Bobby Flay's Espresso Martini Is Turning Heads
The multi-hyphenated celebrity chef Bobby Flay has proven his range by serving up everything from Southwestern and French cuisine on his menus (per Flay's website) to featuring the flavors of South America and Japan at one of his newer restaurants Shark. Flay likens what he does to an "artist — approaching concepts that were speaking to [him] at that very moment." Pretty soon it was Italy calling, moving the restaurateur and Food Network host to open Amalfi by Bobby Flay in 2021, his "first ever Italian restaurant" (via People).
Inspired by his travels to the coast of Italy, Flay features fish as a "focal point" along with handmade pasta on the menu, according to the Amalfi website. Flay aims to serve guests "bold flavors and vibrant ingredients" which he says "accented" the "easygoing sensibility" of the Amalfi coast, as told to Forbes.
In line with this bold theme, you don't want to overlook Amalfi's cocktail menu, especially the espresso martini described by Las Vegas Magazine as one of the "stronger" drinks on the menu.
A stronger, sweeter espresso martini
The first espresso martini was created in London around the early 1980s and was made by "combining coffee, vodka, and coffee liqueur," according to GQ. Flay goes classic and sticks to the recipe's original components but manages to bring in "Southwestern flavors" which he is known for (via Britannica). Amalfi happens to be built in the same spot Flay's Mesa Grill once stood at Caesar's Palace, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Mesa Grill served dishes like New Mexican spice-rubbed pork tenderloin and its cocktail list included aged tequilas (via Las Vegas Magazine).
The "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay" star makes his version of the caffeinated cocktail with New Deal coffee liqueur. Distilled in Portland, the liqueur is infused with "robust" flavors and sweetness from agave nectar which comes from blue agave plants that grow in Mexico and is said to be sweeter than white sugar, according to Healthline.
Amalfi's espresso martini pulls double duty "as a starter ... or as an after-dinner digestive aid," (per Vegas Magazine) which serves as a complement to the restaurant's said "large menu of rich pastas" like squid ink fettuccine with lobster and shrimp.