Cocktails – AQ Restaurant

Posted on April 5, 2013 by vicentesf

Bison Rose cocktail - AQ Restaurant

Bison Rose: Zubrowka bison grass vodka, cocchi americano, meyer lemon rosemary shrub. $13
AQ Restaurant, San Francisco CA

Ugh! We were SO excited to go to this restaurant and it was a major FAIL! The service was cold and robotic. The only person who asked us about our dinner was the busser when he cleared our entree plates. There was absolutely no joy in this restaurant. These cocktail were ok, but each a little off. I enjoyed the glassware and the stirrer/straw for the bison rose cocktail , but the flavor tasted somehow dull despite the promising ingredients. The old fashioned was the complete opposite where they probably swabbed the entire glass with citrus and pummeled the lemon twist against the sides to produced the overpowering citrus odor emanating from the this cocktail. It made me nauseous. That’s the first time I’ve ever reacted like that to an old fashioned – gross!

Old Fashioned cocktail - AQ Restaurant
Old Fashioned: Eagle rare bourbon, winter bitter, sugar, twist of lemon. $12

Chocolate mousse napoleon – Maven

Posted on April 1, 2013 by vicentesf

Chocolate mousse napoleon - Maven
Creme fraiche and lemon ice cream, malt, brandy. Bloomspot 4-course chef’s tasting menu with cocktail pairings for two.
Maven, San Francisco CA

I liked this dessert because it tasted great, but it was really difficult to eat. The cookies were a bit too hard to break through so the chocolate mousse just kept oozing out every time you tried to cut into it. Hmm…

Maven's Milk Punch cocktail - Maven
Maven’s Milk Punch Cocktail: rum, Maven’s bourbon, vanilla, milk, hazelnut.

Cocktails – Staple & Fancy

Posted on February 1, 2013 by vicentesf

Southern key cocktail - Staple and Fancy
Southern Key: bourbon, cointreau, bonal gentiane-quina. $9
Staple and Fancy, Seattle WA

Old pal cocktail - Staple and Fancy

Old Pal: Canadian whiskey, dry vermouth, campari. $9

Mmm, I’m really getting into different whiskey drinks. Another sign that I’m getting old, lol! These were delicious and reasonably priced.

Olympic Iliad sculpture, Alexander Liberman
Olympic Iliad sculpture, 1984, Alexander Liberman, Seattle Center. Steel cylinders painted an industrial red.

Cocktails – Hattie’s Hat

Posted on January 26, 2013 by vicentesf

Rye Hook cocktail - Hattie's Hat

Rye Hook: Ballard street twist off the pretentious Manhattan made with Old Overholt sweet vermouth and bitter served up. $7
Hattie’s Hat, Seattle WA

We slipped into the bar area late one night and grabbed seats at the counter. They have an extensive cocktail menu – heck yeah! I tried a couple whiskey drinks and was happy. 🙂

One-Legged Duck cocktail - Hattie's Hat

One-Legged Duck: Bulleit bourbon, fernet, galliano, orange bitters. $8

Orange squid bike rack, Seattle waterfront.

Eureka Manhattan – Eureka Restaurant and Lounge

Posted on December 17, 2012 by vicentesf

Eureka Manhattan - Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
Eagle Rare 10 year single cask bourbon, Cinzano red vermouth, bitters. $11
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA

Nothing beats a neatly made Manhattan! I haven’t always enjoyed bourbon cocktails, but now they’re one of my favorites.

Flowering maple (Abutilon pictum, Malvaceae)
Yellow flowering maple shrub (Abutilon pictum, Malvaceae), 17th Street. I love the green and gold variegated leaves on this plant.

Cocktails – Jake’s on Market

Posted on July 3, 2012 by vicentesf

Ravenous Pineapple cocktail - Jake's on Market
Ravenous Pineapple – Herradura tequila, Ilegal mezcal, pineapple and lime served tall. $12

Jake's Takes Manhattan cocktail - Jake's on Market

Jake’s Takes Manhattan – Knob Creek bourbon whiskey, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and Amaro Averna served up. $12
Jake’s on Market, San Francisco CA

I wasn’t too impressed by the cocktails at Jake’s, especially at $12 a pop. For one thing, if something is supposed to be “served tall” I expect it to come in a highball or similar glassware, not in a short tumbler. Lame! The Ravenous Pineapple cocktail was different, but not amazing tasting. The Manhattan tasted a little better.

Mosaic snake, 24th and York Street Mini Park. This is a super cool sculpture in the play area at this park in The Mission.

Cocktails – The Glass Onion

Posted on June 15, 2012 by vicentesf

Blenheim Julep - The Glass Onion

Blenheim Julep – Makers Mark bourbon, lemon, mint, and spicy Blenheim ginger ale. $7

Classic champagne cocktail - The Glass Onion

Classic Champagne Cocktail – Bubbly and bitters, brown sugar cube. $7
The Glass Onion, Charleston SC

Mmm, these cocktails were yummy and pretty cheap as cocktails go. The Blenheim Julep was fruity and refreshing and the Classic Champagne Cocktail was bright and bubbly. Perfect when combined with a delicious meal.

View of Charleston Waterfront Park from Charleston Harbor. I love the row of Sabal Palmetto trees lining the waterfront pathway.

Cocktails – The Bar at Husk

Posted on June 9, 2012 by vicentesf

Swizzle cocktail - The Bar at Husk

Swizzle – The drink of choice at the world’s first cocktail party in London circa 1924. Cruzan light rum falernum, lime juice, and bitters “swizzled” over hand chipped ice. $8

Lil' Bit cocktail - The Bar at Husk

Lil’ Bit – A lil’ of this and a lil’ of that go a long way. Johnny Drum bourbon, Jack Rudy, orange juice, grapefruit bitters, lemon and lime. $13
The Bar at Husk, Charleston SC

The Swizzle was OK. I wasn’t crazy about the taste and was SO disappointed that the “chipped ice” became full on ice cubes. I’ve never had a swizzle cocktail that didn’t have at least crushed ice. I liked the Lil’ Bit cocktail better. It had a bolder flavor and went down smoothly.

Ripley Point Marina. On my third trip to Charleston, I stayed at a hotel in Ripley Point with a great view of the Ashley River and this marina.

Cocktails – RN74

Posted on February 20, 2012 by vicentesf

It was our first time here at RN74, and it’s super cute! I loved the old school train station board that lists the wine prices every hour or so. The service was great, but we were seating in a tight row of 2-tops so Silverfox got a little annoyed and claustrophobic. We tried a few of their cocktails and they were pretty good!
RN74, San Francisco

Pimm’s 74 – housemade Pimms, campari, ginger beer, prosecco. $10
This came in a huge wine glass and it was fun and fruity tasting!

Manhattan with Maker’s Mark bourbon, vermouth. $10
Pretty tasty.

Frisco Fizz – rum, port, lemon, egg white, seltzer. $10
This was very interesting. It tasted dark, rich, and slightly sweet.

Cocktails – Fish & Farm

Posted on February 16, 2012 by vicentesf

I enjoyed these cocktails at Fish & Farm but I don’t think they were worth $12 a pop. You can get delicious, more intricate cocktails and other places for less money. And you’ll get larger pours!
Fish & Farm, San Francisco

The Scofflaw. Classic Prohibition Era cocktail. Templeton rye, dry vermouth, house-made grenadine, fresh squeezed lemon juice, Reagan’s orange bitters, orange peel garnish. $12

Basil Blush. Hangar One vodka, fresh lime juice, agave nectar with a fist full of basil and freshly Watkins cinnamon shaken and served up. $12

Taylor Street Margarita cocktail Fish & Farm

Taylor Street Margarita. Herradura Blanco tequila, cointreau, fresh lime juice, and agave nectar shaken hard and served on the rocks. $12

Pama Manhattan. Woodford Reserve bourbon, Pama pomegranate liquor, chilled and served up, garnished with a brandied cherry. $12

Cocktails – Betelnut Restaurant

Posted on February 13, 2012 by vicentesf

This was a random choice for a Christmas eve dinner, but I’m not traditional in many ways, lol! The food was hit or miss, but the drinks were very good overall. I loved the creativity!
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco

Betelnut’s famous mai tai. Myers’s rum, orgeat and the “cabin sink”. $9.25
Sweet and delicious! Makes me wanna be poolside.

Mao-jito. Betelnut’s take on the classic mojito. $9
A little too sour for my taste.

Phuket gimlet cocktail Betelnut Restaurant

Phuket gimlet. Hendrick’s gin with lemongrass and thai basil. $8.50
The lemongrass and thai basil combo makes this drink very refreshing.

Burma sour. The classic sour made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh orange and lemon juice. $8.75
All you need is a warm beach and a beautiful sunset!

Yummy "dim" dinner – Range

Posted on December 18, 2011 by vicentesf

We had an absolutely wonderful dinner at Range on Valencia Street in the Mission. The restaurant is dimly lit so I wasn’t able to take any good food pics, but I thought I’d post these anyway for posterity, hehe. We also had the creamed nettles with a poached farm egg for an appetizer, but that pic didn’t come out at all. Enjoy!
Range, San Francisco

Pink Panther cocktail – Tito’s vodka, pomegranate, tawny port, black pepper, lemon.
Yummy yummy cocktail and I loved the soft pink color!

Smoking Gun cocktail – Bulleit bourbon, maraschino, Dolin sweet vermouth, scotch rinse.
I didn’t like this cocktail as much. I think the scotch rinse was too much for me.

Pan roasted bavette steak with horseradish, barley, brussels sprouts, shiitake mushrooms and baby turnips. $28
Yum! I’m not a huge horseradish fan, but these were mild and tasted great with the perfectly cooked steak. The brussels sprouts were yummy and the baby turnips were so frickin’ cute!

Coffee rubbed pork shoulder with creamy hominy and braised greens. $25
Omg! I’m hungry just recalling this dish! The pork was so tender and juicy and the coffee rub gave it a great flavor. The sauce was to die for and tasted SO good with the hominy and greens. A definite winner dish!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2014

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