The Lunch Lady Corner

CJ Lindsay

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first started bartending, I was lucky that the bars I worked at had a huge variety of brands of spirits. A lot of flavored spirits were coming out, but a lot of the brands people were drinking were not quite the top sellers they were then. 

Vodka was not the top spirit then, but the revolution was starting.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The first time I had Drunken Noodles was in Taichung, Taiwan in a small restaurant. It was good as I remember, but one thing I learned traveling in Asia, there are a lot of different recipes that call dishes Drunken Noodle. 

My favorite recipe is a Southeast Asian version and it is the dish that comes to mind for many when eating Drunken Noodles.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

A question I had to answer often a few years back was “How long does wine last after it has been opened?”

How do I know the answer to this?

I worked for a New Zealand Wine company that specialized in Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir a little before I started being a reporter. It was a great job in that I learned a bit about wine. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

As a kid, because I loved all types of vegetables, my folks didn’t care I was picky about a lot of food. Even then, most of the food I wasn’t wild about were expensive. I didn’t eat seafood except for a few white fish, and king crab. I wasn’t wild about beef, but I would eat hamburgers.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Come

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By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

One of the best things about living in Asia for about 15 years or so, I got to be fairly proficient in cooking some of my favorite Asian dishes.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I often have said, that my folks were the reason I became a bartender. My father and stepmother really enjoyed their drinks on the weekend. Friday night it would be some dish my stepmom created, but before they ate a drink or two came first. We grilled on Saturday and the folks would sometimes have drinks before, during and after dinner.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first started working in restaurants, it seemed like French Onion soup was always on the menu.

It is funny, I don’t really see it anymore.

I am hard-pressed to remember the last time I saw it on a menu and until recently, I hadn’t tried it in years.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The Daisy belongs in a class of cocktails that have been around for a little over 150 years. 

These sipping delights are in the family of sours, which include classics like the whiskey sour, brandy sour and pisco sour. They all share a similar flavor profile anchored by sweet and sour ingredients.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I enjoy eating vegetables. As a kid, my folks loved that I would ask for seconds of brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach and my favorite, broccoli. 

I almost always have broccoli in my home, whether frozen or fresh.

When my freezer died a few weeks ago, all my frozen broccoli thawed and I knew I had to cook it up fast.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed while I owned my restaurant/bar in Taiwan. The celebration of other country’s holidays is right up there. Our restaurant’s food was American from the beginning, but there were deviations in recipes because it suited the tastes of my customers from other Western countries. In Taiwan during this time, there were many South Africans. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

A liqueur I remember when I was first bartending is now really hard to find. I remember it well because it came in two colors, green and yellow. 

The spirit was called Chartreuse.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The night before I was to drive to Cheyenne for the Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism in Cheyenne, I had one of those domestic nightmares that are no fun when they happen.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

After writing about Grand Marnier as a liqueur to drink, it seemed like a good opportunity to mention how this spirit can enhance food.