Bay to Breakers

If there is anything that is undeniably quintessential San Francisco it is the third Sunday in May, otherwise known as Bay to Breakers.

In its 101st year (1912 was the first one when it was known as the "Cross-City Race") this years Bay to Breakers will most likely push the limits of what the city wants to be a calm foot race across the city. But every year it turns out to be anything but that. The course is packed with over 60,000 participants dressed in costumes (and sometimes nothing at all). Even though in recent years there have been several attempts at curbing the party atmosphere of the event, it has yet to work. The die-hard runners usually complete the course in 45 minutes, but everyone else revels in the various costumes and enjoy a few cocktails along the way. The party tends to culminate in the Panhandle.

This being one of the best Sunday Fundays of the year, I wanted to share with you my recipe for Sangria which has become a staple for my Bay to Breakers experience. It is easy to make a large batch of the drink and share with your friends on the course or at pre-party (which usually starts around 6am).

Sangria:

Base:

• 4 orange
• 40 strawberrys (chopped)
• 5 pears (chopped)
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 bottle of triple sec
• 1 bottle of brandy 

You will also need:

• several bottles of a red wine of your choice
• soda water 

In a large container, juice 2 of the oranges and the two limes. Add the sugar, strawberries, pears, and the last of the oranges. Pour equal parts of Triple Sec and Brandy (I usually make a large batch and just use the all of the 2 bottles). Let the mixture sit over night or for few hours to let the fruit soak and excrete all of its natural goodness.

When you are ready to drink, fill a glass with ice and as much of the base as you would like (remember that it is straight alcohol and the fruit has also absorbed the alcohol, so use your best judgment). Then add a red wine of your choice and top with soda water.

What is your favorite drink for Bay to Breakers?

What are your costume ideas?

Mine: my friends and I are going as the 1%

Drink Reponsibly and Have Fun!!!!

The Manhattan

 Latest installment where I discuss how to make a Manhattan. More videos to come....

Happy Drinking!!

The French 75

Since I have been discussing brunch, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite brunch cocktails: The French 75.

It's history has been widely disputed. Undisputedly created at the New York Bar in Paris, France, the dispute is over what city made it popular: New York City or New Orleans.

My personal opinion: New Orleans. New Orleans is a city that is rich with cocktail history. No. I am not talking about the "hand grenades" in the French Quarter. I am referring to New Orleans creating such famous drinks as the Sazerac and other classic cocktails. Check out this article from iheartnola.com for more on the history of the French 75.

New Orleans and the French 75

Now....here is the recipe for the French 75:

In a champagne glass:

1 ounce Gin
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Fill with champagne

Be warned: limit yourself on this one, especially in the morning on an empty stomach. These can get you into some trouble.

"Sunday Funday"

For most San Franciscans Sundays are comprised of rolling out of bed to brunch with friends (and many of them include specials like bottomless mimosas & 2 for 1 Bloody Mary's), and then hanging out in Dolores Park. Brunch has become just as trendy as skinny jeans (although I am glad that skinny jeans are on their way out) and finding the right spot to soak up the alcohol from the night before while still enjoying some day drinking, can be quite a task. Here are a few of my favorites that offer great food, ambiance, and great drink specials.

Luna Park (694 Valencia St. @ 18th st.): Probably my favorite brunch spot in San Francisco, probably because of its close proximity to Dolores Park and amazing drink specials. Brunch features a tasty menu that includes a delicious warm goat cheese fondue and Florentine Benedict. Paired with a bottomless Sangria or Mimosas for $13 and 2 for 1 Bloody Mary's Luna Park makes for a great Sunday mid day treat. I should also note that brunch is served 7 days a week (even the bottomless drinks).  Luna Park also often features coupons and other specials through sites like Scout Mob. Last time I was there I made a reservation on OpenTable.com and I received 20% of my check. Gotta love that.

Lime (2247 Market st. @ Sanchez): Probably the best way to describe Lime is "a party at 1pm." After sitting in the ultra modern lounge for some grub and the ubiquitous bottomless mimosas (they also have some of the best mojitos in San Francisco), it can feel like it is 12:30am on a Friday night, with other patrons dancing on their chairs to songs being played by the DJ. Definitely a good spot for people that want to keep the party rolling from the night before. Below is a video I came across on YouTube that pretty much sums up the experience at Lime for Brunch.
Saturday: 10:30am -3:30pm
Sunday: 10am - 3:30pm

 

Absinthe Brasserie (398 Hayes St. @ Gough St.): If a party at brunch is not your thing, there are plenty of great San Francisco restaurants that feature a fantastic brunch menu. Absinthe is one of those. Rated one of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area, their menu features a Dungeness Crab Omlette, cinnamon sticky buns, and an amazing selection of imported cheese. Their bar menu has a list of champagne cocktails. My personal favorite: the aptly named "Death in the Afternoon" with is made of Pernod Absinthe & Champagne.


There are plenty of other great places to visit on weekend mornings. Visit any of these great spots to share a meal with some good friends and have a few good laughs. There is nothing like brunch and some day drinking to brace you for the onslaught that will be Monday.

Bar Agricole

South of Market St. (SOMA) is known for its industrial warehouses, bums, and the leather daddy scene. Now, this booming part of San Francisco can say it is farm fresh. Bar Agricole features hand-crafted bio-dynamic cocktails made from farm fresh ingredients grown on the premises. Co-owned by famed bartender Thad Volger who opened famous San Francisco bars like Bourbon & Branch and the bar at The Slanted Door, opened this bar to celebrate his favorite liqour rhum agrigole (click the link to read a little more about that). Here is their most recently posted drinks menu:

Thad has brought the art of classic hand made cocktails to a new level. What goes into our drink has become just as important as what goes into our food and there is no city like San Francisco that has been quick to embrace this concept. This being Thads third San Francisco venture it is safe to say he knows how to create a bar scene. Heavily influenced by the bar scene in Havana, Cuba where he lived for several years, when asked what kind of bar he loves the most he responded with:

"I really love the bars in Havana. I just love them. They’re just timeless and stunning. Not like what we’ll do here but they just have such a strong sense of place. I’d like to create something that has such a strong place. That’s our strength [here in SF]. We don’t have the labor pool or technique of New York, but we have a sense of place and quality of ingredient."

Visit Bar Agricole at 11th st. btwn Folsom & Harrisson and see this "strong place" that Vogler created. Kind of a diamond in the rough, Bar Agricole is one of the finest examples of California Cuisine paired with California cocktails.

Gross sugar water = sweet and sour

Sweet & Sour juice is disgusting. It's basically tart sugar water. I suppose they could call it sweetened lemon and like juice, which is what it technically is. Problem is most places don't make it fresh. It usually consists of synthetic sugars and other ingredients I can not pronounce the name of.

Using the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/2 a lemon, and between 1/2-1 ounce of simple syrup (or even agave nectar) usually does the trick. Next time you have a Long Island Iced Tea substitute the sweet and sour with the recipe above and it's like being 21 again.

Perhaps the cocktail that frequents sweet and sour the most is a margarita. Once you have a margarita with fresh ingredients you will never again want one made with sweet and sour. The recipe is just as easy:

• 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ounce of agave nectar (make sure you test the agave first to figure out how sweet it is, it can vary)
• 2 ounces of tequila 

Fresh ingredients, like in cooking, is pivotal to a tasty cocktail. Many bars in San Francisco freshly squeeze all their juices for their drinks including orange and grapefruit.

Here is one of my favorite cocktail recipes that includes freshly muddled ginger:

• 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ounce freshly squeezed pomegranate juice
• 4 thin slices of peeled ginger (muddled)
• 1/2 ounce of simple syrup
• 2 ounces of vodka

It turns out quite tasty and the crushed ginger gives the drink some crunch.

More to come on fresh ingredients and where to find the freshest drinks in San Francisco.

The Daquiri

To stay in  the theme of Cuban cocktails, I wanted to talk a little bit about the Daiquiri. No not the frozen strawberry one your mom drinks with her girlfriends. I am talking about the classic Daiquiri that, like the Mojito, was made famous in Cuba. This drink was first made famous at the swanky El Floridita in Havana, Cuba. It was Ernest Hemingways favorite (there is actually a life size statue of him at the bar drinking one). He loved it so much that there is one named after him: the Hemingway Daiquiri.

Traditionally, a daiquiri is served chilled and up. Here is a recipe for it:

• juice of one lime
• 1/4 once Luxardo Maraschino
• 1/2 once simple syrup
• 2 ounces of aged rum
• shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Hemingway Daiquiri is the same as listed above, except add 1 once of grapefruit (I also like to subtract the simple syrup when having a Hemingway).

The drink originates from a beach near Santiago, Cuba and was actually invented by a group of American miners in about 1900 in a bar named Venus. The drink remained a local favorite until 1909 when an admiral in the US Navy enjoyed it so much he introduced it to his friends back in D.C. It really picked up steam when in the 1940's when there was a ration of vodka and whiskey during the war. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy, which opened up trade with Latin America, made rum easily accessible. It was during this time that rum, in general, became increasingly popular in USA. 

Ernest Hemingway's signature in El Floridita.

"Mi Mojito en La Bodequita, mi Daiquiri en El Floridita"

As a bartender myself, I am always hearing from other bartenders how much they hate to make Mojitos. The reality of it is that his refreshing and classically Cuban cocktail has been tampered with too much by restaurants by creating the illusion that they are labor intensive. But, in my opinion, they are no more time consuming than many other cocktails. The recipe is simple:

• the juice of 1 lime or 1oz of lime juice
• 5-10 mint leaves
• 2 tspns of bar sugar
• 2 ounces of aged rum
• soda water
• Now, mudle the first three ingredients (a few light taps should do the trick. There is a huge misconception out there that the mint needs to be pounded). Add the rum and top off with soda water.

The Mojito first gained international acclaim at the still-standing La Bodequita del Medio in Havana, Cuba where people like Nat King Cole and, most famously, Ernest Hemingway made it their drink of choice. Today, you can still visit this infamous bar and witness old cuban bartenders whipping up what seems like 50 mojitos in under a minute. The awesome part is that there are no gimmicks to their mojitos. No fruit flavors or anything like that. Here is a picture of me behind the bar with the bartenders at Bodequita del Medio in the summer of 2011:

 Done right, the Mojito is not a difficult to drink to master. I will say though that I have discovered that most people find the recipe listed above as too tart. At family parties when there is a call for mojitos, it has come in handy to make a small batch of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water), and add 1 once of the syrup to mojitos while cutting back to 1/2 to 1 tspn of bar sugar.

Next time your bartender gives you guff for ordering a Mojito don't feel bad for it. Just don't order 8 at one time, especially if it is really busy. Or go for it, just dont expect your drinks right away.

Your Favorite Happy Hours

So I posed the question on my Facebook page for this blog and asked what were your favorite happy hours.  I had a few people post their favorites and here is what I came up with:

Whiskey Thieves
839 Geary (at Larkin)
I could not find any information on a specific happy hour for this joint, but I did discover that they have a HUGE whiskey selection. It should be noted that although they have no happy hour they have atall can of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of Jameson for $7. Sounds good to me.

Pasion
737 Irving St (@9th ave.)
Pasion offers one of the best happy hours in the Sunset featuring $1 oysters, $5 Pisco drink specials, $4 dollar drafts, and some of the best bar bites west of the Panhandle.

Hobson's Choice
1601 Haight St. (@Clayton)
This classic Victorian punch bar in the heart of the Upper Haight offers a comfortable neighborhood setting while serving up some interesting punches and recently just started serving food from neighboring restaurant Asqew. They offer one of the best rum selections and at Happy Hour feature $2.50 draft beers and various cocktail specials.

In my reserach I came across this short film about a few guys that had a rough day at work and decide to hit up 8 bars in 8 hours. Most of them are dives, but most of them are great bars that shoudl not be missed. Happy hour or not. Check it out their very long happy hour.

 

Hours of Happiness

Happy Hour in San Francisco, outside of the FiDi, here are a few my personal favorites:

Charanga
2351 Mission St (@19th st.)
Happy Hour from 4pm - 7pm
This mellow joint serves up some great specials in a friendly atmosphere and features $2 peach-apple-lemon sangria, $3 drafts, $5 tacos and probably one of the better Cuban sandwiches the city has to offer.

Badlands, Toad Hall, Q Bar, The Midnight Sun....really any bar in the Castro
If you're looking to just do some serious drinking and a bit of dancing, the Castro is the place to do it in. Most bars in the Castro offer 2 for 1 cocktails from 4pm-8pm and they tend to pour a stiff drink. You have been fairly warned. The strong drinks always make for good people watching and chatting and the occasional awesomely bad dancer on the dance floor at 6pm.

Toronado
547 Haight St.
Happy Hour from 11:30am - 6pm
This  famous San Francisco watering hole features $2.50 draft beers and they have 30 different beers on tap. A great neighborhood bar in the gritty lower Haight. Definitely one of personal favorites.

More awesome happy hours to come....

For now enjoy the video below. Nothing to do with happy hours, but funny.

Happy Hour = Late Day Drinking

There is nothing quite like day drinking. Unfortunately humans have to work to sustain themselves and that leaves very little time for day drinking during the week. BUT...the work day typically ends at 5, leaving just a few hours to drink. To celebrate this momentous occasions bars and restaurants have instituted the most fantastic idea ever: in those final hours of daylight, why not offer people beer, cocktails, and maybe even food at a discounted price. They called it "Happy Hour," for what I assume to be obvious reasons.

San Francisco, the bustling city that it is, offers a large variety of places that boast a happy hour. Some include things like $3 drafts and $5 snacks (which in my book is a steal), and then some offer $1 off a drink (which does not necessarily make me "happy").

The hours of most "happy hours"range from 3pm - 8pm, although most only last 2 hours. Some places even have two happy hours like Pacific Catch on 9th Ave & Lincoln in the Inner Sunset. They have a happy hour from 4pm - 6pm (M-F) and then again every single night of the week from 10pm - 11pm (12pm on Fridays and Saturdays). They feature $6 freshly squeezed agave margaritas, $4 premium draft beers, $4.50 well drinks and bar bites including calamari, sweet potato fries, coconut shrimp, and a variety of sushi rolls. It's definitely worth the journey across town (Golden Gate Park is also just across street) and also because I work there and you can meet me in the flesh :)

Spicy Pacific Martini & Agave Margarita @ Pacific Catch. ($6 each at happy hour).

There is a wealth of "happy hours" in the Financial and Embarcadero Districts for all the 9-to-5er's. Some great ones include Palomino, which features an all day, everyday happy hour and The Cosmopolitan, which has a large happy hour menu including $4 well drinks, $6 Herradura margaritas, $6 Cosmopolitans, and bar bites starting at $3 and include garlic Parmesan fries, grilled beef satay served with peanut sauce, and spicy tuna tartare served with fried nori chips.

Leave the downtown area and there are a plethora of other happy hours. I will discuss some more places in coming posts so be sure to check back.

This weeks topic is.....

Barware Essentials

In order to understand anything, one must understand the tools that are used to put it together. Everything is comprised of tons of moving parts, and classic cocktails are no different. I think it will be useful to introduce everyone to the tools used behind any bar. These tools are pivotal in the execution of the perfect drink.

1. Mixing Tins

The most basic of tools is the mixing tin. Standard size is a 28 oz. tin and then covered with a 15 oz. tin when being shaken. It is common for people to use a pint glass on top of the 28 oz tin, but classically the all steel shaker will get your drink much more chilled. Not to mention that the glass of the pint glass can break and be dangerous.







2. Strainer

A bar strainer pairs with the mixing tin and is placed ontop of the tin to strain the cocktail from the ice. The spiral portion of the strainer can be removed and can be used in any cocktails that include egg whites. It helps with the beating of the egg whites creating a heavier froth.







3. Jiggers

Many bartenders do not like using jiggers. Sure they can slow you down when you have 10 drinks to make, but they are crucial in consistency. They ensure proper taste and proper portions of the various components in a cocktail. Know that when a jigger is used to make your drink, it will be perfectly measured to taste the way it was inteded. It has happened too often that I order a drink and the bartender does not use a jigger and they over pour, making the drink too strong. If I wanted to get wasted, sure thats fine. But sometimes I just want to enjoy the drink.



4. Bar Spoon

On a classic cocktailing level of bartending it is a mortal sin to shake a martini or manhattan. Mixed drinks are always OK though. If you are going to order a well vodka or gin martini, fine have them shake it to get it extra cold to take the bite out of the vodka or gin. But if you ae ordering a top-shelf liquor martini and have it shaken you "bruise" the liquor. Try making a martini at home and shake the first one and then stir the second. This is especially true with gin. The bar spoon is also useful to give a drink a little mix when it is already in glass. Below is a good video from Imbibe Magazine about how to pick the proper spoon and how to use it.

These are the 4 most important tools behind the bar to help a bartender make a quality drink. Yes, sometimes different establishments have different tools they like to use. It is common, for instance, for bars to use squeeze bottles for their ingredients. They allow for more ingredients to be placed in the well, and help control the amount of liquid coming our, kind of like a pour spout for liquor bottles.

Go visit the Orbit Room Cafe on Market St. & Laguna to see all of these tools in action. My favorite thing about this spot is that they change their cocktail list seasonally, not to mention they make amazing flatbread pizzas for when you have enjoyed one too many.

Pisco & San Francisco

It seems like there are only three types of people that have some knowledge of Pisco: (1) South Americans, specifically Peru where the liquor originates from, (2) people tat have visited South America, & (3) San Franciscans.

San Francisco has a long history with Pisco. Today San Francisco is the number one market for Pisco distribution in the world aside from South America. I have heard and read a few different accounts as to why Pisco became so popular in San Francisco, and both have to do with location. Back in the early 1920's and pre-prohibition, it was difficult to receive Rum from the Carribean (which changed with the opening of the Panama Canal) and it was also difficult to receive whiskey from the east mainly because it took so long to get to San Francisco. Therefore, San Francisco being a major port to the Pacific Ocean, Pisco started coming in from Peru and Chile.

Duncan Nicol, owner of the former Bar Exchange which stood where the Trans-America towers, was the first to create a cocktail using the new liquor that was derived grapes. It became known as the Pisco Punch. When Prohibition went into effect in San Francisco by 1922, the Bar Exchange Saloon closed its doors and somewhere in the course of time the recipe had been lost and today is the source of much debate on the true traditional Pisco Punch. After Prohibition Pisco was forgotten, but now with the rise of travel to South America and a renaissance of classic cocktailing in San Francisco, Pisco has made its triumphant return to notoriety in San Francisco

Below is a recipe that comes from the book Imbibe! by David Wondrich (which is a fantastic book on the history of cocktailing, and as a bartender has given me a wealth of knowledge). The recipe comes from Nicol's bar manager, and is for a large batch of the drink.

1. Take a fresh pineapple. Cut it in squares 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches. Put these squares of fresh pineapple in a bowl of gomme syrup to soak over night. that serves the double purpose of flavoring the gomme syrup with the pineapple and soaking the pineapple, both of which are used afterwards in the Pisco Punch.

2. In the morning mix in a big bowl the following:

• 1/2 pint (8oz) of the gomme syrup, pineapple flavored as above
• 1 pint (16oz) distilled water
• 3/4 (10oz)lemon juice
• 1 bottle (24oz) peruvian pisco brandy
• garnish with a piece of soaked pineapple

*gomme syrup is similar to simple syrup, but if it can be found it has definite qualities that enhance the drink such as giving the drink a silky, heavier finish. Again, simple syrup can be used in place of it.

Today, Pisco Punches can be found at various bars in San Francisco like the Comstock Saloon on Columbus Ave & Kearny St. This Saloon was also recently visited by Anthony Bourdain on his show The Layover.

Pisco Punch from Comstock Saloon

More popluar today among San Franciscans is the traditional Pisco Sour. This creamy drink is a staple for many of the regulars that visit where I work. Containing eggwhites to give it the frothy creamy texture, the perfect froth is not as hard to master as one may think. Here is the recipe that I use to make my Pisco Sours:

In a small mixing tin combine:

• 1 oz simple syrup
• The egg white of one egg

Remove the spiral wire from a bar strainer and place into the small mixing tin. WITHOUT ADDING ICE cover with a large mixing tin and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Remove the small mixing tin and add:

• juice of 1/2 a lime
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 oz peruvian pisco brandy

Add ice to the mixing tin, cover, and shake vigorously once again for at least 30 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass and let sit for a free seconds to allow the froth to settle. Then, add/garnish with:

• 3 - 5 dashes of bitters.   

The most important thing for me when making a Pisco Sour is the froth. When I say shake vigorously, I mean it. The spiral from the strainer should help with the beating of the egg whites.


Great Places to Drink Pisco (please comment and add to the list if you know some great Pisco spots):

• Pisco Latin Lounge
• La Mar
• Pacific Catch, (9th Ave location) recently featured an in-house barrel aged Pisco.

"It's Like Fine Dining for a Drink"

I would think that nothing displays the success of a city like being featured in the New York Times Travel section. In December 2009, San Francisco did just that. But the write up was not about the dungeness crab season or Fisherman’s Wharf. Rather it focused on the burgeoning cocktail scene in San Francisco, and writer Gregory Dicum gives a detailed description of his drinking experiences. The article mentions several bars that are still thriving today, 3 years after the article was initially written. In the world of restaurants and bars that is quite the accomplishment. They do a good job of introducing the classic cocktailing scene in the city by the bay.

In San Francisco, a Cocktail Is Not Just a Drink (NY Times)

Bourbon and Branch, one of the bars mentioned in the articles is the quintessential cocktail bar in San Francisco, with all hand crafted drinks and ingredients. Below is a short video that shows bartenders that work there discussing their outlook on mixing drinks at this "prohibition"/"speakeasy" themed bar.

Welcome to LaDescargaBar

La Descarga refers to a term in Latin Jazz that means to improvise and literally means “to unload”. Developed in the rum bars of Havana, Cuba I found it fitting to represent the culture of social drinking scenes. Often times, what is it that we do to “unload” after a long stressful day of work….drink and laugh. We improvise and make the best of what is in front of us and often times that involves drinking with our friends. For myself, being Cuban, Latin Jazz and a good rum drink embodies the ideas of social drinking. Also, a huge inspiration for this blog come from own drinking experiences and also after visiting an actual bar in LA called "La Descarga," although I think they only used the name for trend purposes. Here is a short video on that bar. If you're ever in the LA area check them out for some classical rum drinks.

With the rise of classic cocktailing, especially in a city like San Francisco, where to drink and with whom can be quite a daunting task and has elevated the age old activity to something that is trendy. In order to keep up with this trends, I created this blog to help San Franciscans find the hippest bar of the week, and allow for up and coming bars to promote themselves. Whether you are looking for a prohibition themed bar or a local dive with skee ball, San Francisco has either and everything in between.

I will include postings on up and coming bars, established bars, the best places to day-drink, information on various liquors, recipes, and classic cocktailing techniques. I look forward to being able to hear from other bartenders that live in San Francisco. Feel free to eloquently put your +”two cents” in on any of the topics.

Being a bartender for close 10 years, I have learned a thing or two about making a good cocktail and finding a good bar. I hope you find this blog informative. Support your local establishments!!