ROSE PISTOLA, North Beach – Lovely bar manager Aurora Siegel maintains a fine cocktail menu at Rose Pistola that could be easy to miss in North Beach’s tourist bustle. Finely-wrought takes on classics like Rose’s Manhattan ($10 – Bulleit Bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, Amarena cherry juice, essence of orange) mingle with bright refreshers like The Q ($11 – Hendrick’s Gin,… Read more →
LEFT COAST LIBATIONS – Ted Munat with Michael Lazar Left Coast Libations, which came out September 1st (catch the launch party this Saturday, 9/18, at Heaven’s Dog), is, as far as I’m concerned, a must for the library of any West Coast cocktailian, not to mention drink aficionados everywhere. Ted Munat clearly displays a fan’s love of drink and the… Read more →
COCKTAILS SPOONBAR, Healdsburg – I wrote last issue about Spoonbar in Sonoma County. It’s up to you get out there… and fast… for some of the best cocktails in all of the Bay Area (no surprise) from Mr. Scott Beattie. Ask for the full cocktail menu beyond the one you get when first seated. It’s a glory of new creations,… Read more →
SF CHEFS, a week-long celebration of all things food and drink in SF, ushered in it’s second year last week, August 10-15. It was as full, fun and delectable as the first year. From industry seminars like the intriguing Tales from the Still, which kicked off the week, to the Grand Tasting tent in Union Square, there was never a… Read more →
It’s a sad truth that at events on the scale of Tales of the Cocktail, it can be hard to find a decent drink… yes, it’s not easy batching drinks for hundreds of people. But whether on a smaller scale in a tasting room or with simple but robust recipes, like Audrey Saunders’ drink below, here are a couple that… Read more →
Though my May New York adventures brought me to some of the city’s newer treasures (see June 15 issue), I also made sure I hit up some of the greats of the past decade for a sip of what they’ve been serving lately: Milk & Honey, Lower East Side – Through its dodgy, unmarked door into a musty yet romantic… Read more →
Cocktails RICKHOUSE, Financial District – It’s been a rewarding Summer thus far for Rickhouse and its talented bar manager, Erick Castro. First, Castro won one of two mixologist of the year awards at StarChefs Rising Stars (see On the Town), then Rickhouse was nominated for three awards (more than any other SF bar) in an international nominees list for Tales… Read more →
QUEENS It’s always like coming home to my lifelong best friend in Queens, and now that my dear cousin lives in Brooklyn, I was able to take in some of the affordable eats in these boroughs in my couple days stay after a full week in Manhattan (see my other NY articles)… all excellent. Queens really does have some of… Read more →
(From my print article in the Spring SCENE issue of the SF Bay Guardian): These two new bars debuted at the end of May, quietly ushering in what I hope might be a new “trend”: mellow, sophisticated bars creating expertly-crafted cocktails, both classic and contemporary… without attitude, exclusivity, and, dare I say it (?), mobs of douchey crowds turning an… Read more →
I was one of the lucky ones, spending eight days in NY, my old stomping grounds, for the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic, May 14-18, highlighting and celebrating the art of the cocktail and its greatest talents. Or so I thought… I won’t gripe too much, though I will say that despite the stunning transformation of the already gorgeous New… Read more →