Pom Collins Cocktail

It’s that time of year again, East Passyunk Avenue’s “Flavors of the Avenue” is almost here! From noon to 4 pm on Saturday, April 26, the best of East Passyunk’s restaurants will be offering samples of their signature dishes and drinks.

Twenty eight restaurants are participating, including: Belle Cakery, Birra, Brigantessa, Cantina Los Caballitos, Chiarella’s, El Zarape, Fond, Fuel, Garage, Ippolito’s, Izumi, Laurel, Le Virtu, Lucky 13, Mamma Maria Ristorante, Marra’s, Ms Goody Cupcake, Noir, Noord, Palladino’s, Paradiso, Plenty, POPE, Stateside, Stogie Joe’s, Townsend, Tre Scalini and Will BYOB.

General admission for the Food Tent opens at 1pm and includes Skinny Girl wine and Samuel Adams beer. Outside of the tent enjoy a free street festival with live music by We Are Fauna and The Drive-Ins, vendors and the April Showers craft show at the Fountain hosted by Crafty Balboa.

 

Tickets are $30 for General Admission but are going fast, so be sure to pick up your tickets ASAP! VIP tickets are actually already sold out!

 

I attended a media night to sample some of the offerings and am so excited for the main event. I attended the actual event last year and it did not disappoint! I have a review of some of the samples I had during the media event but also wanted to share my version of a drink recipe that was served by Stateside called a Pom Collins cocktail – a spin on a Tom Collins with pomegranate juice. Unfortunately this delicious drink will not be served at Flavors of the Avenue … you’ll have to stop by Stateside after to enjoy it!

Pom Collins Cocktail:

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz pomegranate juice
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1.5 tablespoons basil simple syrup (recipe below)
• 2 oz club soda
• ice
• basil, for garnish

Basil Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh basil

To make the simple syrup, add the sugar, water, and basil to a saute pan over high heat.

Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat and let cool. Pour through a sieve.

The simple syrup can be kept in an air tight container in the fridge for about a week. (Note: depending on the sugar you use, your simple syrup may end up greenish instead of tan like mine. I used Organic White Sugar so it wasn’t solid white. If using normal sugar, the basil may tint the simple syrup green)

 

To make the cocktail, add the gin, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a mixing glass filled with ice. Shake thoroughly to combine. Strain the mixture into a glass filled with ice and top with club soda.

Garnish with basil, if desired.

This drink is so refreshing, perfect for spring and summer weather! The basil simple syrup adds a nice fresh taste to the drink that has me craving warmer weather.

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw some of my photos from the media preview. Everything was so tasty I couldn’t help but share photos! This event is a great way to sample some of Philadelphia’s most talked about (and up-and-coming) restaurants.

 

Here are some of the delicious bites that will be at Flavors of the Avenue to get you excited for the event:

Clockwise from bottom left: Marra’s Pizza, Marra’s Chicken Marsala over Gnocchi, Oysters from Ippolito’s, Bitterballen (fried pork meatballs) from Noord, Chicken liver mousse on sourdough toast with pickled red onion from Fond, Tuna tostada with spicy mayo from Ippolito’s, and Pork Gyoza from Izumi

To check out my post from last year (and to see other offerings that may show up again at this year’s event), go to my post on Watermelon Feta Salad.

Be sure to buy your tickets as soon as you can, this is an event you don’t want to miss!