Scowl, Nu?

Memories of Paris

Review of: The Butler & the Chef Bistro

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy’s Book.

Every time I walked by The Butler and the Chef, I always thought is just going to be an overpriced sandwich shop with a French theme. Who would have thought that under the vintage signs and new enamel tabletops promoting classic French brands lurked a real, traditional sandwich shop along the lines of what you find lining the streets near the Sorbonne.

The menu at The Butler and the Chef is simple – the sort of food you would take to go and eat while sitting outside, watching the hordes of students passing by if you were in Paris. There are four main categories of food here: cold sandwiches, hot sandwiches, crepes and what I’ll call “other”.

The cold sandwiches are made in the continental style – split baguettes simply dressed with butter instead of mayo. It might take a little getting used to your first time, but once you get through the initial shock of butter, cheese and a slice of french jambon (ham), you realise how decadent it is.

The Croque Monseiur, from the hot sandwiches menu, was an amazingly good version – topped with creme fraiche instead of gruyere cheese before placing under the salamander – it’s creamy, a little sour and perfect with a slice of tomato and herbes de provence.

The crepes looked nice, and there are sweet and savory options available. Finally, in the other category are some salads, soup and the breakfast dishes such as belgian waffles and a fantastic looking pan perdu (french toast).

The interior was a little warm last Saturday – but a nice cold Fischer d’Alsace Amber took care of that. Overall, the food was exceptional for what it was. the prices were a little high to make it a weekly stop, but now that it’s open weekends (which is amazing in this neighborhood), I’ll certainly make a point to stop in for a baguette now and then.

Amazing, well thought out selection at fair prices

Review of: John Walker & Co

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 5

Read review on Judy’s Book.

I remember my first trip to John Walker back in the mid 1990s – I had been searching for an elusive bottle of Turley wine, and since then, whenever I had a craving for a hard to find wine or spirit ranging from Old Potrero Rye Whiskey to Del Maguey Crema de Mescal, they either have it or can easily get it.

Their Spirits Consultant, Dominic, is a veritable fount of knowledge about any type of distillate – which he applies generously when mixing cocktails at Range as well as when selecting his products at John Walker… and you can see his effect on the current stock. You can find products ranging from Fee Brothers bitters to Austrian Alpensahne to the classic digestives like the Italian Averna. If they don’t have it – John Walker & Co. can find it. Recently, they tracked down a bottle of 15 Year of Redbreast, available for shipping to the US from a single source in Dublin.

The prices are fair, and the selection and service is exceptional… and if you’re looking for the next hip vodka or the perfect Austrian Stone Pine liqueur – head over to the Crocker Galleria and see what’s in stock.

Noah’s? Feh.

Review of: Noah’s Bagels

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 1

Read review on Judy’s Book.

The sign on the window declares “It’s Steam!” but really, it’s the soul of the bagel making a valiant attempt to leave the squishy sponges known as Noah’s Bagels.

The bagels here have no texture, a sponge like consistancy and taste, well, bland and airlike. Nothing like the real bagels of New York or even Katz just down the street.

There’s better alternatives, and honestly no reason to subject yourself to this imitation of a bagel.

Good for a nosh…

Review of: Katz Bagels

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy’s Book.

As a transplanted East Coaster, I’m very particular about my bagels because, let’s face it – most of the people west of Mamaroneck don’t know how to make a decent one.

Case in point, the donut-like sponges from Noah’s Bagels, which locals praise for their texture and range of “schmears”. A good bagel doesn’t need strawberry pesto schmear. It needs cream cheese or chive cheese and possibly a slice or two of nova lox.

Katz Bagels is probably the closest thing to a good New York style bagel shop in the FiDi/SOMA area. They have the classics: egg, plain, onion, garlic, rye, poppy and sesame to name a few – and a couple of “berry” ones that have become popular recently. The bagles themselves are pretty darned good – a little bit of elasticity in the crust and a soft yet dense dough inside. For me, a garlic bagel with chive cheese, a slice of red onion and a slice of tomato with a little bit of lox on top is a perfect way to start the day.

Noah’s? Feh. Try Katz!

A Better Alternative to NetFlix

Review of: GreenCine

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy’s Book.

One of the problems with living abroad is that I have become woefully out of touch when it comes to the movies that came out in the past few years. I originally used NetFlix, but the local depot was consistantly mis-shipping my discs (getting a notice in the morning that the disc was shipped, and then another in the afternoon saying it was received back), so I decided to try a local alternative.

GreenCine is a San Francisco based movie service, offering a wide selection of new releases (including television series), international, anime and even adult films (if that is your thing). Discs are shipped from San Francisco and it never takes more than a day from receiving the shipping notice until the disc arrives in my mailbox.

One of the great things about GreenCine is how well you can control the lists. I can set the system to grab the discs in order (locked), based on the first one available (unlocked) and even keep it unlocked but track a set of discs as a series so that I make sure I get a multi-disc set in order (so, it will grab the first disc available, but will make sure that my Firefly Disc 2 isn’t shipped until I’ve watched and returned Disc 1).

If you want a good local alternative, or are a classic/international movie buff, it’s a much, much better option than NetFlix

Another Night at the Bar…

Review of: Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy’s Book.

Though my plan was to have a quick dinner at Zoya and a single drink at Absinthe before heading home, by the time I looked down at my watch, I realized it had been almost three hours and my one cocktail had turned into five.

But it’s OK… May 6 (today) is the 200th anniversary of the first published cocktail recipe, and Absinthe was celebrating the momentous occasion with four fantastic cocktails priced at $6 (Sazerac, Old Fashioned, Martini and a Brandy Crusta).

I started out with a Martinez, possibly the precursor of the Martini, this drink was based on Plymouth Gin, modified with orange bitters, an olive and vermouth. The staff mixed it perfectly, and it transported me back to the early 1930s to the heady days when men (and women) knew how to mix and drink a classic cocktail.

The Martinez was followed by an amazing Sazerac – though it was not as good as those from the actual Sazerac Bar in New Orleans, still it was a great cocktail, blending Rye Whiskey, Herbsaint (an Anisette), Peychaud Bitters, sugar and lemon. I like a little more Herbsaint in my Sazerac, but all in all, it was a fitting tribute to the great 200 year old cocktail from New Orleans.

Next was a classic martini – not a modern martini made with vodka and a whisper of vermouth, but instead a gutsy blend of Plymouth Gin and Noilly Prat white vermouth at a ratio of 3:1.

From there, I moved to a well made Plymouth Gin based Aviation (marischino liqueur and a lime twist) and an orangy Pegu Cocktail.

As classic cocktails go, the weekend team at Absinthe is hard to beat.