My first encounter with a session beer involved power tools.

I was working on a kitchen project, and a both a reciprocating and circular saw were strewn about my front yard. The sun was beating down on me and my tools, and a friend dropped by with a case of Tetley's English Ale. I looked at the yellow power tools, the pile of lumber and PVC pipe and the case of beer, and I smiled wide. This was going to be a good day.

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Bolsa's outdoor bar.

Sometimes you just really need to get drunk on fancy cocktails in the middle of the day.  (And by "you," I mean me, of course.)

Lots of places don't open until 5 or later, though, or they close during that late afternoon lull between lunch and dinner service; often, if they do stay open during that time, you're forced to endure annoyed staff polishing glassware and cursing your presence during their much relished break time.

Bolsa, on the other hand, was still relatively lively at 3:45 on Thursday afternoon.  Late lunchers lingered over flatbreads and salads, while a handful of day drinkers occupied the bar (we spotted Chef DAT and his newsboy hat-sporting crew sipping cocktails across the way).

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I'm trying not to obsess, but it seems like every day feels a little warmer than the last. The climbing mercury is making me want to grab onto the last days of spring and hang on as tightly as I can. And there's other signs of the season slipping away. Like Rahr Brewery's spring Bucking Bock, a beer I fell in love with while enjoying a cool breeze at The Porch.

"You've got about two more weeks," Melissia Simmons told me when I asked her where else I could enjoy the golden hoppy brew. Simmons says the beer takes eight weeks to brew so they made a ton of it to make sure they don't run out. "There's a good bit of it laying around," she added.

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Summer is close. Maybe it's already here. And as the air thickens and becomes heavy, finding places to have a drink that aren't dark and super conditioned caves becomes more and more of a challenge. In my perfect life, I'd have a small house, somewhere in Oak Cliff or East Dallas, with a sizable front porch, outfitted with ceiling fans and a swing. I'd drink there often.

As it stands I'm relegated to an apartment building, built of paper and plastic. There's a balcony, but it sucks, worth one beer in fair weather at best. Enter Henderson Avenue's The Porch: a casual brasserie for those of us with no veranda at home. When the heat comes (and it will) fans blowing a cooling but oddly humid mist will do their best to keep despair at bay.

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The Snake in the Grass.

Dear Ms. Libertine (or is it Mr.?),

Hi. You probably don't me, but I know you pretty well. (At least I thought I did.)

I've patronized you many times over the past four years, and consider you one of my Old Faithfuls for tasty bar food, especially on Tuesday nights when you so kindly slash your menu prices in half. I always order the same thing: that artery-cloggingly good mac and cheese and a beer. Newcastle, perhaps, or maybe Maredsous 10 if I'm feeling fancy, or Strongbow if it's a cider kind of night. Your selection is pretty extensive, so you can't blame me for never paging my way through to the cocktail list, can you?

Until the other day, when I sat at your long wooden bar and just happened to notice your extensive selection of fine spirits at the far end of the bar.

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Sara Kerens

SideDish reported late yesterday on the ongoing saga at The Chesterfield, where majority owner Ed Bailey has continued his efforts to have bartender and minority owner Eddie "Lucky" Campbell removed from the premises, after an apparent dispute over how to run the business.

Hearing that Campbell was standing his ground and had decided to throw an all-day happy hour, I headed downtown to see what was up (and have a drink or two).

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As the curb says, "watch your step" when entering the front door at Mason Bar; the sudden step up could be potentially lethal for tipsy girls in heels. 

Inside, a couple occupies stools at one end of the bar, and save for them it's empty -- just a quiet Monday night at the State-Thomas neighborhood's newest watering hole.

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Lauren Drewes Daniels

Eater reported the other day that Jason Kosmas, Marquee Grill beverage director, co-owner of Employees Only in NYC and author of two books, is now dabbling in showbiz. Kosmas confirms there's a possible show in the making.

"It's basically a travel show," Kosmas says, "where we go to a city and learn about the local scene and what they do differently, then bring together a couple bartenders to go against each other in a competition."

Sounds like an awful job. Traveling the country to explore unique watering holes. Sampling the goods. Poor kid.

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spirit.ofourempire.com

Behold, the coupe.

First introduced in the 1660s for Champagne, the coupe glass reached the height of its popularity in the 1930s with the introduction of Prohibition-era cocktails, and in recent years its popularity is on the rise again, namely with a special class of drinkers called me.

The coupe shape is a wide shallow bowl on a long stem. Legend has it the glass' original design was based on the left breast of infamous party girl Marie Antoinette, but whether that theory holds true or not, there's no denying that this glass has some sexy curves going on. (There's also some debate as to whether or not Marie Antoinette actually ever said "Let them eat cake." Maybe it was "Let them drink from my boob.")

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¡Fiestaaaaaa!

Bust out the sombreros (and whatever other ethnically irrelevant garb you might have), because the second-annual Margarita Meltdown is coming to the Bishop Arts District. Last year's event drew more than 2,500 people, and founders Nico Ponce of The Chesterfield and Tony Fernandez of OC's Espumoso Caffe hope to capitalize on their success again this year.

The event pits some of the city's best bartenders against one another to see who can concoct the best margarita, to be voted on by drinkers. This year's participating bars include El Ranchito, Hacienda on Henderson, Iron Cactus, Cyclone Anaya's, La Calle Doce, Mesa, Tillman's, Veracruz Café, Nova, The Standard Pour, and Sfuzzi, plus more to be announced.

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