Bottoms Up

Celebrate the Kentucky Derby with 4 fascinating facts about mint juleps

Feel fancy at home with your own official mint julep cups.

Photo courtesy of Woodford Reserve

The Kentucky Derby, or "the greatest two minutes in sports," is this Saturday, May 4, but don't worry — there's still time to press your seersucker suit, find a fabulous hat, and gather the ingredients you'll need for round after round of mint juleps.

The Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, has been partnering with the Kentucky Derby for the last two decades, and to honor that collaboration we've put together a few fun facts about the famous Southern cocktail.

Read on to learn more, then stock up on Woodford Reserve bourbon, the Derby's official presenting sponsor, before Saturday.

80 years and counting
The mint julep has been the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby since 1939, shortly after Prohibition ended. Traditionally, juleps are made using ice, simple syrup, mint, and bourbon.

If you're feeling extra fancy ...
For the last 14 years, Woodford Reserve has been selling a limited-edition julep served in an actual silver or gold cup. Made using local ingredients — some as local as from the actual race track — the special cocktail always sells out. The price for these posh drinks? $1,000 for a silver cup and $2,500 for gold.

Drink for a good cause
Each year, Woodford Reserve selects a charitable organization to receive the net proceeds from the silver mint julep cups sold at the Kentucky Derby. To date, more than $600,000 has been raised for equine and humanitarian causes. This year's recipient is the John Asher Memorial Scholarship Fund at Western Kentucky University. Asher was a longtime vice president of racing communications and spokesman of Churchill Downs who was beloved by many; he died suddenly in August 2018 at age 62.

Participate from afar
Can't attend the actual race? There are still ways to feel part of the action. Some of the special mint julep cups are still for sale at www.woodfordreserve.com, or you can purchase this year's limited edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Kentucky Derby bottle. The commemorative bottle features artwork by Keith Anderson, who during the day works at the Bourbon Street Cafe inside the Brown-Forman headquarters. It's the second year in a row that this budding artist has had the honor of being featured on the highly sought-after bottle.

How to make the 2019 Kentucky Derby mint julep cocktail:

Ingredients
2 oz. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight bourbon
2 bar spoons of Inspired honey sweetener
2 mint leaves
Shaved honeycomb and a sprig of mint for garnish

Instructions
Rub mint around the julep cup to express the essential oils, and place the mint leaf in the bottom of the cup.

Drizzle 2 bar spoons of honey sweetener in the cup, add 2 oz. of bourbon, and mix the ingredients together.

Pack ice into the cup, then place the sipping straw.

Layer loose ice on top, with a splash of bourbon to settle your drink.

Garnish with shaved honeycomb and a sprig of mint.

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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45.2% Alc. by Vol. The Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, KY. WOODFORD RESERVE is a registered trademark. ©2018 Brown-Forman. All rights reserved. CRAFTED CAREFULLY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

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Dumpling News

Momo2Go restaurant from Canada debuts in-demand dumplings in Frisco

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A fast-casual restaurant starring momos has debuted in Frisco: Called Momo2Go, it's part of a well-regarded chain from Canada.

The restaurant recently opened at 5500 Preston Rd. #102, in the Preston Lebanon Crossing shopping center, taking over a space previously occupied by Lalo's Cocina Mexicana, which closed in July.

Momo2Go specializes in momos — the dumpling that's a foundation of Himalayan cuisine — and is a spinoff of a family-owned restaurant called Himalayan Kitchen, which debuted in Toronto in 2012. Their momos were so popular that they launched Momo2Go in 2016. They now have 10 including one in Irving, which franchisees Karma Gurung and Tashi Chetan opened in 2023. Frisco is their second location.

The menu features traditional steamed momos, filled with choice of beef, chicken, or veggie; plus fun fusion momos, inspired by momo stands chef Tenzin Dharpo saw while on trips to India and Nepal.

All of their momos can be served "dry," IE pan-fried, without sauce, although the more popular option is to get them with sauce, for a highly comforting bowl.

Signature dishes include:

Butter Chicken Momo, dumplings that summon the traditional Indian dish, with a creamy butter chicken sauce
Delhi Masala Momo, fried dumplings sauteed in a Himalayan sauce topped with mint chutney
Momo65, deep-fried dumplings with a sweet, spicy, and buttery taste, topped with spicy mayonnaise and curry

They offer many vegetarian and vegan non-momo dishes, such as spicy Schezwan Tofu Gravy, with fried cubes of tofu, crunchy and tender, in a spicy hot sauce and gobi Manchurian, which consists of battered cauliflower florets stir-fried with ginger garlic paste. There's an entire section dedicated to "chaap," a chicken-nugget-like alternative made with soybeans.

The menu also has some intriguing fried rice and noodle dishes such as stir-fried noodles with scrambled eggs, as well as a Himalayan-spiced take on chow mein, the classic Chinese stir-fry dish.

And because no restaurant these days can not-have French fries, Momo2Go has them in three options: plain fries; chili fries featuring spiced French fries sauteed with garlic, onions, and special sauce; and honey chili fries, featuring spiced French fries sauteed with garlic, onions, and honey garlic sauce topped with sesame seeds.

The Frisco location has plenty of seating, although they use disposable containers. (To their credit, much of it is paper-based rather than plastic.) A mural of blue sky and puffy clouds with the slogan "I followed my heart and it led me to momo" takes up an entire wall, adding some energy to the space.

According to a spokesperson, the owners chose Frisco for their second location because of its booming Asian population as well as its increasing demand for halal food preparation, meaning that the animals are raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines — a growing trend in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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