3 Cocktails for Your Valentine

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)

Valentine’s Day is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Actually, it’s more like just a hop away so if you haven’t made your plans yet, you better get on it! Restaurants tend to book up way early for this lover’s holiday so if you can’t get a reservation for the 14th, why not celebrate early or late? After all, true love doesn’t need a 3 Valentine's Day Cocktailsdedicated day (and all that other mush people say this time of year). If you’re more of the “stay at home” type couple, this post is for you. I’m trusting that you’ve got dinner on lock (and if you don’t, you better call M&D and either book a table or plan your to-go order!) so today, let’s focus on the cocktails.Continue Reading

Bitters: A Brief Lesson

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 recent years, the cocktail industry has really boomed. It’s all about house infused small batch liquors, fresh herbs, and gourmet bitters. The end result is a high quality amazing drink menu but sometimes it looks like it was written in a foreign language. Seriously! Even those who work within the restaurantBitters industry have to run a Google search every now and then. There is often a lot of question marks surrounding one specific ingredient; bitters. There are tons of different kinds and it’s incredible with just a few drops can do to the flavor of a cocktail (and actually how much they can help with an upset stomach) so I thought today, we could dive into the topic a little bit.Continue Reading

Andrew’s Boulevardier

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 you know, I’ve been hanging out in New York for the last few weeks. It’s gone by really quickly between wedding planning and traveling in and out of NYC and even down to Maryland at one point but I’m happy to report that I was able to spend some quality time with M&D’s manager and my dear friend Andrew earlier this week. Andrew is one of my favorite people to hang out with Boulevardierbecause he truly understands my love … okay my obsession … with all things gourmet. In fact, Andrew is the one who introduces me to a ton of new things in that realm, specifically on the cocktail side. He is a world-class bartender and my number one go-to when it comes to ideas for a new drink or how to properly make a classic. Anyway, it came as no surprise that I fell in love with the drink Andrew made for me during our catch up.Continue Reading

Midnight in Chiang Mai – One of the Best Cocktails in America

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)

 

Every year, Restaurant Hospitality Magazine selects the Best Cocktails in America. And this year, McKinney and Doyle made the list!

I am too excited writing this post. In fact, rather than try to put this intro into my own words, I am going to quote the source itself.Midnight in Chiang Mai

“Not only has America’s love for cocktails grown tremendously in recent years, so has the skill of those who prepare them. Restaurant Hospitality’s editorial staff selected 16 top cocktails prepared by mixologists around the country.”Continue Reading