Speakeasies – Travels with Melinda

What could be better than spending quality time with my lovely daughter Hannah exploring Boise’s best bars and sipping tasty cocktails? Maybe adding in some tasty nibbles along the way so that we can sample more spirits? Having Thom as our designated driver? What a perfect afternoon!

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Hannah knows her momma well and surprised me with a thoughtful birthday present that we could enjoy together. After your kids grow up and leave the nest, you quickly find out that any time you are able to be together is precious and to be savored like a fine wine or aged whiskey. Luckily, she gets me and gave me not only time with her but tasty hooch. LOVE. THIS. GIRL

Her birthday card made me cry and I am not a crier like Thom-just saying. “You are the absolute best mom and Nai Nai!” Nothing beats that. Ever. I’m going to laminate this card and pull it out every time I’m having a challenging day. “Let’s go scout some bars & restaurants so you can have some new fave places when you live here full time.” She wants to spend time with her momma? Be still my heart. I’m not sure when we’ll be able to make that dream of living in Boise full time real but I’m working on it.

So, off we went this past week on the Boise Booze + Bites Happy Hour Tour hosted by Indulge Boise Food Tours. I like their tag line, “Eat Well. Indulge Often.” Okay, I can embrace that wisdom. Our friendly tour guide, Lauren, told us about their company which started in 2016 when the owner decided to get off the corporate track working for the WNBA and settled back in her hometown of Boise. Thom and I have taken advantage of walking tours and cooking classes all over the world in our travels. Not only do you meet cool people but you learn stuff too. We like them.

On this tour, I learned all about my daughter’s first drinking escapade (at a much younger age than previously disclosed), her favorite booze (beer-New Belgium Rogue) and her favorite food (Thai or sushi). Lauren prompted discussion at every venue we visited with probing conversation-starting questions. Even with family members, this can be fun and eye opening. Hannah’s choice of the one place she would live if she could? DC. She spent a summer interning for Congressman Minnick while she was in college and it was political heaven for her even with multiple roommates (including cockroaches). Me-NYC. No place like it in the world. Fav meal and drink for me? I would choose a Caprese Salad with a nice Cab.

We explored new places like Flatbread Neapolitan Pizza tucked away on the second floor in an office building overlooking the downtown core. I would probably never have gone to this place but the flatbread, washed down with a tart Raspberry Lemon Drop, was delicious so we’ll be back. Hannah’s drinks during our tour had a summer garden theme either by accident or design: Sage Cucumber at Flatbread and Lemongrass Sage with a Lemongrass straw at Press & Pony.

Mai Tai’s house cocktail, Mai Thai Old Way with dark rum, rhum agricole, dry curacao, orgeat, fresh line and mint, was a refreshing way to wash down some veggie spring rolls. The atmosphere here is beautiful with overhead glass sculptures and water features. Lauren said their Happy Hour is legendary and embraced by Boise locals. I’ve had lunch there before but was impressed with their Happy Hour cocktail list, which I hope to sample in the future.

Now, I have started my own “Best of Boise Old Fashioned” contest to justify my tasting of the classic cocktail wherever we go. So, I sampled The Mode and Press & Pony on this tour. No contest. Press & Pony, an intimate speakeasy with serious bartenders, won by a large margin. The Mode’s Old Fashioned was okay but lacked the nuances of the one at Press & Pony. There, Eric took my challenge seriously and laid down a cocktail I could enjoy with my Boise Fry Co. veggie burger (black bean and quinoa) and red potato fries.

Indulge Boise offer several types of tours: Historic Downtown Boise Food & Cultural Tour, Capital City Sunday Brunch and private tours. Check them out here if you are visiting Boise or are a local who just wants to have fun. Cheers!

“Go to the far side of the room. Pick up the phone and identify yourself. We will come and get you at the metal door.” Thus, our speakeasy adventure in Seattle began on a hot Friday night.

Interesting that speakeasies are, by nature, supposed to be secret and exclusive but they are trending all over social media these days. Our first stop, Needle and Thread, was recommended by several people at work, so off we went for a taste test. Reading up on the speakeasy protocol, I learned that you can call in advance to secure a RSVP in this very small (probably 20 people max) prohibition-style experience. Just calling to get the RSVP was fun-you leave a message (no more than 7 days in advance) after hearing the strict rules–if you are lucky enough to get a call back, you better actually PICK UP THE CALL to talk to the host or you won’t get in. Done.

Promptly at 5 p.m. when the parent bar, Tavern Hall, opened, we were at the phone calling upstairs to gain entrance to the speakeasy, Needle and Thread. Dress code: “Keep it classy”. Not sure what their definition of “classy” is but Thom was rocking his porkpie hat and looking very hipster. When our friends arrived after fighting the horrible Friday Seattle gridlock, our drink master interviewed us on our cocktail/alcohol preferences as there is no menu and they warn you in advance not to expect an appletini to be made in their establishment. There ARE speakeasy standards after all and only custom cocktails served, thank you very much. Prepping for our trip to Ireland in the fall, I’m leaning into whiskey to be better equipped to take on the true Irish experience. Our host got it right, creating for me an iced cocktail created with Irish Bushmills whiskey, orange liqueur, cherry herring and lime juice. Tart and sweet and very refreshing on a hot day in a bar where ceiling fans provided the only air conditioning. We drank up, chatted politics and then headed down Pike St. to our next speakeasy experience.

After wandering the block looking for Foreign National, I spied an unique door tucked away between other restaurants-found it! Through the layers of beads and velvet curtains, we quickly hopped into a communal booth with strangers as the space is limited and in high demand. While we sat and enjoyed our cocktail creations, other bar patrons streamed in looking in vain for seats in this trendy bar. I went for the Foreign National house cocktail made up of pisco, Amaro Montenegro, honey, sour orange served with an egg white frost on top. Petite and delicious. Our friends had the complex cocktail named Osaka #1 consisting of Suntory Toki whiskey, vermouth blanc, lemon, yuxu, orgeat, ardbert spritz and anise smoke. WOW-I have not a clue what most of that stuff is but I got a taste of it and it was interesting to say the least.

I loved the speakeasy ambience with the small interesting spaces filled with people who value quality booze concoctions over quantity. I can’t wait to check out other speakeasies in Seattle (list below) and in NYC when we visit our favorite city in the fall. Cheers!