The Flushing Meadows Highball and Others

Though I went to Chicago this past weekend to attend the Godzilla/Kaiju themed convention known as G-Fest XX, I tried to find some moments of peace where I could enjoy a nice cocktail or two. Since I was with my son, I didn’t indulge as much as I probably would have had I made the trip on my own. But I was able to find some time. For more information on day one of my trip, click on the link for my blogpost In Chicago and Illinois Part I from my other blog Observations and Rants of a Native New Yorker.

I didn’t wait to leave New York City before having my first cocktail. At the Delta Shuttle terminal there is a small bar that makes some interesting cocktails for the travelers. One of which that I ordered was the Flushing Meadows Highball. Named after the park, which hosted the 1939-1940 and 1964 World’s Fairs, Home to the U.S. Open for Tennis and the New York Mets, this cocktail was one that I expected to be sweet but was actually milder than I expected.

Here is what is in the cocktail:

Flushing Meadows Highball
Vodka
Cucumber
Mint
Lemon
Ginger Beer

I expected the Ginger Beer to give it a little sweet kick but found that the flavor of the mint and the cucumber overpowered the ginger beer. It was very smooth and mild. Just what I needed to take the slight edge off of flying.

As we were in flight, I was flipping through the Delta Sky Magazine that is provided on the plane, I found the recipe for an interesting cocktail known as The Pachamama. As you can see in the picture, the Pachamama was created at the MC Kitchen, which is located in Miami and according to the beverage director Marcus Wade:

The Pachamama is inspired by the Peruvian traditional corn beer called Chichi

Here is the recipe as listed in the magazine:

Cool down in style this summer with this Peruvian-inspired, sun-kissed cocktail courtesy of Miami’s buzzy MC Kitchen.

2 oz. Florida sweet corn kernels
1 large whole strawberry
Dash of oregano
2 oz. molle berry Aya
1 ½ oz. Pisco Capurro
1 ½ oz. Verjus soda

Combine and muddle the Florida sweet corn kernels, strawberry, oregano and molle berry Aya. Add Pisco Capurro and Verjus soda and shake with ice. Strain and serve.

This sounds like an amazing cocktail to try.

It wasn’t until dinner that I decided to have a second cocktail for the day. This time we went to the Pickwick Restaurant in Park Ridge, Illinois. Now the Pickwick Restaurant is an old school restaurant/diner that had very friendly service and is located right next to the Pickwick Theater. We were waiting for the Kaiju movie double feature to start and I noticed that they served cocktails. After looking at the prices, how could I say no to ordered something. I decided to order a Strawberry Margarita. Since they had to blend it, I didn’t feel like making the hostess/bartender work any more than she needed to, I instead changed my order to a regular Margarita. Now I felt as if I was at Dallas BBQ with the Margarita that was served to me in a goblet. And all for $4.95!!!!! It was a simple and basic margarita served nice and cold. It was the perfect drink to have before sitting through almost seven hours of movies.

The next post will highlight the two cocktails that I had at the hotel bar known as the Visibility Bar.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla