Beer – tinis

The hobo chef thinks it's time for a hobo cocktail recipe. Like a very wise (asssed) friend of mine once said, "the rich get richer and the poor get drunk". I'm from Baltimore and we have given this country many great things. A national anthem, the greatest football game ever played, Johnny Unitas, John Waters, Edgar Allan Poe, decent crab cakes and the list goes on. Now one of my favorite restaurants in the world is Pappas. Not only do they have the best crab cake in the known universe but they invented an amazing beer cocktail, called the Boh-tini. This is the ultimate hobo cocktail and it serves as an inspiration for every region to develop its own variation on this lowbrow theme, K, hon?

The Boh-tini is a glass of draft National Bohemian beer, rimmed with Old Bay seasoning and served with or without an olive.  Now it's usually served in a standard pint glass. Once I got a confused waiter who brought it to me in a martini glass. This was weird but elegant, and at a buck 25 I wasn't complainin'.

These days I live in Philly and so I racked my brain  to come up with a local variation. What we have here I'm calling the Yo-tini.  It combines two totally Philly elements. Yeungling Black and Tan beer and cheese, yeah that's right cheese. They put it on absolutely everything up here!  Here's how to make your own Yo-tini:

1 can of Yeungling Black and Tan

1 packet of that weird, yellow, powdery, "cheese" stuff that comes in a cheap box of mac & cheese

1 package of cheese cubes from the dollar store

1 coffee stirrer or some type of skewer (toothpick, unfolded paperclip, whatever)

1 dollar store martini glass

Empty the package of weird, yellow, powdery, "cheese"stuff into a bowl slightly bigger than a martini glass.  Wet/moisten the rim of the martini glass and grind it into the bowl of weird, yellow, powdery, "cheese" stuff, rimming the entire glass. Next, put three, five, or seven cubes of cheese on your skewer, remember, even numbers are bad luck. Fill the glass to the rim with the black and tan and place the skewer across or in the glass.

It's amazing how as one drinks this, one cannot help but be reminded of that glorious dish, Welsh rarebit, the rich porter flavors and the sharp yet subtle flavors of the cheese , delicious!… And yet so terribly hobo (about $5 should get you and a friend's evening started off nicely). Remember, with each big sip, munch on a cheese cube. I can't help but think that this would pair wonderfully with the world famous Philly soft pretzel and some high blood pressure medicine.

Please, feel free to come up with your own regional variations on the beer-tini.  The hobo chef looks forward to your responses!