The boys from the City Paper chase down the ghost of Derrida at Hudson’s Restaurant & Lounge. Oh, Momma!
Brian’s take: I find it ironic that it was not until the very last of these 15 grueling tastings that we got to try an actual, real live, honest-to-goodness, no strings-attached straight-up martini. That is, if you consider a martini with vodka instead of gin to be such. But if you do, this was the real deal: vodka, vermouth, bitters, chilled glass, stirred, not shaken, with a large helping of drink history, anatomy, and physiology from impressive mixologist John Hogan. Upon tasting this expertly made drink, I realized how close I had come to forgetting what a martini is. John jogged my memory. Then he handed me a plate of three homemade potato chips, each with a different dollop on top: one with a Vermouth espuma, one with a vodka espuma, and the last with a bleu cheese reduction. Benissimo!
On a scale of 1 to 5 olive branches: 4.689
Ted’s take: Heroes are made… not born.
On a scale of 1 to 5 olive branches: 4.85