Cocktail Chic

[eje]

COCKTAIL CHIC

'Bar chefs' revitalize cocktails with fresh, seasonal ingredients

article link

"I'm willing to go out on a limb and say San Francisco is the best cocktail city in the nation," says Duggan McDonnell, self-described "spirits savant" at Frisson, a stylish Financial District lounge-restaurant.

Gotta admit his Pomegranate Manhattan sounds awfully tasty! If only I had another liver to give to the cause!

Recipes include:

Pomegranate Manhattan

From head bartender Duggan McDonnell at Frisson in San Francisco.

Ginger Kaffir Limeade

A cocktail from Thad Vogler at the Slanted Door restaurant.

Temptation

Courtesy of Range Restaurant.

Moderator's note: edited to include link.

[Ed Hamilton]

I happened to be in San Francisco and opened my email to see no less than three links to this article. So what's a guy to do, I went out that night and had a cocktail. And as Thad Vogler so aptly pointed out, "When it's a good cocktail, they'll have another."

And while the suits are working on the next profit pushing flavored alcohol concoction, bartenders are working with the best ingredients they can get their hands on.

[Alchemist]

Best cocktail city in the states? They have last call @1:30!

I'd go loggerheads with any S.F bartender.

How does one judge whom is the best?

Is there a Milk and Honey in S.F.? Is there an Angel Share? A Flatiron? E.O.? Pegu? Little Branch?

I'd like a list of the quintessential list of S.F bars.

Edited October 1, 2005 by Alchemist (log)

[eje]

Part of the interesting part of this to me is none of these are bars.

They are all restaurants first and bars second. You won't get a cocktail at any of them much past 11:00PM.

As far as bars attached to restaurants go, I was surprised they did not include Medjool or Cortez in their list. I've been to Cortez and thought both the cocktails and food were pretty great. Recently all the remotely cocktail interested folks I know who have been to the roof top terrace at Medjool have raved.

As always, I'm interested in other folks recommendations for new places to try.

-Erik

PS. Thank you moderator, for adding the article link to my post.

[slkinsey]

I do think it is taking local pride a little overboard to suggest that San Francisco is the best cocktail city in the nation. That said, they do have a number of excellent bars and some highly skilled bartenders there, if not in the same density that we have in NYC, and have their own piece of the cocktail renaissance.

I may be mistaken on this point, but if memory serves, think SF was probably ahead of NYC in terms of cocktail bars using only fresh juices.

I wonder if any eGulleters familiar with the SF scene could comment on whether there is any identifiable "SF style" at the best San Francisco watering holes. In NYC, I guess I would broadly assert that the leading places have a decidedly old school outlook, and that even new drinks which are invented have a basic foundation and design consistent with traditions from the cocktail's glory days (not too many of them are working with flavored vodkas mixed with fruit juices and Alizée, etc.). On the other hand, SF is quite close to some of the best makers of flavored vodkas (Hanger One, etc.), and I wonder if this has influenced the style there. Many of the drinks mentioned in the article seemed to be flavored vodka drinks.