The Blog

Bloody Mary Review: The Bonney Read, Asbury Park, NJ

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hi guys! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Alex and I drove down to the Jersey Shore on Saturday just to get a little break from the city. I know what you're thinking – GTL. But seriously, over the last few years, there are some awesome restaurants and bars that have popped up over there as well as some old favorites. I always love me a little Martell's Tiki Bar for their oversized fresh squeezed OJ + Grey Goose and Red's Lobster Pot for their spicy and tangy lobster fra diavolo in Point Pleasant. But on the way back to the city, after reading some fabulous reviews on this one particular Bloody Mary in Asbury Park, I obviously had to check it out. 

The good news: Asbury Park is even closer to get to from the city than Point Pleasant. And besides Porta Pizza, which may be worth a trip itself, the Asbury is a brand new swanky hotel with two rooftop bars, outdoor movies in the summer and a beautiful pool – perfect for a mini weekend getaway. You almost feel like you're in Miami rather than Jersey. (No offense to Jersey!) But I digress...The Bonney Read is located on the corner of Cookman Avenue on the main street and you can't possibly miss it. Even at 4:30 pm on a Sunday, it was bompin'! 

Onto the bloody – it was garnished with a snow crab leg, a jumbo shrimp, celery, a large Spanish olive, lemon...yes, I'm still going – a clam, and bacon! The bloody itself was served in a giant mug (really giant) and the rim was lined with Old Bay and topped with three ounces of your choice of vodka, gin, or tequila. I opted for vodka. One of my favorite people on Twitter commented and said, "It would appear that someone has mistaken your cocktail glass for the Admiral's Feast at Red Lobster." (@Flinndiesel) I got a good chuckle out of that!

But anyone can stack their bloodies high with garnishes to detract from a subpar Bloody Mary mix. Not this one. This bloody packed a punch. It was flavorful, had tons of fresh horseradish and black pepper, was the perfect amount of spicy so my ears burned a little, and I'm sure there were some secret spices incorporated that I'd love to get my paws on. When I finished the mini seafood tower, I wasn't disappointed to just be left with their bloody mix, which is often the case. 

I definitely recommend taking a break from the city and taking a mini adventure to the shore this summer! And don't forget the Bloody Mary at Bonney Read!

Cheers, guys!

M

Below are some more picts from the weekend!

The beach at Point Pleasant

At the Tiki Bar

Red's

The Re-Rack socks made an appearance this weekend! 

New Orleans and America's First Cocktail (With Recipe)

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Miriam Zelinsky

I just got back from an incredible trip to New Orleans. Believe it or not, it was my first time. I can't believe it took me this long to make it to the land of cocktails, Bloody Mary's and oysters – not to mention, jambalaya, crawfish and gumbo!! That list could go on and on. There's even a bar IN a carousel (!!!) that rotates slowly as the bartenders in the middle serve you drinks (!!!) and drive through daiquiri bars that serve you anything you want on the road just like a McDonalds or Wendy's – but booze! But lesson learned: beware of the strawberry daiquiris. They look pretty but are deadly! Needless to say, the trip was absolutely amazing.

We started the trip with a wedding in Houma and after, ended up taking New Orleans by storm – first stopping to do an amazing swamp tour. We had a limited amount of time on our trip so we definitely made sure we got to see as much of the historic bars/restaurants and sites as possible.

Another fun fact I learned while I was down south is that the Sazerac is believed to be the first cocktail invented in America. It's also the official cocktail of New Orleans. I obviously had to try it, right? We went to the Sazerac Bar at the landmark Roosevelt Hotel. I concluded after a sip that it was most definitely not my cup of tea, but I was glad I tried it. Also, the bar was gorgeous – dark, rich woods. I opted for an extra spicy Bloody Mary instead garnished with pickled okra. Delish!

Below is a recipe for the Sazerac. Below that is our thrilling encounter with one of the gators we saw on our swamp tour and our tour guide who proved he wasn't scared of anything! 

Cheers!

Miriam

What You'll Need: 

2.5 ounces of Rye Whiskey (or Cognac) – Sazerac Rye if you can find it works best!

1 Sugar cube

Absinthe

Lemon peel 

2 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters

1 Dash of Angostura Bitters

Chilled old fashioned glass

Ice

What To Do

1) In an old fashioned glass, take the sugar cube with a few drops of water and muddle it. Note: don't use a cocktail shaker for this recipe!

2) Combine the whiskey (or cognac) with the two types of bitters and stir well.

3) Take your chilled old fashioned glass and coat it with absinthe making sure there is no excess liquid.

4) Pour the whiskey and bitters into the chilled glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

Cheers, guys!

How to Tie a Bow Tie

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hi guys, 

Learning how to tie a bow tie really isn't that hard. Promise. It does take plenty of patience at the beginning until you get the hang of it.

When I first started LJP, I had to learn how to tie a bow tie for our displays and it took me a while. It's not like I was a dude who enjoyed wearing them all the time so it was definitely a daunting task at first. After looking at tons of videos and dizzying diagrams that looked like a cartoon cat getting in a fight with lines going in all different directions (Heathcliff, anyone?), I found Bill Nye the Science Guy's bow tie tying tutorial and it clicked.

Everyone remembers Bill Nye, right? He's cool. He taught us as kids all about science stuff and how the Earth was formed so he is definitely qualified to teach us how to tie a bow tie. 

Here's his video: 

Bill Nye – Tying a Bow Tie is Not Rocket Science

If this video didn't quite do it for you, then I have another option. For anyone who learned to tie their shoes with the bunny ears analogy, this video is for you. In it, a guy is teaching another guy how to tie a bow tie using animal analogies like elephants, parrots and fish. Check it out below.

How to Tie the Perfect Bow Tie: Lessons from a Men's Shop

So for all of the people out there who have always wanted to tie a bow tie, but didn't know how to tie one – this is for you. Happy tying!

If you're inspired to try a bow tie, I usually suggest the Mullet bow tie, which currently comes in blue and lavender. It's reversible with the plain woven silk in front, with our iconic party cup print in the back (business in the front, party in the back). There are so many options for how to wear it besides the plain side in front or cup side in front, but that's advanced bow tie tying for another day :)

Cheers, guys!

Miriam

Shop our collection of bow ties here.

Posted in bow tie, how to, tie

New Design: Looking for Treble

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Miriam Zelinsky

I'm always so excited when DHL delivers an abnormally large box to my apartment from Italy, especially when I know there's a new design inside.

I've been planning to do a music design for a long time but couldn't exactly what I wanted to do. Once I figured out what I wanted to do, the design came together quite quickly designs require draft after draft of digital CADs before we go into production, but Looking for Treble came together quite quickly and easily! Hope you guys like it as much as I do!

P.S. a big thank you to my college roomie, Melps for sitting on the phone with me brainstorming idea after idea for the name. How great is the name, by the way? Besides naming the tie, we had to come up with its tagline – probably one of the most fun aspects of the job! We (finally) decided on: "One time at band camp...but seriously, when the bass drops, you'll be looking sharp!" However, there were some other hysterical contenders that were deemed not appropriate. I present you the outtakes for the tagline of our Looking for Treble tie! 

1) You don't have to say home and beat your drum, toot your own horn and soon you'll be tickling the ivories or strumming that G-string!

2) A reminder that you and your lady will be making sweet music later.

3) Where is the G-string?

4) Feeling horny? (get it, because there's a horn on the tie!)

5) One time at band camp...

6) Slappin' the bass...

And just for posterity's sake – here's the clip from "I Love You Man" – make me laugh every time! 

Cheers, guys!

Miriam

Link to Billion Dollar Buyer Episode

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Miriam Zelinsky

I can't believe it's been a week since our episode of Billion Dollar Buyer aired! It's been so great to get all of the wonderful messages and emails from you guys – every single one is definitely appreciated! It's also been nice to finally have my friends stop asking what happened. I was getting tired of fielding questions, as my poker face isn't the best!

But in case you missed it, below is a link to the episode. Watch it here.

The Chick Magnet tie.