Official Bracket!

The official bracket has finally arrived! Unfortunately, not every venue made the cut, but I think this selection is a fantastic way to get started:

Click on it for a bigger, more readable version.

Let's get to drinkin'!

Rules & Regs

Hello!

Tonight is a particuarly exciting time for me. My last final was just handed in, my big project for work has wrapped, and my college roommate comes in tomorrow for my birthday weekend! This means summer has officially begun - finally. Adding to the (extreme) excitement is the fact that our first tasting is just 35 hours away! !!

My good friend lila, the creative mind behind food blog & brooklyn supperclub site liladobbs.wordpress.org, provides a categorical breakdown of the scoring that we will be using to grade our brunchtime delights:

the taste: are we talking fresh tomato juice? clamato? v-8? sweet? salty? savory? brine-y?

the texture: along the lines of taste...watered down? too thick? too much ice? too little ice? i like my bloodys to be solid but not too heavy that i cant order a second (or third for that matter) round.

the kick: self-explanatory. personally, im very opinionated in the tabasco vs chile sauce debate. i dont like tabasco AT ALL. i chalk it up there with olives, another dreaded food of mine. which makes my bloody mary scoring extra annoying.

the sight: i like when folks have fun with the garnishes, but it shouldn't get in the way of enjoying my drink. the garnishes should be simple, inventive and complimentary to the taste. a glass that shows up with a leaning tower of briney vegetables, so tall that you have dissasemble your drink jenga-style, nuh-uh.

the buck: at my favorite bklyn bloody joint its always two for one. 'nuff said.

At each venue, scorecards will be provided which will have a 1-5 point scale for each of the above categories. The average score from each category will be the official score for that bloody mary - but don't worry, if you have any particularly strong sentiments, they will not be overlooked! A space for your personal opinions will also be provided. As will golf pencils. If you're lucky.

You might not believe it, but suggestions for bloody mary sites are STILL coming in. I've closed the polls as of tonight, so the final list will be posted tomorrow. (today? friday. somehow, time has lost all meaning over the past two months.)

Again, thank you all for being such fantastic bracketeers! And special thanks to lila, always my creative cliff notes in a time of sleep-deprived poop for brains.

Love & libations,

Danielle

Spokey Beginnings

This SATURDAY, MAY 31, will be the kickoff of this summer's Bloody Mary Bracket!

In response to high demand and popularity, the TWISTED SPOKE will be our first location.

501 N Ogden Ave

11:30 AM

Forecast for this Saturday looks sunny & beautiful, so I have reserved the outdoor patio for our group. The owner will be coming out and telling us a little bit about their FOUR different types of bloody marys - so come with a whet palate! And try not to be late - noon is their busiest time of day!

ever think that "waiting with bated breath" is gross?,

Danielle

Biodegradable Bloodies at a Hippie Fest? Yes, Please!

Hello All!

This Memorial Day, I spent the weekend camping out in lovely Chillicothe, IL for the Summer Camp Music Festival. After loading up the car, taking two trips to the bagel place & (somewhat accidentally) wearing my slippers out of the house, we were on the road! We got there late Friday morning and unloaded our gear in some rainy, muddy weather. It took a couple of trips and lots of elbow grease, but we finally got camp set up just as it stopped raining. Thank gd we remembered our wellies, because the mud was EVERYWHERE!

After a day and night of some fantastic tunes, we survived the freezing night and woke up to the sun shining and high 70s weather. After about 40 minutes, I remembered! Vague memory from the day before of seeing a sign for Bloody Marys...I'll have to remember where that is.... Well, I clearly forgot where it was. But my lovely musicfestivalmate, ever the responsible friend, remembered where they were - right next to her iced coffee stand. Double fist, please!

Located under The Canopy - which is a bar set up under a very large tarp (complete with General Store open 24 hours that sells cases of beer ... what) - was my beacon of light. A nod of solidarity towards the few early patrons (it was about 10am), and I took stock of the situation. $7 BM (expected for a festival drink) in a regular sized cup. $3 for an extra shot - no matter, we had vodka in the tent. I ordered one up, and he charged me $8 - an extra buck for the compostable, biodegradable goodness that was disguised as a regular plastic cup. Fair enough, I saved it for later use.

They used tomato juice and I'm not sure what else, but I found the bartender didn't measure the vodka and I didn't need to top it off. It tasted creamy and delicious, and came with a celery stalk & 2 olives. (Later in the day I saw they went down to 1.) Surprisingly yummy and not watered down, especially for a festival drink! They also had a mixers bar (celery salt, pepper, hot sauce & worcestershire), which was still maintained a bunch of hours later when we went back for another.

Price: 3

Tasty: 4

Garnish: 3

Customizable Options: 3

All in all, while it was nothing very special, it was a standard, delicious, & welcome drink to kick of a hot Saturday of music. Next year, I'll try the margarita! aiaiaii!

Love & libations,

Danielle

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Are you a home-made bloody mary aficionado? Do you take pride in that extra personal *spark* that makes you and your friends say mmm mmm good?

Post your recipies below and share!

To My Dear 100+ Bracketeers

While I hoped this would be a successful project on a small scale, I could never have anticipated the overwhelming amount of positive responses, suggestions, and feedback that I've received so far from the Bracketeers. Your input has been invaluable, and I'm sure will continue to be as we embark on this tomato-ey adventure together.

In fact, there have been so many suggestions from all around the city that I couldn't include each and every one. I will of course, list them all once the Bracket is official, so you can try them at your leisure. One certain King of Chili even submitted a picture, from Sobelman's Bar & Grill in Milwaukee, WI (above). Now that's what I'm talkin about!

Stay tuned for the final bracket, first contestant (which will be judged on Saturday, May 31), and rules/regulations.

Danielle

Welcome, Bloody Bracketeers!

Friends,

With summer (very) slowly sneaking up on us, there has never been a better time for a weekend morning bloody mary. Nothing can be compared to the feeling when you hazily stumble out of your apartment on a Saturday morning, slide your sunglasses over your eyes, and find safe haven in the form of a chair in the sun, perfectly blended bloody mary in hand.

I can hear your collective sighs of pleasurable agreement from here.

Help me find the best bloody mary in Chicago!

While certain individual preferences may vary (Salami as a garnish or no? Are shrimp & cocktail sauce going too far? Red horseradish or white?) certain qualities of a fantastic bloody mary are indisputable. Thickness, dilution due to ice, spicyness, and appropriate garnishes all weigh in as gradeable traits.

Starting on Saturday, May 31, the BLOODY BRACKET commences!

Depending on the number of contesting bars/restaurants, brackets will be broken down by either neighborhood or region. From there, the search continues all summer long!

There are many ways that YOU can participate!

- Email me YOUR favorite bloody mary joint, and it will be added to the list. This is essential! Everyone on this list comes from a different area of the city, and we would like to have appropriate representation from each - so don't be shy!

- Join in as a judge during any BLOODY BRACKET GAME DAY! Most Saturdays (and/or Sundays, let's be honest) will be a game day - and this is your chance to weigh in! I'll send an email the Thursday or Friday before saying where that weekend's tasting will be, and you can just show up. I hope it goes without saying, but eggs and other brunchtime meals will be accompanying the tasting.

Let the games begin!

Danielle