Mission Mission

I have been meaning to try this since I stumbled across the recipe a few weeks ago. I used the new Prairie Reserve bourbon I recently picked up at the High West distillery, some avocados from the Dixon fruit stand, and Bi-Rite vanilla (from the freezer in the grocery, of course, I don’t have all the time in the world.) Topped off with a little coconut water, the consistency was perfect and it tasted interesting to say the least, like a savory vegetal egg nog. I can’t think of a better combination of ingredients to represent the new Marina than bourbon, avocados, coconut water, and Bi-Rite ice cream. Enjoy!

(I honestly don’t know how I ended up on a site called Mighty Girl.)

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In light of an unsubstantiated rumor that Molly Ringwald’s favorite local restaurant is Range, it’s time we noted that Valencia’s only Michelin star (true?) has been consistently making great and varied cocktails since long before you moved here from Santa Rosa and started bitching about how yuppies are ruining the neighborhood. The Gold Spike is my current favorite, which combines a good amount of tequila, several dashes of bitters (housemade, of course,) and Cynar, Italy’s premier artichoke liqueur. I usually try to sneak in between 6 and 7 and get one of the ten or so seats at the bar before the dinner crowd floods in.

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I haven’t gotten excited about a Lagunitas beer in awhile, but this my favorite new IPA since Ranger. It’s a “fractional” IPA, which presumably means the opposite of a double IPA (doubles typically have more hops and more alcohol.) With only 4.65% ABV, about the same as a Budweiser, this beer is custom-made for drinking all day and then overeating at Benders. And it tastes like marijuana and peaches, and it’s delicious. If anyone’s seen it on tap, let me know where and I’ll meet you there in 15.

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SF Weekly shares the horrible news about the famed East Bay DJ and KALX stalwart, as related by Africa’s sister:

My brother, Matthew Africa, was killed in a car accident on Monday afternoon. He and his beloved wife, Ha Le, were returning from a trip to Yosemite when their car collided with a big rig on a highway near Modesto. They tell us he died instantly; miraculously, she survived with multiple fractures. His absence is unbearable. Please keep our families in your thoughts and prayers.

I think everyone who knew him is probably pretty broken up right now, so I’ll just say that we’ve lost a really good soul and if it feels unfair, it’s because it is.

I’ve never tried pulque, which is an opaque white agave beer from Mexico. It’s evidently available in cans as well as served in restaurants. Anyone know where I can get some in the neighborhood or the Bay Area? The closest I’ve found is a taqueria outside Sacramento, which incidentally looks awesome.

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Update: coincidentally, my favorite cocktail blogger just did a post on Pulque!

http://www.alcademics.com/2012/09/drinking-pulque-in-teochitlan-mexico.html

Somebody stop that U-Haul!

I’ve been working my way through the new cocktail menu at Dalva’s Hideout and I think I found the winner. Lemon, gin, cocchi, and sort of bitters float (see pic) make it just the right amount of boozy and mouth-puckering. A healthy dose of Becherovka, a cinnamon and nutmeg-y Czech liqueur that tastes like a Christmas at your drunk grandma’s house, puts it over the top. With hits like this, the Hideout will surely remain my favorite place in town to get a fancy cocktail from a bartender who is not wearing suspenders.

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Like a tequila old-fashioned, this smooth but strong cocktail is my top choice from the new West of Pecos selection. The Donal and Cacao sweeten up the tequila and take a little of the edge off, but at the end of the day it’s just a dressed up shot of Cazadores, and who could have a problem with that?

Pecos’ decision to bring the folks from Blackbird on Market over to help out with the drinks is paying delicious boozy dividends.

Last night, as part of the INFORUM series at the Commonwealth Club, chefs from Delfina, Hapa Ramen, Mission Street Food,  Wild Kitchen, and Rice Paper Scissors gathered to discuss the San Francisco restaurant industry and their paths in it so far. Craig Stoll, now a restaurant magnate by San Francisco standards, talked about maxing out credit cards to open Delfina “back when Dolores Park was still pretty scary.” He recommends that aspiring restauranteurs try a Kickstarter instead.

Other highlights included MSF’s Anthony Myint reminding Stoll that he had once interviewed to be a cook at Delfina (which presumably didn’t work out) and Wild Kitchen’s Iso Rabins remembering knocking on the back doors of restaurants with boxes of wild mushrooms for sale (“The only people who were really mean to me were the people at Farina.”)

The most substantive part of the conversation was a debate over the value of formal experience when launching a restaurant or pop-up. Both sides made smart points, but Myint had the winning comment: “I think of it like The A Team. They were pros before they were renegades, so they knew their stuff.”

You can find out more about the INFORUM series here.

I honestly feel sorry for you for missing out on the unveiling of the Hideout’s new cocktail menu, complete with pop-up pork sandwiches and “white boy slaw” from Tango and Stache. The drinks were outstanding as always, and the pulled pork and spicy vinegar slaw was a total treat. The new cocktail menu is only about half new, so old favorites like the G&C (C for celery) and the Whiskey in Church are sticking around. New additions include the Fruit Cup, a crisp and refreshing Pimm’s Cup variation, and the Killer’s Lullaby, which blends gin, lemon, and hard cider for maximum tartness. More pics after the jump.  (more…)