Bar Updates

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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

Glassware Basics

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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)

When I was working behind the bar, both at M&D and at various other restaurants, I used to get a ton of questions about which glasses were used for which drinks. What’s a highball glass compared to a rocks glass? types of glassesWhat’s the difference between a martini glass and an old fashioned glass? Why are champagne flutes shaped differently than standard wine glasses? Whether you’ve asked these questions out loud or not, I’m willing to bet you’ve thought about them. Either way, I’m going to answer those questions today, right now, in this post.

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Product Feature: Barr Hill Gin

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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)

As I’m sitting here, on a Monday, wishing the weekend had just one extra day or so, I am already

Photo from Caledonia Spirits site

thinking about happy hour. It’s super hot here and a refreshing gin and tonic sounds just perfect right now. But here’s the thing, my experience behind the bar at M&D (as many years ago as that

may be now), made me a total cocktail snob. I don’t want just ANY gin and tonic. I’m picky about my gin and I’m picky about my tonic. Tonic is a topic for another today but TODAY, I want to talk to you about my favorite gin – Barr Hill. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Todd Hardie, the man behind the gin. His story was so unique and interesting. Today, I want to share with you all that same story but in his own words. Continue Reading

by Leave a Comment

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)

Anthony Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, an amazing author, a travel documentarian and a popular television personality. He was (and still is) considered one of the most influential chefs in the world. As most of you probably know, he tragically ended his life just last week and his death is mourned by all different types of people from all over the world. And it’s not just because of his titles, his books or his TV shows. We mourn this loss because of everything that Anthony Bourdain taught us and everything that he stood for. 

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