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Category: Poole’s Diner

Poole’s | A Cocktail For Every Era

Turning Back The Clock

Although the season may be springing us ahead, at Poole’s Diner we’ve decided to go back in time. Regarding cocktails, that is. It’s always fun and exciting to craft new cocktails, but there’s something truly comforting in the classics… at least we think so.

Our new seasonal cocktail menu features drinks through the ages, from eras like the Prohibition Age, Disco Tec, and Tiki Age. There’s a story behind each cocktail, and we thought we’d give you a behind-the-scenes look at our selections:

Antibes, a town along the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice, was briefly the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the namesake of our first drink. This Prohibition Era drink with gin, Benedictine, and grapefruit juice, was said to be a drink that Fitzgerald served guests at this home, including Hemingway and Picasso.

The Vieux Carre was created by Walter Bergeron at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. His hotel was often the venue for the city’s annual Tales Of The Cocktail festival. This classic drink’s name translates to “Old Square” and references the hotel’s location within the French Quarter of the historic city.

Created by London bartender Dick Bradsell in the 1980's, Russian Spring Punch was a cocktail he created while trying to save money for a party he was hosting. This Disco Era cocktail is made up of of vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, creme de cassis, and sparkling wine; though Bradsell had his guests provide their own sparkling wine for the original version of the beverage.

The Americano, by Gaspare Campari, was originally named Milano-Torino to identify Campari and Sweet Vermouth and hails from the Pre-Prohibition Era. This cocktail gained its new name after Primo Carnera, an Italian boxer, became the first non-American to win the US heavyweight boxing championship.

Pimm’s Cup, another Pre-Prohibition Era cocktail, has become the official drink every year at Wimbledon. The most basic version of the cocktail is Pimm’s, a slice of cucumber and lemon-lime soda, however many decide to spice up the cocktail by adding seasonal fruits and different mixers.

The Pina Colada, from the Tiki Age, has several different variations, and several different origins. The earliest mention of the cocktail salutes a 19th century Puerto Rican pirate as the creator; who gave the drink to his men to lift their spirits. The modern Pina Colada is said to be the creation of a bartender at Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber, while the blended version of the drink was said to be the creation of Spanish bartender, working at Restaurant Barrachina in Buenos Aires.

Another Prohibition Era cocktail Horse’s Neck, was originally intended to be a non-alcoholic beverage, but became a classic cocktail when a heavy pour of bourbon was added to the glass. This drink gets its name from its garnish, an extra long lemon twist that acts as the “horse’s neck”.

Our last cocktail hails from the Modern Age. The Naked and Famous is a mezcal fueled, modern day variation of “The Last Word”, a cocktail created by bartender Joaquin Simo while working at Death & Co. in New York City.

Try one, try all, this season.

Valentine’s Day at Poole’s

Join us for a special three-course prefixe menu ($75++ per guest) this Valentine's Day, designed to celebrate love!

Reservations are available here; please note that our regular a la carte menu is not available during this service.

Here's the menu:

Course One (choose from:)

NC oyster and sunchoke veloute with smoked creme fraiche, golden trout roe, and chive

Charcuterie plate with rillette, Lady Edison country ham, and chicken liver mousse with our pickles and two mustards

Humboldt Fog Chèvre with roasted beets, sunflower shoots, seed crunch, and sherry brown butter vinaigrette 

Vodka-fried colossal crab with marinated avocado, piquillo mayo, and bottarga 

Course Two (choose from:)

Bone-in short rib with Brabant potatoes, horseradish-creamed chard, and marrow spiked red wine jus 

Black bass with Maine lobster, smoked tomato, saffron rice grits, and Castelvetrano olive relish 

Root vegetable + Comté gratin with braised winter salad, creamy polenta, and black truffle vinaigrette 

Cassoulet of confit duck leg, rabbit sausage, and crispy pork belly with the summer’s put up field peas, braised cabbage collards, and pimento cheese cornbread crumbs

Course three (choose from:)

Coconut cream tart with coconut granola and clementine marmalade

Chocolate layer cake with peanut butter-cream cheese icing and chocolate whisky cold brew glaze

Strawberry panna cotta with lemon-macerated strawberries and streusel

Passport To Giving!

We're always looking for ways to give back to our community, especially during this season of giving!

Our Passport to Giving campaign is a great way to support a very important cause--the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina--while you're out enjoying meals at our restaurants! We’ve created a special feature cocktail at Poole’s, Poole'side, Death & Taxes, Beasley’s, Chuck's, and Fox Liquor Bar; and $2 from each purchase of one of these cocktails will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina—from now through December 31st. So every time you drink one of these cocktails, you’re effectively donating $2 to support feeding those affected by hunger in our state. How great is that!?

This year, each of our cocktail names has been inspired by a holiday flick. Here are the cocktails:

At Poole’s, try the Ya Filthy Animal, named forHome Alone, featuring gin, Montenegro, cranberry, rosemary, ginger, and lemon.

At Poole'side, try the You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, named for A Christmas Story, featuring bourbon, roasted pecans, vanilla, cinnamon cherry clove bitters. 

At Beasley’s, try the Smiling Is My Favorite, named for Elf, featuring vodka, blackberry, thyme, lemon, sparkling wine.

At Chuck's, try the Yippee Ki Yay shake, named for Die Hard, a white chocolate peppermint milkshake with white rum. 

At Death & Taxes, try the Cousin Eddie, named for Christmas Vacation, featuring bourbon, Maker’s Mark, dry vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters.

At Fox Liquor Bar, try the Total Agony of Being In Love, named for Love Actually, featuring scotch, sweet vermouth, Cheerwine, and orange.

To maximize our impact as a community, we're organizing a self-guided bar crawl! Grab a Passport to Giving card (available at any of our restaurants) and get a stamp for each of the 6 cocktails you try. If you complete the full crawl and get all 6 stamps on your passport card, you can redeem your Passport to Giving card at Fox Liquor Bar for a complimentary snack--Milk and Chocolate Chip Cookies--our way of saying thanks for supporting our team efforts to raise money for the Food Bank! We'll also enter your name into a drawing to win a $250 gift card to the AC Restaurants location of your choice.

So start your engines! It's time to drink for a good cause!

Terms and Conditions
i. Name: Passport to Giving  ii. Description: Passport to Giving Bar Crawl starts 11/25/18 at 12:01am EST and ends on 12/24/18 at 11:59pm EST. To participate in the Bar Crawl, entrants must visit Poole's Diner, Beasley's Chicken & Honey, Chuck's Burgers, Fox Liquor Bar, and Death & Taxes, and get proof of their donation to the Food Bank through the purchase of the designated Passport for Giving cocktail at each location. Proof of purchase must be in the form of a stamped and initialed Passport to Giving card (available for free at each location). No other form of proof of purchase (such as receipts) will be validated. (Alternate entry: Participant shows proof of a donation to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC in the amount of $60 or more, made during the duration of the campaign. This will also be accepted for redemption of prize; same rules of prize redemption apply. )The fully stamped and initialed Passport to Giving card can be redeemed for 1 order of Garlic Fries with Cheddar Mayo at Fox Liquor Bar. The prize can only be redeemed by the cardholder, during business hours, before the expiration of the crawl campaign. The sponsor of this Bar Crawl is AC Restaurants, LLC, in support of the Food Bank Of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Additional questions regarding this campaign can be directed to info@ac-restaurants.com. iii. Eligibility: Crawl participants must be 21+ years of age with valid identification. Limit of 1 card per person. iv. How to Play: Participants must acquire a Passport to Giving card at one of any AC Restaurants locations. Upon the purchase of one the designated cocktails (Goodnight Diner at Poole’s Diner,  For the Good of Grapefruit at Beasley’s Chicken & Honey, Rum Ham at Death & Taxes, Mexican Hot Chocolate Shake at Chuck’s, Jane Taylor at Fox Liquor Bar), the participant can request that their card is stamped. Card must be stamped and initialed by an on duty employee of the sponsor company on the premises of the restaurant. One stamp per cocktail purchased per card. Participants must visit all 5 locations and get stamps for all 5 cocktails to be eligible. To redeem, participant must present the completed card during business hours to an on-duty employee at Fox Liquor Bar. No purchase is necessary at the time of redemption. v. The prize for completing the crawl is one order of garlic fries with cheddar mayo at Fox Liquor Bar, which has a fair market value of $6. No substitutions can be made for the prize, and Fox is not able to accommodate additional requests or dietary restrictions in relation to the redemption of the prize. The prize must be collected before the crawl campaign end date; outside of that window, redemption attempts will not be honored.

Holiday Hours at AC Restaurants

We're excited to celebrate the season with you! Please see below for special holiday hours at our restaurants.

 

Thanksgiving Eve: Wednesday, November 21

All restaurants open with regular hours

 

Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 22

All restaurants closed

 

Black Friday: Friday, November 23

Beasley’s:  opening early at 11am, brunch menu available 11am-4pm

Chuck's, Fox, Poole's, Death & Taxes open with regular hours

 

Christmas Eve: Monday, December 24

Beasley's: open until 9pm

Chuck's: open until 9pm

Fox: open until 9pm

Poole's: open until 9pm

Death & Taxes: open until 9pm (make a reservation here)

 

Christmas Day: Tuesday, December 25

All restaurants closed

 

New Year’s Eve: Monday, December 31

Beasley's and Chuck's: extended hours, open until midnight

Fox: 5pm to 2am

Death & Taxes: New Year's Eve four course prix fixe dinner (see the menu and make reservations here), 5pm to midnight

Poole’s: brunch from 11am to 2pm; New Year's Eve three course prix fixe dinner (see the menu and make reservations here), 5pm to midnight

 

New Year’s Day: Tuesday, January 1

Beasley’s: open regular hours, brunch menu available 11am to 4pm

Chuck’s: open regular hours

Fox: open regular hours

Death & Taxes: closed

Poole’s: closed

New Year’s Eve at Poole’s Diner

Ring in 2019 with us at Poole's! Join us for our three-course prix fixe menu on New Year's Eve. Dinner is $75++ per person, with wine pairings available. Limited reservations can be made here; if you don't see your preferred reservation time, consider joining our waitlist by selecting "Notify"--you'll be notified if a table becomes available. 

~Course One~

(choice of):

Holiday charcuterie plate with rabbit rillette, Lady Edison country ham, and chicken liver mousse with our pickles, fig conserva, and two mustards

Local lettuces with avocado, roasted beets, pickled carrots, radish, sunflower crunch,  blue cheese, and thyme-white balsamic vinaigrette

Cauliflower veloute with Maine lobster, saffron oil, and charred scallion relish

Steak carpaccio with smoked trout roe, whipped buttermilk, fried basil, and Marash chili

~Course Two~

(choice of):

Cacio e pepe aged carnaroli arancino (stuff with caramelized onion, artichokes, and Castelvetrano olives) with smoked tomato and rosemary-braised escarole

Chateaubriand of grass-fed beef with broken potato gratin, ruby chard, and caramelized shallot marrow butter

Duck confit cornmeal cobbler with melted kale, young roots, balsamic-roasted pearl onions, and preserved truffle

Roasted black cod with white sweet potato-lump crab hash, mushroom conserva, and roasted pepper emulsion

~Dessert~

James Beard Award 2019Outstanding Chef James Beard Award 2014Best Chef: Southeast
2019 James Beard AwardOutstanding Chef 2014 James Beard AwardBest Chef: Southeast
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Beasley's Chicken + Honey,
Fox Liquor Bar

237 S. Wilmington St, Raleigh NC, 27601

[919] 322-0127, 322-0126, 322-0128 Respectively

Bridge Club

105 W. Hargett St, Raleigh NC, 27601

Death & Taxes

105 W. Hargett St, Raleigh NC, 27601

[984] 242-0218

Poole's Diner

426 S. McDowell St, Raleigh NC, 27601

[919] 832-4477