Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Mojito (who keeps her legs together)

Another San Francisco inspired recipe. This one from Luna Park on 18th St and Valencia in the Mission. I almost didn't get it (specialty drinks are always so expensive!), but I did, it was fantastic, and here we are. As Wiki could easily tell you, a mojito is a drink typically made with ice, lime, mint, sugar, soda water, and of course alcohol, namely (correction, thanks to Anon. and Tastespotting ) rum [Fig. 1].

But, Luna Park, in all their wisdom, cut out the alcohol, and presented instead the second most fantastic thing I've had so far in San Francisco (the first was the pastrami sandwich, the third I'm drinking right now, cocoa from the Sugar Lump, more about them later.)
Figure 1. A lime, leaves of mint, and sugar. (Had to).

So here, based on the list of ingredients from our Luna Park waitress and some Sugar Lump aid is the really good and really clean mojito.

For 1 glass you will need:
  • About 2/3 of a lime! Make sure that it is washed thoroughly.
  • About a cup of seltzer water
  • Roughly 3 large fresh mint leaves
  • A handful of (preferably) crushed ice
  • (have you noticed I love exact measurements?)
  • 2ish tablespoons of sugar
  • 4ish tablespoons of boiling water (use the microwave!)
First, pour water into sugar; stir mixture until sugar's dissolved. If you were to boil off most of the water this would be called a Simple Syrup; we'll call this a Simple Syrup, But Who Really Has The Patience (or Stove). Set this in your MiniFridge to cool.

Figure 2. Cut lime wedges and mint in ribbons.

Take your 2/3 of lime and slice into squeezable pieces [Fig. 2]. Take the mint and cut it into ribbons [Fig. 2, again].
Put your handful of ice into a glass, squeeze the lime slices on top of the ice and then drop the whole slice in. Throw the mint on top. Now, pour in the cooled Simple Syrup BWRHTPS. Pour the seltzer water on top. Taste test to see if you might need more Simple Syrup BWRHTPS, I would actually recommend making extra just in case. Let it cool for best effect before drinking.

Enjoy [Fig. 3]!

P.S. Sugar Lump is the fantastically cool cafe near the corner of 24th and Florida in the Mission. The girl working there showed me how to make the Simple Syrup BWRHTPS and gave me some for free! I'm drinking a hot chocolate from there right now. So good! If you're in the area, go!

P.P.S. If you happen to be in the area, go to Luna Park! They have really good Luna Park Fries.



Figure 3. YUM! Glass, presentation, and plastic monkey courtesy of Luna Park.
Posted by Chris at 5:24 PM
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10 comments:

  1. A.A.August 12, 2009 at 6:39 PM

    Whoa this looks so attractive! I love mocktails.

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  2. wushugeneAugust 12, 2009 at 6:59 PM

    Looks great!

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  3. MoxieAugust 12, 2009 at 8:18 PM

    Looks refreshing. Great Job Chris!!

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  4. figtreeAugust 13, 2009 at 1:53 PM

    Wow I would love one RIGHT now..looks delicious.Figtreeapps

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  5. laurenAugust 13, 2009 at 7:58 PM

    I love the title of this one, haha. Sounds tasty :)

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  6. ChrisAugust 13, 2009 at 10:22 PM

    Thanks all! If you try it let me know how it turns out! Also, you're probably going to have to play around with sugar; very subjective.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AdrienneAugust 14, 2009 at 3:08 PM

    We make these at our home a lot, but with a bit of a different method that I thought I would share. We first bruise the mint leaves with the sugar, this really releases the flavor of the mint. Then we add enough lime juice to make a paste and rub it all over the inside of the glass. Fill with ice and San Pelligrino and top off with the remaining lime juice and garnish with mint and slices of lime. I'm going to try out your method and see which one I like better. Thanks!

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  8. AnonymousAugust 14, 2009 at 9:00 PM

    Looks delicious! I have a surplus of mint, I'll certainly try making this.

    Just as a side note - a mojito is made with white rum, not gin. :)

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  9. AnonymousAugust 15, 2009 at 6:25 AM

    One of the few reasons that my husband and I welcome the hot, humid days of summer is the wonderul Mojito. We have mint in our garden, so that makes it easier. While I will admit we have not tried virgin Mojitos, we also have not tried them with gin, but instead use white rum. My only complaint about the drink in general is that to release the mint flavor, you have to muddle it (as mentioned above). This crushes the leaves and makes it hard to drink (unless you don't mind mint leaf particles clinging to your palate). Perhaps I should investigate straining?

    Anyway, I found you through TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.

    Best,
    Casey
    Editor
    www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

    P.S. Which Philly college do you attend? We lived in the Art Museum area for years...I'd be happy to make dining suggestions for my old neighborhood if you're ever interested!

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  10. ChrisAugust 15, 2009 at 10:38 AM

    @ Adrienne, thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to try that out!

    @ Anon, Thank you! Hope that it goes well.

    @ Casey, thank you, too, for the tips and for the offer of TasteSpotting. I would love any restaurant suggestions you might have to offer!

    ReplyDelete

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