Inside the City Beer Stroe

Fun fact: The platypus is the official mascot of SOMA's City Beer Store. We remember from third grade that these creatures have duck bills, beaver tails, and the feet of otters. Perhaps this creature is an apt metaphor for a beer destination with an identity crisis -- Is it a beer store? Is it a bar? The short answer: Yes.

Six years in, and it's clear that City Beer Store hasn't succumbed to any crisis of identity. If anything, its singular focus to provide consumers with a well-rounded, educational beer experience has become a model for other successful craft beer businesses in the Bay Area and beyond. For City Beer customers, the last year will be remembered as the era when the wall came down and the shop expanded into the adjoining space.

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Alex Hochman

The #1 awaits its dressing.

Adam Mesnick is quick to distinguish the offerings at his new venture, 1058 Hoagies, from his SOMA sandwich mecca, Deli Board. "Deli Board is my baby. Everything is perfect down to the wrapper. With hoagies, I can be a little sloppier. If a customer orders a hoagie and picks it up four hours later, I'm okay with that. At Deli Board, that would freak me out! " he told us.More >>

Lou Bustamante

In the Bay Area, we have more than our fair share of great spirits retailers and producers--a symbiotic relationship that keeps our personal bars stocked with delicious and unique local spirits. Two of the finest, K&L Wines and St. George Spirits, have joined forces to create a limited-run spirit worth seeking out, Faultline Gin ($34.99).

K&L spirits buyers, David Othenin-Girard (Southern California stores) and David Driscoll (Northern California stores), worked closely with distiller Dave Smith to create something exclusive for them (how this didn't get called "David Gin" baffles us).

A neutral-grain based spirit, the gin is clean and savory, using plenty of juniper balanced out by a variety of citrus, including lime, and spices. While the spirit certainly has some botanical similarities to the distillery's other three gins, it leans decisively into a vegetal direction. Smith explained, "The Faultline definitely feels like its own beast to me and showcases some of the sweetness and focus of the Terroir, while pulling some of the potentially more savory components of the Botanivore, especially with the addition of the celery seed."

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It's possible to live blocks away from Citizen's Band and never know it exists, an anomaly in a dining-obsessed city. The unassuming storefront is easy to overlook on its corner of 8th and Folsom, smushed up against the much flashier Pinkie's Bakery, with which Citizen's Band shares its indoor space. Maybe that's why the restaurant has maintained its low-key atmosphere, despite having been operating for about two years; even at noon on Sunday, the place is lively but not crowded or chaotic. The majority of bar seats, and maybe even a table or two, are up for grabs. More >>

Moya

A vegetable combo plate at Moya.

On May 4, 2011, Moya, a small family-run Ethiopian restaurant at Seventh and Folsom, came upon hard times -- a rampant neighborhood fire that forced a shutdown. An eviction battle followed, forcing proprietor Fana Alemayehu to search for a new location. Almost a year later, Eater reports that Moya has reopened with a revamped menu and a new style of service, but with many of the same Ethiopian recipes that garnered its first incarnation a loyal following.

"We are so happy to be working," says Alemayehu. Although it's only been a few days, she says that business is "very good." Moya is now open through breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offers a host of options for all diners, including vegans and vegetarians. There are many non-Ethiopian options too, such as homemade lasagna, soups, and sandwiches. "We want to accommodate everybody," Alemayehu says.

The current location, at Ninth and Mission, is in a brand-new building. "We wanted to stay in South of Market because we have a lot of followers in the area," says Alemayehu. Initially the idea was to open a coffee shop, but Alemayehu changed her mind when she realized that "people were waiting for us to bring them the Ethiopian food they love."

Moya's fans have already returned for their old favorites, such as doro wat (chicken stew), kitfo (Ethiopian-style steak tartare), and injera (Ethiopian flatbread). "We love to see them back," Alemayehu says of her customers. "They are very, very happy."

Moya: 121 Ninth St. (at Mission), 431-5544.

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Lou Bustamante

The None but the Brave from Heaven's Dog: Liquid courage.

SFoodie's countdown of our favorite 50 things to eat and drink, 2012 edition ​The tale of Trevor Easter's version of the None but the Brave at Heaven's Dog has all the intrigue of a pulp novel: mistaken identity, poisoning, bootlegging, and a happy, delicious ending. The cocktail first attracted attention from bartenders as the interest in vintage cocktail recipes was starting to gain speed. "What originally attracted me to this cocktail about two years ago was the odd combo of brandy, Jamaican Rum, and allspice dram," explained Easter. "I always tried to make it work, but something was just a little messy about the flavor."More >>

Alex Hochman

Why?

Farewell carne asada bake, we hardly knew ye. After a nearly eighteen month run, Costco has wisely decided to pull the plug on perhaps one of the nastiest things we've ever eaten. Only one problem: its replacement might be even nastier. 

Lou Bustamante

​Fizz cocktails are all about getting the drink silky and frothy, which you'd think would be simply a matter of adding an egg white, or that shaking it for a REALLY long time would give it the sought-after velvety texture and lightness. At Heaven's Dog, bar manager Trevor Easter makes a version of The Elks' Own ($10, Quinta De La Rosa Port, Rittenhouse Rye, lemon, sugar, egg white) demonstrates how much more there is to it.

Easter's version stands out for the perfectly whipped constancy, but also for the wonderfully fruity flavor and color the port adds to the drink. An underappreciated fortified wine, port can sometimes come across as a syrupy one-dimensional brute, but the exceptional Quinta De La Rosa Port adds gorgeous richness here.

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Marissa Carter Photography

HayaHon's Johnny Honda (left) and Mark Hayashida.

​Mark Hayashida has covered a lot of culinary territory since graduating from college: cooking Classic French-inspired cuisine at the LA Ritz-Carlton, working on the sushi bar at the San Jose branch of Blowfish, cooking at Google, helping open Skool in Potrero Hill. Three weeks ago, he and partner Johnny Honda, whom he met at Google, have moved into the popup business, launching HayaHon, a roving izakaya. On Tuesdays, they are in residence at Cafe Royale in the Tendernob, but their main popup is taking place Thursday through Saturday nights at SPACE 1582, which used to be Mercury Lounge (1582 Folsom, at 12th St.; no website yet).

"We're basically calling ourselves an izakaya," Hayashida says. "So that means small plates, yakitori, and ramen -- and the entree stuff is where we get to have fun. My cooking background is French, but I'm from Hawaii, so I get to throw all those things in, changing the menu every week to dial in what customers want." You can follow HiyaHon through its Facebook page and Twitter feed, or make reservations via email.More >>

Lou Bustamante

The Grassroots Cocktail

​Two months ago Joel Baker, formerly bar manager at Bourbon & Branch and the Burritt Room, was brought on to enhance the bar and cocktail menu at Tres. Baker explained that, "The aim is to get the bar back to where it was when they opened, when Jacques [Bezuidenhout], Ryan [Fitzgerald], and Marco [Dionysos], their all-star bartending cast, were here."

We can expect modern interpretations of classic tequila drinks to start showing up on the menu, but also improvements to the house collection of spirits. Baker plans to start phasing out some of the mass-produced spirits on the shelf and replace them with more artisanal tequilas and mezcals. To complement the tequilas, the bar will also start serving new housemade sangritas, one with a traditional tomato base, and a more tropical alternative based on pineapple.

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