Bridgeport Rib House winners, from left, Kim Loncher, Lisa Van Fosse, Jeanine Hand, and Barb Brown.
Kim Loncher of the Bridgeport Rib House was going to enter a brand new recipe in this year’s AOH Div. 1 Irish Coffee Contest. “I made up a new one and tried it on our patrons,” she explained. “Only two people liked it. So went back to our old recipe.”
Turned out to be good thinking. The Rib House entry took home first place for the second year running in this relatively new annual event which was held at the AOH Hall in Swedesboro on Thursday night, March 13. And there are no “secret” ingredients. Kim shared the recipe with us last year and you can see it here.
It must have been tough for the judges (a collective “awwwwww” here). I sampled all of the coffees and I would have had a hard time choosing. For example, the entry from The Elks Lodge 714, which came in second, is just the drink you want after a cold day outside (like this year’s St. Paddy’s Day parade in Philadelphia). Light on the coffee, heavy on the Jamesons.
Clarissa Morales, bartender at Screwballs Sports Bar and Grill, said she and fellow barkeeps concocted their Guinness-looking entry by talking to “people in the area of Irish descent.” And she had some very explicit instructions for drinking her brew. “Don’t stir it up!” she told me. “Just drink it. You don’t stir Guinness.”
One of the more intriguing entries came from Anthony’s Tavern and Restaurant in Bridgeport. Anthony Pasceri made his entry with espresso (very good), brown sugar (excellent), Irish whiskey (nice), a little fire (what?). The fire, he explained, helped meld all the flavors. Okay. But what he added next had me wondering why he didn’t even place. He called it “nada.” He pulled out a pastry bag and squirted a little on my finger. Oh my. I’m not a big fan of whipped cream, but I could have asked for a cup of this. In fact, the woman standing next to me did ask for one. It was, he explained, just sugar, heavy cream, and a little Bailey’s. Just!
Other participants this year included Chick’s Tavern and Guppy’s whose entries were also delicious. You could tell: By the end of the competition, the only drops of Irish coffee left were in front of the judges.
