Hotel bars are usually not designed for locals. They are to give the business traveler a sanctuary between meetings or a convenient place for a chat amongst clients and business partners before going somewhere else.  The Qube Lounge is a surprise, however, to the careful drinker. The Hyatt Brand has thought of everything. From the well thought out cocktail list–well priced, extremely user friendly and fun–to the cocktail mix served in a small bowl with every drink (nice touch). This lounge is comfortable, informative (from the multitude of television screens over the bar) and very clean and …

The Dark Horse has some catching up to do. Being a nightspot with a less than pristine reputation, they are making every effort, however, to be a kinder, gentler place. During the week, the place best known for offering $1 beer specials offers different scenes, not throbbing house music and an ambiguous college crowd. The Dark Horse is attempting to carve out a niche where you can get a drink made strong and be around people who want to have fun.  My wife and I had just enjoyed a robust dinner at Guerriero's down the street. We weren't ready to go home right yet and after visiting our first …

Urban Table has been open for several months now. They are hitting their stride as far as attracting an affluent customer base who may or may not know anything about food. I really don't don't think that their food is all that great, although they are constantly packed, so maybe this is what their customer wants?   I don't believe the things I've read in other local publications about the food. They are not in any way a farm-to-table restaurant as their name suggests. Urban Table's menu reads as if they locally source their ingredients. I don't think that anything is really freshly picked at …

We're taking a short hiatus this week without power in Morristown... That said, I've put together a few of my favorite cocktails that, in a perfect world, just about any bartender can make! My first cocktail is the Tropicalista. Anyone can make this with ingredients found nearly everywhere. If you don't have coconut water, go over to the A&P and buy a can of Goya Coconut water. Tropicalista This island-esque cocktail is basically a tropical mint julep — substitute Cruzan white rum for the rye whiskey and lime for blood orange slices. It’s cool, crisp, tangy and refreshing. Muddle fresh blood …

Ordering a mixed cocktail, no matter how simple, can vary from bartender to bartender. The ingredients are not always standard from restaurant to bar to hotel to your home. I know many home bartenders who make drinks that are better than most bars in Morristown. Unless, of course, you are drinking at the comfortable, mirror-lined bar at The Grand Cafe. After trying the Bloody Mary at The Grand Cafe, I believe that I've found the best example in town. A true five-star experience! I challenge you to find better. The Grand Cafe offers a hush of good taste at a fair price on bustling Washington …

Aug. 16 was "International Rum Day." All over the world mixologists and bartenders alike were trying to outdo themselves by making creative cocktails that speak of the passion for the product. Except, apparently, at Grasshopper Off the Green.  I received a suggestion recently from a reader to ask the bartender what his or her favorite cocktail is to make. I opened a huge bag of worms by doing this, and in turn ruined my taste for drink for the remainder of the day and maybe forcing me to admit that the Grasshopper may well make the worst drink I've ever had in Morristown. Normally I would ask…

The Famished Frog stands in a series of 19th century townhouses, cleverly connected together. This is a popular place and for good reason. They serve good food and simple, well-prepared drinks. I wouldn't get too creative with my drink selections, yet the waiter who took our order at lunch did ask me the brand of Bourbon or Rye that I wanted in my drink. This type of customer service is always appreciated. Although the waiter didn't tell me what kind of Bourbon or Rye the bartender used in the drink. The balance of sweet to sour in my Manhattan was perfect. There wasn't much ice in the drink …

This week's trip to Red Dog Tavern, the new "casual" dining experience inside Five-Star Rod's Steakhouse in Morris Township, was a trip to a theme park where all the menu items seemed to be gleened from the casual dining playbook. The cocktail list is no exception. The "specialty" cocktail list is heavily into drinks that I would never attempt to try. There are wine-based drinks that combine hard liquors and wine ... not for me, thank you.  After spending a week down in New Orleans at the Tales of the Cocktail, I learned that it doesn't have to be a complicated version of the Larousse …

Yesterday, I was in New Orleans participating in the Tales of the Cocktail. Not the New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina, but a new-New Orleans, one that embraces the passion for great handcrafted cocktails.  Not drinks only, but liquid driven dreams for great ingredients, woven together with passion and the determination for great mixology. You don't get to participate in the "Bar Room Brawls" if you only make Gin and Tonics or pour ambiguous glasses of Merlot and Chardonnay. The ingredients in the cocktails served in even the most humble bars in the "Quarter" and beyond speak of organic and non…

I revisited Tashmoo recently at the request of Rich Schneider, the self- described “guy with the keys” who is the go-to in this Morristown bar/restaurant. He sent me an email asking me to come in and discuss the failure of the Bloody Mary and how I could help him make it “better than it has to be” and therefore make Tashmoo’s Bloody Mary the best in Morristown.  As I said in last week’s article, the Bloody Mary at Tashmoo is not one of their strong points. They do have one of the best selections of single malt Scotch anywhere in Morristown. Their beer selection, chock-full of handcrafted …

Tashmoo, on DeHart Street, is a handsome place. The broad polished granite bar and dark wood give it a homespun appeal. At night, the room is crowded with 20-somethings who come for the oversized burgers and frosty beers served in pint-sized glasses. Large screen televisions dot the walls playing all sorts of sporting events. The bartenders are pleasant enough, offering a menu at lunch or one at dinner–a good way to up the charge from the mid to high priced drinks. I’ve enjoyed their burger and they usually do a good job with simple foods. My wife is rather fond of their turkey burger, …

The promise of a well-mixed cocktail has led me directly to the colorful and informative website for The Office. Located in a former bank building, this stopping-off point for many has charmed diners and drinkers, including yours truly. I can say that their drinks can be exhilaratingly delicious. I recently stopped in to The Office to taste one of their signature drinks from the cocktail menu. http://office-beerbar.com/cocktails.aspx You can sit outside at The Office, and on a sunny day, it makes for a fine break in the action of work. I always knew that The Office was on the cutting edge of …

The Dublin Pub surprised me the other day.  I hadn’t been in for several years; it just wasn’t on my radar. Usually when I try something without thinking about it, I find the places that I want to recommend. I’d heard from some of the local drinking crowd that The Dublin Pub mixed a respectable Bloody Mary, so trying one for my column would be a fine assignment. What pleased me at first was the quality of their Bloody Mary that I ordered the prior week. Served in a goblet or about a 10 oz. glass, the mix that they use tasted homemade, pleasing me immediately. There seemed to be a bit of …

I really wanted to like Hennessey’s. After all, Hennessey’s is a Morristown brand, a veritable institution- through and through. They can redo the place, make it uptown looking, but it’s still Hennessey’s down by the train station. How do I know about its history? I’m born and raised in Morristown, and I graduated from Morristown-Beard. Hennessey’s was stopping off point for me during my wilder times as an 18-year-old. The drinking age was 18 then.  Does this put a year on it? Sure it does; this was a while ago. Hennessey’s still attracts a friendly local crowd of those who enjoy the ever-…

Cocktails at Pazzo Pazzo certainly are as good as almost any place in Morristown.  Their voluminous and fanciful list of carefully-prepared drinks is colorful; the descriptions in pictures are also quite tasty. The cocktail list runs the gamut from the tried-and-true martinis in just about any combination you desire, from the simple to the savory and everything inbetween.   I ordered the classic Mojito from the cocktail list. It comes threaded with plenty of muddled mint, Bacardi light rum, triple sec and a splash of club soda. I can’t say it was the best I’d ever had, but it certainly was …

The promise of a handcrafted cocktail drives my search around Morristown.  True, I’ve had the grim, the wonderful and the just OK. But still, my search goes on for the cocktail that makes me sit up on my barstool and smile. Today’s sojourn just after a lunch assignment was the bar and restaurant named George and Martha’s. I’d done a bit of research on them for an article on mixology. Then they fell off of my radar.  Sure, I drive by it most every day, but how many cocktail bars do I go to? I haven’t been going out as much as I usually do. There are so very few in Morristown that get it when …

A well- crafted cocktail is more than a tease; it’s a way of drinking that unfortunately is mostly unavailable in New Jersey. I say "mostly unavailable" because the art of crafting a cocktail is a dying art. Some may say the art of making or creating cocktails has never been more difficult to find. I tend to agree. There are plenty of cocktail bars in New Jersey, but very few that know how to craft one. Enter SM23 in Headquarters Plaza. You may have dined at Mehndi or at Ming II and wondered what is behind the third door? The Lady or the Tiger? If you said the Lady and the Tiger you would be …

I recently stopped into Sona Thirteen for a cocktail. This mostly unadorned space has had many different owners and names over the years, most thankfully lost to history. The interior hasn’t changed much either in all this time. Sona’s sign out front heralds an Irish provenance, yet other than Fish and Chips on the menu, I failed to see any evidence of that history. Upon entering the room, there is a long bar on the left side of the cavernous space. Toward the rear, on the right of the room there is another bar. At the very back to the left of the room appears to be some kind of tiki bar …