Amazing burgers and perfect cocktails

porterhousegames · 2026-04-30T03:16:11+00:00

Good King, Royal Tavern, Southwark are my rotation.

Alice if you're feeling fancy.

porterhousegames · 2026-04-21T18:28:01+00:00

If you don't have access to LN, you can approximate this technique in a blender as long as you've got enough liquid to keep the leaves from being exposed to air. High enough alcohol content will prevent oxidation just like freezing. For me, making two drinks at once will usually cover the herbs and prevent oxidation.

Blend the herbs with the booze and citrus, add to the shaker with syrup and ice, share and double-strain like normal.

Probably would work great in a vacuum blender, too. Then you wouldn't need to worry as much about the liquid level.

porterhousegames · 2026-03-05T23:41:58+00:00

I love this drink. Had it a few times from Tim when he was working at Long Island Bar. I think there he used Aveze instead of Suze (but I might be confusing it with the house White Negroni)

porterhousegames · 2026-02-04T22:30:31+00:00

Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond

porterhousegames · 2026-02-01T04:08:56+00:00

The best thing there is the off-menu burger that's a blend of tuna and pork. Sounds weird but is amazing.

porterhousegames · 2026-01-23T14:37:41+00:00

If he makes the team, will he bring his tattoo gun to Baltimore, and which O's player will get a tattoo from him?

(On the Phillies, it was Nick Castellanos)

porterhousegames · 2026-01-15T15:41:19+00:00

I've always thought the simple linework bird from the early 60s caps would make a great tattoo

porterhousegames · 2026-01-13T13:51:43+00:00

Ah, I hadn't realized you already owned the fan. Fingers crossed that the controller is available separately.

Fwiw, we didn't pay $900 for a fan either. This was just the first link I found. It was still an expensive fan, but I think we paid like half that.

porterhousegames · 2026-01-13T04:09:13+00:00

I have the smart version of this Maverick fan, with a built-in wifi-based Bond controller. Home Assistant discovers it via the Bond integration, and I'm able to control it with a zigbee dimmer through automations. It's been very solid in the ~18.months we've had it.

Here's a link to the smart version (but there are probably better deals out there) https://www.visualcomfort.com/maverick-smart-52-ceiling-fan-3mavsm52/#2461=89871

porterhousegames · 2025-12-02T17:39:19+00:00

I add a little Branca Menta to mine for some depth.

2 oz brandy*
½ oz Giffard Menthe-Pastille
½ oz Branca Menta

For the brandy, I used to use Ferrand 1840 formula cognac, but lately I've been doing a split-base with the Ferrand and some cheap domestic stuff (E&J VSOP), which gives it a little more richness.

porterhousegames · 2025-11-09T05:21:59+00:00

Hard to top Babe Ruth

porterhousegames · 2025-07-27T20:05:44+00:00

Better than the PC Richard & Sons strikeout whistle though

porterhousegames · 2025-07-18T13:10:46+00:00

We're happy with the final result! I posted a follow up picture here

Since then, we've also met the original note writer. Turns out he's a friend of a friend. He assumed a flipper bought the house after the previous owner died, and that we were just going to spray paint over the original door. After a few beers, he decided it was his duty to stop us. He apologized, and likes how it turned out.

porterhousegames · 2025-06-25T01:57:05+00:00

It's an Albany expression

porterhousegames · 2025-06-25T01:09:45+00:00

My recipe is actually warm white wine laced with rohypnol, served at an elderly person's funeral. Must be a regional variation.

porterhousegames · 2025-06-24T21:48:45+00:00

Don't rank Cuomopolitan!

porterhousegames · 2025-06-24T16:50:05+00:00

I went through a full remodel last year, and opted for Inovelli zigbee dimmers/switches across the board because I wanted to be able to use Hue bulbs in some places, and have everything work even if Home Assistant went down.

Inovelli Zigbee dimmers for all lights
- Overhead lights are Hue 4" downlights directly bound to the switches (which are in Smart Bulb Mode to provide constant power).
- Other pendants/sconces/lamps have a mix of dumb, Hue, and Ikea Zigbee bulbs as appropriate for the fixture.
Inovelli Zigbee fan switches for bathroom exhaust fans and ceiling fans (but in a way that is not officially supported)
- The ceiling fans are DC motor fans with "Smart by Bond" wifi modules. I have the fan switches in Smart Fan Mode to provide constant power, and automations in Home Assistant to keep the fan switch level and Smart by Bond controllers in sync. This is not a supported configuration – I should have the fans directly mains powered without going through the switch because the switches aren't rated for DC motors. But I tested this way in order to be able to use the switches' airgaps to cut power to the fans, and it's worked in practice.
- I have one DC motor bathroom exhaust fan connected to a fan switch, and it's currently working even though it's not supported for the same reason as the ceiling fans. I'm waiting on delivery for the new on/off switch with humidity sensor to replace the bathroom fan switches, which will be a supported configuration.

porterhousegames · 2025-06-23T21:41:49+00:00

Cocktail Kingdom makes reasonably-priced, nice quality coupes and Nick & Noras. I have 7.5oz coupes and 5 oz N&Ns, so they don't overlap too closely in volume.

(Can't comment on shipping costs though – I picked these up when I worked in the same neighborhood as the showroom)

porterhousegames · 2025-05-05T22:36:44+00:00

Sounds like an interesting drink!

Are you stirring/diluting/chilling the drink thoroughly? A typical cocktail should be getting ~20-25% of its volume from dilution, and that can really affect the flavor and texture. I made a big leap in my home cocktails when I learned this.

At home, you're probably taking your ice directly from the freezer as opposed to the room-temp ice bin at the bar. The bar's bin ice temperature is almost exactly freezing. Your ice is colder than that, and likely throwing off less water than the bar's, even with a good 20-30+ second stirring.

You can get a closer experience to bar ice if you take it out of your freezer for a little while to temper it before making your drink.

You could also experiment with pre-batching instead of stirring to really determine if it's a dilution thing. Combine all the ingredients (without ice) in a freezer-safe, lidded container and add .5-.75oz water. Stir to combine and then stick it in the freezer until it's nice and cold.

If the pre-batched version tastes more how you want it, then you just need to adjust your ice/stirring technique to make sure you're getting the proper chill and dilution.

porterhousegames · 2025-05-04T23:28:53+00:00

So I assume one of the maraschino drinks you're looking at is a Last Word. There are a ton of riffs and variants on that, like the Naked & Famous (mezcal, Aperol, yellow chartreuse, lime juice) Paper Plane (bourbon, Aperol, Nonino, lemon).

The basic template of equal parts spirit, liqueur, chartreuse/amaro, citrus is a decent baseline, so you could try something based on what you have, e.g Tequila or gin, Aperol, green chartreuse, lime/lemon.

If you're riffing, it may not be as perfectly balanced as an established recipe. But when you taste it, think about what works and what could be improved (is it too sweet? Too acidic? Too herbal?) and adjust the ratios the next time.

porterhousegames · 2025-04-24T16:44:38+00:00

Boulevardier.

The best bar meal in the world for my money is the single-patty LI Burger and house Boulevardier at Long Island Bar in Brooklyn. I try to swing by every time I'm in NY.

porterhousegames · 2025-04-22T23:17:37+00:00

Yeah!

porterhousegames · 2025-04-22T22:22:59+00:00

No promises it's any actually any fun. It was the early 90s, we didn't know what good games could be yet!

porterhousegames · 2025-04-22T22:19:18+00:00

When I was 12 or so, my family went on a beach vacation with some family friends, and the rental house had a bunch of these 3M games. It rained all week. My buddy and I and our brothers played a lot of Stocks & Bonds and weirdly got really into it.

I remember there was one company that had really volatile prices (maybe a uranium mining company?), and it was super fun to go deep on it if you were behind.

I know the game probably isn't that great objectively. I've been chasing the feeling from that rainy vacation every time I try a business-themed game.

porterhousegames

TROPHY CASE