Madame Barfly
Tips for Getting Tipsy
Some of us don’t get out much. I’m lookin’ at you, worshiper of the porcelain goddess. You look like you could use some help. Most adults have learned how to hold their liquor, while others of all ages are still learning. Plus, braving the crowds isn’t always easy....
Madame Barfly: Pumpkin and Bone Marrow
Nothing tastes like fall more than a pumpkin martini, unless it’s a pumpkin martini with a bone marrow bar snack. The Federal fine dining restaurant and pub in Agawam serves such tasty treats, but with an $11 price tag on the cocktail “Son of a Pumpkin” I was...
Madame Barfly: Bubbles! Burps aside, this Spiked Seltzer is pretty good
Bigger cities may have had a taste of Spiked Seltzer last year, but it made its first big splash in the Valley this summer — packies were having a hard time keeping it on the shelves. “It’s been really popular,” says one manager at Liquors 44 in Northampton of the...
Madame Barfly: A Hard Shake, there’s a new bar jockey in Amherst
Sitting down at Osteria Vespa’s bar for the first time, I’m surprised to find there’s no cocktail list. Josh Draghe, the soft-spoken, knowledgeable, and impeccably polite head bartender directs my gaze to a nearby board where staffers have handwritten signature...
Madame Barfly: Hope and Olive in Greenfield serves drinks to your health
Jim Zaccara says his bar is an appletini-free zone. Zaccara, 45, grew up working in restaurants, and bartending was always his forte. When he began making his own style of cocktail at his first full-bar restaurant — Hope and Olive in Greenfield — eight years ago, he...
Madame Barfly: Summertime and the Drinkin’s Easy
For every season there is a drink. Just as beer nuts ditch cold-weather porters and quads to settle their summertime cravings for IPAs and light brews, cocktail sippers also change their choice of beverage with the heat. Fruity, delicious cocktails enjoyed on the...
Madame Bar Fly: Springfield’s Cheers, Serving up charm, good company, and cheap booze at the Ale House
The Ale House on Worthington Street in Springfield is surrounded by boarded-up buildings that loom ominously up over the small, cozy one that the bar occupies. But inside, the vibe is warm and welcoming. “It’s somewhere you can go in Springfield where you don’t have...
Madame Barfly: In Bloom, Easthampton’s Coco serves up some simple heaven
The fact that Coco and the Cellar Bar’s best-selling cocktail is their ginger margarita is a testament to why people pack this place: simple delights. This tasty cocktail is exactly what you’d expect it to be. Spicy fresh ginger is added to the classic margarita trio...
Madame Barfly: By the Light of the Night ‘True shine’ moonshine made right in our backyard
After getting laid off, 32-year printing press veteran Scott Santaniello decided to move into an industry that always seems to stand the test of time: booze, baby. Two years ago, Santaniello, a 51-year-old life-long resident of Springfield, got a distiller’s license,...
Madame Barfly: The Craft, The Green Room’s head mixologist stirs things up
A cocktail revolution that’s been percolating in major cities has finally made its way to Northampton in earnest: craft cocktails. A craft cocktail is exactly what it sounds like — a craft unto itself. It’s more than expensive alcoholic liquids poured into a glass....
Dive! Five unpolished gems with cheap drinks and charm to spare.
Everyone has a favorite dive bar; a place you can go in your old jeans and sweater, have a beer for under $3 and watch some “Wheel of Fortune” with townies looking to unwind. Dive bars — and we use the term lovingly — tend to be physically and metaphysically secluded....
Madame Barfly: Mix It Up, Take a Shot
Shots cut to the chase. Whether you need some quick courage for that karaoke performance or don’t want a drink that sloshes on your dancing shoes, shots are great when you want to get that buzz rolling in one fell shoot. So, why not make it delicious? When it comes to...
Madame Barfly: Well Booze or the High Road? When you’re young and/or broke it can be tempting to drink the cheapest booze around
We’ve all heard the rumors about the havoc cheap booze can wreak, but is that even true? Can you drink inexpensive alcohol all night without head-pounding, toilet-hugging consequences? The downside to drinking cheap alcohol is considerable: principal among the...
Madam Barfly: A Festival of (Getting) Lit
I, Madame Barfly, am here to help you with all of your booze-loving needs. As a nine-year veteran of the restaurant business, I’ve learned a worthy trick or two. In this monthly column I’ll share trade secrets and scope out what’s shaking at local...
Madam Barfly: A Festival of (Getting) Lit
I, Madame Barfly, am here to help you with all of your booze-loving needs. As a nine-year veteran of the restaurant business, I’ve learned a worthy trick or two. In this monthly column I’ll share trade secrets and scope out what’s shaking at local bars. Craft...E-Edition
Best Of 2024
Readers Choice 2024
