Happy New Year: Beets and Drinks and Drunks

A new floor for a new year

My mom sent me an email last week to let me know Felicia's made Rochester's daily paper again. The topic this time was drinks without alcohol.

This is a hard one for me. I find it's not possible to re-create the flavor of bourbon or gin without, well, bourbon or gin. If I'm not imbibing alcohol, I go for simplicity. Give me some plain seltzer water and I'll be happy. Leah bought me a home soda machine for Christmas and I shrieked like a little kid when I opened it. A box full of happy for only $99.

When the writer for the newspaper contacted us, Leah and I suggested substituting sparkling cider or sparkling grape juice for champagne in mimosas or mimosa-like drinks. The writer was drawn to our spiced beet bubbly, and said:

This recipe came to us by way of Amelia Sauter of Felicia's Atomic Lounge in Ithaca, where seasonal, locally grown ingredients are on the bar with the booze. In winter, that means Finger Lakes beets. Even if you are a fan of beets (which Sauter was not before her cocktail chef Leah Houghtaling changed her mind with this concoction), roasting them and then making a simple syrup with them is a lot of work. Double or triple the syrup recipe and save some for later. It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least a week.

I love how Leah is called "my" cocktail chef. I'm a lucky girl, aren't I? I own a cocktail chef AND a soda machine. Truth be told, Leah is the creative force behind Felicia's and I am her devoted pawn who also happens to answer all emails and media requests. But the best part is that I get to taste-test all of her concoctions. It's also true that until the spiced beet bubbly, the only beets I ever loved were the ones specially prepared by my mother.

Here's a link to the full article on non-alcoholic bevvies in the Democrat and Chronicle:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201012280304

Happy new year and don't drink and drive like this passerby who flipped his car outside the Lounge on New Years Eve:


And to answer both of your questions:
1) No one was hurt.
2) Nobody, including the driver, seems to be able to satisfactorily explain how exactly he ended up upside down in the middle of the street.