Andy Borbely from Seven Saints shows us his signature drink. It's tequila taken to the next level.The drink is called Desert Rose, and he made it in honor of his grandmother.
Buvons is in the news again. Nick Bland hosts Anne Dill for a live, offsite Whetting your whistle. They share a wine.
Anne checks out a new wine bar next to the Corkscrew in Urbana.
Centennial is an aroma-type cultivar, bred in 1974 and released in 1990. The genetic composition is 3/4 Brewers Gold, 3/32 Fuggle, 1/16 East Kent Golding, 1/32 Bavarian and 1/16 unknown.
A relatively new hop on the market, this hop used to be called CFJ90. Described by some as a "Super Cascade" and we tend to agree, but it's not nearly as "citrusy". Some even use it for aroma as well as bittering. Bitterness is quite clean and can have floral notes depending on the boil time. (alpha acid: 9.5-11.5% / beta acid: 4.0-5.0%)
But despite the advantages of a campus bar’s out-and-out collegiate atmosphere, downtown is the better place for drinking. The selection of draft beers is far more varied and enticing downtown. Foreign and craft brews, or even a house brew, can be had. Of campus bars, only Murphy’s approaches the same kind of wide selection....
The cash-strapped college student may be wary of the more expensive drinks, but this is nothing to fret about. The final tab often comes out the same, as downtown is a place to enjoy fewer, but better, drinks. To use the over-used idiom, quality over quantity.You will get more flavor from a $5 Founders Breakfast Stout (at Radio Maria) than you will get from $5 worth of Bud Light. You will probably also get drunk quicker. Since the intended audience for this piece is the college student, they probably don't know that even though it's a pint, it's a sipping (not a chugging) beer. Chug two of those for $10 and you will have a long walk back to campus.
Downtown’s biggest advantage is its character. Though small, downtown is a cozy area that manages to be at once urban and small-town. With the assorted brick buildings and the few streets of cafes, music shops and bars, downtown feels more like a genuine social environment. It is in downtown that an inkling occurs — just an inkling — of the idea that Champaign just might be a city after all.This opinion was written by Charles Tabb. (oddly, there seem to be two Charles Tabb's on facebook at U of I, one is a law professor, the other is a student. This was probably written by the student). I dislike like the end of the previous paragraph.
Maybe Benjamin Franklin had 2010 college students in mind (maybe) when he famously said, “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”Ben Franklin never said that. Benjamin Franklin liked wine.
Dr. Franklin was, however, a wine drinker, and he wrote--Here's a nice article on the subject.We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy. The miracle in question was only performed to hasten the operation, under circumstances of present necessity, which required it. --Letter to Abbé Morellet (1779)
Ultimately, students choose campus bars or downtown bars based on what they’re looking for. This much is obvious. We can get the excess and the easy socialization on campus. But for those of us seeking a better aura and setting, as well as happier taste buds, downtown is the ideal way to booze for an evening.This he gets right.
I was in there a couple of weeks ago, right before it opened, and the place looks really cool. Well, it did before it was open.Buvons, the wine bar adjacent to the Corkscrew Wine Emporium in Urbana, is now open.
For the last few weekends, the Corkscrew has been holding its wine tastings in the new space and it officially opened the wine bar last weekend.
At Buvons, patrons can order wine by the glass or the bottle. Fourteen wines will be available, including six whites, six reds, a sparkler and a sweet. Every six weeks, staff members will change the offerings, but they'll always have the best-selling white and red available, said Nick Bland, manager and co-owner of the Corkscrew.There are signs for it around town now, including a large one on University Avenue.
The name Buvons, which means "Let's drink" or "We drink" in French, was suggested by a French friend of the owner, Geoff Bland....
Buvons, at 203 N. Vine St., can be reached at 337-7704. It's open from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
I park at Ale Asylum and take a bus to the festival, but this year we were near Middleton, so we went to Capital. We got off the bus and walked up towards the line. Jacob didn't have a ticket, so he was kind of worried about what he'd have to pay for the ticket (especially after his Philadelphia incident). Luckily he got his ticket for $40 (face value), which made Kelly a bit upset since she paid a traveling fee of $10 for hers. We got our programs and moved up to the end of the line. Which wasn't too far from the entrance to the fest.
You may not have gotten more beer, but the glass was neat.Officials are investigating a police officer who was arrested for driving under the influence Saturday.
Travis Burr is an investigator with the Champaign County Sheriff's Office. He is charged with a DUI and also failure to reduce speed.
He's on administrative leave during the investigation.
Tolono, IL- An investigator for the Champaign County Sheriff's Office has been placed on administrative leave after being arrested for DUI.
Deputies were called around 6:00 p.m. Saturday to a three vehicle accident south of Tolono. When they arrived, the deputies learned that an off-duty deputy with the Champaign County Sheriff's Office was involved in the accident.
Travis Burr of Sidney, who is an investigator with the Sheriff's Office, was arrested on charges of DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. He was booked in and processed at the jail and then bonded out.
The Sheriff's Office has requested copies of the State Police reports and the matter is under investigation.
It's also on WICD 15
Sheriff's Deputy Arrested for DUI
Champaign County - An investigator with the Champaign County Sheriff's office is on administrative leave after an accident in which he is accused of drunk driving.
According to Sheriff Dan Walsh, Travis Burr of Sidney was off duty when he was involved in a three-vehicle property-damage accident at about 6:00 p.m. Saturday south of Tolono.
Burr was arrested for DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
He is on paid administrative leave while the matter is investigated.
I was wondering why I didn't see any cars there.The former Malibu Bay Lounge at 3106 N. Cunningham Ave. in rural Urbana, closed last spring.
Later this month the property will be auctioned at a sheriff's sale, and a state law prevents it from reopening as a strip club, according to Champaign County planning and zoning director John Hall.
Well, darn."A new owner cannot do what Mr. (Ike) Mapson did at that location," Hall said, referring to the late owner of the Malibu Bay.
"It's within 3,000 feet of a dwelling. It is a state law. We couldn't approve something there that state law doesn't allow," he said. "So hopefully anybody who buys that is aware of it and hopefully has a business plan for something other than adult entertainment."
More than a decade ago, under former Champaign County State's Attorney John Piland, the county considered a liquor ordinance revision that would have banned alcohol sales on days when an establishment offered adult entertainment. But the revisions were never adopted.That would be a horrible liquor ordinance. I'd expect that more from the city of Champaign, than from the county.
The Malibu Bay property will be sold at 9 a.m. Aug. 27 at the Champaign County Courthouse. Mapson and his estate defaulted on a $192,473 mortgage taken in 2002, according to court records. The amount owed now totals $241,467, the records show.So, if you are looking for a horrible building, on the outskirts of town, that probably has seen it's share of diseases... the Malibu Bay is being auctioned next Friday.
Sam Samet from Piccadilly cools us off with some cool wines...
That's about an increase of $2 a day. It may be an initial hard hit on the owners, but it should level out quickly.CHAMPAIGN – The cost of selling liquor for Champaign business owners will rise incrementally during the next four years after city council members Tuesday voted 6-3 to increase licensing fees.
The first round of occupancy-based increases will begin on Nov. 1, according to city documents. At that time, the cap on bar licenses will rise from $3,500 to $4,000 and the base fee for some restaurants will go up from $1,250 to $1,550.
Similar increases will occur every November until 2013.
Michael Murphy, owner of Mike N Molly's bar in downtown Champaign, said the increase is not likely to affect the price of drinks significantly. Other factors, like distributor prices and a slow economy, are much more likely to do so.
"This probably won't be the thing to make prices go up," Murphy said.Of course, some places may use it as an excuse to raise prices.
I can understand Murph's problem, he's got one of the largest beer gardens in town.During the meeting, Murphy told the council about his concerns with another topic: licenses for outdoor seating on city property. Mike N Molly's has seating on private property, and he said he pays much more for those seats than would a cafe with seats on a public sidewalk.
"I would like to see the playing field become a little more level," Murphy said.
Teri Legner, the city's economic development manager and deputy liquor commissioner, explained to the council that outdoor seating licensing fees were set when outdoor seating was first allowed more than 10 years ago and had not changed since then.
"It's probably the time to look at that," Legner said.
Apparently too many people are walking around drinking in Sidney.SIDNEY – Sidney officials want to make sure that alcohol stays in designated areas during future street festivals.
The village board has voted to support Village President John Finn, who serves as liquor commissioner, if he issues an order prohibiting outdoor possession or consumption of alcohol on certain occasions like Sidney Summer Fun Daze.
In the WCIA clip, you can see Blind Pig, Esquire Lounge, and Radio Maria.CHAMPAIGN- On Tuesday Chamapign City Council memebers will vote on whether to increase liquor license fees for a second year.
Raising the fee could generate $158,000 for the the city.
If this is passed it would go into effect November 1st.
If prices were to go up restaurants and bars could increase prices, but its completely up to the owners.
Tonight, the Champaign City Council will tackle whether or not to continue increasing the city's liquor license fee. .Mayor Jerry Schweighart says it's been a while since the city raised its fees, which he says are lower than other local towns. Over the five years, the increases are estimated to generate $158,000 of new revenue for the city.In the WICD clip, you see inside Jupiters (I can't tell if it's at the Crossing, or downtown)
