Mission Mission

The first-ever MM Bloody Marython went down this past Saturday, and thanks to everyone who participated it ended up being quite a blast!  We started at noon at the 500 Club and proceeded to also stop at Elixir, Zeitgeist, and Bender’s, drinking one bloody mary at each bar.  Needless to say, things got a little sloppy towards the end, but we made sure to take copious notes in case we didn’t quite remember everything!

We utilized a methodical approach that featured scorecards consisting of several distinct categories such as taste, texture, spiciness, accoutrements, alcohol content, overall presentaton, and bartender.  These were filled out by everyone on the tour as well as by patrons who happened to be drinking bloody marys at each bar and wanted to get in on the action.  Indeed, mild cases of favoritism were apparent, as a few of the bartenders seemed to have their own fan clubs in attendance.

As such, you can’t rely on the numbers alone, but they help to qualitatively identify clear trends.  For instance, the 500 Club consistently got the highest scores for accoutrements (owing to the high quality bacon, among other exotic ingredients) and bartender, while Zeitgeist got low scores for bartender by remote judges even though those of us who actually showed up were pleasantly surprised by how polite ours turned out to be (even after I tried to mess with him by tossing a credit card onto the bar to pay for the drinks).

In the end the scores were super close and each version was separated by a mere point, with 500 Club coming in first followed by Elixir, Bender’s, and Zeitgeist.  But of course it’s all about the context, so be sure to read our little breakdowns for each spot:

500 Club

Elixir

Zeitgeist

Bender’s

Since we can’t so much as even look at a bloody mary right now without feeling queasy, we’ll need some time to recover before the next MM Bloody Marython, but keep your eyes peeled here and we’ll let you know when the Sunday edition is going down.  At the moment, we’re thinking Pop’s, Thieves, Dirty Thieves, Argus, and the Attic.  Thanks again to everyone who showed up and helped make this such an awesome time, and special thanks to all the bartenders for making such fantastic drinks and putting up with all of us!

Sunde, who formerly made and sold pies at The Rite Spot has a new pie cart and you can catch her and it tonight!

Hi there!
Pies are done and ready for tonight.  Key Lime and Mango Raspberry Coconut Crumble.  Britt and I will be at the corner of 21st and Valencia with our red cart from 6pm to midnight . . . check us on twitter @piefridays.
See you there!
Sunde

UPDATE: The tour was a success. Read all about it!

As we hinted earlier this week, the first ever Mission Mission Bloody Mary Tour will be taking place this Saturday.  We’re tentatively scheduling to start at noon, and the first stop will be none other than the 500 Club to sample Rachel’s famous bacon bloody mary (pictured)!  The schedule will go something like this:

• 500 Club
• Elixir
• Zeitgeist
• Bender’s
• Pop’s

If any of you would like to join us in order to collaborate, you are more than welcome!  We plan on staying at each spot for about 30-45 minutes, which is plenty of time to enjoy one bloody mary comfortably before heading over to the next location.  We’re going to have scorecards to help rate them all according to a variety of pertinent categories, so hopefully every bartender will be on their A game!

This is going to happen rain or shine, so bring umbrellas and stuff if you have to!  A nice vodka and tomato-fueled romp across the neighborhood!

Also, since Argus, Thieves, and the Attic all seem to have their special bloody marys on Sundays, they will have to wait until the Second MM Bloody Mary Tour (which will probably happen in about a month or less, actually).  Nonetheless, there will be plenty of delicious bloody marys to go around!

See you on Saturday at noon!

[Photo by pamalamadag]

From Missed Connections:

Dumpster Diver!!! – m4w – 34 (mission district)

You helped me find that big mac that fell in the dumpster yesterday. After we found it, we sat there and split it in two and scarfed it down. That was probably the hottest thing I’ve ever seen a woman do in my life. Would love to see you again and buy you a happy meal. If you see this PLEASE contact me!!

This sounds like a match made in heaven.  If you’re the Happy Meal mystery lady looking for her Hamburgler, go for it.

[photo via Jon Beckmann]

As Allan mentioned, I’m in Vietnam this week.

You would love it. It’s 90 degrees now. There are more $2 multi-colored fake Ray Bans than you can handle. Dudes just walk up to you on the street with them. Seriously, I buy two more pairs every time I leave the hotel. The pho costs about $2.50 and is as ubiquitous as McDonald’s. Banh Mi sandwiches? Like 50 cents. And then there’s the coffee…

Did you know the most expensive coffee in the world comes from Vietnam? This particular coffee goes for hundreds of dollars per pound in the US, but it’s about 10-15 bucks here. But that cute weasel on the package is not a mascot, it’s part of the manufacturing process.

You see, these are beans that have been eaten by a weasel (technically a civet), passed through its digestive system, and roasted. It’s called Kopi Luwak. Wikipedia says:

Coffee cherries are eaten by a civet for their fruit pulp. After spending about a day and a half in the civet’s digestive tract the beans are then defecated in clumps, having kept their shape and still covered with some of the fleshy berry’s inner layers.

And what exactly does that accomplish?

Research by food scientist Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada showed that the civet’s endogenous digestive secretions seep into the beans. These secretions carry proteolytic enzymes which break down the beans’ proteins, yielding shorter peptides and more free amino acids.

Whatever you say, science dude. I can attest that the beans are the strongest, richest, most chocolatey coffee I’ve ever smelled. I have not tasted it yet, but I will be bringing some back. Is anyone curious?

Now that you mention it, I can think only of one other type of person that consumes substances that have been passed through anal cavities: a junkie.

After seeing all of our bloody mary hullabaloo last week, Jessi from Thieves Tavern got in touch to make sure everyone knew that a tasty bloody mary without anchovy paste is being served every Sunday from noon to five (with free pita, chips, and hummus too)!

They’re 6 dollars and really good and spicy…I use vegan worcestershire sauce, and pack ‘em with pickled and spicy veggies

Sounds scrumptious!  We might have to stop by this weekend during our MM Bloody Mary Tour.  What’s that?  Haven’t yet heard?  Well, since so many different spots were described so fanatically by so many different commenters, we figured we had to try to find out which was the BEST.  To remedy that, we’re embarking on a tour this weekend to hit up all of the favorite spots.

So far, we’re thinking 500 Club, Zeitgeist, Bender’s, Thieves, the Phonebooth, the Attic, and Pop’s.  Any other ones we’ve missed?  The schedule is TBD, but rest assured that it’s happening this weekend and that there will be scorecards!  Oh, and we definitely wouldn’t mind a little company if anyone wants to come along!

[Photo by the ever-talented Ariel]

That’s not a picture of Kat’s. Kat’s looks kind of like that but even bettttttttter. In any case, it’s the bomb. I bought $20 worth on their last day at the Broken Record, and I don’t think I’ve had any since.

If I weren’t still in Austin today, I’d head straight for Pal’s Take Away. RIGHT NOW:

And do follow Kat and the Gypsy Kitchen on Twitter as well.

[Photo by Sweetnicks]

I don’t have much to say about this, other than that this is yet another great photo by We Built This City.

Mainly I just wanted to post this slightly related blast from the past:

So, Theresa‘s friend had some kind of dream about a Rice Krispie-covered chocolate cake with red frosting, and Theresa made it a reality! What a good friend! (AND, she veganized it!)

I wrote in to ask if it was actually any good. Theresa’s response:

it was the best cake in the universe!!

Anyway, I probably wouldn’t veganize it, but it sure seems like a great idea for a cake. And what’s better than a crazy idea from a dream becoming a real live thing?

!