Obsession Tuesday...Rooty tooty Root Beer!

I must confess that I don't drink much in the way of soda.  I prefer sparkling water with a dash of this or that.  But I've always had a soft spot for Root Beer.  In the head to head battle of A&W vs Barqes vs Mug...Barqes wins hands down.  I mean people...it's got bite.  Plus how can you not enjoy a beverage with sassafras...just saying it makes me smile.

But in the death match of Barqes vs my new found obsession...bite or no bite, Barqes doesn't hold a candle to Fizzy Izzy.

I recently discovered this little gem through my local bar serving many a fine wine from Crown Valley Winery.  And who would of thunk it, but this little place also happens to brew one hell of a root beer.  Perhaps even more perplexing is the fact that they also have a tiger sanctuary on the premises called Crown Ridge which plays host to a Siberian/Bengal tiger mix named...you guessed it...Izzy.

Izzy was rescued from a carnival in Chicago when he was about 4 1/2 months old and now spends his days relaxing in his pool and devouring between 8 to 12 pounds of raw meat a day.  He's featured on the front of the bottle looking rather majestic as tigers are want to do.

And people...this root beer...I mean really...amahhhhzing! It's smooth and creamy with just enough herbaciousness to keep you coming back for more.  With the satisfying pop of the cap it's almost the exact perfect thing to crack open on a really hot summer day.  There are definite notes of vanilla, the tiniest hint of cinnamon, and if I had to go out on a limb I'd say there's honey lingering in there too.

I happened to drink about six of these puppies over the course of 48 hours and now am remise to say Fizzy Izzy is tres difficult to find in your local market.  But have no fear the good people at Crown Valley have made it easy to purchase online...here.  Try it...you can thank me later!

Kitchen Confensions

Bless me Julia for I have sinned;

I made Boeuf Bourguignon without separately braising the onions...or sauteing the mushrooms...and (depending on the penance for this one) I may also admit to adding a slurry instead of naturally reducing the liquid.

If the severity of this transgression is affected by taste, you should know that it was delicious.

Side note; you must have had some sense of humor because you recommend Chianti as the braising liquid, which I can only imagine made your French teachers squirm a bit.  So from this alone I'm inferring I may still make it into Foodie Heaven.

Additionally I've built a small shrine to you and your cohort Jacques Pepin in my kitchen. At the very least I'm banking on this knocking off a few years in purgatory.