141 Posts Later...

2008 was our most active year ever on Menu In Progress. Ok, that's mostly because it was the first full year of the blog, but still, it was quite a year.

Last January, we headed down to Mexico for a fantastic couple of months.



We spent about half of our time in Mexico City, a crazy sprawling metropolis that we have come to love. Pictured above are the canals at Xochimilco, the salsa tray that accompanies Tacos al Pastor at El Tizoncito, Ceviche de Pulpo at Salón Corona, and "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" by Diego Rivera.

From Mexico City, we traveled to Oaxaca where we spent a few weeks.



Queso Fresco at the Etla market, the characteristic stall-front of a Oaxacan carneceria, toasting pumpkin seeds to make Pipían at Susana Trilling's Seasons Of My Heart cooking school, and one of the near-constant celebrations in the streets of the city of Oaxaca.

We also traveled to both coasts - west to Puerto Escondido, and east to Veracruz.



Living la vida tranquila in Puerto Escondido, coral walls at 16th century fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, a breakfast of Huevos Cubanos, and drinking Café Lechero at the Gran Café de la Parroquia.

Our second big trip of last year was a road trip from the west coast out to the east coast and back.



We ate well in Louisiana. A bucket-full of crawfish at Don's Seafood Hut in Lafayette, the Oyster Po'Boy at Acme Oyster House, a fantastic demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking, and late-night eats at places like the Clover Grill.

Barbecue was a big theme on the trip.



We had the best brisket of our lives at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, Memphis ribs to die for at the Bar-B-Q Shop, and both Eastern (Allen & Son in Chapel Hill) and Western (Barbecue Center in Lexington) North Carolina barbecue.



And we had plenty of other local specialties along the way, such as the aptly-named Hot Chicken at Prince's in Nashville, Chori-Migas at Habanero in Austin, our first breakfast at Waffle House (in Lexington, Kentucky), and the Green Chile Breakfast Burrito at Frontier in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We didn't neglect the beverage side of the equation, either.



We reveled in the local beer scene in Asheville, North Carolina, and made the pilgrimage along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, with stops at Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses and Maker's Mark.

Inspired by the awesome barbecue we had on the road trip, we bought a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker when we got back home.



So far, it has produced a cornucopia of tasty treats like Andouille Sausage, Homemade Bacon, and of course the requisite Smoked Ribs and Pulled Pork. We've only scratched the surface of what this little guy is capable of, and we're looking forward to more smokey goodness.

All in all, a very flavorful year indeed. Bring on the next course, please!

Jim Beam, Hot Brown, Liquor World

Our final distillery visit was a quick stop at Jim Beam - the largest producer of bourbon. Nice setting, with some fun exhibits like the above statue of Booker Noe and this fire truck:



The tasting was very pleasant as well. They were pouring two of their premium whiskeys: Booker's and Basil Hayden's. We enjoyed both, but preferred the Basil.

While bourbon was our focus in Kentucky, we did manage to try some local chow as well. What qualifies as local chow? A Kentucky Hot Brown, of course:



This version is courtesy of Mammy's Kitchen, a restaurant on the main drag in Bardstown. Substantial hunks of smoked turkey and thin slices of nice, salty ham sat on top of two thick slices of toast, completely smothered in a rich, cheesy, Mornay sauce. The turkey was very good quality with a great smoky flavor. Not something we would order every day, but pretty darn good comfort food.



Also in Bardstown, and not to be missed, is Liquor World - a small liquor store that just happens to have the most jaw-dropping crazy huge selection of whiskey I've ever seen in my life.

Jim Beam Distillery
149 Happy Hollow Rd.
Shepherdsville, Kentucky
(502) 543-9877

Mammy's Kitchen
114 N 3rd St.
Bardstown, Kentucky
(502) 350-1097‎

Liquor World
93 N Salem Dr #C
Bardstown, Kentucky
(502) 349-7560‎

Maker's Mark and Four Roses

Our visit to bourbon country continued with Maker's Mark Distillery. Like Woodford Reserve, they also do a tour of their production facilities (the tour at Maker's is free, though).



If you've seen one distillery, you've pretty much seen them all, but we still enjoyed the tour.



One thing unique to the tour at Maker's was the dipping area where they add the signature red wax coating to each bottle of whisky (note the spelling - Maker's is the only American brand that uses the Scottish "whisky", rather than the Irish "whiskey").



And, of course, the tour ends with a tasting. It was more interesting here than at Woodford Reserve since they let you taste the unaged spirit ("white dog") as well as the finished product.



We also stopped in at Four Roses Distillery.



Although they were not doing tours (they shut down production during the summer), it was probably our favorite of the distilleries we visited. They gave a very interesting description of their bourbon-making process. They distill ten different "flavors" of bourbon - combinations of two grain bills with five strains of yeast - that are then blended in various ways to produce their various offerings.

We tried three of their whiskeys - Yellow Label (their primary brand), Small Batch, and Single Barrel. The Small Batch was our favorite - more complex than the Yellow Label, and more mellow than the Single Barrel. Good stuff.

Maker's Mark Distillery
3350 Burk Spring Rd.
Loretto, Kentucky
(270) 865-2881‎

Four Roses Distillery
1224 Bonds Mill Rd.
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
(502) 839-3436‎

Woodford Reserve Distillery

The first stop on our Kentucky Bourbon tour was Woodford Reserve Distillery. It is located in a beautiful setting amid the sweeping green fields of Thoroughbred farms. We took a very nice tour (5$) of the facility that goes through all of the phases of the operation.

The massive fermentation tubs boiling with yeast activity are fascinating to watch.



They do a three-stage distillation using copper stills brought over from Scotland.



It is hard to beat the atmosphere of a whiskey warehouse, with barrels of aging spirit stacked from floor to ceiling.



Here is Sherry getting a pour straight out of a barrel. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to smell and not taste (some song and dance about "health regulations").



Watching bottling machines is mesmerizing...



And let's not forget the tasting part of the tour. This was the first time we'd had Woodford Reserve. The taste is difficult to characterize, but if I had to describe it I would say that it had notes of toffee, roasted nuts, delicate butterscotch, vanilla, peach and aromatic spices...

Woodford Reserve Distillery
7855 Mccracken Pike
Versailles, Kentucky
(859) 879-1812‎