A Capone Rye

What does Templeton Rye have to do with Al Capone? Rumor has it that it was not only his libation of choice, but he was buried with a bottle of "The Good Stuff". You don't have to take our word for it, as Deirdre Marie Capone makes an appearance at Hi-Time Wine Cellars to promote her book, Uncle Al Capone. You can be gangster by association!

As we thumbed through the chapters, we didn't expect it to include recipes. One of them, Mob Cookies, was called such because, as Deirdre put it, "When my grandmother Theresa baked them and Al took them to his headquarters, all the boys raved about how much they loved them."

You'll have to get the book to see if the recipe is up to your high standards, but if they were good enough for the Mob, how could they not?
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Photo by Matt Oliver

Just one of Sutra's many honeys...

I am a huge fan of the trade magazine, the obscure journal written for a niche audience that rarely makes it into the mainstream, and am always looking for new ones. And I just found one: Nightclub & Bar, which advertises itself as "the go-to resource for the on-premise professional" in the nightclub industry and has been at it for 27 years.

Recently, they came out with a list of the top 100 nightclubs in America, the criteria which they said "is the only revenue-based ranking of nightlife venues" in the industry. Understandably, most of those listed are in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, although OC had a couple--and even Long Beach.
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All photos by Dave Mau, if you already haven't got the drift...

Jesús at Memphis

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner With Dave at Memphis At the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us every Wednesday morning to a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!

Few outside the food and beverage world have experienced what is termed "bar rot," but believe me, it's nasty. It comes from spending hours upon hours with your hands submerged in the various cleaning/sanitizing solutions required by your local, friendly health department. I've had it bad, seen it worse, and it's no walk in the park. It starts with a bit of soreness around your index and middle fingers, soon progressing into rotten cuticles, infected fingernails and horribly painful cracks around your thumbnail that are spectacularly agonizing when exposed to citrus or salt and can lead to skin loss.

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Dave's Grandma Lola: They just don't make dames like they used to...

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us every Wednesday morning that he's on to a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!

It seems the Sazerac and Old Fashioned are the Gamera and Godzilla, respectively, of the cocktail Monster Island, locking horns in a duel for supremacy while Godzuki, the lowly Manhattan, looks on (although the latter is at the top of my go to list). There is lively debate about which came first and who reigns as the oldest and classic American cocktail, but, for me, the Old Fashioned is going to come out on top every time. And the best I've ever had? Well, my Grandma Lola's still tops that list.

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Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us every Wednesday morning that he's on to a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!

Long ago, in a previous 909 life, there was an absolutely filthy-yet-magnificent taqueria called Mexico Lindo located on a dingy stretch of Euclid Avenue in my-then hometown of Onterrible. For a kid raised on Taco Bell enchiritos (a bastardized enchilada, quite horrific actually) and Rosarita make-at-home taco kits as "authentic" Mexican, it was quite a revelation. The interior was less restaurant and more POW camp. Rife with squalor, flies and screaming babies, it was a hotbox during the summer that would have broken even the hardiest of gabachos. But their asada was a knockout and if I had a nickel for every squirt bottle of their salsa roja I drunkenly stole off their tables I'd have a big 'ol stack of nickels. It was the best ever and I still can't figure out why.

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Beer pong? Tired. Kings? Boring. President and Asshole? So 1995. They're all really boring, and some of them are so slow you'll never get a buzz on playing them. It's time for a new drinking game, and when it's time for anything involving large amounts of drinking, the people to ask are the Russians, who didn't consider beer an alcoholic purchase worth regulating until recently. The Russians have a drinking game called "Medvyed prishol" ("Here Comes the Bear"), which is the most efficient way to get drunk we've ever seen.

See also:
- Russia to Regulate Beer, Minors Not Yet Rioting
- Cure That Hangover! Top 5 Numerically Named Drinking Games
- Pizza Russian Roulette Is One Hilariously Messed-Up Eating Game
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Sit in traffic, or "deal" with this on a Wednesday night. Do you even have to think about it?

Dispel those road rage tendencies on Hump Day by shortening your time spent lining up for the metering light. Park yourself by the Google building for a cold beverage, or five, thanks to Kimera's Wednesday-night beer tastings.

Launched last week, this alternate universe Happy Hour deal will run you $15. The good news: it includes a three-ounce sampling of beer for each digit on your left hand, plus an order of their signature Parmesan garlic fries to dip into aioli with the other. Well, isn't that special?
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Anne Marie Panoringan

The Place: Hamamori Restaurant & Sushi Bar, 3333 Bear St., Suite 320, Costa Mesa; 714-850-1549; www.hamamorisushi.com.

The Hours: Every day, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

The Deal: Signature cocktails and sushi rolls for $7; assorted appetizers up to $9; house wine and sake for $5.
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Amy Kaplan/OC Weekly

Maybe you're stuck working this Saturday. Or you want to keep celebrating long after the 5th has come and gone. Either way, the duo of chef David Dennis and mixologist David Valiante at downtown Fulleton's Matador Cantina have five perfectly good reasons to pay a visit. And each goes well with tequila.

This five-course dinner, scheduled for Thursday, May 17, includes:
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Flickr user drustar

Unpictured, really cheap beer.

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The Place:Gyu-Kaku, 14181 Newport Ave., Tustin. (714) 731-1719.
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