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Wait, Kuleto's?

In a very surprising move, classic Italian restaurant Kuleto's in SF's Union Square launched the city's first all-organic cocktail menu.

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

What is likely San Francisco's first all-organic cocktail menu popped up in a very unlikely place - Kuleto's, the Italian restaurant in Union Square. The seven drinks on the menu are made with organic vodka, rum, gin, Tequila and Scotch, mixers, fruits, juices, syrups and even garnishes. Most are familiar drinks - cosmos, mojitos, lemon drops and margaritas - but you won't find a martini or Manhattan because nobody seems to make an organic vermouth. The bar does serve non-organic drinks aplenty, but you'll have to order off the menu for those.

221 Powell St. (at O'Farrell), San Francisco; (415) 397-7720.

Labels: bars, camper_clips

All bar hands on deck

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

All bar hands on deck

The problem with cocktail recipe books is they get all sticky when you bring them into the kitchen. The problem with fun-sized, plastic-coated cocktail recipes is that the recipes are usually overly sweet and taste terrible. Finally someone figured out a sensible solution- a cocktail card deck with recipes from one of the most respected books on the market: Dale DeGroff's "The Craft of the Cocktail." The 50 tabbed cards in "The Craft of the Cocktail Deck" ($14.95, Potter Style), feature a drink on the front and the recipe on the back and are divided into tabbed sections for Martinis, Inspired Classics, DeGroff's Signature Classics and Frozen Cocktails. The margarita is unfortunately placed in the latter category but the cards are not laminated so cocktail snobs can black out the phrase, "Combine all ingredients in a blender."

Labels: books, camper_clips

Caliente Cocktails

Here's a recent story I wrote for San Francisco Magazine about Latin cocktail bars, and in particular Cantina. I am known to spend some time drinking there on occasion.

Labels: bars, cachaca, camper_clips, SanFrancisco

Silence Dogood

I've been quiet on here lately, not only because I'm writing two big stories, but also because I've been cleaning up San Francisco in preparation for the Liquid Muse's visit.

I've also been strengthening my vocal cords to heckle her and Duggan of Cantina, who will be judging Chow/Square One's cocktail competition on Tuesday, September 25th. Details on the competition are here, and you should probably buy a ticket so you can heckle me heckling them.

Labels: events

Best product placement ever

Eve Celebrates SCRAM Removal with Vodka?

Rapper Eve reportedly celebrated completing a court-ordered 45 days sober with a case of vodka.

The hip-hop star had an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet removed on Saturday, leaving her free to enjoy the drink on offer at the VMA party suites at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

A spy tells Page Six, "When a cocktail waitress walked over to her with a bottle of Svedka, her eyes lit up.

"She got kind of nervous when they wanted her to take a photo, and wouldn't pose with the bottle -- but then her assistant asked a promoter to send a case to her house."

Eve was ordered to wear the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring bracelet last month after striking a plea agreement following her DUI arrest in April.

That was awesome! Their "spy" (read: shameless Svedka vodka PR person) just placed the "I'm going to Disneyland!" equivalent of finishing the terms of your DUI conviction. Bravo.

Labels: funny, news, vodka

Over-Joyed

Last night I went to the Joy of Sake event for the second year in a row. Again it was well-organized, not-overcrowded, and I had a blast even though I went by myself. As everyone is sort of mushed in together trying the sakes, it's really easy to turn to people and remark on a sake, have a 20 second discussion, then keep moving in opposite directions. Kind of like speed dating for sake drinkers.

I got there late- the event is two and a half hours long and you really do need the whole time to feel like you've accomplished much. (And take time out to eat and rehydrate.) So I got through a few of the Yamahais and decided they weren't tasting well with me, then I checked out most of the Daiginjos (that was a lot of work) and just a few of the Ginjos.

I only made notes on my program when I really liked something, but this year overheard other people with a better system- they rated all the sakes on a 1-5 or other scale. That way I could see not only what I liked, but what I didn't. It seems kind of obvious, but I'm not master of that. Next year, I'll really have my act together.

Labels: events, sake

Champagne drinking tips

1. Do not drink champagne. It is evil.
2. Do not not drink champagne at Jardiniere's relaunch party, where Thad Vogler made seven kinds of punch, all of them with champagne. The punches may taste magnificent and restore your faith in the entire punch category, but you should not try them. They will tempt you to continue drinking them because they are so light and refreshing. It is a slippery slope.
3. Do not do this starting at 6PM for the next three to four hours. You may note that Tracy Chapman, who is also at the party, looks not a day older than she did in 1988. Do not tell her.
4. Do eat something if you are going to be drinking champagne, which you should not do. Why do you have to be such a vegetarian snob when appetizers are all meaty and delicious?
5. Do not continue on to the "after-hours," the hour being 10PM. If you do, it is likely they will serve you champagne.
6. Remember, champagne is evil. Do not continue to drink the champagne.
7. Do remember how you got home. It was probably not on a magic toboggan sliding along rainbows. It was probably not before 11PM.
8. Do treat each champagne drinking session as a learning experience. Reflect on why you chose to drink champagne for the next 14 hours in bed with your pounding head under the covers.
9. Do not get out of bed only to attend a tasting of 300 sakes.

Labels: champagne

Jackson memorial fundraiser/toast

Hey bar/restaurant/liquor store owners: this sounds like a good way to pay tribute to beer/whiskey writer Michael Jackson while raising some money to fight Parkinson's Disease. And if you're going to throw an event in the San Francisco Bay Area, let me know and I'll try to get you some press.

(Pasted from On The House blog.)

Raise a Glass to Michael Jackson on September 30

If you stock at least one premium craft or imported beer in your inventory – and you know you really should by now – then you have Michael Jackson to thank for it. A true pioneer in the field of beer journalism, the British writer and author was instrumental in the development of the craft beer market, both in the United States and around the world, through his innumerable articles in publications like Esquire and Playboy and his multitude of beer books.

Sadly, Michael passed away at his home in London, England, on August 30, not long after he revealed to the world that he had been battling Parkinson Disease for a decade.

And so, on September 30, bar and restaurant owners across the United States and Canada are invited to help celebrate the great life and achievements of Michael Jackson by hosting a toast to his memory, and along the way raise some much-needed money for the battle against Parkinson Disease. The scheduled time for the toast is 9:00 pm EST, and the way you celebrate is entirely up to you.

Host a party and send a portion of the night’s takings to the National Parkinson Foundation. Contribute the revenue from a specially-designated “Michael’s Memory” keg. Or just pass the hat among your customers, staff and managers. But join in to make this a fitting tribute to the man who did more than anyone to promote the cause of good beer!

Details on how to participate and the official promotional poster are available at www.beerhunter.com. Go there now and add your operation’s name to the growing list of the establishments that will, for one very important night, join together to pay tribute to the memory of the one and only Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson!

Labels: beer, events