Jack Quinn’s Reborn – as Molly Malone’s

I’ve mentioned before the resurgence of classiness that seems to be happening in downtown/Over-The-Rhine. But I’ve neglected Covington.

We’ve always had Mainstrasse, with wonderful places like Zola’s, Dee Felice, and my favorite, Chez Nora. Down in the courthouse area, at the foot of the Roebling Suspension Bridge, we used to have Scalea’s and several other bars and restaurants, including Jack Quinn’s. When Newport on the Levee opened, it seemed to be the death knell for the Covington courthouse area though. Scalea’s closed, other places opened and folded, and after a long fight, Jack Quinn’s finally closed.

I always liked Jack Quinn’s. If I ordered a Bloody Cider, they generally knew what I meant. (It’s hard cider with a shot of black currant – I learned about in in London.) I’ve had birthdays there, business holiday parties, and even attended wedding receptions on their upper floor.  So I was sad to see Jack Quinn’s go. Admittedly, I always blamed chain restaurant Claddagh at Newport for Jack Quinn’s demise.

I was thrilled to read that Louisville’s Molly Malone’s has purchased the location, which is, of course, ready-made to be an Irish pub. Molly Malone’s has survived in downtown Louisville for 10 years, and the empty Jack Quinn’s location seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand. The bar will re-open on August 14 with its new identity.

Molly Malone’s of Covington will be operated by Donal Ryan, Tadgh
O’Callaghan and long-time Molly’s bartender, Paul Shanley. All
originally from Ireland, Shannon will serve as the general manager of
the new location at 112 E. Fourth St.

From the Louisville web site, it seems that Molly Malone’s is pretty involved in community events, as well as hosting World Cup and St Patty’s day events.

With the addition of Molly Malone’s, the courthouse area has really come full circle. In case you didn’t know, that’s where you can find Jean-Robert de Cavel’s two restaurants Pho Paris and the Greenup Cafe. It sounds like the owners of Mt Adams Pavilion are also opening a restaurant – casual American fare – in the corner location that used to be Donna’s.

There’s another restaurant down there too, and I can’t remember the name. We wandered out of a several hour wine tasting at Pho Paris one afternoon, really wanting beer and cheeseburger. We hooked a left and there was a bit of a dive that had decent beer on tap and incredible cheeseburgers. I recommend the place – I just can’t remember the name.

All in all, the courthouse area in Covington is catching up with Over the Rhine and Mainstrasse.

Slainte!

*bridge photo courtesy of our favorite CincyImages.com

Bourbon Country

I can’t tell you much about our recent trip to the distilleries here in Kentucky, as it’s going into print. But I can direct you to the photos. My favorites are of the Bed & Breakfast and their dog Gabe. We were also able to attend the Opening Night Gala of the Stephen Foster Story, a musical on the grounds of My Old Kentucky Home that is heading into its 49th season.
Enjoy!

A Few Days In France: Part 1

Our friend Jay Erisman, whom you’ll often find instructing wine and spirits classes at The Party Source, recently took a trip to French Wine Country. This is the first of a multi-part (I’m not sure how many parts) series he’s put together for us on his trip. Today, enjoy his adventures in Cognac!
– Michelle

I departed for France on Sunday, March 18. Direct flights like the one I had from Cincinnati to Paris are overnight, so I arrived in Paris at 8:30 am. The plan was to go straight to Cognac — no rainy Parisian afternoons spent adjusting to jet lag, oh no, it was straight for the stills on this trip. I took a TGV (train grande vitesse, one of which recently set the world record for fastest train on rails) to Angoulème, and then a smaller and slower train to Cognac. These trains run like fine clockwork, with no waiting on the tarmac or departing the gate just to say we did whatsoever.

It was at the Cognac train station—not Charles de Gaulle airport, or the pigeon-ridden Montparnasse station—that I had the first of many pinch-yourself-I-am-in-France moments. It was a rather lonely and completely quiet reception as yet another stranger rolled into town. I thought I saw a tumbleweed roll by.

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… Three Tequila, Floor

With the increase in advertising, even my Tivo-filtered brain has seen a few TV ads. So I decided to see if there was good reason for the additional cost with the premium level of Tequilas. With the help of Michelle, I went for a blind tasting of 5 premium silver tequilas with 1 well-level tossed in to see if it would be noticeable.

Silver is the entry level in Premium tequilas. Silver usually has a slightly more alcohol taste and a lot of roughness around the edges. The trade-off is the increased level of fruit in the flavor. The second level is gold, and the top tier is Reposado. The flavor is smoother, but the fruit becomes lighter and more integrated into the overall flavor.

Here is what I tried, in order of preference after the blind tasting:

• Patrón
• 1800
• Corazón
• Milagro
• Don Julio
• Montezuma

Full notes after the jump.

- Kevin

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