It’s Fall and Soup Season

Fall: The season New Englanders can’t stop talking about. It’s what we prepare for since the snow starts to melt. We will never stop talking about how we endured three months of humidity hell over the summer.

Our sweaters are fresh out of the storage bin, scarves wrapped around our necks. The line forms at every Dunks for pumpkin spice everything.

It’s time for leaf peeping and soup season, my favorite.

I like mine with lemons or olives.

Martini I Can’t Stop Thinking About:

La Padrona’s The Vesper.

Located in the upscale Raffles Hotel in Back Bay, this restaurant has been on Boston’s best list (and on mine to try) since it opened, and an out of town friend visiting was a great excuse to try it for ourselves.

The restaurant was bustling for a Tuesday night, so I can only imagine the scarcity of reservations on a weekend.

We snagged two seats at the bar, which turned out to be perfect, as the bartenders were giving us tips on gins and vermouths to try once they heard the word “martini.”

I couldn’t resist trying something from their extensive martini menu. Based on my preference of something more dry, The Vesper was recommended as an alternative to my usual Bombay order.

Also, how chic is their martini logo?

When I asked what garnish they recommended, their response was simply “We believe you should have them all.”

The martini was perfectly balanced, the gin and vodka complementing one another.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the pickled carrots and pepperoncini with the martini, but the concept is unique.

Martini rating; 9/10

Garnish rating; 6/10. While I appreciate the creativity, different garnishes compliment certain gins, so I’d rather they picked just one that would have made the martini stand out.

Music I Can’t Stop Listening To:

Jazzwave

These young 20-somethings started Jazzwaves as a fun side project, adding elements of house to their love of jazz. Listen to “Obsessed in Oslo” and be transported to a hip lounge with housemade cocktails.

Gin (or Vodka) I am Having This Week:

Ketel One is the best vodka for your money, hands down. La Padrona uses it, and so should you.

Martini Icon of the Week:

Have you heard of Nick and Nora martini glasses? You probably seen them in places like Crate & Barrel when shopping in the glassware section. These famous glasses are named after the characters with the same names from the famous mystery crime series, The Thin Man that lasted from the early 30’s to the late 40’s.

It’s a classic, and you can always see them sipping martinis in these well known movie series while solving crimes.

Other musings

Who’s ready for Hallmark Christmas movies?! They start next week! So get those martinis ready, so you can root for the small town that tries to revive the Christmas gingerbread house contest that hasn’t been done in years because of an old rival between high school exes! Such gripping tv! But I’m so here for it.
Fall also I means it’s heated blanket season! Since we can’t agree on the thermostat temp, I can wrap myself around my heat source while drinking my martini. Win win! The one I use is here
Trader Joe’s Flowers are the best flowers for your buck. These are still going strong 2 weeks later!