at the Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar and North Boulevard Town Square on Sunday, June 7th from 5-9 PM. Bonnie & Clyde will be playing from 6-7:45. We'll have drink specials from the Donner-Peltier Distillery as well plenty of oysters and other grub that you can order. Bring picnic blankets or bag chairs and watch the show in Town Square or come early and get a seat inside Jolie Pearl! I hope to see a lot of you there! Go ahead and set your DVR's and calendar reminders now as well!