Second Bar + Kitchen and Google Places

I attended a food blogger cocktail party hosted by Google Places at Second Bar + Kitchen almost a month ago.  Apologies for the long delay in posting.  Finishing grad school got in the way of food blogging!

Spicy Mango at Second Bar and Kitchen

Food Bloggers

This event was the first time I heard of Google Places and my first taste of Second Bar + Kitchen.  Google Places is a recommendation engine of local restaurants and businesses that's tailored to the preferences of each user.  Users can link their Google Places profile and recs to their own blogs and websites.

While we learned about how Google Places works, we also enjoyed a cocktail and food tasting with the focus placed on rating 3 different off-menu mixed drinks created by Bill Hankey.  The winning drink of the evening is now on their cocktail menu!

First, the spread:

Cheese Board

Beef Short Rib with truffled grits

Beet, Watermelon, and Blue Cheese Skewers

Queso Fundido with avocado and sausage and chipotle masa chips

Veal Meatball

Black Truffle Pomme Frites; Buffalo Fried Pickle

Pomodoro San Marzano Pizza (mozzarella, basil, and olive oil)

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

On to the drinks!

The first cocktail we tried was Forever My Queen which was a strega concoction with lemon juice, tequila reposado, and orange liqueur.  This was really strong and really sweet.

"Forever My Queen"

Next was the Dickle Daisy, which I thought would contain pickle juice (just shows you how much I know about alcohol...).  It's George Dickey sour mash whiskey with lemon juice and powdered sugar.  This was surprisingly good.  I was ready to vote for this until I got a taste of the last cocktail...

"Dickle Daisy"

The Gin and Jam (housemade raspberry preserve) appealed to me with its presentation, and it tasted fresh and moderately sweet.  This made voting a no-brainer.

"Gin and Jam"

Ballot Jars

And the winner is...
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Gin and Jam!