Ways to enjoy Dry January all year long

I love the culture of alcohol. I love pairing wine with food, going on distillery tours, visiting local breweries, attending wine tastings, discussing the ingredients in an elaborate cocktail, etc. I love it so much that I’ve based two series around the culture of alcohol: my first series is about a winegrowing kingdom, my second takes place in a family bar.

But the reality is that I have alcoholism in my family. My grandmother was one of the top drug and alcohol counselors in our county. We’ve all seen or experienced alcohol’s dark side. One of the issues my sisters in After Hours on Milagro Street and Full Moon Over Freedom struggle with is how their father’s alcoholism affected their lives. It’s even addressed in a mock-cocktail menu in Full Moon Over Freedom.
 
Like many people, I embarked on Dry January as a re-fresh for the start of the year. This has been the longest I’ve gone without a drink since I was pregnant with my youngest son two decades ago. 
 
I’ve learned that I enjoy going out, whether or not I have alcohol. I’ve learned I’m totally okay with other people drinking when I don’t. I’ve learned I’m comfortable choosing not to drink and still prepared to go out and have a ball.
 
Most importantly, I’ve learned there are lots of tasty non-alcohol options. Here are some that I’ve enjoyed this month.

Fancy mocktails at bars

Thank God for the mocktail movement. I’ve had some delicious drinks here in Houston at Angel’s Share, Hugo’s, and Bar 3. They were made so beautifully that I didn’t even feel like I was missing out. They fulfilled that enjoyment I have of sitting at the bar sipping something delicious. Even without a mocktail menu, I’ve learned that bartenders are pretty helpful coming up with something non-alcoholic on the fly.

Non-alcohol beer

I’ve tried a few non-alcohol beers during this month. The best, by far, have been from Athletic Brewing Co., a brewery whose entire focus is no-alcohol beers. If you like IPA, I highly recommend the Free Wave. I can find this beer at my local grocery store.

Alcohol-free stores

If you can’t find good non-alcohol beer at your grocery store, then you might have a shop focused on no-alcohol drinks in your area. Here in Houston we have Sipple. Rather than wasting money on something loaded with sugar or no-alcohol wine that tastes like grape juice, it’s great to go to this shop and get recommendations from the experts!

No-alcohol spirits

At Sipple, I discovered that there are lots of no-alcohol spirits that you can sip alone or with a mixer and feel like you’re having a cocktail. Because I also decided to embark on a healthy form of keto this January, I didn’t want something with a lot of sugar. The folks at Sipple recommended Pentire Seaward, this junipery, briney tasting spirit that tastes amazing by itself or mixed with club soda. It has zero calories and zero carbs.

Fake your brain

In lieu of all of these, I’m a big fan of Topo Chico and lime. I saw a TikToker who cleaned out a Miller Lite bottle, kept it handy, and filled it with sparkling water whenever she wanted to feel like having a beer. Sometimes it’s just the procedure of relaxing with a drink that signals to your brain that it’s time to take a load off.

I’m glad I’ve figured out some healthy habits to cut back on my drinking as I age without cutting back on the fun I like to have. With all that said, I am super looking forward to February 1!!!!

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Cocktail Recipe: Cranberry Sauce Old Fashioned

You might be scraping up the last of your cranberry sauce as you finish up Thanksgiving leftovers. But before you put it on your plate, I have another suggestion: put it in a cocktail shaker.

When you think about it, cranberry sauce — with softened cranberries, sugar, spices, and orange juice and zest — is a perfect base for the sweet-and-savory Old Fashioned.

Cranberry Sauce Old Fashioned

2 jiggers bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
1/2 Tbls cranberry sauce (I use this recipe)
1/4 jigger ginger simple syrup*
2 dashes orange-flavored bitters

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake hard, 15-20 seconds (shake hard so the ice can break up the sauce). Add ice and drink to rocks glass. Twist orange peel swath over top then add to glass. Enjoy!

*A recipe for ginger simple syrup is pretty easy to find online. I also provide a recipe on the free stuff page for my newsletter subscribers.

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5 Cocktails to Toast the Impending Apocalypse

So…2020.

Amiright?

One of the things that have helped me get through it is live video happy hours. Moseying up to my favorite bar (Dogwood, I’m looking at you) has now been replaced with launching Zoom or FaceTime to share a drink with friends and family. Just because I’m in yoga pants does not mean I skimp on the cocktails.

Below are five drinks you can enjoy as we watch the ship go down.

The Maple Manhattan

This Friday (10/16), I’ll get to enjoy cocktails with my Boozy Book Broads mates Melonie Johnson and Danielle Dresser as we chat with Diana Biller, author of the PHE-NO-MEN-OL The Widow of Rose House (a perfect Halloween read). We’ll be enjoying a Maple Manhattan during the chat, which is very much like the original Manhattan (which my Instagram friends can attest I’m a huge fan of) with one fall-friendly addition: maple.

I got this recipe from SidewalkShoes.com. Shake it up and join us Friday!

2 oz bourbon
¼ oz sweet vermouth
1 tbls maply syrup
2 dashes bitters
1 cherry for garnish

Add bourbon, vermouth, maple syrup, and bitters to a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake for 15 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.

Recipe courtesy of SidewalkShoes.com.

Texas Martini

In honor of my recent move to Texas, I wanted to re-create this drink I heard everybody ordering at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Austin. The Texas Martini, according to the bartender, is just a margarita -- up or frozen -- in a martini glass with olives. They are DELICIOUS!! Briney olives act like the salt on the rim!⠀

The Texas Martini by Angelina M. Lopez

2 oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 lime, squeezed
3 olives on a pick⠀

Chill martini glass. Shake first four ingredients over ice. Empty into chilled glass. Garnish with olives.⠀

Instant Sangria

I love red wine. It’s a family requirement. It also might be an authorial requirement, since I based the Filthy Rich series on the production of delicious red wine. But I also love cocktails. So in honor of my many alcoholic loves and my pretend Spanish kingdom, the Monte del Vino Real, I came up with this cocktail that tastes like Sangria without all the soaking and waiting.

Instant Sangria by Angelina M. Lopez

1 oz whiskey, bourbon, or vodka (pick your poison)
1/2 oz triple sec
1/4 oz simple syrup
Chunk of orange (no peel)
Chunk of apple (no peel)
Cheap red wine
Apple slice, halved
Orange slice, halved
Club soda (optional)

Put first five ingredients (down through apple chunk) into stemless wine glass. Mash fruit and blend with muddler or back of spoon. Fill 2/3 of glass with red wine. Add ice or large ice cube. Add orange and apple slices. Stir to combine. If it’s too sweet or thick for your preference, you can top it with club soda or sparkling water. Enjoy! 🍷🍹

(Note: I like brown liquors in this because it gives it a fuller, richer flavor, like sangria that’s been soaking for awhile. But vodka is a cleaner taste. Pick whichever you prefer.)

The Angelina

While I was slaving away this spring on Serving Sin, my third book in the Filthy Rich series, I invented this Mexico-inspired drink. Since Serving Sin spends half its time in the incredible city of Guanajuato, Mexico, it makes sense. I named it the Angelina because it is: 1) sweet, salty, spicy and tart, and because 2) I invented it. So there.

The Angelina by Angelina M. Lopez

1 oz of mezcal⠀
3/4 oz ancho chili liqueur⠀
1/4 oz simple syrup⠀
1/2 lime, squeezed⠀
3 drops chocolate or mole bitters⠀

Rim glass with seasoned salt. Fill glass with ice. Put all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Shake with ice. Strain shaker into glass. ¡Salud!⠀

The Ol’ Monte

We fell in love with this drink at one of our favorite bars in D.C., Densons. But when they took it off the menu, my hubby figured it out how to make it at home. THAT was a fun (and blurry) evening of taste testing.

The Ol’ Monte by Peter Lundquist

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc ("Blanc" NOT "Dry")⠀

Stir with ice. Serve up in a coupe glass with a lemon swath⠀

You're welcome. We love you.

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Keep up with all my drinking adventures by following me on Instagram!

How to Fill the Well as a Writer

New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston talks about the need for writers to "give yourself the opportunity to fill the well so you have something to write about," in the latest issue of Romance Writers Report. I found this so inspiring. Writers cave up, have endless deadlines, and tell victory stories about how many days in a row it's been since they've showered. Many of us, no matter our endeavors, stick our noses to the grindstones and then proudly compare how little nose we have left.

Stop it. Fill the well. Writers, if the only world you have to write about is the Bermuda Triangle of your desk-couch-fridge, I'm sorry but that book is not going to sell. Everyone else, you know you need to go have a good time.

Here are ways I like to #fillthewell. I've included A TON of links. I hope they help you discover your own inspiration!

Museums

I'm a huge fan of museum gazing in the winter time because you get shelter, exercise, and inspiration for a modest price. Here in the D.C.-area, where we have an embarrassment of museum riches, many of our museums are free. A friend and I recently went to the Smithsonian's Freer|Sackler, which has an incredible collection of Asian art. There we saw Buddhas and Chinese wine cups and dazzling Indian jewelry and the beautifully carved heads of pharaohs. Did you know that some Buddhists venerated a Lord of Burning Desire? I didn't either. But that's the kind of useful inspiration you can get when you go to your local museum.

Aizen Myoo, the Lord of Burning Desire, “avatar of sacred lust...recognizes and emphasizes the disruptive power of sexual passion” against evil.

Volunteering

My responsibilities as a volunteer force me to step away from my writer's desk and provide that glow that comes with giving time instead of getting paid for it. I've served as a docent at the Hillwood Museum in northwest D.C. for a year and that beautiful house and gardens have provided so much inspiration. I've learned a ton about strong women who can buy their own fancy houses, about the joy of sharing what you know with others, and about the pleasure of strolling through a greenhouse dripping with orchids and pretending -- just for a second -- that it belongs to you. 

Tomorrow come celebrate the oncoming spring with La Chandeleur or Crepe Day at Hillwood. Enjoy crepes, decorate your own version of priceless porcelain, and let me show you some of our incredible French treasures when I give a family-focused gallery talk at 10:30 and tours at 11:30 and 1:30. Come join me!

Booze

I want to insert this in here before I give the impression that I only enjoy heady pursuits. I like booze. I like to learn about the origin and creation of various alcohols, I like to read about burgeoning alcohol trends, I like to experiment with my own concoctions, and I like to have long-winded conversations about how cocktails are made. And I like to drink them. One of my favorite places to do all of the above is the Dogwood Tavern. Dogwood is the kind of place where the bartenders remember you, remember your drink of choice, make it spectacularly, and whip up a concoction with you if you catch them when it's slow. They'll also give you a pleasing nickname if you're a regular. Ours is "Angeleter."

Drew's Bulleit Rye Old-Fashioned

Wine

I also enjoy wine. This is my stepfather's fault. In 2009, my parents bought a 6.5-acre property in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley and started Gantz Family Vineyards. Suddenly I, who'd had a passing interest in wine, was part of a family that grew Pinot Noir grapes in one of the premiere Pinot Noir regions in the country. Things got much, much worse when they asked me to help them market the vineyard, and suddenly I had to learn about wine and winegrape growing in order to be able to communicate vaguely intelligently about it for their website and social media. This window into this incredible world helped inspire my latest book, The Billionaire's Prince, and the follow-up book that I'll begin in February. Here in D.C., my go-to spot for getting educated (and inspired) about wine is the the Capital Wine School. I rave more about it here.

Gantz Family Vineyards

Friends

I love my husband and my kids and my family. But I would be nothing without my friends. My friends are a wonderful pressure valve from the rest of my life, and whether they provide me tips on the writing industry or help me understand my kids better or share in a laugh and a glass of wine, they inspire me and help calm me so I can be open to inspiration. Some of my dearest friends can inspire you, too!

• Parenting coach Paige Trevor - Paige and I bonded over a shared love of this Jonathan Rhys Meyers lip bite 15 years ago and we've never looked back. Through classes, seminars, and one-on-one sessions, she helps parents understand the connection between an organized house and a calm and content family. As a Certified Parent Educator with PEP, Paige has trained over 1500 parents in the Washington, D.C.- area. Her weekly blog, Nifty Tips, is a funny, heartfelt, tough-love dose of realistic parenting advice.

• Author Sharon Wray - Sharon is the most generous soul I know, and a large portion of the romance writing world would agree with me. Sharon is a fount of selfless information and good cheer and believed in me as a writer when I didn't believe in myself. Her book, Every Deep Desire, a genre-bending romantic suspense reunion story set in Georgia swamps that hide a deeper, darker world, will come out on March 6.

• Life coach Wendy Reed - Wendy is the dear friend who introduced me to the concept of "living with intention." Living with intention means you live life proactively -- you choose to pursue a career as a creative professional or flirt more with your husband or be patient with your children -- rather than living life reactively, getting batted along the path that life chooses. Wendy is now taking this philosophy into her work as a professional life coach, helping people discover their own intentional life and then helping them figure out how to make it a reality.

Podcasts

Not all of my filling of the well is done out and about. I spend an impressive amount of time luxuriating in my pajamas and yoga pants. Podcasts give me inspiration when I'm emptying the dishwasher or walking the dog. My three recent favorites are:

• The Thirst Aid Kit - "Thirsting," as used by these brilliant hosts, is the act of desiring, crushing, lusting from afar that women do so well. This podcast honors that thirst -- an act that has sustained the movie industry and keeps the publishing industry afloat -- with intelligent, diversity-aware, and screamingly funny conversations about the people we thirst for and why.

• Girl in Space - Girl in Space is an audio drama about a girl in space, written and performed by a girl. This act should not seem so revolutionary. And yet this podcast has such a unique, interesting, wise, and funny point of view of sci-fi and space travel and story telling that it does seem revolutionary.

• The Wicked Wallflowers Club - I have been endlessly tweeting about this new podcast devoted to taking the shame out of romance reading. As I've said endlessly on Twitter, this podcast is like grabbing a coffee with your favorite author and smartest friends and talking about what makes romance novels great.

Please share your favorite ways to #FillTheWell in the comment box below. Fill free to include links, too, if you've got them. I love sharing the inspiration!

A Taste of Vegas at the MGM National Harbor

My husband and I decided to play hooky last week and spent an afternoon and evening at the new MGM National Harbor. With so many high-end restaurants, craft cocktail bars, entertainment options, and a gorgeous Asian-inspired aesthetic, we could have been there longer, could have eeked out a few more hours enjoying a atmosphere that reminded us of our favorite casino resorts in Las Vegas.

While the mind and body were willing, the wallet was weak.

MGM National Harbor, with its silver tower glittering over the Potomac and viewable from Alexandria, is not a cheap place to spend the evening. But if you're looking for a bit of the service, sophistication, and unapologetic adult decadence that Vegas offers without the plane flight, MGM National Harbor is an worthy substitute.

High-end eats

The MGM National Harbor has called upon some of the D.C.-area's most-loved chefs to create high-end dining experiences that lure those -- like us -- who don't gamble. Fish by José Andrés and the Voltaggio Brothers Steak House are evening-only restaurants. Marcus, by Marcus Samuelsson, is an all-day restaurant that also provides the room service menu. 

During our dinner at the Steak House, we enjoyed some of the best and most personable wait staff we've had in the D.C. area. The Voltaggio brothers have designed the place with the homey feel of your mom's house -- if your mom was the coolest, most sophisticated hostess on the East Coast. There's a dining room and a family room and a bar in the study. You drink out of finely etched glass. There's an echo of Vegas in the design theatrics of the place, that surreal sense that you're not in "normal" adult land anymore, and it was a satisfying part of the evening. Do I really need to mention the steaks? Of course they were outstanding. And the rolls -- amazing.

My husband, wisely, steered us away from the expensive lunch I wanted and toward the food court, where we had some truly kickass Shake Shack burgers. But the National Market offers a lot more variety than your average food court. I could have also gone for the crab cakes, banh mis, chicken and doughnuts, or the ice cream. Oh wait. I did go for the ice cream.

Craft cocktail bars

Drinks are not free in the casino -- you will pay that lovely strolling cocktail waitress for what you order. And while the Old Fashioned I had at the casino bar was good, the Old Fashioned from The Lobby Bar was outstanding. 

There are many places to get a delicious cocktail at the MGM National Harbor -- in all the restaurants, at the Tap Sports Bars, in the upscale Felt and and Blossom cocktail lounges inside the casino -- but The Lobby Bar might be my new favorite bar in the D.C. area. I know, that's saying a lot about a hotel bar. But in the back, they've got barrels of your favorite liquor specifically barreled for their bar. They've got smooth sipping tequilas that only cost you an arm; that will cost you an additional leg anywhere else. They've got bartenders that flame up the orange peel before rimming the glass, making that Old Fashioned one of the best of the many I've tasted. And they've got bartenders who will be as sweet as pie or give you all of the sass that you sit at the bar to get.

I'm not kidding. Don't miss The Lobby Bar.

Entertainment

Did I mention that we don't gamble? We don't. Because we're bad at it. 

Unfortunately, we forgot that we don't gamble at the MGM National Harbor's casino, so we lost money. Fast. Quarter slot machines were the cheapest ones we could find -- yes, there were penny machines, but those machines required a minimum of 50-cent bets. The cheapest tables were $25 bets. Perhaps there are cheaper tables hiding in the casino's hinterlands, but we couldn't find them. 

I won $15. This is when I should have walked away.

If you go to MGM National Harbor to gamble, I hope you're better at it than we are.

The 3,000-seat theater will be probably be a better entertainment option for us the next time we visit. The day we were there, the resort was thronged with emo kids and their parents waiting for the Panic at the Disco show. Sting plays at the theater on Sunday, and Cher is currently in residence, playing several nights in March and then back again in September.

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4 Ways to Laze Away the Day at the Georgetown Waterfront

How thrilling is it that Georgetown has embraced its waterfront? When we moved to nearby Burleith in 2000, the stately neighborhood definitely had its back to the mighty Potomac. But with the arrival of an AMC Loews movie theater in 2002, people began to wander down there for more than an expensive meal at one of the river-facing restaurants. During a recent lazy stay-cation, my husband and I decided to cross the river to our old ‘hood to relax the day away.

Stop 1: The Georgetown Waterfront Park

Nothing could herald the fact that the waterfront has arrived better than this gorgeous 10-acre park. This stretch of green space from the Washington Harbor development to Key Bridge offers incredible views of the river, Key Bridge, Rosslyn, Roosevelt Island and the Kennedy Center. But you can also find the pretty right under foot: the park has a large fountain kids can play in, benches, river steps for lounging and duck feeding, and images etched in granite telling D.C.’s story.

Stop 2: Farmers, Fishers, Bakers

Uncle Buck's Beignets with Raspberry Coulis, Hot Fudge Sauce and Bourbon Caramel Sauce at Farmers Fishers Bakers

I’ve always loved eating on the waterfront on a beautiful day. Sure, the food was expensive and the restaurants were pretty indistinguishable, but the sun-and-water languidness of it all made it worthwhile. Then along came Farmers Fishers Bakers. This farm-to-table-focused restaurant has a beautiful-yet-quirky design, a playful and bizarre cocktail menu and food that makes you want to order a little bit of everything. Yes, I'd like some Duck Fat Chicken Wings, a Bacon Basil Blue Cheese Mussel Pot, a couple of Beer Braised Beef Field Tacos and an AWESOME Grilled Cauliflower Steak. Too much?

Stop 3: AMC Loews Georgetown theatre

We saw the 2:30 showing of "John Wick". There were four people in the theater with us. Is there anything more decadent than seeing a Keaneau Reeves shoot-em-up in the middle of a weekday?

Stop 4: The Observatory at The Graham

We had every intention of going home after the movie. But did I mention that it was a GORGEOUS day? We walked a block up from the waterfront to M Street, wasted time until 5 p.m., and then took The Graham Georgetown hotel's elevator to The Observatory, Georgetown's only rooftop lounge open to the public. Or at least it was when it opened in 2013. Feel free to correct me. With cocktails in hand, we lazed on turquoise settees, watched airplanes squiggle contrails across the Georgetown skyline and toasted a successful lazy day.

10 Reasons Why You Should Visit Catoctin Creek Distilling Company

Photo by Rick Martin

Right now. You should take the day off (or embrace the day off you may already have on this Veterans Day), call a babysitter for the kids, and head out to the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company in Purcellville, Va. Here are 10 reasons why:

10. The drive is gorgeous. I'm sure the drive out to Loudoun County is beautiful the rest of the year (it takes about 50 minutes from inside the Beltway), but right now, an explosion of fall leaf color joins the long horse fences and old stone buildings that make the drive so scenic.

9. Purcellville is hip, historic and still seems undiscovered. The couple of blocks of downtown Purcellville, with the Distillery right at its crossroads, are rich with great restaurants, interesting yet functional shopping, and a nice mix of locals and tourists exploring Virginia's wine country.

8. The Catoctin Creek Distilling Company building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The brick building, built during the second year of Prohibition, once housed a bank then a Buick dealership. Large windows that were once garage doors show off views into the vintage tasting room and the distillery room with all of its steam-punk cool stills.

7. The stills are so steam-punk cool.

6. The tour will give you a great 20-minute understanding of how spirits are made. At the top of every hour, friendly tour guides lead guests on a tour of the distillery and discuss how Kansas rye (rye doesn't grow well in Virginia) becomes Virginia white whiskey, rye whiskey and gin.

5. Scott and Becky's story is inspiring. Owners Scott and Becky Harris made a midlife-left turn to create the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company. Scott was looking for a escape hatch from his software career; he was lucky he was married to Becky, who was a chemical engineer and is now Catoctin's chief distiller.

4. The horseshoe bar in the tasting room invites bellying up. The large bar in the vintage tasting room provides lots of seats, encouraging conviviality with the friendly tasting hosts and fellow imbibers.

3. You can try Catoctin Creek's spirits. For $5, you can sample three half-ounce pours of Mosby's Spirit (white whiskey), Roundstone Rye, and Watershed Gin. For $10, you can sample flights of brandy and higher-proof rye.

2. If sipping straight spirits is not your thing, you can sample Catoctin Creek's spirits in cocktails. For $10, you can choose three mini-cocktails from a menu created by guest mixologists. For October, an Apple Cinnamon Sazerac, a Bloody Mosby and a drink called a Relaxing Rita were three of our options.

1. You can be on TV!! No, this is not the number one reason to visit the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company. But I couldn't figure out another way to mention a topic dear to the Harris' heart: a proposed tax hike on Virginia spirits. Local TV news was at the distillery on the day we visited to film a segment with Scott. Click on the photo to learn more about this issue, and contact your local state representative!

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Catoctin Creek Distilling Company

 

120 W. Main St., Purcellville, VA, 20132

Hours; Monday-Friday, 1-5; Saturday, 12-7; Sunday, 1-6

Tours offered for $5 at the top of every hour

How to Throw a Comfort Food Dinner Party

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In the spring and summer, I advocate easy entertaining. Throw a six pack in the cooler, some chicken and zucchini on the grill and you're good to go. But the advent of fall beckons us indoors. Lures us into sweaters and snuggling into the couch and eating foods that are oh-so-bad for us. So I find myself wanting to take my time with a fall dinner party. I want to create a setting that makes my friends want to linger; cook foods that will compel us to stick around the dinner table while we digest.

Fall, then, is an ideal time to prepare comfort food, the fatty, buttery, bacony dishes our moms made that now occupy the menu of every hip restaurant in the country. While I champion taking your time with this Comfort Food dinner party, I also offers ways you can shave a little time off the top. I'm not responsible for what happens to your waist.

1. Prep and planning

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Apron by Dr. McNinja creator, Christopher Hastings

Fall is a good time to begin using the dining table again, so limit your invite list to the number of people you can fit around it. Sending everyone an email is fine. Do your grocery shopping the day before the party. Try to reserve party day for just decorating and food cooking. Sounds extravagant? Trust me, if one partner can be responsible for driving kids to baseball, walking the dog and grabbing lunch, and the other partner can get Zen with the party duties, both partners will be less flustered when guests start knocking at the door.

Time-saving tool: Peapod. I let this grocery delivery service deliver the bulk of my groceries and then head to a specialty market for items like fresh-baked desserts or stand-out salad fixings.

2. Decorating

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I used to go overboard decorating for dinner parties, but now I have three secret weapons: Candles, flowers and white plates. White plates create a clean canvas for all that delicious food. Candles can be used in the middle of the table (judiciously so they don't get in the way of food passing or conversation) and in the living room. And inexpensive grocery store flowers in appropriate fall colors add a touch of pizzazz. I know it doesn't sound like much, but taking your time setting up these three details before guests arrive will enhance the sense that it's a special night at your house. 

Time-saving tool: Placemats are an inexpensive and quick way to add flair to your table. The ones I use are from Ikea and cost $3. I also have them in black and silver.  

3. Menu

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Cocktails

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Appetizers

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Main Course

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Dessert

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What are your favorite Comfort Foods? Let me know in the comments below or on my Facebook page. I'd love to add to my Comfort Foods menu.

Restaurant Review: G by Mike Isabella

My life is crammed with decision-making situations so when other people want to make decisions for me, I am happy to let them. I was thrilled last week when our friend Eric asked if we wanted to go to dinner with him and his amazing wife, Colleen (yes!). We could begin the night with a drink at their place? Of course! He'd made reservations at G by Mike Isabella.

Excellent!!

The sandwich shop on upper 14th St., NW transforms into a comfy-casual trattoria on Wednesday through Sunday nights that serves a weekly-changing, four-course Italian tasting menu that does all the work for you. With few options but all of them outstanding, dinner at G was the lazy cherry on my takin'-it-easy cake.

I haven't gotten to enjoy Mr. Top Chef's food since he was executive chef at Zaytinya, so I was looking forward to G, which has been open since the summer of 2013. There's a laid-back sense when you walk into the small dining room: low lights, wooden booths and a food mural reminiscent of the parading snack-bar food advertisement they used to show at drive-ins. There was nothing laid back about the staff -- only two guys seemed to be working the full room on a busy Saturday night and they were personable, knowledgable and there when we needed them.

The only decision we had to make that had a myriad of options came at the beginning of the meal -- we were handed the drink book. We flipped through wines, beers, cocktails as well as cocktails from Kapnos next door, Mike Isabella's upscale Greek restaurant. As often happens with a practiced decision maker like myself, my choice won. The rum-and-green-tea Wandering Gypsy looked like a Christmas ornament, heaped with glittering ice in a gleaming mint julep cup.

Our exhaustion over our drink choices was balanced by the complete lack of choices we had to make for the antipasti platter. Pre-selected for us was an incredible platter of veggies and meats and fried morsels -- cauliflower balls that tasted reminiscent of Fruit Loops in a romesco sauce, proscuitto, buffalo mozzarella, frittata, pea bruschetta. 

If only all the decisions we were forced into were this delicious.

The primi and secondi courses offered two selections for each. For the primi, we chose between the zucchini-and-mint pasta or the lamb ragu. Both were rich and interesting. The secondi course offered a roasted striped bass with grilled grapes or pork crepinette, which were like sausage chunks without the casing. I really wish I could name a favorite, but each dish had its own distinct flavor and sensibility. The only way you wouldn't like it is if you inherently disliked one of the primary ingredients.

(Left) Roasted striped bass; (right) Pork crépinette

Dessert offered three options -- gasp! -- but the real treat was the cost. The tasting menu is always $40, excluding drinks, taxes and gratuity. Don't go for broke with the cocktails like we did, and two of you could get out of there for right around $100.

Take it easy and place yourself in Mike Isabella's competent hands. You won't be disappointed. 

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G by Mike Isabella

2201 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

The four-course Italian tasting menu changes weekly. Check online for that week's options.

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Dogwood Tavern: Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Whoever wrote that Cheers song was a sociological genius: “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” And it’s true. Sometimes you want to get out of the house and go to a place where you know you will be greeted warmly. But in the D.C.- area, with high-end prices and even higher-end attitudes from serving staff and bartenders, it’s not always easy to find.

That’s why we were struck when the first time we went to Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church, the bartender asked our names. Gave us his as he leaned over the long wooden bar to shake our hands. And then remembered our names for subsequent visits! One female bartender almost got me in trouble. I went in with my husband and she smiled genuinely at me and said, “We haven’t seen you in awhile.” My husband raised an eyebrow and wondered how often was I frequenting the local tavern without him.

Once a month for lunch! I’d order tea!

Photo from Dogwood Tavern website

That’s the thing about Dogwood, aptly named a tavern with its brick walls, large fireplace and beautiful wood-beam ceiling. Regardless whether you’re there for a Saturday night free-for-all or a Tuesday salad and tea, they make you feel welcome. They make you feel at home.

“We live in the community; our customers are part of us,” said Paul Taylor, beverage director for Vintage Restaurant Group, which owns Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church, Rhodeside Grill in Clarendon and two other Arlington neighborhood bars. “We want to give good meals, good drinks and make people happy. That’s something we can really excel at where sometimes other people fail.”

I called Paul to ask him what his organization emphasized in making a great neighborhood bar. Getting to know their customers is one thing. So bartenders will always ask your name; go in, you can test it.

Click to see menu

They also work hard to provide something that will appeal to all of their potential customers. Falls Church is a land of working singles, families and higher-end wage earners; Dogwood offers bands on the weekend and sports viewing on big screen TVs for the young, large and comfy indoor and outdoor dining spaces for families, and a great selection of craft beers, cocktails made with small batch ingredients, and interesting daily meal specials to appeal to those looking for a higher-end experience.

“We’ve definitely strived to create a place where we want to go eat and drink,” Paul said. “We love that our employees will stick around after a shift and have a beverage; they’ve worked really hard to create a welcoming environment so why not stick around to enjoy it. At the end of the day, the customers become family.”

For a long time, we were just once-every-two-to-three-weeks customers. But we were made to feel like family. We’re rabid University of Kansas basketball fans, and the bartenders would always chat us up about that season’s potential. We were even bigger fans of an appetizer called Potatoskinadilla (Potato. Skin. Adilla. All the deliciousness of a potato skin – the bacon, chives, sour cream, soft bits of potato – stuck in a cheesy quesadilla and grilled to a crisp char on the outside. Yum). We bemoaned its demise when they took it off the menu, but whenever it’s a special, the bartenders bring it to our attention.

With the opening of a rooftop outdoor bar this spring, we became once-a-week regulars, grabbing a drink on a happy hour Friday or a lazy Sunday afternoon. That’s when we got to know the bartenders: Rachel, Drew, Mike, Cassandra. If anything speaks to the embrace Dogwood provides, it’s the fact the many of these bartenders have been here since its opening in 2008. Restaurants have an incredibly high turnover rate of 62 percent, but Dogwood has created a place where both staff and customers want to stay.

"There are a lot of places around that you can go to for a meal or a drink," Paul said. "When there’s that many choices, you need to have a level of service that goes above and beyond. That’s sort of our mission."

Mission accomplished. Thanks for giving us a place where everyone knows our names.

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Dogwood Tavern

132 West Broad St., Falls Church, VA 22046

In-Between Tip: On Monday, Sept. 8, Dogwood is inviting its customers to enjoy a whiskey event with Catoctin Creek Distillery, a Virginia whiskey-maker from Loudon County's Purcellville. Paul said he was particularly excited about the Peanut Old Fashioned they will have available. "What's more Virginia than Virginia peanuts and Virginia honey?"

To check out some beautiful drinks I've enjoyed at Dogwood Tavern, check out my Instagram feed or my Pinterest page.