Chorizo, potato puree, pickled jalapeno, lime crema-filled and grasshopper-topped egg at La Urbana preview

Summer’s Two Most-Anticipated Openings

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

Traditional combo: mezcal & oranges, La Urbana

Coming from one who hits virtually every new opening in San Francisco, and is constantly exploring new and established places globally, I weary of the “same old concept”, even as I am engaged by genuine passion no matter the concept.

Mexico commemorated at La Urbana preview

These two recent previews of restaurants slated to open this summer have me particularly expectant. Both step with a firm foot out the door by filling a niche that has not already been filled and calling on experts in those fields. Rather than open the umpteenth “creative Californian”, upscale comfort food or Neapolitan pizza place, they venture to explore a category in realms yet unsaturated. Earning greater marks, they do this in both food and drink categories.

La Urbana’s chorizo egg topped with grasshopper

LA URBANA, Western Addition/Nopa (661 Divisadero Street at Grove)

Mezcal & Cacao

What once humbly housed Plant It Earth is set to become San Francisco’s sophisticated new temple to Mexican cuisine and mezcal, La Urbana. Founded by entrepreneur Eduardo Rallo and Mexican architect Juan Garduño, their goal is to represent what is happening in the Mexico City dining scene.

Having just returned from Mexico City and Oaxaca myself this spring, I can vouch that we see little of what is reflected in that city’s restaurants in the States. Certainly we boast countless restaurants as chic as in Mexico City, and California has explored “upscale, creative” Mexican cuisine for decades alongside traditional categories. But there’s a current wave happening in Mexico City pushing Mexican food into new territories. There I witnessed seafood-focused restaurants with a Mexico-meets-Japan ethos (taking cues from Peru?), and farm-fresh ingredients given creative sway at restaurants like Quintonil.

Acapulco-Manila martini

Chef Benjamin Klein and chef de cuisine Julio Aguilera have created a menu that strikes into freshly imagined territory. Think a delicate egg, the top cracked off, filled with fluffy egg, potato puree, pickled jalapeno, lime crema, chorizo and topped with chapulines (a fried grasshopper), the latter transporting me straight back to Oaxaca where fried grasshoppers dominate.

There were clean, meaty “La Playa” oysters doused in cucumber serrano froth, and a fried masa huarache topped with tender lengua (beef tongue), mayocoba bean spread, queso fresco, habanero escabeche and spring onion flowers… meaty, flavor-packed, artful. Dessert was no afterthought. All three stood out, particularly a Oaxacan chocolate cremeux in a gourd used for drinking mezcal in remote areas of Oaxaca (as I recently learned up in the Oaxacan mountains). In the gourd, frozen, tart crema is dotted with canela (cinnamon) tuille and puffed rice.

Ranzuglia pours martinis

Lucas Ranzuglia oversees the cocktail menu, bringing cocktail experience from his native Buenos Aires, cocktail mecca London, and Mexico.

Whether with tequila or mezcal as the base, his margarita is a lesson is complex-yet-simple beauty. Rather than just use typical fresh lime juice or a triple sec, he makes his own orange flower water, clarified lime juice, and in a traditional Mexican bowl, grates lime oils from zest and combines them all together. The result is a margarita of texture, tart and liveliness… with three types of salt to choose from for the rim. This is no throwaway margarita.

La Urbana Margarita

His take on a dry martini is Acapulco-Manila, a clean, bracing presentation of mezcal with a simple radish highlighting the mineral mezcal with a vivid pinky-red. The most unusual drink was Mezcal & Cacao, a water-based mix of earthy Oaxacan cacao and mezcal served tall on the rocks, decked out with bright, edible flowers. Refreshing and dry, it’s boozy dessert for those of us who like a savory touch to finish. On the non-alcoholic side, tortilla lemonade or grapefruit-lade are traditional juices that taste intensely of, yes, tortilla. The juices made my mouth immediately water for fresh-fried tortilla chips.

Artful asparagus dish

Garduño’s Garduño Arquitectos designed a polished dining room. The 3600-square-foot space will also house La Mezcaleria Urbana, a hardcore mezcal bar with a selection of 40-50 rare mezcals, and Mercado Urbano, a more casual, street food hangout by day and a lounge at night. The dining room and mezcaleria are shooting for a July opening, while the mercado is on track for the fall.

The Company’s glouti kebab

THE COMPANY BAR & KITCHEN, SoMa (133 Steuart St. between Mission & Howard, 415-394-6500)

Blood & Sanskrit

Despite a rather bland moniker, The Company Bar & Kitchen will be the latest from the Michael Mina Group when it opens (slated for this summer). Two of its great assets are sommelier superstar Rajat Parr and Michael Mina cocktail master Carlo Splendorini. Amy Kim of LA-based AK Design Network (who worked with Philippe Starck on Beverly Hills’ SLS Hotel) is designing what was formerly Shanghai 1930, an underground, subterranean restaurant that remained an intriguing space over a decade. The space will now include an open kitchen with tandoori ovens, chef’s counter, dining area with communal tables, and bar area with a live botanical bar where customers can infuse their gin.

Dungeness crab salad

They take on Raj’s Calcutta roots (what Parr calls “a very personal project”) serving modern-yet-comfortable East India cuisine described as “mid-range” and “fun”. Parr’s mother, who grew up in Delhi, is even consulting on the food. We sampled a Dungeness crab salad lightly spiced with anardana (a subtly sweet/sour spice made of dried pomegranate seeds) on pappadum (a classic, paper thin, Indian “cracker”). The crab was perked up with bits of gold corn, blood orange, pomegranate and a dollop of curry spiced aioli. Glouti kebab stood out: a patty of minced leg of lamb, split pea, yellow lentil, papaya spiced with cardamom.

Parr’s wine expertise will be focused on the mighty Riesling (an endlessly nuanced category and one of my favorite varietals) and Syrah from around the globe, and he plans to serve a House Kolsch alongside other approachable beers.

Fix-It Up Chappie

Splendorini’s cocktails are among the most elegantly nuanced around so I’m eager to see what he will serve at The Company. In the preview, he talked of clean house cocktails heavy on Indian flavors like ras el hanout (spice blend) and kaffir lime. He sampled us on drinks like Fizzy Lifting Drink, a straightforward, sweet mix of Tanqueray 10 gin, Aperol and sencha green tea syrup, or Fix-It Up Chappie, a frothy-soft (with egg white) blend of kaffir lime-infused Bombay Sapphire gin, honey, Meyer lemon and garam masala spices. I appreciated his twist on a classic Blood and Sand cocktail: Blood & Sanskrit. Blood orange juice and Americano Rosso vermouth is given an Indian twist mixed with Amrut Single Malt whisky and Rangpur lime-Fresno chili syrup.

NEW SPIRITS: Rum & Vermouth

Article and Photos by Virginia Miller

Here are a couple noteworthy products that crossed my desk in recent weeks…

MOUNT GAY BLACK BARREL RUM, $29.99
Barbados favorite, Mount Gay Rum, recently released Black Barrel Rum, a rum finished in charred bourbon oak casks.

For American whiskey lovers like myself, it makes for a fine marriage of bourbon and rum, balancing caramel-vanilla-sweet notes from sugar cane molasses and wood with subtle hints of pepper and spice. Barbados’ acclaimed water, naturally filtered through coral layers, is said to contribute to the smooth taste of the rum.

Its subtle elegance especially works given the value. It can double as a sipping rum and elevates cocktails, like a simple mix of Black Barrel, lime juice and St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram.

ATSBY VERMOUTH, $44 each
Atsby is a newer artisanal vermouth out of Upstate NY. Atsby’s two, non-traditional vermouths are best enjoyed on their own.

Atsby Amberthorn is the lighter of the two, fresh and sweet with botanicals like French lavender, basil, Chinese anise, which intrigue though none dominate. It’s soft so a squeeze of lemon brightens it up.

Atsby Armadillo Cake (yes, there’s a story behind the name) makes a bit more of a statement with a dark caramel sweetness (from Indian Muscovado sugar) and complexity from cardamom and unusual botanicals like wild celery and Japanese shitake.

There’s little bitterness to either vermouths so they should both be approachable to a wide range of drinker. Though soft, they stand strong solo, but I have a harder time mixing them in cocktails as the unique botanical profiles of both aren’t an easy replacement in classic recipes. There’s a number of recipes on the website, though it’s the simpler ones that work better, like a twist on a classic Martinez using Bols Genever, the Armadillo vermouth, Maraschino Liquor, and Angostura bitters garnished with an orange peel strip.

Hard Water bar

Cocktails at South at SFJazz

PHAN’S NEW ORLEANS DUO

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Hard Water cocktails made with house barrel of Willett bourbon

Chef powerhouse Charles Phan’s New Orleans-influenced Southern food and bourbon bar duo opened mid-March with similar menus focused on New Orleans-style bar snacks and menus run by the ever-talented Erik Adkins, who oversees cocktail bars at every Phan restaurant. Both are already destination bars in terms of quality and setting.

HARD WATER, Embarcadero (Pier 3, Ste. 3-102, 415-392-3021)

Hard Water is a sleek beauty of a bar designed by Olle Lundberg. The high-ceiling room is centered by dramatic marble-top horseshoe bar, no tables and seating along the walls. Though right on the water, the view isn’t waterside but of the passing bustle of the Embarcadero.

Boiled peanuts, cornmeal-crusted alligator ($12), and a delightful fried veggie snack of crispy milk-braised celery hearts ($12) typify bar food available, alongside entrees like braised rabbit and buttermilk dumplings in sage ($21) or okra etouffee ($17) over popcorn rice.

Bourbon cocktails

The shining star here, however, is the American whiskies strikingly lined against a glowing white wall. Adkins and crew journeyed to Kentucky to choose their own house barrels of 9 and 10 year old Willett Bourbon (a highlight of my Kentucky distillery visits this March). House whiskey, Weller 7 year, is used in ubiquitous classics like an Old Fashioned. The rarities on offer will thrill an American whiskey aficionado, like 2002 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, flights of the entire Van Winkle line, and even a few bottles of the put of production, very rare A.J. Hirsch 16 year and 20 year bourbons.

The bar is in excellent hands managed by Joel Baker who has been crafting fine cocktails since the early days of Bourbon & Branch, while the menu keeps it clean and simple with no more than 6-8 cocktails, mainly focused on classics with an occasional twist, like a version of a Whiskey Smash Adkins was experimenting with called a Trailer Smash with smoked maple syrup.

SOUTH at SFJAZZ, Hayes Valley (201 Franklin St. at Fell, 415-539-3905)

Boudin balls & fried oysters

For an avid jazz fan such as myself, it’s been a thrill to see the country’s first fully dedicated jazz hall akin to a classical symphony hall open in San Francisco this spring. Already attending a few concerts, I’m delighted to find SFJazz’s house café, South at SFJazz, a welcome, glass-walled space that feels like a community hangout for jazz fans with SF-quality food and drink.

Black-eyed pea succotash

Similarities exist between South and Hard Water’s menu, but the casual South at SFJazz menu also offers charcuterie platters with crostini, Creole mustard and celery root rèmoulade ($14), a simple field greens and pickled sweet red onion salad ($10) elevated by peanut vinaigrette, cheese grits ($6), or mini Muffaletta sandwiches ($6).

Cocktails at South at SFJazz

As at Hard Water, the bar is already another destination drinking spot with bar talent like Erik Ellestad and Ken Furusawa. The cocktail menu ($10) is again compiled by Erik Adkins, with Nola nods in name and style in drinks like The Battle of New Orleans (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, gum syrup, dashes of absinthe, Peychaud’s and orange bitters) or the Tchoupitoulas Street Guzzle (El Dorado 3 year rum, lime, ginger, Peychaud’s bitters).

Horse Thief Cocktail (Hayman’s Old Tom gin, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, absinthe) makes a lovely, clean aperitif with a bitter herbaceousness, while a classic Brandy Milk Punch is my kind of dessert: Germain Robin brandy, Barbancourt 8 year rum, Straus organic milk, and fresh nutmeg grated on top. During opening days, Adkins told me he hopes to add fun drinks like a boozy NY egg cream (brilliant idea) using bourbon or rum, Stumptown Coffee Liqueur, orgeat, cream and soda.

Cheese grits

The wine list is no slouch with offerings like a local Sonoma wine I’ve been seeing pop up on a lot of menus lately: Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir Rose, a dry, mineral, balanced partner to starters like crispy, meaty boudin balls ($9), cornmeal fried oysters ($9) or comforting black-eyed pea succotash ($7).

Staff are sensitive to timing so South is ideal for a pre-show bite and drink.

Cotogna's artful spring sformato

Eat/Drink: Quaffable Dessert, Fennel Intensity, Squid Ink & Spicy Rum, Grilled Cheese & Spiced Cocktails

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Cocktails and food: each of these four locations – one brand new, three established – boast noteworthy cocktails – and most are excellent restaurants. Here’s what’s making an impression in recent weeks…

ALCHEMIST, SoMa/South Beach (679 3rd St. between Brannan & Townsend; 415-746-9968)

Shining logo above Alchemist's bar

Opened by Kinson Lau (Gitane) and Phil Chen, Alchemist, upstairs in a wood-floored, roomy space, recalls LA mixology bars like Next Door Lounge (but with better drinks) and The Edison (not near as over the top or pretentious). Similar to both those bars, black & white films flicker on Alchemist’s brick walls, while couches and chairs form sections and nooks in which to linger. It can get noisy but the space is still a SoMa respite, unlike other bars nearby.

Ancient Bible & accoutrements in entrance hallway

Seth Laufman (Gitane, Burritt Room, Comstock Saloon) created the cocktails ($11), a list of catchy names – like a spicy, Scotch-ginger-habanero concoction and nod to Mr. T, B.A. Baracus – representing straightforward (read: unfussy) but well-made drinks. The Baracus is topped by Martinelli’s cider, a trend I am noticing popping up around town, recalling childhood holidays.

Stop Fenneling Me

Stop Fenneling Me may be my top pick. Though it borders precariously on thick sweetness, it’s savory fennel bitters that save this clean imbibement of Right Gin, velvet falernum (lime, almond, vanilla, ginger, clove-tinged liqueur), and a touch of Manzanilla sherry.

Campfire Fizz goes the smoky-refreshing route with Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Cherry Heering (cherry liqueur) and lemon, frothy with egg white and IPA beer.

Sweet/bracing notes come into balance in a twist on the classic Vieux Carré cocktail, Room with a Vieux: rye whiskey and Pueblo Vieja blanco blend with bittersweet Amaro Nonino, with dashes of Angostura and orange bitters.

Lounging at Alchemist

COTOGNA, Jackson Square/Financial District (490 Pacific Ave. at Montgomery, 415-775-8508)

Voodoo Child

As the more casual, affordable (but quite different) sister restaurant to neighboring Quince, Cotogna remains a haven for pasta and wood-fired pizzas. Since former bar manager Jason “Buffalo” LoGrasso left for Rich Table (below) at the beginning of the year, I’m pleased to say cocktails remain subtle and refreshing, with bartenders like Gitane’s Ramon Garcia ensuring talent behind the bar.

My recent favorite was Voodoo Child, a Tiki tribute combining Barbancourt white rum and SF’s rum of the year (at most noteworthy bars, it seems): Smith & Cross dark rum, lending its musty beauties to  Cointreau, a splash of St. Germain elderflower liquor and grapefruit juice, with a kick from house chili tincture.

Stracciatella gelato"cake"

EAT WITH: Cotogna’s impeccable sformato, a dreamy, savory pudding ($12), changes base vegetable (currently, it’s carrot). No matter the base, it’s a menu highlight.

Also a pleasure: wood-fired pizza ($17) topped with nettles, ricotta dura (aged ricotta from Puglia, Italy), Fior di Latte mozzarella, or thick, spaghetti-like black noodles – bigoli neri ($16) – tossed with octopus, oregano and hot pepper.

Finish with a cool dessert of stracciatella (chocolate chip) gelato formed into a cake, salted hazelnuts adding crunch.

Bigoli neri at Cotogna

RICH TABLE, Hayes Valley (199 Gough St. at Oak, 415-355-9085)

Dessert cocktail beauties

Returning yet again, Rich Table affirms its status as Best New Restaurant in the US nominee at the James Beard Awards. As he settles in, Bar Manager Jason “Buffalo” LoGrasso continues to create winning cocktails ($10 each), some highlights being from the dessert menu… one reason to save room for post-dinner imbibing.

Recent dessert cocktail beauties? An Orange Julius-like Hook Shot combining vodka, orange juice, cream, vanilla and honey meringue, or an herbaceous, chocolate-y twist on the Brandy Alexander… the Dandy Alexander, mixing Armagnac, Cardamaro (cardoon/thistle-based amaro), cream, mint, cocoa. A house flip (meaning there’s a whole egg in there), the 1Up, infuses porcini mushrooms in woody-fresh St. George Terroir Gin with a touch of Pedro Ximenez sherry for sweetness and cream for texture.

Mint and chocolate perfected

EAT WITH: While you can drink your dessert, Evan and Sarah Rich’s dessert menu ($9 each) is likewise a lesson in pastry chef excellence. Buttermilk panna cotta is sweetened by dried apricots, textured with honey oatmeal crumble and shreds of basil – I wanted it for breakfast. Sourdough bread pudding wowed, tart with pomelo curd and fresh wedges, crispy pistachio tuile standing in the pudding. Mint chocolate cream is dotted around a “sandwich” of milk mint ice cream, cool between earthy chocolate sable.

TWO SISTERS BAR & BOOKS, Hayes Valley (579 Hayes St. between Octavia & Laguna, 415-863-3655)

Deviled eggs & cocktails

Tiny and perpetually crowded, the warm glow, jazz, and embracing welcome of Two Sisters Bar & Books feels like an idyllic European bar, with the added romance of book-lined walls, a window seat and vintage wallpaper. A bite and a drink from the small but thoughtful cocktail ($10 each) and spirits selection immediately soothes.

While a Harvest Manhattan strikes a tough-to-come-by balance of house pumpkin liqueur mixed with rye whiskey, vermouth and bitters without being too musky or heavy, The Dark Knight illuminates the bright side of winter combining gin and two Italian apéritifs, Campari and Aperol, with a tart-sweet, robust cherry balsamic vermouth. Dark nights immediately become brighter.

Intimate romance of Two Sisters

EAT WITH: Two Sisters’ short-but-oh-so-sweet food menu is as comforting as the cocktails (all under $15), no item more so than grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Their version ($12) uses St. George cheddar griddled with garlic butter (sigh), dunked in pimenton-scented tomato soup.

The Most Expensive Thing I Ever Drank

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Brandon Clements' Island Heat on fire

The most expensive thing I ever drank may be one of only 12 bottles of Dalmore’s Sirius Scotch with Master Blender Richard Paterson, a blend of vintages all the way back to 1868… or maybe it was 1865 Rouyer Guillet & Co. cognac shared by Salvatore Calabrese at Tales of the Cocktail 2010. Most recently, however, it was Legacy by Angostura, valued at $25,ooo for one of only 20 bottles worldwide (3 coming soon to the US)… the first bottle sold for $40,000 with most of the proceeds going to charity.

Anyone who spends much of their days tasting knows that older doesn’t mean better… neither does more expensive. I cannot count the times I’ve sighed with delight over a mid-range spirit compared to a more expensive pour alongside it.

Legacy by Angostura

Though best known for the most famous of all bitters, Angostura Trinidadian rums are a pleasure. 1919 is the most popular, but my two favorites are the woody elegance of 1824 as a sipping rum, or the value of Angostura 7 year rum (usually around $25) which elevates a cocktail but works neat, too.

Tasting through the line with Master Distiller John Georges, who worked with Master Blender Robert Wong and crew over 6 years blending Legacy, we discussed Legay’s long finish, its liveliness yet signature elegance.

They went all out on an Asprey hand blown crystal decanter with Art Deco design and sterling silver stopper of a butterfly (their signature logo) atop sugar cane.

As for the product itself, I cannot imagine having a fortune and wanting to spend $20k of it on a bottle of anything. But for those who do, nosing Legacy’s whispers of tropical fruit and vanilla-clove is to be transported to the Caribbean, albeit a restrained, elegant vision of it. To taste, dried fruit, spice and orange zest comingle with subtle wood and tobacco notes. Consider it Trinidadian history (the youngest rum in the blend being 17 years old) in a glass.  

Clements' version of a classic Daiquiri

At Spruce in Laurel Heights, Brandon Clements recently crafted cocktails using the line of Angostura rums at a special dinner, including a 1919 rum-papaya-pineapple-pomegranate juice imbibement. He sets a thick pineapple wedge aflame, caramelizing demerara sugar on top. Clements’ house cinnamon-cardamom tincture adds a layer of spiced complexity.

My favorites were his elevated (tart, clean, yet lush) classic Daiquiri, and Island Heat, a decadent blend of expensive 1824 Angostura rum macerated with apples, spice added from pür orange spice liqueur, bitter ting from Gran Classico, a rinse of Black Bottle Scotch with two dashes of Angostura bitters. 

Chambers' dramatic fireplace

COCKTAILS & BITES:
Mezcal & Coffee, G&Ts & Crudo,
Artful Salads & Cilantro Daiquiris

Article and Photos by Virginia Miller

In my endless treks ’round the city for the best partnerships of drink and food, here are a few notable current menu offerings:

COMSTOCK SALOON, North Beach (155 Columbus Ave. at Pacific, 415-617-0071) www.comstocksaloon.com

Cherry Bounce

Easily one of our city’s great bars, Comstock Saloon maintains historical reverence to SF’s Barbary Coast days without being stuffy. Old World decor, live jazz and bartenders who know how to make a proper cocktail make it one of the most blessedly grown-up watering holes, particularly in partying North Beach. If this weren’t enough, it’s a top notch restaurant. Chef Carlo Espinas churns out dishes better than your typical gastropub/”upscale comfort food” fare.

Mostly classic cocktails ($8-12) are often best as “Barkeep’s Whimsy” ($12), like a gorgeous Smith & Cross Sour, showing off the musky-elegant-spice notes of Smith & Cross rum with lemon, sugar and frothy egg white.

Burrata & pickled cherries

More whimsy choices from the talented Ethan Terry (here until Heaven’s Dog, where he’s Bar Supervisor, reopens): a stunner of smoky mezcal weaving with Firelit Coffee liqueur, Oloroso sherry and orange bitters; or a texture from the oil of two lemon peels with rye, Yellow Chartreuse and apricot brandy. Menu classics remain, like the ever-drinkable Cherry Bounce (bourbon, cherry brandy, lemon, Angostura, Champagne) or the recently added, but classic Charles H. Baker Zeinie: Cognac, pineapple gum syrup, lime, maraschino liqueur and Angostura bitters.

Kale, Parmesan, lemon salad

EAT: I can’t resist a good pretzel ($6)… and this one’s great. With whole grain mustard and cheddar mayo, it’s a worthy bar snack. Unless we’re talking melting soft, mashed potato fritters ($9) dipped in “loaded baked potato dip” (you got it: essence of bacon and chives in sour cream – I had to ask for more). Salads are refined yet comforting, whether the austere green of raw kale ($9) tossed with little gems, Parmesan and watermelon radishes in bright lemon dressing, or chunks of fresh crabmeat and smoked trout in a lentil, baby chicories salad ($12).

Mashed potato fritters

Toasts with silky burrata and pickled cherries ($14) on a frisee bed, similarly hit fresh-but-gratifying notes. Good thing I can contrast that healthy eating with bacon-wrapped meatloaf ($16) bearing a caramelized “skin” of ridiculously fine house ketchup (brown sugar, tomato, chili, to name a few ingredients) alongside dreamy coleslaw.

Chambers' Salade Lyonnaise: grapefruit, pork biscotti, lardons, candied pomelo splay out spoke-like from a sous vide egg atop frisée

BRASSIERE S&P, Financial District (Mandarin Oriental, 222 Sansome at Pine St., 415-986-2020)

Gin & tonics

Consider leisurely Brasserie S&P, inside the Mandarin Oriental, your gin and tonic haven. But not just any G&T. Though cocktails fall on the pricey hotel side ($12-16, $13 for G&Ts), Beverage Manager Priscilla Young manages a robust gin collection, blends tonic waters in house, and presents mix-and-match G&T options via iPad to diners and drinkers.

Kona kanpachi crudo

Her sommelier’s palate (yes, she’s the whole package) ensures tonics align with botanical profiles of gins like local Old World Spirits‘ Blade Gin, its Asian botanicals dancing with Young’s citrus-tinged Sensei #1 tonic, orange, and Thai chilies. There’s an earthier G&T of St. George’s Dry Rye Gin poured with the same tonic, orange, and black pepper. In a “Dirty” G&T, Scottish Botanist Gin flows with celery brine and Q Tonic, decorated with salt pepper rim. Then there’s an aged G&T using Old World’s Rusty Blade gin with Young’s Sensei saffron tonic and burnt orange. Outside of G&Ts, Fresno chilis and bacon make the Diablo’s Whisper a refreshingly savory cocktail of Don Julio reposado tequila, blackcurrant hibiscus, and lime.

Chicken Paillard

EAT: Conveniently open 11am-11pm, The Bar at Brasserie S&P is an all day, downtown drink option, though it’s also a blessedly non-trendy, power lunch spot. Light, clean kanpachi crudo ($17) nods to Hawaii with Kona fish and macadamia nuts, drizzled in sesame oil and Fresno chilis. Also light yet laden with Dungeness crab is a Louie salad ($19) stacked with butter lettuce, sieved egg and avocado. I often glaze over chicken, but Mary’s chicken paillard ($18) is a highlight breaded in anchovy garlic crumbs over marcona almond pesto.

Bonus: A new (and genius) offering is mini-martinis available all day at $5, like First Word, a twist on a classic Last Word cocktail, with Beefeater Gin, Green Chartreuse, lime and grapefruit. Imbibing guilt free, the diminutive size makes you want to order another.

CHAMBERS, Tenderloin (601 Eddy St. at Larkin, 415-829-2316)

Smoking pork belly

Rock star cool and sexy hideaway describe Chambers record-lined dining room, one of the most striking in the city. Thankfully, style doesn’t infer lack of substance. Cocktails ($11) are improved from early days when they opened in 2011. Straightforward and unfussy, the drinks are well made and thirst-quenching. Playing off one of THE greats, a Whiskey Sour, their Whisky Cider Sour combines house-made cider, whisky, egg and fresh-grated nutmeg. A garden-fresh Cilantro Daiquiri blends Bacardi silver rum, Cointreau, and lime with plenty of muddled cilantro.

Record-lined walls

EAT: Appreciating Executive Chef Trevor Ogden‘s unique presentation of smoked fish (salmon) in the past, slowly smoking over a grate tableside. Despite pork belly burnout years ago, I hadn’t tried similarly smoking pork belly ($13) until recently, soft fat releasing its aromas as it burns before you, accompanied by Early Girl tomato kimchee and pickled sweet peppers. How could I resist? While a tai snapper entree ($24) was surprisingly bland despite a smear of black garlic soubise, Meyer lemon and yuzu koshu, salads unexpectedly steal the show.

Chambers' drinks

Winter is exemplified in an artistic display of fuyu persimmons ($10) happily partnered with burrata, miners lettuce and toasted oat toffee, dotted with Angostura bitters (you heard right), olive oil, sea salt, and garam masala spices. Salade Lyonnaise ($12) is artfully deconstructed: grapefruit wedges, pork biscotti, lardons (thin strips of pork fat) and candied pomelo splay out spoke-like from a sous vide egg resting atop a mound of frisée in the center.

Chambers striking dining room

Rich Table's dreamy Carthusian Hot Cocoa: chocolate, Green Chartreuse, mint, pineapple marshmallow

COCKTAILS & BITES for a JANUARY NIGHT

Article and Photos by Virginia Miller

My latest obsession: Rich Table's savory doughnuts in raclette cheese sauce

Though Trick Dog is the just-opened hot cocktail/food destination of the moment (my my early word here), slipping in at the bar at these three restaurants, ranging from elegant to festive, offers some of SF’s best cocktails with incredible food.

It’s impossible to get a reservation at Rich Table, one of the most buzzed about restaurants in the country right now, but I find seats at the bar open up often on a Monday – and arriving when they open at 5:30pm is an ideal time to go.

RICH TABLE, Hayes Valley (199 Gough St. at Oak, 415-355-9085)

Returning yet again, Rich Table is as satisfying as it was in first opening months. With new bar manager Jason “Buffalo” LoGrasso (from Quince and Cotogna), already lovely cocktails expand from 4-5 offerings to 7 on the regular and 4 on the dessert menu. After tasting every LoGrasso cocktail ($10), it’s official: I’m in love with the Carnegie Martini. Inspiration is genius – a pastrami sandwich from Carnegie Deli, where my Dad took me for my first Reuben as a teenager. LoGrasso combines elements of the ultimate sandwich into a clean, refreshing whole. Wisely using St. George’s Dry Rye Gin as a base, caraway comes in the form of Combier’s Doppelt Kummel Extra liqueur, an aromatic caraway liqueur redolent of cumin. He adds drops of mustard oil and a pickle, causing salivation and pastrami cravings.

My cocktail obsession: Carnegie Martini

Strong points including a beautifully musty Shivered Timbers, a lively red drink with pomegranate touched by ginger and cinnamon, evoking rhum agricole but using Smith & Cross Pot Still Rum. This cocktail will likely make way for a crowd-pleasing rum cocktail featuring Denizen rum, honey, lime, and Pur Spice liqueur. Despite not being a vodka drinker, my top aperitif here might be Figaro Chain, a bright, appetite-stimulant of Swan’s Neck vodka, Averna, lemon and ginger. Dessert cocktails shine. Rich Coffee is a harmonious blend of Fernet, Sightglass coffee and pistachio cream, while the Carthusian Hot Cocoa sings with chocolate, Green Chartreuse, mint and pineapple marshmallow, simultaneously herbal, earthy and sweet.

Pickled herring, avocado, coconut cream

EAT WITH: My new obsession on the Rich Table menu: doughy, savory doughnuts ($7) topped with shaved, dried porcini, the clincher being thick raclette dipping sauce. I’d call this “bite” one of the best new menu additions. An amuse bouche named “Dirty Hippie” elevates “granola” to to gourmet with cool buttermilk panna cotta doused in pumpkin seeds, sprouts and spices. Delicate pickled herring ($13) is unusually paired with avocado, coconut cream and tortilla crisps. Divine tajarin ($27) egg noodles (a Piedmont pasta style) dissolve in the mouth, melting in house cultured butter under shaved Perigord black truffles. Sigh.

Call this Rich Table amuse bouche the Dirty Hippie

MICHAEL MINA, Financial District (252 California St. between Front & Battery, 415-397-9222)

Elegant, harmonious Splendorini cocktails

Since his former days at Gitane and years at Michelin-starred Michael Mina, Carlo Splendorini has crafted some of the most elegant, balanced cocktails not merely in San Francisco, but anywhere. In my travels sampling cocktails the world over, it’s rare to experience the precision and finesse Splendorini brings to drinks ($11-14). Prime example: the way Barrel aged Bols Genever and Beefeater Gin seamlessly weave with piney notes of Clear Creek Douglas Fir eau de vie, the earthiness of sencha green tea, brightened by the tart of yuzu, lemon and grapefruit foam. This combination could easily go wrong but mixed by Splendorini, it’s exquisitely layered. Similarly, Yamazaki 12 year Japanese whisky, chamomile tea and a spoonful of Yellow Chartreuse over a shiso leaf dramatically cast against a giant ice cube in a wine glass make a striking sipper. A third new drink of note also showcases Japanese whisky, in this case Hibiki 12 year, with, believe it or not, wine: Grenache/Syrah and a sweet, late harvest Cabernet. If it’s in stock, sample their Mina Blend Bourbon, a limited edition six-year-old Willett bourbon (also available at RN74).

Deliciously comforting: Michael Mina's amuse bouche of grilled cheese & chestnut soup

EAT WITH: Try oysters brilliantly accented by drink sauces (Pimm’s Cup, Elderflower Fizz, Bloody Mary) instead of the usual vinegar and lemon, or a meaty Monterey bay abalone ($21) grilled over shiitakes, tokyo turnips, mirin-scented rice, in a miso broth (I’ve seen abalone haters convert on this one). An amuse bouche of grilled cheese and chestnut soup should be a bar menu fixture. For a more affordable bar bite, Mina’s signature ahi tuna tartare starter ($19) doused in ancho chile, sesame oil and mint is $10 during happy hour.

Hog & Rocks ham platters showcase the best Southern & European hams

HOG & ROCKS, Mission (3431 19th Street between San Carlos & Mission, 415-550-8627)

Lazar refreshers (Coastal Collins, L; Cider Press Buck, R)

With new chef Robin Song on board a couple months ago at Hog & Rocks (formerly at Haven and Plum), there are elevated touches to Hog & Rocks ever approachable food, a prime example being a special of perch crudo ($14), delicate with nasturtium, puffed rice, minced Manila clams and blood orange. This suits Bar Manager Michael Lazar’s robust yet refined cocktails just fine. Chef Song’s amuse bouche of buckwheat gougeres topped with salty lardo should be a menu fixture. Gougeres dissolve under warm, melting lardo fat, divine with Lazar’s Miller’s Meyer ($11), a vivid winter cocktail of Martin Miller’s Gin, Meyer lemon syrup (think fresh juice vs. simple syrup), and herbaceous Elisir M.P. Roux liqueur lending whispers of anise, verbena and lavender.

Chef Song's refined, delectable crudo

A refreshing Cider Press Buck ($11) showcases one of the most edible garnishes around: a spiced Arkansas black apple (preserved via Cryovac®). This delicious garnish evolves with the seasons, atop Old Fitzgerald bourbon, lime, ginger and Wandering Aengus dry pear cider, confirming the current cider craze. The Buck pairs with H&R’s always pleasurable ham platters ($16). Song has chosen a few I haven’t seen on H&R’s ham menu before: Monte Nevado Jamon Serrano from Spain, aged 15 months, served with candied almonds; Greci & Foizani Proscuitto from Italy, aged 24 months, served with house ricotta; and a stunningly smoky ham exemplifying all I love best in Southern hams, Edwards Surryano from Virginia, aged 16 months, served with strawberry mostarda.

My drink of choice is house Willett bourbon, a bracing 130 proof but cut with water. Rye spice and sweet corn notes meld perfectly in Lazar’s Old Fashioned with orange and Angostura bitters.

Rich Table's divine tajarin egg noodles melting in house cultured butter & shaved Perigord black truffles

4 SPIRITS YOU DON’T KNOW… But Should

Article by Virginia Miller

CHRISTIAN DROUIN Pommeau de Normandie

Photo: Virginia Miller

If you love spirits and apples, then Calvados is your is your ideal imbibement. The elegant French version of apple brandy grown in the Calvados region of France, the apple brandy is often rounded out by pears, and in the case of Calvados Christian Drouin, one of the world’s best-selling small Calvados producers (around 150,000 bottles per year), they grow over 30 varieties of apples used to make their Calvados.

Recently spending a quiet morning over coffee and Calvados with the gracious Christian Drouin himself, I learned his father made Calvados as a hobby but never sold a bottle. Christian launched the company in the 1970′s, wisely growing the business in untapped Calvados markets like US, Asia and Russia, now working with his son, even publishing the first recipe books of Calvados cocktails.

Sipping aged beauties like a crisp 1992 vintage, a lively 1982, and a 1972 Calvados prove that fine Calvados is as pleasurable an experience as Cognac, Scotch, whiskey, and the like. On the affordable side, there’s much to excite. Pays d’Auge is light, floral, and popular with bartenders in elevated cocktails, while Blanche de Normandy is a fragrant, clear aperitif that doubled in sales in 2012.

However, I want to alert you to Pommeau de Normandie ($23): this bright spirit is a blend of Calvados and pre-fermented must, or essentially apple juices, made from 20 varieties of apple. It’s crisp, refreshing, a lush exploration of apples that tastes like fall and spring combined. The Christian Drouin line is distributed in the US by SF’s Anchor Distilling.

PALOMINO FINO

In Northern California, we’re ridiculously blessed with pioneers in every realm of drink. Whether beer, wine, or spirits, these few pioneered methods long before we saw them around the country. The earliest craft spirits were happening here decades past at St. George, Germain-Robin, Anchor Distilling. There’s another longtimer you might not recognize: Quady.

Quady Winery was launched by Andrew and Laurel Quady in 1975 in Madera, California (inland between Fresno and Modesto). They specialize in muscat dessert wines and ports, but are known in the cocktail world for Vya Vermouth (Whisper Dry, Extra Dry, Sweet), released in 1999 well before vermouth experienced its widespread resurgence.

The bottling you may not be familiar with is their lovely Palomino Fino ($29.99). Andrew says they modeled it after a traditional Spanish Amontillado sherry, which begins as fino sherry, the driest style. Using biodynamically grown Palomino grapes (the variety sherry is typically made from in Spain) and producing via the painstaking aging and blending Solera method, this elegant fino – we can’t call it sherry – tastes as if it were made in Spain: dry, nutty (think hazelnuts) and ideal after dinner.

ST. GEORGE FAULTLINE GIN

St. George already produces some of the best gins around. Then they go and taunt us with a limited release, this one being their second gin released through K&L’s hand-selected, independent bottlings: Faultline Gin ($34.99). They’re calling it “the 4th gin”, following after St. George’s line-up of three.

Think St. George’s vivacious use of botanicals with savory celery seed and roasted orange peels for a smoky, umami essence. It shines in a gin and tonic or a Bloody Mary… and there’s only 900 bottles produced. I can’t help but wish it was permanently the 4th gin.

DIDIER MEUZARD Ratafia de Bourgogne

Didier Meuzard has been producing gorgeous Burgundian eaux de vie and brandies (like marc brandy, France’s version of grappa) for decades – you’d do well trying any of them. But you just might fall in love with Ratafia de Bourgogne ($52), which you can order by the pour at The Alembic.

Ratafia is almost like a wine cordial, not unlike Christian Drouin’s Pommeau. Fresh grape must (not yet fermented) is added to brandy for a dynamic, lush pour. It’s a brandy simultaneously tart, light and sweet, stunning as an aperitif before dinner or as a midday sip.