Two weeks ago, I read on the Metrocurean blog about the hard cider happy hour that chef and owner Todd Gray would be holding at his restaurant Equinox—a great restaurant in my neighborhood—on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. through December 4.  I finally got around to checking it out last night.  They've concocted 5 house-made-hard-cider-based mixed drinks, each priced at $10 or $11, and if you show up at the cider happy hour and try one (or several), then the Equinox crew will serve you some free appetizers.  I've only eaten at Equinox once before, earlier this year, and the meal was excellent, so I couldn't resist the temptation of trying some creative autumn-appropriate drinks and eating a few bites of Chef Gray's food.

I started with the Bloody Sour ($11), made of lemon thyme infused Mt. Gay Rum, house made hard cider, Laird's Applejack, fresh lemon juice and a splash of red burgundy, which floated prettily near the rim of the martini class that this drink was served in.  The fresh lemon juice was the dominant flavor, but the hard cider definitely came through and the rum was holding up the rear.  By the end of my visit to Equinox, this Bloody Sour proved to be my favorite drink.

The first appetizers delivered were sweet potato potstickers with a brown sugar dipping sauce—very nice—particularly the touch to salt on the potstickers, you know, that salty-sweet Asian thing.

The next appetizer delivered was a fig/caramelized onion/red pepper/gorgonzola pizza.  Also delicious.

A few bites into the pizza, I was ready for another drink.  I tried the Falling Leaves ($11), made of vanilla thyme infused Mt. Gay Rum, house made hard cider, lemongrass infused simple syrup, fresh mint, a splash of Laird's Applejack and a lemon wedge served in a rockz glass.  This one was the autumn cousin to the mojito . . . or maybe mint julep . . . the rum made it mojito-like, the simple syrup made it julep-like, and the cider made it autumn-like.  It's an interesting drink, but a bit too sweet for my taste and, consequently, was running in second place behind the Bloody Sour.  But any mint julep and/or mojito fans out there should give it a try.

The best appetizer of the night was delivered next—a cup of venison chili.  I'm not sure what to say about it, other than that I wanted more.  And, really, what more needs to be said?

I finished up the evening with a third and final drink: the Pumpkin Cobbler ($10), made of vanilla infused Mt. Gay Rum, Laird's Applejack, house made hard cider, pumpkin spice liquor and some pumpkin seeds floating on top . . . served in a martini glass.  Another interesting drink but, again, too sweet for my taste.  I probably should have tried the Brown Mary—a pepper-infused rum and cider based, bloody mary inspired drink—which my wingman tried and liked.

The creativity of the drinks and the deliciousness of the appetizers made my hour and a half at Equinox time well spent.  You've got three Tuesdays left to check it out for yourself.  Enjoy!