Bloody Mary

The boss assigned Gina Stuardi this task: Make a Bloody Mary that's spicy - but don't use horseradish. That's akin to saying make me a pizza, but don't use cheese, dough or tomato sauce. "[The owner] hated horseradish, so I had to come up with something else," said Stuardi, who tends bar at Marabella's, 401 City Ave., in Bala Cynwyd. "I love mustard. So I tried it, and he liked it. " She used a Dijon variety, along with Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, A-1 steak sauce and fresh ground pepper.

I've temporarily suspended the usual ban on vodka in this space because, well, it's New Year's Day, and I'm hankering for a Bloody Mary. So, if I must choose a vodka - that transparent spirit which usually ranges from rubbing alcohol to perfectly invisible - I might as well reach for some Pennsylvanian liquor pride. Hey, I might as well choose one that even tastes like something! Boyd & Blair's potato vodka scores on both counts. Made just outside Pittsburgh, this spirit, unlike so many phony upscale vodkas (often purchased neutral grain alcohol dropped through a filter straight into a fancy bottle)

It's already a plate-your-own feast at the spectacular brunch served each Sunday at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, where the gastro-treats line tables that lead diners through the kitchen. So why not a build-your-own Bloody Mary station, too? The Lacroix folks have done it right, with a good choice of premium vodkas (Level One being the standard pour) to go with all the fixings. There are pitchers of freshly milled vine-ripened tomato juice (spicy or plain) and every seasoning and garnish imaginable, from Maldon sea salt to white soy sauce, multiple hot sauces and chile flakes, and tender jumbo shrimp.

Ryan Dorris set his bottle of Chimay on a round table in the open-air plaza, parked his ukulele by his knee, and soaked up the ambience. A little more than a year ago, the 27-year-old house painter from King of Prussia had walked through this same spot along Second Street south of Girard Avenue. "I had friends who lived nearby. This was just a tract of mud. " The transformation was hard to fathom. On a Jumbotron suspended from an apartment building, Dorris could see Jimmy Rollins, a flash of scarlet rounding the bases.

The fine voices in the first duet, "If I Could Make Believe," sung by Blanche Decker and Frank Dever, launched the first performance of the Lawncrest Musical Players' Best of Broadway Saturday night. Seen by nearly 100 people at Lawncrest Community Center at Comly and Rising Sun Avenue, it was the first of two produced by the Philadelphia Recreation Department. The final performance will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The colorfully attired cast of 18 singers and dancers made up a chorus whose members alternated as featured performers in scenes from A Chorus Line, Grease, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Phantom of the Opera, Showboat, Cabaret and Les Miserables.

House Spirits of Portland, Ore., has become an early leader in the American craft-distilling movement with stylish takes on familiar spirits - gin (Aviation) and whiskey (White Dog.) Two of their other products, though, which have been recently made available online in Pennsylvania, are more unusual. Distiller Christian Krogstad pays homage to his Norwegian heritage with one of America's only aquavits, a smooth-yet-unsweetened schnapps re-distilled from neutral spirit with caraway and star anise, so vivid, earthy and complex, it's like sipping on a licorice snowball.

OFFICIALLY, ANTHONY KIM pulled out of this week's PGA event in Las Vegas because he reaggravated a thumb injury. However, he's been seen partying and gambling in Sin City to the wee hours since last Friday. And, according to Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal , Kim's behavior has been far below par. "Pro golfer Anthony Kim could use a lesson or two to brush up his gaming table etiquette," Clarke wrote. "His salty language and screaming was so bad that Kim, 25, was asked to tone it down Monday by Bellagio management.

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is her first as an international superstar. And "Born This Way," unlike her more fluffy, see-what-sticks debut "The Fame," bears left field marks under its pop costume: Heavy use of religious metaphor and repeated mentions of Jesus by name; a hybrid of throwback Euro dance sounds with sweeping rock goddess melodies, à la Bonnie Tyler and Lita Ford; and queer-friendly self-affirmation anthems that range from celebratory to...

Robert Goulet can be Robert Goulet either all by himself or, when the occasion demands, across a crowded room. He is an impressively entertaining presence under any and all circumstances, as a solo act in concert or as one of the more conspicuous parts of a musical. At the Valley Forge Music Fair this week and next, audiences are encountering the singer in the company of the entire cast of a summer production of South Pacific. The middle-age baritone is playing the middle-age Emile de Becque, the widowed French planter who falls in love with the American nurse from Little Rock, Ensign Nellie Forbush.

House Spirits of Portland, Ore., has become an early leader in the American craft-distilling movement with stylish takes on familiar spirits - gin (Aviation) and whiskey (White Dog.) Two of their other products, though, which have been recently made available online in Pennsylvania, are more unusual. Distiller Christian Krogstad pays homage to his Norwegian heritage with one of America's only aquavits, a smooth-yet-unsweetened schnapps re-distilled from neutral spirit with caraway and star anise, so vivid, earthy and complex, it's like sipping on a licorice snowball.

I've temporarily suspended the usual ban on vodka in this space because, well, it's New Year's Day, and I'm hankering for a Bloody Mary. So, if I must choose a vodka - that transparent spirit which usually ranges from rubbing alcohol to perfectly invisible - I might as well reach for some Pennsylvanian liquor pride. Hey, I might as well choose one that even tastes like something! Boyd & Blair's potato vodka scores on both counts. Made just outside Pittsburgh, this spirit, unlike so many phony upscale vodkas (often purchased neutral grain alcohol dropped through a filter straight into a fancy bottle)

Lincoln Center's reboot of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific has at least one thing in common with Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's version: its Emile de Becque. William Michals understudied Paulo Szot on Broadway as the French planter and suitor to cockeyed optimist Ensign Nellie Forbush (Marnie Schulenburg), logging significant stage time in the role. It shows. Michals' roof-raising bass-baritone swells big enough in such lovestruck classics as "Some Enchanted Evening" to make you wish for a theater with the size and acoustics to give him the showcase he deserves.

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is her first as an international superstar. And "Born This Way," unlike her more fluffy, see-what-sticks debut "The Fame," bears left field marks under its pop costume: Heavy use of religious metaphor and repeated mentions of Jesus by name; a hybrid of throwback Euro dance sounds with sweeping rock goddess melodies, à la Bonnie Tyler and Lita Ford; and queer-friendly self-affirmation anthems that range from celebratory to...

OFFICIALLY, ANTHONY KIM pulled out of this week's PGA event in Las Vegas because he reaggravated a thumb injury. However, he's been seen partying and gambling in Sin City to the wee hours since last Friday. And, according to Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal , Kim's behavior has been far below par. "Pro golfer Anthony Kim could use a lesson or two to brush up his gaming table etiquette," Clarke wrote. "His salty language and screaming was so bad that Kim, 25, was asked to tone it down Monday by Bellagio management.

Ryan Dorris set his bottle of Chimay on a round table in the open-air plaza, parked his ukulele by his knee, and soaked up the ambience. A little more than a year ago, the 27-year-old house painter from King of Prussia had walked through this same spot along Second Street south of Girard Avenue. "I had friends who lived nearby. This was just a tract of mud. " The transformation was hard to fathom. On a Jumbotron suspended from an apartment building, Dorris could see Jimmy Rollins, a flash of scarlet rounding the bases.

TRYING to crowbar your way into journalism isn't easy. Interning at Philadelphia Weekly in the summer of '07, I spent most of my time fact-checking articles written by others, a chore that seemed to annoy both subjects and authors. But if you're lucky, an editor who sees something worth cultivating will take you under his wing. For me, that was Steven Wells, who died on June 24. "Swells" was a legend. After moving to the U.S. from England, he quickly attracted attention for his work at the Weekly.

Margaritas are so so típico for Cinco de Mayo. That's why, instead, I'm going to be giving my brew a spicy blush of Mexican pride with this "Michelada" - a traditional quencher that means "My Frozen Beer. " Think of it as a Bloody Mary souped-up with cerveza instead of vodka, plus a serious south-of-the-border kick. Recipes vary widely, but this is the one, from general manager Sergio Ruiz at Xochitl (408 S. 2nd St., 215- 238-7280), that got me hooked:   Michelada Place the first seven ingredients into a blender and process for one minute or until smooth.

The boss assigned Gina Stuardi this task: Make a Bloody Mary that's spicy - but don't use horseradish. That's akin to saying make me a pizza, but don't use cheese, dough or tomato sauce. "[The owner] hated horseradish, so I had to come up with something else," said Stuardi, who tends bar at Marabella's, 401 City Ave., in Bala Cynwyd. "I love mustard. So I tried it, and he liked it. " She used a Dijon variety, along with Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, A-1 steak sauce and fresh ground pepper.