Lou Bustamante

Rickhouse Mint Julep ($12, Custom Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, Mandarine Napoleon, mint, spring bitters)

We may not get the dramatic announcements of spring's arrival that other parts of the country get, like crocuses jetting out through the snow, but we do get our own subtle declaration of a new season. With asparagus season having peaked, the presence of local strawberries and cherries forecasting longer, warming days, and cocktail menus around town start to get a refresh.

While Blackbird has shifted their entire menu from the heavier drinks of winter, warming and substantial, to a collection of refreshing sippers, Rickhouse has introduced an entirely new menu, doing away with the drink bible and focusing their offerings. Here's a quick look at both new menus:

See Also: Drink of the Week: Getting Poached Like a Pear at Blackbird
The King Hippo Cocktail--a Tiki Punchout

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Pete Kane

The shredded beef pabellon arepa at Pica Pica.

Hugo Chavez is dead, but Venezuelan food lives on at Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, the second S.F. spot for Carácas cuisine. And it's far less polarizing than inflammatory anti-American rhetoric. In fact, it's delicious.

If you can find it, that is. The nondescript Castro location is hidden in plain sight, such that you might find yourself leaning on the front door, scanning Google Maps. (Hint: Pica Pica is next to the Chevron station, behind the accumulation of idling F-Market streetcars). Inside, however, the warmly painted walls and friendly staff indicate that this is a cut above the sea of mediocrity that is eating in the Castro.

See also: Mission Picnic Is Open For All Your Dolores Park Sandwich Needs
Charles Phan on His New Restaurant South, Now Open at SF JAZZ

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Lou Bustamante

Neutral territory is not something you find very often in bars. But what if the bar sits in an intersection where the Castro, Mission, and Lower Haight all meet? Far enough away to be in none of them officially, but near enough to be in all of them is Blackbird, a bar that attracts some of the most diverse crowds in San Francisco. Belly up to the bar, and in the course of a few rounds you will meet people from all of those neighborhoods and beyond.

See also:Drink of the Week: The Rastafari at Lark Creek Steak
Drink of the Week: Drink Like a Big Shot at Capo's
Local Pears Keep Flavors Sweet Through the Holidays

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Jason Henry

It's that dark time of year when gorging on eggnog and figgy pudding gives way to long days at the office and unwanted resolutions. What were our New Years resolutions, you ask? For starters, we plan to master the dance from the 'Gangnam Style' music video. Secondly, we plan to drink locally and seasonally. We're in that unique window when the temperatures still chill to the bone, yet the skies are clear and blue. This week's featured brew will help you straddle the seasonal line with bright, palate-lifting flavors juxtaposed with a warming 8% ABV.

See Also:
- Beer of the Week: The Bruery Five Golden Rings
- Monk's Kettle Turns Five and Throws a Party
- Beer of the Week: Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12.

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Jason Henry

Tomorrow Palo Alto's SliderBar Cafe will celebrate the grand opening of its second location in the former Criolla Kitchen space at Market and 16th. When we discovered that the beer menu was crafted by Certified Cicerone Eric Cripe (of the Jug Shop), we hustled over to the Castro for some beer and slider pairings.

See Also:
- Beer of the Week: Anchorage Love Buzz
- SF Homebrewers Guild Launches a Presidential Competition

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Balthazar Digital Media

Day three of the extravaganza begins and is building some steam with six events on the schedule tonight. The main event will showcase bartender talents from Oregon to San Diego, and an assortment of happy hours, seminars, and plenty of cocktails, even in the food. Oh, yes, there's also a great FREE party tonight if you're quick!

See Also:
- Cocktail Week Events for Tuesday, Sept. 18

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Elizabeth Tichenor Photography

The bar area at Shanghai.

Shanghai opened on August 22 on Market and Dolores, and although the large space is in what many might consider to be a prime location, others have deemed it something of a cursed location.

The building has been home to three restaurants in the past two years: Scenester Cal-Ital spot Mecca (2006-2010), the unfortunately named Chinese brasserie Pudong (December 2010-March 2011), and Asian small bites eatery Ginger Fruit (June 2011-October 2011).

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Jason Henry

When beer geek playground Healthy Spirits began collaborating with distilleries for a line of proprietary, single-barrel bourbons, we applauded the idea. When the shop approached breweries to fill the used bourbon barrels with special brews, we slow-clapped for a full hour.

The latest release in the Healthy Spirits barrel-aged beer lineup comes from local Triple Voodoo brewing. For those who enjoy brews with a bourbon influence, but want to avoid a heavy, sludgy beer during the summer months, the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Grand Cru is a fine option (that Indian summer should be kicking in any moment, right?). Upon first pour, the beer exhibits excellent clarity and a light copper hue. The initial aroma leans heavily on the presence of honey and blue agave nectar in the beer. These elements offer a sweetness that offsets a slightly spicy aroma of coriander and a touch of banana from the yeast.

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Shmaltz Brewing

Those nice Jewish boys at Shmaltz Brewing are always up to something. One day they're concocting a recipe for a Pumpernickel Bagel Porter, the next day they're opening the "world's smallest brewery," pumping out craft lagers one gallon at a time next door to the Coney Island Circus Slideshow. The brewery, one of the newest inductees to the San Francisco Brewer's Guild, certainly knows a thing or two about chutzpa.

They also have a knack for adapting to trends in brewing culture. A few years ago, Shmaltz picked up the barrel-aging torch and never looked back. Their line of brews aged in used spirits barrels (particularly bourbon and rye whiskey) have garnered awards and held the attention of beer geeks from coast to coast. This week, the chosen ones are set to release one of the finest beers in the Coney Island line of lagers: Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead. While most lagers arouse preconceived notions of light, crisp summery beer, this one belies expectations. The doppelbock style beer is cold fermented like a lager, but the finished products resembles a rich barleywine. Extended aging in still-wet Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels lends pronounced notes of vanilla and oak to the layered flavors of brown sugar, raisins, and caramel.

On Tuesday, you'll have the chance to try the beer side-by-side with its non barrel-aged counterpart. Other tap offerings will include Mermaid rye pilsner and Albino Python, a white lager spiced with fennel seed, orange peel, and ginger. The release will be at Blackbird, whose bar staff has collaborated with Shmaltz to create two beer cocktails for the event. The first, "Two Shots and a Beer," uses a syrup reduction of the Human Blockhead beer to impart a sweet toasted malt flavor that hints at the origins of both the beer and the whiskey. The cocktail is rounded out with scotch, Fernet, and Cardamaro.

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Jason Henry

There's two ways for foie lovers to deal with the impending foie gras ban: Stay home accept a future of steamed vegetables, or pound the pavement to sample the last foie dishes. This is for those who have chosen the latter.

This week, Starbelly, one of the Castro's most beloved neighborhood restaurants, should be on your foie gras radar ("foiedar"?). On Tuesday, the restaurant will offer a four-course, beer-paired 'Farewell to Foie' feast. The bad news...it sold out in 27 minutes. Thankfully, there's more good news -- one of the dishes, with beer pairing, will be available for dinner at Starbelly from Tuesday the 19th to Saturday the 23rd.

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