NYY Steakhouse at Coconut Creek Casino
By: Dan I. Cook
On Twitter I follow several restaurant/bars and dread the early morning tweets advertising all the Bloody Mary drink specials in Broward County each Sunday.
The ultimate Bloody Mary at Tarpon Bend
For instance, Tarpon Bend has a Bloody Mary served with Bacon, celery, olives, and a cheeseburger slider tucked on top. The Downtowner Saloon has a “Make your own Bloody Mary Bar ” where you get a glass with whatever booze you want, they you walk over to a table and you mix your own. They have all kinds stuff like pickles, seasoned salts, stuffed olives, celery, tomato juice, Bloody Mary mix, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, etc.
Many places in east Ft. Lauderdale have similar set ups like Bimini Boatyard, and Yolo, and this weekly ritual of seeing these damn tweets for east Ft. Lauderdale got me thinking: why doesn’t a Coral Springs Restaurant have one?
Some Education
First I need to educate some younger folks on the finer points of a great Bloody Mary and how it all got started.
First off, what is a Bloody Mary? The origin is unclear and who invented it. New York’s 21 Club has two claims associated with it. One is that it was invented in the 1930s by a bartender named Henry Zbikiewicz. Others attribute its invention to the comedian George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club. Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921, before either Zbikiwisz or Jessel, while working at the New York Bar in Paris, which later became Harry’s New York Bar. A frequent Paris hangout for Ernest Hemingway, Periot is said to be the one who added salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, a dash of lemon and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, then poured.
Bloody Mary at YOLO in Fort Lauderdale
Why I love this drink and why you should too
This is a classic drink. I laugh when I see this as a new creation of the “craft cocktail” in America. This so-called craft cocktail revolution has always been here. The younger set, including myself, moved away from the Manhattans, Old Fashions, Bloody Mary’s and even a classic Martini. Now this reemergence of the craft cocktails and beers has breathed new life into these old standards.
Before Gatorade, Tylenol, Excedrin, and Red Bull there was a Bloody Mary. This was the tried and true hangover cure, or as some people call it, “the hair of the dog.”
I never felt bad having a Bloody Mary after waking up after long night out. It has tomato juice right? Usually I get mine without alcohol. I enjoy drinking it while munching on a big piece of celery or a pickle.
Bimini Boatyard
Does it cure a hangover? Not sure, but I feel good drinking it. For me Sunday mornings are the best time for a Bloody Mary. As matter of fact I’ll be making them for my tailgate party for the next FAU Owls home game #owlsup. Except that my Sunday tradition will be moved up to Saturday.
It’s the perfect chill-out drink as your body wakes up to take on a hard day of tailgating. There is no guzzling a Bloody Mary. It’s a sipping and socializing drink all the way.
Like I said, a great drink to ease into the day.
Calling All Coral Springs Restaurants
I am officially pounding the drum to call for a Brunch Bloody Mary Bar! The closest place out west with one is at NYY Steakhouse at the Coconut Creek Casino, but at $60 bucks a head for brunch, you can forget that.
Downtowner Saloon in Fort Lauderdale
I recently ordered two Bloody Mary’s for me and my dad at NYY Bar which faces the casino. I was not impressed at $10 bucks a drink, not including tip, for vodka and Zing Zang mix shaken and poured over ice in a normal size highball glass.
You kidding me? I could have made twenty of them at home for that price. The bartender didn’t even tell me I could get high vodka either, so I got Absolute Pepper. I would have gotten Grey Goose. Thumbs down to NYY Bar.
So do me proud restaurants of Coral Springs: call Tarpon Bend, Yolo, Bimini Boatyard or the Downtowner Saloon for some ideas, and bring a Bloody Mary Bar to our town. So email my editor if you start one up or make one like Tarpon Bend because I want to be one of the first customers to shake your hand and sample it.
Stay Thirsty!
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