By Mike Armstrong   

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t eat potatoes all that often. My family, with my father and stepmother, baked potatoes almost every Saturday night with their steak. I didn’t eat steak very often back then and I steered clear of baked potatoes.

French fries, I can take or leave. More likely to leave.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

There are cocktails I learned over in Asia, but their origins are in the Western Hemisphere. They were really popular when I had my bar open in Taiwan with locals and westerners, but coming back to the United States, they are a bit obscure.

I am not sure why, because they are quite good.

By Mike Armstrong   

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I would say that after bartending, when it comes to my strength in a restaurant, it is my ability to make great soups.

I can cook well enough that people paid for my dishes I created for the restaurants I ran, but when it comes to something I feel I am competent in the kitchen, it is making soups.

Compiled by Dick Perue GATT Correspondent

Grab your sweetheart and celebrate “Groundhog Day” with a free meal of barbeque ribs and all the fixin’s when everyone “Gathers at the Table” Monday, Feb. 2 from 5:00 to 6:30 in the Saratoga Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at the corner of Third and Bridge Streets.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first opened my bar in Taichung, Taiwan, quite a few people were telling me that people didn’t drink cocktails.

I heard men only drink beer and whiskey and women only drink wine.

By Mike Armstrong   

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I started brunch in my restaurant in Taichung, Taiwan, I will be honest, it was because I wanted to eat Eggs Benedict.

I have been a fan of this dish since I discovered it, which was not until around college.

We never had it growing up and since I was not a huge fan of eggs to begin with, this breakfast meal was never on my radar. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first started bartending at Beefsteak Charlie’s, a rib and steakhouse outside the University of Maryland, the alcoholic drinks I had to learn were libations that had been tested in focus groups for their appeal.

By K.J. Schricker   

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

As a kid, Brussels sprouts were one of my favorite vegetables. My father used to say it made no sense since I hated cabbage and he considered brussels sprouts little cabbages.

I would argue that with him, since we raised Brussels sprouts and cabbage in our gardens, and they grew very differently.

I would also say, the taste likes what the taste likes.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

You won’t see old bartending books from the 1930s and before with any recipes with any cocktails featuring the coffee liqueur Kahlua because it was not invented then. It was created in 1936 in Veracruz, Mexico by Pedro Domecq. He was a wealthy man whose family was in the sherry producing business.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I was never a fan of Scotch when I first started to learn about alcohol. I cared so little about trying it after my first couple of tastes, I did not even know that there was blended Scotch and single malt.

My ignorance lasted years.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I love Christmas and New Year’s holidays because it is the time of year when one can find hams for a reasonable price.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy eating turkey during Thanksgiving, but I don’t want turkey for the Christmas/New Year’s holidays.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Crème de Menthe Green is, as the name suggests, a French mint liqueur. It is usually made with Corsican mint, which is steeped in grain alcohol for several weeks before it is filtered and sweetened to create the final product. There is a white Crème de Menthe too. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Christmas meals can differ depending on what a family likes to celebrate eating at this time of year.

Unlike Thanksgiving meals, which almost always have turkey, Christmas has a few traditional dishes.

Prime rib is often cooked for a Christmas meal, but what happens if you have a lot left over?

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

It is funny, the first time I ate Indian food that I can remember was in Taiwan. Before that, I was not interested in even trying it.

Neither of my parents ever had Asian food of any kind for dinner and I don’t think we ever ate at an Asian restaurant.