Tippling Nights, Taps for Tap and the presentation of the Cheers! Innovators of the Year Award give the Tippling Bros. a reason to celebrate this February!
Cheers magazine, the only beverage business publication devoted to full-service restaurants, bars and hotels, recently announced the Tippling Bros. as the winner of the Beverage Industry Innovator of the Year Award, as part of the publication’s 2013 Cheers Beverage Excellence Awards program. Paul Tanguay and Tad Carducci, the Tippling Bros. team, earned this honor for the creative kegged cocktail system instilled at Tavernita, the popular Mercadito Hospitality destination, and the program’s overall impact on the sales and profitability at the restaurant.
Both Tanguay and Carducci will receive the award and participate at the annual Cheers Beverage Conference on February 12-13 in Dallas.
Guests have an opportunity to mingle and clink glasses with the award-winning Tippling Bros. throughout the year. Two of the team’s regular events at Tavernita include the monthly Tippling Nights Wine & Spirits Dinner Series, and Taps for Tap, a newly launched monthly program featuring a different guest mixologist’s cocktail available on tap at Tavernita. Proceeds from the drink’s sales benefit Freshwater Future.
Crave Local is giving away a dinner for two to the February 27th wine dinner at Tavernita!
If you want to win tickets, email VIP @ cravelocal.com with the subject CHICAGO, and why you want to win by 2/26/13.
Contest closes at midnight. Winner must be over 21, and will be alerted by email.
Taps for Tap
The February Taps for Tap cocktail, the Broken Bike, is courtesy of Jeffrey Morgenthaler and will be available at Tavernita all month long for $14.
Morgenthaler is an award-winning mixologist and the current Bar Manager of the James Beard Award-nominated bar program at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon. He has been working in the industry since 1996 in everything from neighborhood taverns and college nightclubs to fine restaurants and upscale lounges. Morgenthaler has been writing about bartending and mixology for several years on his website which features original cocktail recipes, product reviews, and discussions of bartending technique. His recipes and wisdom have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wine Enthusiast, Playboy, Wired, and Imbibe magazines. Forbes Traveler called him one of the “Cocktail Movers and Shakers” of 2007, Playboy.com named him one of the top ten mixologists in the United States, and Tasting Panel Magazine awarded him as a “New Leader” in 2009. In 2011he was also named a “Rising Star Mixologist” by StarChefs.com.
Tippling Nights
The next Tippling Nights will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27. The theme of the evening is Old World Vines in the New World and will showcase four flavorful courses by Tavernita Chef Greg Bastien paired with two white and two red wines. The carefully selected white wine offerings will include the Elki Pedro Ximenez from Chile and the Zocker Gruner Veltliner from California and the paired reds will include pours of Trenza Tempranillo and the Palmina Dolcetto.
The Tippling Nights series provides guests with an opportunity enjoy a delicious and educational evening in the vibrant, fun setting for which Tavernita has become known. The team will guide the experience, along with beverage brand ambassadors who will share insights about the evening’s featured products. The cost to attend is $55 per person (exclusive of tax and gratuity).
Reservations are required for the event and may be made by calling (312) 274-1111.
About Tavernita and Barcito
Owned and operated by Mercadito Hospitality, Tavernita and Barcito are located in the heart of Chicago’s popular River North neighborhood at 151 W. Erie St. Featuring the cuisine of Chef/Partner Ryan Poli and Executive Chef Greg Bastien, the restaurants’ menus offer a mix of American dishes and an innovative beverage program showcasing creative selections from around the world. Designed to encourage sampling and sharing, the menus have something for every taste and are brought to life in distinct spaces expertly designed by Seed Design. Barcito presents a stand-and-eat tapas experience with an array of wine, beer and signature cocktail selections.
Tavernita is open seven days a week. Lunch is available Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is served Sunday through Tuesday from 5 to 11:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Lounge at Tavernita is open Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Weekend brunch is served Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit Tavernita’s website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Barcito is open Sunday and Monday from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, visit Barcito’s website and Twitter feed.
About Mercadito Hospitality
Mercadito Hospitality has grown from its first New York City restaurant location in 2004 to become a renowned restaurant group specializing in Mexican, Latin American, Spanish, and American cuisines. The popularity of the group’s restaurants can be attributed to Partners Alfredo and Felipe Sandoval, innovative culinary interpretations created by Chef/Partners Patricio Sandoval and Ryan Poli, and its joint venture with renowned consultants Paul Tanguay and Tad Carducci – the Tippling Bros – who bring inimitable flavor profiles to the group’s beverage programs.
The group owns and operates five acclaimed concepts. Mercadito, the company’s flagship concept, includes two locations in New York, as well as Mercadito in Chicago and Mercadito in Miami. The team also owns and operates Double A, an intimate, exclusive cocktail lounge located beneath Mercadito in Chicago. The group opened its second Chicago restaurant, Tavernita, in January 2012, followed by Little Market Brasserie at the Gold Coast’s Talbott Hotel in January 2013. For additional information, please visit www.mercaditohospitality.com, www.mercaditorestaurants.com, www.doubleachicago.com, www.tavernita.com, www.standandeat.com and www.littlemarketbrasserie.com.