by Raleigh Magazine | Mar 15, 2019 | Eat, March 2019
It’s a rare moment when a who’s who of Triangle bartenders gather at the same place on a Friday afternoon, but that’s what happened when Jim Meehan came to town. Meehan, a bartender and journalist, and the author of
Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book made a stop in Raleigh’s Dram and Draught during a tour of the state, signing books and talking the business of tending bar.
Meehan, who won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Cookbook award in the “beverage” category, charmed the crowd with tales of creating cocktails at New York City’s famed speakeasy Please Don’t Tell, as well as Hong Kong’s Centurion Lounge. On the topic of the future of cocktail creation, Meehan said he thinks cocktails will be more DIY going forward.
“People will always enjoy a good drink in a bar, but we are going to see more people learning to mix cocktails at home,” Meehan said. “The trend of building a home bar will continue to get stronger.”
Meehan’s Bartender Manual shares the origin of each cocktail recipe that’s included, along with hacks, or short cuts and variations, on the ingredients for creating different drinks. More than half of the cocktail recipes use between three and five ingredients only, making them approachable for the newbie home mixologist.
Here’s one of our favorites:
PALOMA
Recipe
• 3 oz. Squirt
• 2 oz. Siete Leguas reposado tequila
• 0.5 oz. lime juice
• Garnish: ½ grapefruit wheel
Build in a chilled kosher salt– rimmed tumbler, then add ice.
Garnish with the ½ grapefruit wheel.
Reprinted with permission from Meehan’s Bartender Manual, by Jim Meehan, copyright © 2017 by Mixography Inc. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
by Raleigh Magazine | Mar 8, 2019 | March 2019, Polish, Stuff
How did you decide to start a CBD business?
In 2016, I found myself living a comfortable, stagnant life. I woke up one morning and made the decision to leave it all behind. I kissed my six-year corporate finance career in Raleigh goodbye, sold most possessions and bought a plane ticket to Hawaii. In paradise by the sea, I found joy again, becoming a dive master before heading to South Lake Tahoe, where I spent the winter snowboarding and serving cocktails in Harrah’s Casino. I began using CBD oil and balm to aid in muscle recovery, encourage quality sleep and alleviate inflammation, noticing its ability to reduce my stress and anxiety. My mother expressed an interest in CBD for her arthritis, and reservations about knowing so little of a socially stigmatized product; I saw a space for an approachable, relatable brand with a feminine voice, face and touch, built on a foundation of education and advocacy. In 2018, I came back to Raleigh, where I’m bringing my dream of Love Always, Liz CBD Oil to life.
What products do you offer?
Love Always, Liz CBD Oil currently offers 600, 900 and 1200 mg. full-spectrum CBD oils, which all come in 1 oz. bottles accompanied with child resistant, tamper evident droppers with graduated markings for precise dosing. Love Always, Liz uses organic, non-GMO, gluten-free oils derived from sun-grown Colorado hemp, absent of pesticides, solvents and alcohol, and combined with MCT coconut oil for easy digestion and positive health benefits.
What makes your product different from other CBD oils?
Because CBD is relatively new, it’s important to make sure you’re buying a quality product from a regulated, third party-tested source. Currently, four states mandate regulation on CBD manufacturing: Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and Washington. Because Love Always, Liz oils are produced in Colorado, they adhere to strict regulatory manufacturing on our GMP-certified farm and all inventory is sent to a Durham-based laboratory, Avazyme, for third party batch testing. Because CBD is still so new and emerging, companies are charging what they want for their CBD products simply because they can, and the consumer doesn’t know better. Because I feel self care should be affordable and ongoing, I price our products comparatively less than the current market average.
Who uses Love Always, Liz CBD Oils?
The thing I love about CBD is the wide array of people who benefit: the grandfather who had a hip replacement, the new mother battling postpartum depression, the combat veteran suffering from PTSD and insomnia, the epileptic child plagued with seizures, the young college student overwhelmed with final exams, the family dog who cowers during thunderstorms, the athlete recovering from a torn ACL, the patient diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and the millions of Americans who suffer from mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. I could keep going. No matter how mild or severe a person’s ailments are, CBD is a potential alternative, holistic medicine.
What other products are in the works?
Our next product, slated to launch in August 2019, will be a topical CBD balm.
Anything else readers should know?
My dream of Love Always, Liz CBD Oil was born and grew wings during my time in Hawaii. “Makai” in Hawaiian means “to the sea,” and I have always found myself on a trajectory pointed towards the ocean. Regardless of your life and geographical location, we want everyone to feel as though they are headed makai. Love Always, Liz CBD Oil donates $1 of every bottle purchased to the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that’s dedicated to protecting and preserving oceans and beaches.
by Raleigh Magazine | Mar 5, 2019 | Do, March 2019
An evening at the theatre calls for a measure of decorum and your undivided attention. Actors have worked long and hard to create a compelling performance for theatre-goers, and it’s unfortunate when that work is ruined by someone’s ringing phone or chitter-chatter. While most of us know how to behave, a gentle refresher on theatre etiquette is never amiss, especially as show season kicks off in earnest. We asked Danni Dichito, sales and marketing manager for the North Carolina Theatre, and Brent Simpson, marketing director for Theatre in the Park, to weigh in on what they feel are the must crucial rules of theatre-going.
1. Arrive early
“Nothing annoys me more than attending a show when ushers have to bring people in late,” Simpson says. It’s important to get to the show on time, as, in some theatres, the ushers won’t seat you until the intermission, meaning you’ll miss the first half. Additionally, arriving before the show begins gives you time to park and find your seat.
2. Use the restroom before the show
Arriving early also allows you to visit the restroom before the show begins. The last thing you want is to miss something important because you’re in the bathroom, and getting up during the performance can be annoying to the people around you; they’ll have to stand up to let you out, or you’ll block their view. Remember, they bought tickets, too.
3. Turn off your phone
Yes, turn your phone off. Don’t just put it on vibrate or silent. Any sound or bright light can be distracting for both the performers and the people seated around you. “Seriously, just power it down,” says Simpson. “It can wait ’til intermission.” Furthermore, taking photographs during a show isn’t allowed in most theatres, so you definitely don’t need to keep your phone on for that reason.
4. Be quiet
Cut off all conversation once the show begins. “As hard as it may be, refrain from singing along during musical numbers,” says Dichito. Audience members are paying to hear the performers sing, not you. Also, avoid unwrapping snacks with wrappers, says Simpson. If you’re going to eat, be considerate and have your snacks ready before the show starts.
5. Clap and stay until curtain call
Stay quiet during the show and save your appreciation for afterwards by giving the cast and crew a hearty round of applause. “Even if you didn’t particularly enjoy the show, it’s polite to clap and acknowledge the hard work that went into the performance,” says Dichito. While it’s fine to skip the credits at the end of a movie, staying for curtain call, when all the performers come out and bow, is expected of audience members. So don’t try to dip out early to avoid parking lot traffic; it’s just plain rude.
by Raleigh Magazine | Mar 1, 2019 | March 2019, Polish, Stuff
Charman Driver is one of the organizers behind the “End Racism Now” mural painted in giant yellow letters along West Martin Street in front of downtown Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum earlier this moth. A few days later, on Juneteenth, Raleigh’s Confederate statues, monuments to white supremacy, began to come down. Learn more about this Raleigh resident, former CAM chair and all-around inspirational person from our interview with Driver last year.
For nearly 20 years, Charman Driver has motivated and encouraged women to enhance their quality of life through healthy, healing behaviors, as a pilates and women-only boot camp instructor, Duke-certified integrative health coach, community builder, arts advocate, writer and business owner. Her latest venture, BY: NEST, is a wellness initiative and lifestyle blog committed to deepening the literacy of self-maintenance for the woman who aspires to be true to herself and live with social purpose. BY: NEST is built on the belief that when you feel good, you then do good. Driver is the past chair of CAM Raleigh’s board of directors and serves on the board of the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy. She and her husband, Frank, have a daughter, Delaney, 11, and a 3-year-old
Portuguese water dog named Mochi.
Hometown: Jacksonville, North Carolina in a military family.
Your neighborhood: Cameron Village, for almost twenty years.
Currently reading: Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through The Seven Transitions Into Adulthood by Lisa Damour, Ph.D and Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen.
Currently listening to: NPR’s CodeSwitch podcast.
Style mantra: “Less is more.” I’m a no-nonsense woman and I don’t have a lot of time to spend fussing over clothes and searching through my closet for something to wear—I keep it simple. I love effortless minimalism and I like lines that are modern, without being too trendy. For special events, I like to play with my look a bit more and try get outside of my comfort zone by adding some texture and flow or by getting a little edgier. I also love super-high heels (only on occasion) and color.
Style influencers: I’m inspired by people whose values align with mine when it comes to fashion: being committed to sustainability, ethical and purpose-driven. I adore the effortless style of Nadira Hurley, owner of Vert & Vogue in Durham. The clothing store is a B-corp, committed to using business as a force for good. Brooklyn-based Aurora James, founder of the Brother Vellies brand, has gorgeous taste. Her shoes and bags are designed in Brooklyn and handcrafted across Africa. I’m totally infatuated with the super-dope style of Saudi-American businesswoman Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz. And my other favorite is Gabrielle Jewelry by the super talented Raleigh-born, San Francisco-based Gabe Bratton Hall.
Favorite clothing labels: Rachel Comey, Ganni, Raquel Allegra, Mi Jong Lee, Raleigh Denim. Shoes by Coclico, Brother Vellies and Veja.
Flats vs. Heels: Flats. I live in sneakers.
Local go-to shop: Vert & Vogue. I also love the tiny, beautifully curated corner in the Umstead Hotel’s shop. I love shopping for vintage at House of Landor; owner Mary Beth Paulson curates the most gorgeous collection of unique clothing. I love the idea that something old is new again and it reduces my carbon footprint!
Last great lunch: Heron’s at the Umstead Hotel.
Go-to piece: My navy Rachel Comey jumpsuit is minimal, comfortable and sophisticated all at once.
Favorite bling: My husband gifted me a beautiful orange sapphire and diamond ring designed by my friend and jeweler extraordinaire, An Nguyen, at Atelier N in Durham.
Travel dream: Last summer I travelled to Southeast Asia. I’d like to go back pronto!
How you stay fit: I’m always moving! For exercise: running, pilates, yoga, and I teach a women’s boot camp class.
Favorite drink: A Hemingway Daquiri
Style secret: It’s no secret and anyone can have it. I work hard to live a healthy, happy and fit lifestyle. Fashion plays a big part in that overall feeling of well-being for me. When I feel good about myself and about my body, beautiful clothes look and feel better on me. In my opinion, they go hand in hand. Feel good, look good.
Moment/event in your life that inspired your style: We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so there weren’t expensive clothes, but my mother took great care of what we had and we looked like a million bucks. She loves fashion and always made sure we looked put together. She did more with less.
by Raleigh Magazine | Mar 1, 2019 | Buzz, March 2019
Local sports fans may have a hard time catching ACC games soon. Next season, both ACC football and basketball games will no longer be televised on WRAL, or any other local stations, as, in August, ESPN will launch its ACC Network, dedicated to broadcasting virtually all conference games. This means that ACC games will only be available on cable or satellite going forward and if you don’t subscribe to a cable package, well, you’re pretty much screwed. The ACC Network will be a 24/7 platform broadcasting an estimated 1,300 live events in its first year, including regular season football games, men’s and women’s basketball games, regular-season competitions and tournament games, and news and information shows. The change heralds the end of a 37-year partnership between the ACC and Charlotte’s Raycom Sports, which offered WRAL a package of 21 games this season. Though Raycom will still help ESPN produce the games—some of the channel’s programming and staff will be based in Charlotte—the move is just the latest blow to add to the decline of local television.
