Best of Ithaca

Frida loves her Felicia cocktails

Felicia got a phone call in September. "You've won best bar in Ithaca again," the reporter on the other end of the line said. "I imagine you're not surprised."

Surprised? No. Grateful? Yes. Every year, Felicia's Atomic Lounge has won a "Best of Ithaca" recognition from the Ithaca Times readers, except 2009 when the categories were more obscure like "Best Place to Release a Trapped Mouse," and "Best Ethnic Restaurant to Eat at When You're Three And a Half Months Pregnant," neither of which fits into our landscape. Here's a partial list of some of our past awards:

2006 Best Friendliest Business Owners
2007 Best Female Bartender, Best Male Bartender
2008 Best Cocktail Selection
2010 Best Drink
2011 Best Cocktail
2012 Best Downtown Bar

We've got the best patrons in the world, and the best bartenders in the world. We don't need an award to tell us that, but it's always reassuring to be reminded we are doing things right.

For more Halloween 2012 photos and other such daily updates, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/atomicfelicia.

Imbibe Magazine and Felicia: BFF's

Imbibe Magazine is one of Felicia's BFF's. The go-to mag for all things drinkable, Imbibe partnered with Metaxa in a cocktail contest that Leah placed third in; and they published one of Leah's drunken coffee recipes on their website. Now that coffee recipe can hang out on your coffee table like a living room whore because it is included in Imbibe's very first cocktail book, published this month: The American Cocktail. This nifty book contains 50 creative and accessible recipes collected from smart bartenders around the states. We are honored to be included.

And with the book, an idea was born at our kitchen table, over cocktails, of course: This winter, Leah and I will "Cook the Book," or as one might say in cocktail-speak, "Drink the Book." While the snow flies, we hope to drink our way through all fifty cocktails and write about them on the blog as we go. This should be particularly interesting because of my freakish allergies and my lame-o substitutions when I can't have an ingredient (or two or three).

Will we succeed in Drinking The Book? Depends. No. Maybe. Probably not. Why not? Perhaps we'll only make a few, or perhaps we'll make them all. It is entirely possible that we will get distracted by raking leaves, broken toilet handles, the carpenter ant infestation in the wall at home, shoveling snow (noooooooo!), paying the bills, holidays, weddings, Pittsburgh Steelers games, drinking, playing music, and life's other joys and woes.

But we're going to start on the right track, and at least pretend that we're going to successfully Drink the Book. So here's our first cocktail: The Verde Maria (pictured above), which revolves around avocado. I chose the Verde Maria as our first Drink the Book recipe because it is green, and because the ingredients were kinda weird but kinda mouth-watering at the same time, like guacamole in a glass.

Because we couldn't get our hands on tomatillos, and because I can't eat onions (eyes swell here for emphasis), we didn't quite get it right. However, Leah liked the texture a lot (avocado-tequila smoothie, anyone?). A pinch of salt helped bring out the flavors.

Since we can't publish the full recipes from the book, you have two choices. One is to buy a copy of The American Cocktail and follow along. The other is equally exciting: check back here in the near future and we will post a new drink created by Leah that was inspired by the Verde Maria.

Imbibing and inspiration: Yes. Bring it on. Cheers.

Best of Ithaca 2011

"You can't possibly be surprised," said the editor of the Ithaca Times when he called to tell me that Felicia's, once again, had been voted Best Cocktail in Ithaca by the Times' readers.

Surprised, no. Reassured, yes. We aim to please, and the votes tell us we are pleasing the people. It's always affirming to get good feedback, to know patrons like what we pour our hearts into, to hear that we're still the only ones in the region making cocktails with fresh, crazy ingredients straight from nearby farms.

Not that anyone else would want to do what we do. I spend hours picking mint, lemon balm, sage, and cherry tomatoes; visiting orchards; and popping in on our farmers at Tree Gate Farm. Leah spends a boatload of time in the kitchen, infusing, muddling, and cooking up new concoctions. Our bartenders work their butts off: For every cocktail the staff shake up, they could easily pop the tops off of ten beers.

But the end result is sooooo worth it. Thank you, Ithaca, for your confidence, and for your continued commitment to drinking the good stuff.

Local Notes

Hey! I forgot to tell you that about the cute little pictorial-cartoon review we got in the Cornell Daily Sun in March. A talented gal named Maggie Prendergast draws a weekly column (that's right, she draws the column) about local food joints.

You can see the Felicia's review/cartoon from March 31 here: http://fromthedeskdrawer.blogspot.com/

Bibliochef Interview

Bibliochef, our pal at the blog Cooking with Ideas, posted an interview with me this week. Click here to learn how the heck Leah and I ended up opening a lounge; what Leah is thinking when she concocts those crazy cocktails; the connection between mixology, writing and cartooning; and where we choose to eat when we aren't working our fannies off at the Lounge.

The interview.

AlleyArt in the News

"Already a muse for its patrons, Felicia's Atomic Lounge is blending creativity with
passion for sustainable and responsible living." Ithaca Times, July 22, 2009

Felicia's Atomic Lounge's sustainable AlleyArt got a nice write up in the Ithaca Times this week. The article highlighted owners Leah and Amelia's quiet persistence that we all need to get off our butts to recycle, reuse and reinvent resources. Felicia's composts, purchases alternative wind energy, and buys produce locally. That means drinking at Felicia's reduces your carbon footprint. Cool deal.

The photos on this blogpost feature the FarmArt of our July artist, Charlie Elrod. Felicia's August AlleyArt show will exhibit the Drunken Fishbowl shenanigans of artist Emily Benning. Her work can be seen at http://ebenning.carbonmade.com. Got art you want to show at Felicia's? Read the submission guidelines here.

Here's the link to the full Ithaca Times article:
http://www.ithacatimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=64&ArticleID=9551

Update on Finger Lakes Distilling

Felicia has a new boyfriend:

Finger Lakes Distilling

And he lets her drink his hooch. A match made in heaven! Together they shall make beautiful cocktails. Oh, F.L., I love you and I can't wait to be with you...

Winning Metaxa Cocktail

Felicia's Atomic Lounge won third place in the national Imbibe Magazine/Metaxa cocktail contest, with our Metaxa-coffee-fig-clove cocktail, Greek Awake. How exciting. How invigorating. How freakin' cool.

As you well know, Leah Houghtaling is the mad scientist behind our most of our crazy concoctions. How does she come up with such great recipes? Typically, the brain storm - and it is a storm - starts with the phrase, "I've got an idea!" Leah then marches feverishly around the kitchen throwing different spices, fruits or vegetables into alchohol-filled ball jars labeled with masking tape. Experiments in varying stages of development litter both the lounge and home kitchens. The photo above is one of her latest spice tinctures which is kicking back in our living room. You can see our baby basil plants and germinating arugula waiting in the background for the last frost to come and go.

Of Leah's prize-winning Metaxa cocktail, Imbibe Magazine writes, "This pretty and creative cocktail is packed with flavor, and though it's light enough to drink in warm-weather months, it's also a perfect winter/holiday cocktail."

You can read about the other winning Metaxa cocktails in Imbibe's blog. Thanks, Imbibe!

Greek Awake

1 1/2 oz. Metaxa 7-Star brandy
1 1/2 oz. coffee-fig elixir (recipe below)

Ice cubes

Tools: shaker, strainer

Glass: cocktail
Garnish: grape

Shake Metaxa and coffee-fig elixir (below) in an ice-filled shaker. Strain into chilled glass. Slit grape and place on rim for garnish.

Coffee-fig elixir

1 cup high-quality fresh-roasted, hot-brewed coffee (Houghtaling uses Gimme! Ethiopian)
1 cup dried whole mission figs with stems removed
1/2 teaspoon cloves
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup water

Simmer figs, fresh-brewed coffee and cloves over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Mash figs with back of spoon after simmering. Add brown sugar and water. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat. Allow to cool then strain crushed figs out with a sieve and store.

Singha Lonely Planet Great Bars of the World

Vote for Felicia's Atomic Lounge or write a review! www.singha.lonelyplanet.com. Just search for "Ithaca, NY" and there we'll be.

Lonely Planet wrote a great review of us:

"With a casually hip style that welcomes everything from dreadlocks to business suits, Felicia’s is a mirror of Ithaca’s comfortably diverse personalities. All the bartenders are “mixologists”, showing a passion for new flavors that has led to a tradition of constantly creating new concoctions (like the beet martini). The most successful recipes are added to a pleasingly diverse menu of rotating specialty drinks that compliment more traditional favorites. Technology trendy, Felicia communicates with patrons through satirical blogs and sassy emails to promote new drinks, a never-ending stream of live music, and events such as Recession Wednesdays."

Vote here.

Eating Ithaca Podcast

Eating Ithaca celebrated their 25th podcast by recording live at Felicia's Atomic Lounge on December 16, 2008. Dave and Andrea Cameron interviewed Felicia's master cocktail mixologist, Leah Houghtaling, as well as Seth Gregory, the chef from Fine Line Bistro. The interview with Leah is fun, with lots of cocktail taste-testing spiked with Leah's spicy sense of humor. Since Felicia's focuses on using fresh, local ingredients, the Felicia cocktails reviewed included the Spiced Beet Bubbly, Loco Hot Cocoa, fennel-infused vodka, and Hot Spiked Cider. Live music was provided by the Dave Yantorno Band, whose next show at Felicia's is February 22. CLICK HERE to hear the podcast, or you can go to www.eatingithaca.com where you can also catch up on Dave and Andrea's regular podcasts as they eat their way around Ithaca. Thanks, Eating Ithaca! Here's to another year of great food and drink in our little city. Photos by Mark H. Anbinder.

Best Of Ithaca

Gosh-golly, thanks to all of you who voted for Felicia in this year’s Best of Ithaca put out by the Ithaca Times. Felicia’s won – surprise – Best Cocktail Selection. What with Leah the Mad Scientist constantly making strange elixirs in the kitchen, this accolade is not fully unexpected. Ask Leah about her recent experiments with pumpkin and cayenne, or about the exploding cantaloupe incident. If you are lucky, you have been around to witness (and taste test) the development of all kinds of wacky and amazing drinks. Felicia also won Best Underrated Hangout. Not sure exactly what that one means, but ya’ll are always welcome to hang out here to your tipsy hearts’content. Previous years' awards include Best Friendliest Business Owners and Best Bartenders. A special thanks to Felicia’s most excellent bartenders who channel the ever-flowing spirit of Felicia. Without them, you would be, well, really thirsty.

The Real Deal Espresso Martini

Last year, Leah was approached by Michael Turback and asked to design an espresso cocktail for his upcoming book. The book, Coffee Drinks, is now published and available at Ten Speed Press. With the assistance of Gimme! Coffee barista/Felicia's Atomic Lounge bartender Colleen Anunu, Leah experimented with orange peels, vanilla beans, Grand Marnier, cinnamon sticks and various types of espresso. After sipping the cocktail she made with Gimme! Mocha Java, muddled lemon balm (from Felicia's garden, of course), an orange wheel, vodka and lavender whipped cream, Leah exclaimed, "Now this is the real deal." Hence the drink was dubbed The Real Deal Espresso Martini. The recipe for Leah's cocktail is side-by-side in Coffee Drinks with recipes by other talented coffee-loving mixololgists including Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles) and Jeffrey Morganthaler . Want to taste it? For now you will have to buy the book.

Groove Woodworking

Leah finally has a spiffy online woodworking portfolio! You can check it out at:


www.groovewoodworking.com