Lou Bustamante

Don't let the "brasserie" portion of the name fool you; the cuisine at Bluestem is all American. Named after the preferred grazing grass of cattle ranchers, the focus of the restaurant is decidedly on beef, with marrow, steaks, and tartar showcased on the menu. The bar incorporates a few of these Americana twists as well, like the viral-video namesake, Honey Badger ($11, Maker's Mark Bourbon, honey whiskey liqueur, lemon, BBQ water).

A drink built around a whiskey sour with the inclusion of barbecue sauce and spiced rim sounds more nastyass than badass, but owners Adam and Stacy Jed's attempt to recreate the flavors of an American cookout with bourbon work. The Hoegaarden foam "stripe" like the animal adds some texture more than flavor.

See also: Jane Deere, a Macho Yet Fruity Cocktail at Bluestem Brasserie
Drink of the Week: Getting Swept Away at Padrecito
Drink of the Week: Thirsty Like the Wolf at Azucar Lounge

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Lou Bustamante

Few spirits that have the potential to incite the kind of heated debate that pisco, the South American unaged grape based brandy, is capable of. Should you ever have the misfortune of asking a Chilean and a Peruvian about the origins of pisco, you would quickly find yourself with no answer and in the middle of a discussion on the verge of fisticuffs. It would be safer to light up a smoke while filling up your car with gas.

Both countries proudly claim pisco as a national invention and the Pisco Sour as the national drink (oddly a drink invented by an American, Victor Vaughn Morris in Lima, Peru). At Cantina, bar manager Shaher Misif is doing his part to unify the divide with cocktails.

See also: Comstock Saloon's Pisco Punch
Drink of the Week: Seduced by the Moroccan Cosmopolitan at OneUp
Drink of the Week: Fire in the Sky at Dosa

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Lou Bustamante

The Stone Serpent at M.Y. China

The first night of Chinese New Year begins on Saturday, and while lucky foods like mandarins (to symbolize wealth) and noodles (for longevity and a full life) are traditional, we found three different cocktails to ensure a full year of good luck. Enjoy all three and triple your happiness -- and hopefully not your hangover.

Drink: Stone Serpent
Where: M.Y. China, 845 Market, fourth floor, 580-300
Why: The orange-red cocktail garnished with a golden yellow lemon twist is meant to represent the colors of the red Chinese envelopes, a tradition designed to forgive past grudges and start the year fresh. The Stone Serpent ($11, VSOP Raynal, grapefruit juice, Cointreau, Cherry Heering, Peychauds, ginger, Belfast apple cider) has an almost chocolately quality from the brandy, and plenty of ginger bite. The light float of a San Francisco Chinatown classic, Belfast cider (around since 1848, and sold almost exclusively here), represents the banquets at which it is always served.

See Also: M.Y. China: High-End Cuisine Finds a Niche in a Busy Mall
Drink of the Week: The Black Pearl at E&O Asian Kitchen
Drink of the Week: Chinese Mai Tai at Li Po Lounge

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Lou Bustamante

I was enjoying lunch at Lark Creek Steak recently with a cowboy and a rastafari, and while you never would think that these two would get along so swell, there we were, having the best time. Did I mention that the cowboy was a hamburger and the rastafari was a cocktail? And no, don't worry, they weren't "talking to me." Or me to them. Much.

See Also: Lark Creek Steak's Steakburger
Drink of the Week: Champion's Cup at Sweetwater Café

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Photo by Yountville Chamber of Commerce

If the impending Thanksgiving holiday is giving you more grief than gratitude, or you're really looking forward to the rush of relatives, shopping sprees, and parties, then here are a few events to accomplish both.

The Big Dive
Where: Harry Denton's Starlight Room, 450 Powell (at Sutter), 395-8595
When: Weds., Nov. 21st, 8:30 p.m.
- 1:30 a.m.
Cost: $2 PBR; Wild Turkey Whiskey and a PBR for $5

The Rundown: Kick off the Thanksgiving holiday high above the traffic and Union Square madness at the Starlight Room. Look down from your 21st floor perch at the scrambling folks and the crazies already lined up for Black Friday and laugh a hearty, slightly evil laugh, while enjoying $5 combos of Wild Turkey Whiskey with a can of Pabts Blue Ribbon beer. "Like" the Starlight Room on Facebook and skip the cover charge like the big shot you are. At least for tonight.

See Also:
- Jalisco Cobbler at the Starlight Room
- Hooked on Tonics: Pricilla Young of Brasserie S&P

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Anna Roth

The bacon old-fashioned is garnished with a strip of bacon.

I went to Hops & Hominy the other night because I wanted to try the Pork Chops & Apple Sauce cocktail. Bacon-infused Bulleit bourbon, apple schnapps, house-made sour ... I figured there was pretty much no way it could be good, but held out hope that somehow it would beat the odds to turn out to be delicious -- either way, it would make for good copy. But alas, though it's still on the online menu, that particular drink was not on the cocktail list when I went. So I had to settle for another meaty drink, the Smoked Bacon Old-Fashioned, also made with bacon-infused bourbon but with the addition of bitters, maple syrup, and a house-brandied cherry.

See also:
- Bacon-Flavored Coffee, Toothpaste, Candy Canes, and 33 More Ridiculous Bacon Products
- Bacon Bacon's Kitchen: 7 Reasons Why I'm Not Vegetarian
- Elvis Honored in the Bacon-y King Cookie

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Jason Henry

Jasper's 6ft High and Rising cocktail.

Concocting beer cocktails is kind of like creating DJ music. Not only are you setting the pace and flow of your guests' night, but you're also mashing up and integrating disparate elements into a cohesive whole. Mixing beer with liquor isn't an easy task. The bartender must understand the flavor profile of the beer and how it might provide compliment or contrast to spirits and additives. Creating a harmonious union of flavors is a process of trial and error ("reeeeeeeemix!"), and many people erroneously default to simply using beer as filler in a cocktail. When it comes to shaking up beer and booze, we've come to trust Jasper's Corner Tap Bartender (read: "Mixmaster") Kevin Diedrich.

See Also:
- Enjoy Comparative Beer and Cheese Tasting at 'From Ales to Fromage' Event
- Combat the Fall Doldrums with the 'BRU/SFO' Belgian Beer Month

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Lou Bustamante

When the E&O Trading Company was being relaunched as E&O Asian Kitchen this past summer with a complete remodel, refreshed menu by chef Arnold Eric Wong, and bar overhaul by bar manager Carlos Yturria, the whole thing made sense. Both worked together in similar roles at Baccar back in 2001, and Yturria's surfer boy style and 17 years of experience means the tropical Asian-ish cocktails come across as genuine, and more importantly, damn good.

See Also:
- The Upper East Side at Alfred's Steakhouse
- Cool Hand Luke Fizz at Txoko

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Anna Roth

Tesla Tart from Tout Sweet Patisserie

Union Square visitors will soon have a sweet spot to take a break from the crowds. Last night we attended the media preview for Tout Sweet, the new patisserie inside Macy's from Top Chef Just Desserts season one winner Yigit Pura. The 1,500 square foot space is predominantly white, all the better to showcase Pura's jewel-like display of French macarons, cakes, tarts, pastries, and pates de fruits.

Everything we sampled was tasty -- especially Tout Sweet's namesake chocolate layer cake and a salted caramel macaron named after Pura's oldest childhood friend -- but our favorite by far was the Tesla tart, an amped-up version of a traditional lemon tart. Pura was inspired by Nikola Tesler's vision to translate electricity into power, and the electric yellow tart's blend of passion fruit, yuzu and meyer lemon curd did give the taste buds a jolt. It was topped with a house-made passion fruit marshmallow (Pura said passion fruit is one of his favorite flavors), which was fluffy, light, tropical, and one of the best marshmallows we have ever eaten.

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Lou Bustamante

Tucked away on a terrace on the second level at Yerba Buena Gardens holds one of San Francisco's best kept outdoor drinking and dining secrets, B Restaurant and Bar. Well, okay, maybe not entirely secret, since its $1 oysters and drink specials during the 4:30 to 7 p.m. happy hour bring in the crowds of young professionals from SOMA.

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