Happy Thanksgiving!

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

On behalf of the entire McKinney & Doyle family, I just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a very happy thanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving. May your tables and bellies be full, your cocktails be chilled and your homes be warm on this beautiful, albeit frigid, Thanksgiving Day. Continue Reading

Food For Thought: A Cooking Challenge

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Tonight, I’m taking it way back to 2012, my senior year of college. I wanted to be a food writer/blogger. I was julie and juliaminoring in journalism and writing a food column for a local paper (thanks to my favorite professor for connecting me with his contacts). I loved it! I was able to sample menus before restaurants opened, eat for free (sometimes) and write my opinion in a column of my very own. I was thrilled to be 22 with a newspaper column – even if it was in a small local paper. Anyway, I wanted to do more so I approached my  father and asked him if I could write a monthly newsletter for his business. I could include updates and business stuff but I could also write in some family history and stories from the kitchen I grew up in at home. The newspaper column and my column in the newsletter both held the same title: Food For Thought.

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Bar Updates

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

In our November newsletter, I shared that the M&D bar has introduced some new spirits to the back bar. The mezcalscotch and agave sections of our cocktail menu have seen a lot more attention lately so Andrew added both a new mezcal and a new scotch to our lineup. He then sent over some tasting notes for me to share with you all and I have to say, I’m glad he did because I received a few questions about them and while I love mezcal,  I don’t know much about it and scotch … well let’s just say I had NO idea how to respond … until now. Rather than try and recreate the notes that Andrew sent me, I’m just going to share his words with you all. Continue Reading