12-Step Guide to the Perfect Bloody Mary

The Cocktail Contessa strikes again...finally. While the origins of the cocktail might be unclear (the French seem to have taken a decent idea and spiced it up to the greatness it is today) the deliciousness factor is definitely not. Three cheers for the perfect Bloody Mary concoction!

As your Cocktail Contessa, I feel that the time has arrived for me to up my number contributions to the Nairobi Nightlife Guru’s blog from one to two.

Anyone who lives in Nairobi knows it’s nearly impossible to find a decent mixed cocktail beyond your basic gin and tonic – and even those can be questionable. I’m banned from most of my friend’s kitchens for safety reasons – but I’m always the go-to for Bloody Mary’s. DO YOU DOUBT ME? Don’t doubt me.

Without further adieu, I give you the 12-Step Expat Guide to Bloody Mary’s.

Desta Ethiopian

Guest blogger, Rachel B, provides Dallas readers with an authentic African dinner option. I guess this obsession with  Ethiopian food runs in the family. I'm loving how Dallas has managed to turn Ethiopian cuisine into something minimalist, modern, and of course, a bit hoity toity (see picture below). Read on for Rachel's take on Dallas' version of African fare. 

Anvil Pub

Former expat, queen of snark, and determined vegetarian, Rachel B., recently returned to the motherland, Dallas, Texas, where she shares her initial impressions of the new bar and eatery on the scene, Anvil Pub.  

For those of you not intimately familiar with Dallas' foodie scene, it's like this: shopping and eating are king in this town and new restaurants, bars, and clubs open and close at an astounding speed as the locals rave and then, 30 minutes later, find a new hotspot to frequent until they once again grow bored. Entrepreneurial restauranteurs must seek the happy medium of becoming the neighborhood hang out as well wooing hipsters to a trendy new locale. It's a status seldom achieved and many promising and delicious start ups fall by the wayside in a sad collection of once celebrated venues now forgotten. Read on as Rachel details her experience and pronounces Anvil a temporary success:

Nairobi Nightlife Needs You!

If you like to eat, drink, and be merry and want to tell the world what you liked or didn't like about a particular restaurant/bar/club or you just want to promote your favorite little hole in the wall, now could be your chance.  Your Nairobi Nightlife Guru, as one friend nicknamed me, is looking for people interested in either writing a one time review or someone who would like to join the foodie clan as a regular contributor.  As much as I enjoy going out it would be next to impossible for me to individually review every single venue Nairobi has to offer and I'm sure that my readers would love perspectives and endorsements from people other than just little old me.

There's no compensation involved, just fun times surrounded by (hopefully) good food. Reviewed locations don't have to be in Nairobi since the blog also includes a travel section.  So get eating and feel free to submit reviews on places you think readers would like to visit in your town or highlight the must-go place you seek out every time you visit a certain city. 

If you like to write and this sounds like something you'd like to partake in, email me at nairobinightlife(at)gmail(dot)com.  Please include your name, a small background on yourself so we can introduce you to our readers, and your review.  There are no rules dictating the content of the submissions, but they must include the name and location of the venue and a general idea of the price range.  Attach related photos (make sure you have permission to post them) along with credits.

Disclaimers: Guest posts become the property of Nairobi Nightlife blog.  We will always credit you as the author and source of the post with your name and links to your blog, Twitter, etc. as directed, but if your review is posted on the blog it becomes ours to reproduce elsewhere.  We also reserve the right to edit, revise, or simply not post as we see fit.  Posts can't have been published/posted elsewhere.

La Salumeria

Fellow foodie, frequent dining companion, and drinking buddy, Cocktail Contessa, writes about one of our favorite (and conveniently located) Italian joints in Nairobi: 

One of my favorite culinary discoveries since first arriving in Nairobi two months ago has been a little Italian joint by the name of Salumeria, located dangerously close to my flat on Gitanga Rd. It's dim candlelit atmosphere and inside/outside seating options offers the perfect environment for both casual indulgence and/or emotional overeating, depending on your state of mind. Start off with a litre/half litre carafe of the house red (again, depending on your emotional state of mind) while gorging yourself on the bread basket, which comes with an assortment of slightly undercooked and slightly overcooked options. According to our Nairobi Nightlife Guru, Micah, "The squishy bread is the best, the hard bread sucks. It's like a rock." I have to agree, although I was forced to consume large quantities of the hard stuff due to Micah's aggressive nature when it comes to bread baskets. Drowning it in oil helps.