Bibulo.us - We plead the 21st.

Tosca Gets Counsel

One of our favorite bars in San Francisco is Tosca Cafe.  It feels more right, somehow, than any other bar in the city.

Well, it seems Tosca is in a bit of a rent dispute with their landlord (owner of chain strip joint Deja Vu, on the other side of the building), and they've called in bigger guns than perhaps have ever been deployed over a $500/month rent increase: John Keker of Keker & Van Nest.  Keker (for whom Joe used to work) is generally regarded as the best lawyer in San Francisco.  Given that John's time quite rightly doesn't come cheap, he's certain to be working without fee, pro bono publico -- or, in this case, we guess, pro bono biberarius. 

The man gives good quote:

"What's interesting to me is why this girlie club guy is going to try to take away a San Francisco institution," Keker said. "This stands for a lot of what's wrong with North Beach in general."

C.W. Nevius at the San Francisco Chronicle has the story.

Chandelier

Once upon a time in a magical land, those famous princesses known from many a backpack and lunchbox were gathered together, relaxing with champagne and back issues of Imbibe Magazine while enchanted bluebirds and mice did their pedicures. A typical Friday lunchtime.

Cindy sighed and set down an article on the early history of cocktail shakers. "I want to go somewhere fun; somewhere we've never been. I want to see something out of a dream."

"That sounds great," said Beaut. "Imagine a magical place, audacious but still classy—and sparkling like diamonds everywhere you look."

Barely looking up from a Paul Clarke piece she'd not seen before, S.W. said, "As long as I can get a proper Daiquiri, count me in."


A moment later, in Las Vegas, a raccoon in white periwig and a blue and silver vest hopped up spiraling glass steps. At the top, it waddled over to rest a clawed hand gently on the high-heeled foot of the shortest of three older women at the glowing, curved bar. She leaned down to hear its whispered message, then turned to her companions. "Incoming. But there's time for one more round first." Instantly, with no help necessary from the wands resting beside the almost empty glasses of the prior round, their blue-mohawked bartender stepped over to them with a grin. Eyes twinkling back at him, the ladies intoned their incantation.

"Sazerac."

"Fernet, ginger back."

"And give me a good sipping rum."


***

Yes. That's our review. It's a three-story, five-bar, giant chandelier with a very solid selection and a bartender wearing a U.S. Bartenders' Guild pin.

What more do you need to know?

First Floor

It’s New Year’s Eve in Vienna. You’ve walked among the crowds, spied whirling waltzers in tails through fourth-story windows, and watched midnight fireworks erupt all over town from a balcony overlooking the opera house. What’s next?

First Floor, we bid you, is next.

As you come in through an unobtrusive entrance on Seitenstettengasse and head up the stairs, you can hear clinking glasses, the murmur of conversation, and a familiar drum rhythm. You step inside and sit down at the bar.

The drinks are good -- more than competent.  But the real cocktail is the mix of the drinks, the music, and the crowd.  It’s bright young things stopping in after New Year’s parties, black ties untied, jackets slipped off.  They have their arms around sheath-gowned grinning girls.  And they’re dancing to deep cuts of 60s soul -- Shorty Long, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Little Willie John.

You stay.

Lebensstern

We just know you’re in Berlin, hanging around Nollendorfplatz, looking for an extremely cozy place to take a few friends for perfectly crafted drinks.

We’ve got the place for you.

Lebensstern.

Up on the second floor of an old mansion that belonged to silent film star Henny Porten, Lebensstern (“Star of Life”) is all soft lights, glass cabinets filled with exotic bottles, leather chairs, and warm hospitality.  

And what else to do in such a setting but have a cocktail named for a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky? Their Seelbach (Noah’s Mill, Cointreau, Angostura, Peychaud’s, champagne float) was ideal on our visit, with the sweetness of the bourbon and cointreau sliding smoothly into the soft bite of the champagne.  And on the subject of drinks named for American establishments, it was a bit of a shock to have come over continent and ocean to find a Tommy’s Margarita on the menu.  (Truth be told, it was better than the Margaritas at Tommy’s.)  Also notable was the presence of gins we’d never heard of -- Lebensstern’s house brand, as well as Xoriguer (from Menorca), Blue Ribbon (a London Dry from Bordeaux), and Blackwood (from the Shetlands).

Camper English has the whole Lebensstern menu. (We mean on his blog, but wouldn’t that make a great reality show?)

So walk on over, settle in, and enjoy the best cocktails in Berlin.

Fox Liquor Bar

A short note about a quick trip.

We recently spent a weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. It turned out to be one of the more pleasurable 48 hours’ worth of civilized drinking we’ve enjoyed in a while. This was mostly, of course, because of our hosts, Steve and Heather (see St. George gins). But our visit to one cocktail bar in particular really impressed us.

Fox Liquor Bar had been open for less than a week when we visited on a Saturday night. Fox is subterranean, but not overtly speakeasyish; candlelit, but not uncomfortably romantic; drinks-focused, but not self-important.

Particularly enjoyable was watching a whole new crowd open up to really good drinks.  Steve and Heather have been cocktail-nerding in Raleigh for a decade, but the rest of the city mostly hasn’t. The bar was lively not just with (fairly loud) convivial conversation, but with the joy of discovery.

The cocktail program is run (largely by remote control) by Karin Stanley of Dutch Kills and Little Branch.  The list is East Coast classic -- Greenpoint, Turf, Pan American Clipper -- plus some highlights we hadn’t seen before (probably because we don’t get to Dutch Kills nearly enough).  One standout was the Late Night Reviver (Beefeater, Fernet, ginger, lime, soda water), which was effective in taming the Fernet.

Next time you’re in Raleigh, don’t miss Fox.

(Incidentally, we also had really outstanding fried chicken at Beasley’s and burgers at Chuck’s -- both, like Fox, owned by Ashley Christensen -- and unreasonably good Mexican/Colombian food at Dos Taquitos. All recommended. None so highly as Bols Barrel Aged Genever juleps on Steve and Heather’s porch, but that’s a rather more exclusive offering.)

Becketts Kopf

Their only sign is an illuminated painting of that which the bar is named for: Samuel Beckett’s head.

Our kind of place.


Small, friendly; the menus are embedded in thick hardback German biographies of Beckett, and divided into categories:

• Clear & Classic
• Fine & Fresh
• Fresh & Funky
• Herb & Floral
• Creamy & Candy
• Light & Low
• Drink & Drive

We would say more, but the night was a bit of a blur. We remember a string of very good drinks and the company of a pleasantly garrulous Irishman and some fellow San Franciscans; tramping through the snow to find the U-Bahn closed; then wisely locating and consuming Doner Kebap.

We recognize that all of this is singularly unhelpful in evaluating Becketts Kopf. But it’s what we’ve got to work with.

Nightjar

A subterranean den of warmth, music, and drink, London’s Nightjar is our favorite new bar of 2011. At the helm is Marian Beke, formerly of Montgomery Place, whose skill, charm, and astonishing memory (we hadn’t had a drink from him in two years, and still...) place him among the best bartenders in the world.

Befitting the underground feel, the cocktail menu is replicated in the form of a custom deck of playing cards, which double as coasters.

All of the drinks were great, but the standout was The Name of the Samurai: Nikka Whisky, vanilla sugar, fresh lavender, ginger and raisin sake, and lime. This is, like many of the drinks on the menu, is an original creation of Mr. Beke. And like many of the drinks on the menu, it had an unusual garnish: here, a small green tea shortbread cookie served across the top of the glass

We hear that Nightjar usually has music, though there wasn’t anyone booked the night we were there a few weeks after they opened.  But a friend of the owner -- a tall, languid, central-casting Oxonian -- had a splendid go at some piano rags while we were there, and we can only imagine what the space would be like filled with the “red hot dark dirty swing” promised by one upcoming band.

If you find yourself in London, Nightjar is on the must-visit list.

Comstock Saloon

Comstock Saloon – established in 2010 in the flavor of a century or more before – is one of our favorite bars in San Francisco. It provides for all our needs: culinary, cocktailian, and musical.

The interior is 1890s-y without being pushy about it.  Our favorite element, of course, is the statue of notable local Emperor Norton presiding over the bar. This establishment is a major improvement over the space’s former inhabitant, the San Francisco Brewing Company (which served acceptable beer but always seemed to smell like cleaning fluid). The bar pleases from any seat, whether in a booth or perched on one of the fiercely-footed stools. The dining room provides delightful views of both the lively menagerie of North Beach and the frequently meaty goings on in the kitchen. The bar does have the advantage, however, of greater proximity to the consistently excellent musicians in the second-floor gallery.

The food is unusually good for a place that could be so deservedly known for its drinks.  We usually get the picnic plate and a pot pie. (As our Foursquare tip says: “The pot pie, Sir. The pot pie.”)  But we’ve yet to find anything on the menu that isn’t good. Particularly notable is the Pig in a Biscuit, which is (and we mean this as a very, very positive thing) like a McDonald’s Sausage Biscuit with a master’s degree.

The drinks would really have to try hard to rebel against the positive influence of their parents, saloon keepers Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin. Mercifully they are obedient, strong, beautifully-mannered children who would make anyone proud.  Unlike most children, they frequently arrive in lovely antique glasses.

We have not noticed a decline in the quality of drinks since Jonny removed his moustaches.  We will, however, continue sampling vigilantly. 

Our nominations for the Tales of the Cocktail 2009 Spirited Awards

Bibulo.us would like to honor and thank the following places and people for their great work in 2008:

World's Best Drink Selection: Montgomery Place, London

World's Best Cocktail Bar: Montgomery Place, London

World's Best New Cocktail Bar: Heaven's Dog, San Francisco

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book: Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-be by Natalie Bovis-Nelsen

Best Cocktail Writing: Paul Clarke (Imbibe, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, cocktailchronicles.com)

Heaven's Dog

An assemblage of many of the best bartenders in San Francisco in a beautiful space (designed by Olle Lundberg) with a delightful Charles H. Baker Jr. inspired cocktail menu, combined with a great kitchen (part of the restaurant family of Slanted Door owner Charles Phan) makes for a fantastic new asset in the local cocktail scene.

What catapults Heaven's Dog to world class, though, is their consistent commitment to excellence and innovation. Their bar staff, under the direction of Erik Adkins, reliably provide exceptional drinks in taste and presentation - witness for example Jackie Patterson's award-winning Star-Crossed Lovers.

Their continued performance at this level seems assured by the practice they receive from the prominent placement on their menu of the "Freedom From Choice"; a high percentage of orders are merely a call for a base spirit and a direction either citrus driven or spiritous. Within these constraints they present consistently well-received choices original, historical, or contemporary, along with details about the ingredients and the drink's background.

Heaven's Dog has quickly earned a rightful place on the must-visit list in a town with some very bright stars indeed.