Mix mastery: Reviving old drink recipes doesn't exactly seem the work of Mensa members. You find an old book ― the Savoy Cocktail Book, say, or Boothby's ― you measure out your gins and crème de violettes, your ryes and chartreuses, and bam: Something with an antique, wise-assy name, like the Scoff-Law or Sassy Sue or Mule's Hind Leg, emerges. But in his sort of fascinating (though ― warning ― totally cocktail-geeky) blog Underhill-Lounge, Erik Flannestad Ellestad (who tends bar at Heaven's Dog) reveals that bringing old cocktails back from the dead is as touchy as translating Sappho.
Take today's Flannestad Ellestad entry, which continues a thread about proper nomenclature for the Aviation. Whether certain liqueurs taste different than they did in the 1930s, or early-20th century cocktails were so much smaller than ours the measurements are untranslatable, or we've all grown up strafing our palates with Coke, whatever: Any mixologist worth his Peychaud's has to basically reinvent old formulas. Flannestad Ellestad (after the jump):
That mashup of café ambience and under-$10 sandwiches tweaked by a chef who earned his chops in places with sommeliers and garde mangers, is a concept only slightly less viable, perhaps, than thin-crust pizza and craft brews. Kitchenette, Pal's Takeaway, Rhea's Deli, Naked Lunch, The Sentinel, Il Cane Rosso, the ill-fated Carte415: the way Milgrom talks, they were all steps on the road to Local Mission. "The places that are doing this kind of food well, they aren't places where you can sit down and relax," he says.
May
19, we've teased out 92 of our favorite local dishes that taste like
here.All the tasty details after the jump.
As for the dogs, they're sourced from Manna Foods, Bi-Rite, and the illustrious Molinari Deli. An Italian hot link from the latter featured in our choice, The Dog Corleone, named for the Sicilian birthplace of The Godfather mafia boss: mild compared to other spicy dogs we've tried, especially with the house-made sun-dried tomato aïoli, sautéed peppers, artichoke hearts, and Bi-Rite mozzarella that shared its bun. Frankie's switching to pistolette rolls on Thursday ― he says the meat-to-bread ration is better than with torpedos.
"I grew up with my grandmother making pies," he says. Same with Chile Pies head baker Wesley Monohan. "It just comes from our childhoods." The menu will offer a rotating selection of as many as six mostly sweet pies, including its signature: green chile-apple pie with cheddar crust, served with Straus organic vanilla ice cream and red chile-honey drizzle. Of course, the chiles are green Hatch specimens ― Anaheims ― mild to medium-spicy, shipped from New Mexico roasted, peeled, and frozen.
Also from Logan's past: New Mexico-style Frito pie, another Chile Pies signature. It's a single-serving bag of Fritos, split down the side and filled with spiced Niman ground beef, organic pinto beans, and red chile sauce, with lettuce, tomato, onion. "It's the same classic one you get at the Woolworths in Santa Fe," Logan says.
