The LINGER Factor

There's really no other way to label it.

If you have been reading these past few blogposts (of course you have!...right?) it should be becoming clear to you what it is I am trying to do at my restaurant.

I have always tried to provide a "better than usual" experience for my friends...other restaurants have customers, we have friends...and building an addition onto my bar will facilitate a deeper and hopefully more authentic dining experience.

I want folks to LINGER. So often in this town that I love folks who dine out don't take advantage of the time that they have. They want to be sat right away, scoff two or three courses and then SLAM! the car door shuts and they're headed home.

Slowly I hope to educate folks on how to linger. To relax. To remember that enjoying a night out to dinner should be relished. Time can be spent sipping a classic Italian cocktail before they go to their table or after their dessert, or, dare I suggest both? In my next post I will explain in more detail my attitude towards NOT "turning tables". Yes, you read it right. An owner who doesn't care how long you stay?!?
For now, please enjoy the next chapter in Bother Cleve's Blog...

III. La procreazione di Cocktails

The easiest way introduce unknown labels to the general public is to create cocktails containing these liquors. Last summer, for example, I concocted a drink for a hotel in Cambridge. I called it the Bossa Nova, containing Brazilian cachaça (sugar cane liquor), passion fruit liqueur, orange juice and roasted macadamia nut bitters. We sold hundreds every week, despite the fact that possibly half our guests had no idea what cachaça was. In fact, many folks couldn't even pronounce the word (they can now, however)!

Which is why I'm so excited about my latest assignment. Chef Chris Rovezzi has won numerous (well deserved) awards (Worcester Area Best Chef, etc.), and his successful  restaurant has an exemplary wine program. It's now time to shine a spotlight on the bar. To celebrate, Chef and I have been tasting and discussing the possibilities and will be hosting the Spiriti di Rovezzi Cocktail Dinner { http://rovezzis.com/spirited-dinner/} on May 6, 2013.  We will present a Brother Cleve/Chef Chris original menu featuring a new cocktail creation paired with each of 5 dinner courses. (The cocktails will be served in half portions to prevent the outbreak of riotous dissolutezza in Fiskdale.)

NEXT: The True Vermouths

A Different Experience

Very soon we will be completing the rather daunting task of expanding our bar. Our goal is not only to add 8 to 10 more seats, and an authentic Italian cocktail list,...our goal is to add to the dining "experience".

When My family and I visited Italy last summer, one of the most distinctive differences when we dined out was what I am calling the linger factor.  going "out to eat" was more than just that. There was an aperitivo before dinner accompanied by salty snacks such as peanuts and olives...Then a wonderful 3 course dinner...and then back to the bar for a digestivo such as Averna or Amari accompanied by great conversation and the potential for meeting new friends. By the time we left our stomachs and our minds were satisfied and relaxed. Sleep came swiftly and naturally. Each time was an experience in italian culture.

My newly expanded bar and lounge area will hopefully foster an interest from our guests to linger after dinner and experience a night out in the Italian way. 

If words like Aperativo, Digestivo, Averna and Amari are a bit intriging...PLEASE continue reading. The following is the second part of Brother Cleves Blog (our Mixologist)
He is responsible for the cocktails we are serving at our "Spirit Dinner" on May 6th.

There are spaces still available. info at www.rovezzis.com

II. Meet The Amari Family (La Famiglia Amari)
My interest in the variety of liquors produced around the world began in the mid-1980's, when I began touring globally as a musician. It was during my second tour of Italy, with The Del Fuegos, that I got exposed to the intriguing world of Amari, a two hundred year old tradition of macerating varying combinations of herbs, spices, flowers, citrus peels and tree bark (mostly cinchona, which produces quinine) in a neutral grain spirit.

Our band was scheduled to perform at a music festival in a small town outside of Milan, and the show promoter took us to a leisurely lunch that afternoon. At the end of the meal, the waiter served everyone small glasses filled with a golden brown liquid. I took a sip and was wowed! It was unlike anything I'd ever had before. I asked our host - "what the hell is this stuff? And can I get a refill?" (I did). "Trocchi", he answered. I made a note of this, as I knew I needed to have this around the house.

Upon returning to Boston, I searched my local liquor stores to find it. No one knew what I was talking about. I trekked into the North End, Boston's "Little Italy". Here they knew what an amarowas, but once again, no one had heard of Trocchi.It took me 30 years, but I finally found the equivalent in the lighter-bodied amari, made by producers Meletti and Nonino. I realize now that Trocchiwas a locally produced amaro, perhaps made in the town where we were performing (or even at the restaurant itself).

That experience made me curious about the all odd looking bottles I found in North End restaurants and liquor shops. I tried out as many as I could find, but back in the pre-Internet age there was very little available information about these products. Subsequent travels through Italy furthered my enlightenment.

Fortunately, finding information about anything is much simpler now. In today's cocktail lounges, there is increased awareness ...and enjoyment!... of once obscure libations, abetted by the revival of the classic cocktail. As a result, more intriguing foreign brands are being imported than ever before.

For more about Amari, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaro_(liqueur)

NEXT: La procreazione di Cocktails

WHAT SHALL WE DRINK TODAY?

The following is the first of a 5 part blog written by Brother Cleve, the mixologist that is helping to improve the cocktail program at Rovezzi's....

Or should I say "Che cosa beviamo oggi?"

 

Creating a drink menu for a bar/restaurant is an exciting challenge, one that I enjoy immensely. In many ways, it’s similar to what I do as a DJ, where I often work within the parameters of a musical style or theme. Working on a themed cocktail menu gives a mixologist a definitive palette to work within - and there are plenty of opportunities for variations on a theme or to "remix" a classic recipe, as well as create original libations.

 

My current project, building an Italian-inspired cocktail menu and spirits collection for Christopher Rovezzi at Rovezzi's Ristorante in Sturbridge, MA {http://rovezzis.com/} has allowed me to indulge in one of my passions - the world of Italian spirits. My home bar is a testament to this obsession - I own a veritable liquor store worth of vermouths, amari, americanos, grappas and cordial liqueurs from Italy.

 

NEXT: Meet The Amari Family (La Famiglia Amari)