The Commonwealth Club's INFORUM series will present "Cocktail Smackdown: San Francisco's Top Mixologists," an occasion to both posit the new significance of those who innovate with their beverage programs for restaurant hot spots and taste of what all the fuss is about right now. 7X7 wine and spirits editor Jordan McKay will moderate the panel, which is scheduled to feature Jackie Patterson (Heaven's Dog), H. Joseph Ehermann (Elixir), Jon Gasparini (Rye on the Road/15 Romolo/Rosewood) and Jeff Hollinger (Absinthe/co-author of The Art of the Bar). This sure-to-be festive forum starts on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $25 ($15 members).
In his blog today, MB asks his readers for help in cutting 19 restaurants from last year's Top 100 list to make room for 20 he wants to add to the 2009 list, due out in April. He's already got one slot free thanks to Rubicon closing. The discussion on Chowhound is likely to be livelier than the comments on MB's blog.
