Pretty much everyone in the Baltimore area knows about a drink called the Southside—a popular country club cocktail commonly made with rum, lemon and lime juice, mint, and crushed ice. But what about the Westside?

Since fresh mint is now in season, Woodberry Kitchen has decided to roll out some summer drinks. On their menu is the ever-popular mint julep (101 proof Kentucky bourbon, mint, crushed iced) available for $12. But they're also introducing the Westside, which I'm assuming is named after the fact that the restaurant is located in Northwest Baltimore.

According to their Facebook page, the drink is Woodberry Kitchen's "version of a Southside. It's basically organic vodka, hand-squeezed lemonade, and mint." They go on to describe it as "pretty darn good." We'll have to try it out and see.

For more information about the Southside (and who makes the best one), check out our story in the upcoming June issue.

[Image: courtesy of nytimes.com]

It doesn't take a baseball insider to know that the Orioles have stunk so far this season. Our 3-16 record is, by far, the worst in the league and our upcoming schedule (Yankees, Red Sox, Yankees) doesn't bode well. But the best thing about us as Orioles fans is that we support our team through good times and bad—or so I thought.

I attended the April 12 game when the Orioles managed to draw the lowest attendance in Camden Yards history. I remember looking around and thinking that the crowd was sparse, but I had no idea it was a mere 9,129. Camden Yards has never had a crowd less than 10,000 in its 18-year history.

Some can blame the owner or the manager or the bullpen (and they have), but when it comes down to record-low attendance, the only people to blame are ourselves. Yes, it's embarrassing to have one of our worst Aprils after 12 losing seasons, but it's even more embarrassing to have out-of-town fans outnumber us in our ballpark.

The Sun's Peter Schmuck had a great column, in which he tried to surmise the reason for such low attendance. It could have been the fact that it was a Monday game following Opening Day on a Friday. Or maybe it's because the Orioles have imposed a $1-5 surcharge on tickets bought day-of.

But Schmuck hinted at something towards the end of his piece. The heart of the matter is that low attendance can be cyclical—the players notice it, it drops morale, the game suffers. When I interviewed pitcher Chris Tillman for our April Orioles feature, he said, "You know, just looking at the Orioles record, I wasn't sure how the fans were going to be. But Baltimore has some of the most loyal and supportive fans in the league."

We should prove him right. Starting tonight, the Orioles are back in town for six games. I encourage everyone to cough up $8 for a ticket, drink a few cheap beers outside of Pickles, and fill out the seats in our gorgeous ballpark.

[Image: courtesy of photo.net]

This past weekend I attended the 4th annual Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival at the Timonium Fairgrounds. The all-you-can-drink event, which is put on by the Baltimore-based Trigger Agency in seven locations throughout the summer, has been growing in recent years. A couple years back, the Timonium festival expanded into the grandstands and, this year, the festival was two days and they added 20,000 feet of heated tent space.

But something that never changes is the large variety and selection of premium bourbon and beer. This year, guests got a 5-oz. tasting glass that they took around to the 60 beer and 40 bourbon vendors. There was a bluegrass band on stage, various BBQ options, a mechanical bull, and two tasting theaters. Also, you got to discover random companies like Bearpong, which makes a giant, portable version of the popular drinking game. (The vendor also featured a bear, in costume, playing beer pong).

I certainly had some favorite vendors, including the Wisconsin-based Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. Leinenkugel's cirtus-accented brews (the Summer Shandy and Sunset Wheat) were refreshing wheat beers, perfect during the day. I also liked how the festival jumped on the trend of sweet tea vodkas, and my favorite was the smooth Jeremiah Weed Southern Style Sweet Tea. I also enjoyed Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Dogfish Head's Aprihop, and the classic Magic Hat #9.

If you didn't get a chance to go to Timonium this weekend, then you should head down to the festival at the National Harbor June 18th and 19th. I highly recommend splurging the extra $10 and purchasing a VIP ticket. For two extra hours, you get to browse the vendors with practically no lines before they let the general admission ticket holders in. Well worth the price.

Something I would like to see in upcoming years is a tent devoted to all local products. Sure, they had plenty of Maryland brewers scattered around, but it would be cool for them to be concentrated in one place. It will be interesting to see how the Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival evolves next year.

[Image: courtesy of beerandbourbon.com]

This past weekend I was able to check out the new-ish small plates restaurant and martini bar Tapas Adela in the heart of Fells Point. Opened earlier this year by Kali's Restaurant Group (also responsible for Mezze, Meli, and Kali's Court), Adela has since garnered a reputation for having a pretty popular bar scene every night of the week.

That point was proved this past Friday as we walked into the romantic, dimly lit space and found the bar area to be completely full. Most people (whose age ranged from late 20s-50s, I'd say) were having some drinks while waiting for a table in the adjacent dining room. Others were munching on some of the Spanish-style small plates. And some, like us, were just there to try out the cocktails.

The bartenders, who also helped design the drink menu, were very amiable and helpful with their recommendations. We started out by trying the Blue Sun martini (Absolut acai vodka with blueberries and lemon) that was absolutely delicious—it had a full-bodied fruity flavor without tasting artificial. We also tried the Fino Mandario martini (Fino sherry, Grand Marnier, and Belvedere orange vodka), which wasn't as big of a hit. The drink packed quite a punch, but was a bit too strong for my taste (huge GM fans would love it, I suspect).

Just out of sheer curiosity, we tried the Martini en Fuego (Absolut vodka, paprika-dusted olives, mini Thai chilis), pictured. Wow, this drink was intense. Imagine a dirty martini that mated with hot sauce. I was impressed by the creativity, and the balance of olive and chili flavor actually worked quite well. But handling the heat of more than one of these would be a challenge.

All of the martinis are $11 and the other cocktails are $9. When the weather warms up a little, Adela is planning on rolling out a late-night happy hour from 9-11 p.m. with discounted tapas and drinks (specific specials haven't been worked out yet). Its website is also under construction, but Adela's Facebook page usually has plenty of updates.

According to one of the bartenders, some late-night revelers occasionally wander into the spot, located on Broadway and Shakespeare streets. Some stay (and even brave the chili martini), though most realize that this establishment is a little classier (and pricier) than what they were after. But it's a nice change of pace for the Thames Street landscape, especially if you're in the mood for something a bit more upscale.

[Image: courtesy of Adela]