So I was chillin' down at Teardrop with my friend straycat last night and decided I need to start photographing more of my adventures. She's pretty much got her neighborhood in NE covered with her well-documented culinary escapades involving lattes, bubble teas and waffle carts on the east side of the river.Clearly I need to step up my game on this side of the bridges. I tried to lure her into the idea of a competitive blog-off, with both of us blogging about the same experience, but she seemed to just want to relax and enjoy her gin and tonic. [sigh]
Enter the blowtorch cocktail. That's just the kind of specialty drink that makes Teardrop worth checking out. This particular libation was off the menu, a concoction that the bartender had scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin: Freshly pressed grapefruit juice, homemade tonic water and gin topped with three frothy inches of balsamic-infused foam - charred through with a blowtorch. $5. (Foam had dropped by the time I decided to whip out my camera and start documenting my life.)
Teardrop is known for their homemade tonic waters, tinctures and bitters so you can't really go wrong there; especially if you have an adventurous palate.
"We have a juicy, all-natural, fork-tender corned beef we just made," the bartender said as he set the cocktail in front of me. "It's not even on the menu yet."About three minutes later I was served the most succulent corned beef I've ever tasted. Fork tender, just like he said, served with cooked shredded cabbage and carrots that had absorbed the full flavor of the brining liquid, topped with a horseradish sauce and chives. For a mere five dollars I just about passed out from delectable delirium. I would have happily paid three times that amount for the same meal, but after all, this is Portland and it was happy hour.
