Come Dine with Me … and, uh, Morgenthaler

For most of the five-plus years that I’ve been writing the Cocktail Chronicles, it’s been my pleasure to be joined in the boozy blogosphere by my good friend Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

On July 22, Jeff and I will shift our online cocktail musings into real life during a Spirited Dinner for Tales of the Cocktail, to be held at Jackson in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood, where we will be joined by our co-host, former Raines Law Room head bartender Jeremy James Thompson and Jackson chef John Hammond.

The full menu and details are below, but let me sum it up: a five-course meal at one of New Orleans’ best restaurants, along with six (six!) cocktails, all for $90 per person – plus, those drinks were developed and selected by Jeff, Jeremy and myself, and we’ll be on hand for your dinner-conversation pleasure. In today’s era of $15 cocktails and $30 entrees, a $90 cocktail-pairing dinner isn’t only reasonable – it’s a downright bargain.

Anyway, there are still seats available; please join us. Here’s the number for reservations: 504-522-5766.

And before we get to the menu, here’s one more pitch: a few months ago, the good folks at Imbibe Unfiltered ran “Five Things You Never Knew about Jeffrey Morgenthaler.” That’s a pretty good list; here are five more things about Jeff that, while maybe not unknown, at least bear restating:

1. Jeffrey Morgenthaler isn’t known as “the Jamie Boudreau of Portland” for nothing: y’see, Jeff’s not just a famous blogger – he’s also a phenomenal mixologist. If you join us for dinner at Jackson, you’ll see him mixologize the hell out of a bunch of drinks, and some of them even have names.
2. Not only is Jeff’s favorite movie The Sound of Music, but he can really rock the lederhosen.
3. While he lives the lifestyle of a globetrotting young man, next year Jeff turns 40. Forty! I know!
4. Jeff was inspired to start barrel-aging cocktails by London barman Tony Conigliaro, but the real reason he decided to bring barrels into the bar is so he can get away with repeatedly dropping references to his “wood” when talking to guests.
5. Yes, his hair is real. For now, anyway.

Thursday, July 22 – 8:00 pm
Spirited Dinner at Jackson, 1910 Magazine Street, New Orleans
Chef John Hammond; drinks by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Jeremy James Thompson and Paul Clarke
$90 per person; reservations 504-522-5766

Aperitif

Alexei’s Pleasure Club (Thompson) – Dubonnet, Russian Standard vodka, Herbsaint, Scrappy’s Cardamom bitters

First Course

Endive with Roquefort bleu cheese & lavender honey

Paired with Yellowjacket (Morgenthaler) – Appleton Extra rum, lavender-honey syrup, fresh lime, housemade orange bitters, soda

Second Course

Watermelon Gazpacho

Paired with Tio Dobles (Clarke) – Don Julio blanco tequila, fresh grapefruit & lime, Luxardo maraschino and Hawaiian sea salt

Third Course

Locally caught Grouper encrusted with macadamia nuts, topped with a fresh mango-pineapple salsa

Paired with Third Course Cocktail (Morgenthaler) – Leblon cachaça, fresh lime, pineapple gomme, egg white, Luxardo amaretto, apricot preserves

Fourth Course

Ostrich medallion with fig & red wine reduction

Paired with Red Heering (Thompson) – Averna, Aperol, Cherry Heering, fresh orange

Fifth Course

Pavlova topped with sliced kiwis, strawberries & fresh whipped cream

Paired with Demerara Fizz (Clarke) – El Dorado 12-Year-Old rum, fresh lemon, simple syrup, egg white, soda, Peychaud’s bitters