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The 411 on 441: Delicious Drinks at Dive Prices

Jennifer Maerz
 
Mar 14, 2011, 2011, 12:16pm
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I was out talking to a friend on Saturday night when he gave me a great tip. "Have you heard about that dive bar being run by the Bourbon & Branch people?" he asked. "Great cocktails, all $7, and in a super casual setting in the Tenderloin." 

Sounded kinda perfect to me. I get the whole artisan cocktail thing, but sometimes when I hit those bars I feel like I'm in a Bret Easton Ellis novel — the whole hipster preppy contingent can get a little obnoxious, and as someone who mostly drinks whiskey straight I don't always have the patience to wait around ten minutes for a cocktail. 

So my friends and I hightailed it to the address my buddy gave us — 441 Jones St., near O'Farrell, basically across the street from Bourbon & Branch — and found the perfect cozy Saturday night watering hole. The place is called 441, but the signage outside is for Mr. Lew's Win-Win Bar & Grand Sazerac Emporium, and inside hangs some of the tackiest glowing beer advertisements I've seen. I loved it. 

The atmosphere is totally no frills — unchanged, the super friendly bartender told us — from the place's days as a Korean dive bar. But they'd unplugged the jukebox and the other server was cranking out great old Iggy Pop gems from his iPod. And the drinks? Delicious. I paid $7 for a twist on my regular. The Gold Rush was warm and only slightly sweet, like a tastier version of what you'd want to soothe an irritable throat. 

The bartender told us that 441 has only been open a couple weeks and confirmed that it's owned by the B&B folks — who wanted to offer a lowbrow alternative to their swank space down the street. She said 441's decor has been going through a "slow transition" and even she wasn't sure what the final vision for the place would be.

411 seems pretty perfect as it is. The dozen or so folks who'd found their way in (via word of mouth like us) were chatty and added to the overall vibe, one where we were all refugees from the weekend warrior bar scene. Hopefully the secret will continue to be slow to spread. (SFist has a little more on the bar here.)

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Photos by Jennifer Maerz and Jen Corbett

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Data Viz: Japan Earthquake and Seismic Intensity

Indhira Rojas
 
Mar 11, 2011, 2011, 5:09pm

Japan has been in our minds and hearts today as we receive the sad news of the earthquakes and tsunami impacting the country. We have been following the media coverage closely, trying to understand the level of damage and how we can be of help. Our intern Shuhei, who hails from Japan, has created a data visualization to illustrate the different earthquakes and their intensity with the hope of contributing to the data mappings that allows us, as outsiders, to grap what has occurred there in the last 24 hours. View the Data Viz here:        

  Japan_viz

Each circle's area represents a level of intensity. Data from JMA  .
Developed by Shuhei Kagawa with Polymaps JavaScript Library 

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Get Yr Eyeballs Blown with Caroliner

Jennifer Maerz
 
Mar 10, 2011, 2011, 9:32am
Caroliner_best

Photo by Flickr user Foist

The Bay Area has long been a haven for costumed bands (think The Residents, The Mummies, Knights of the New Crusade) but there is no other group that turns its attire into intense visual art quite like Caroliner . The mysterious conceptual act — which plays a truly psychedelic mix of industrial, folk, noise and rock jams — completely overtakes whatever environment they're performing in. Really, the music is great and all, but you can't live in San Francisco without being witness to the amazing attention to detail this crew puts into designing an alternate universe from the stage. A live show is a rare event, but if you haven't seen these guys, your next chance is this coming Wednesday, March 16, when they take over Cafe du Nord . (The gig is listed with their full name, Caroliner Rainbow Shade is Natural Composure).

A Caroliner performance is a seamless display of day-glo creatures against bright backgrounds. Individual identities are masked behind wacky art mutant costumes. And with the stage lights much darker than what's lit up by flash in most photos of the band, venues take on a crazy black-lit-painting-come-to-life vibe.

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Photo by Flickr user Mike Bell

I know some of you Bold Italic regulars dig the design thing, so I'd recommend paying the $10 next week to get into du Nord for the pure experience of stage and costume design gone mad.

Caroliner shows aren't the sort of thing you easily forget. 

Categories: Art & Design, Music, Only In SF, Duboce Triangle

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Ladies Who Scrabble

Nicole Grant Kriege
 
Mar 9, 2011, 2011, 2:35pm

Sally Kuchar of CurbedSF hosts a regular Ladies Who Scrabble night, and I must say she does a damn fine job of it.

The rules:

1. No men allowed.
2. Gossip is encouraged, but stays at the table.
3. Fancy dress is appreciated.
4. You can play your own name.
5. Bay Area slang and Harry Potter words are allowed.
6. Cocktailing is encouraged.
7. Don't be a bitch.

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I picked up a little treat for the occasion. Cask assured me the wine Sexual Chocolate would be a big hit. It was. The zin-syrah blend with a hint of dark chocolate won us all over.

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One of the rules I liked best was the fact that using Bay Area slang on the board was fair game. I'm not sure if "Hottiez" counts, but why not?

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Plus, I left a card carrying member. I hope other SF ladiez are inspired to start their own Scrabble clubs!

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Categories: Craft & D.I.Y.

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When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Limoncello!

Sarah Han
 
Mar 8, 2011, 2011, Midnight

Limoncello

Image by Chrissy Loader

Last Friday, Bold Local Chrissy Loader invited a group of us into her home for a special dinner party. Mike Christie and Abby Ward of SF Delicious Catering , the winners of the recent Mac and Cheese SF Food Wars competition, were cooking and serving their prized recipe. It was delicious. But I’ll let Chrissy tell you more about that herself — stay tuned for her upcoming article on SF Food Wars. In the meantime, I wanted to share a different recipe that’s perfect while citrus is still in season: homemade limoncello.

Limoncello is a sweet lemon liqueur from Italy, where it’s traditionally served chilled as a post-meal digestiv. After we finished eating, Chrissy pulled out two pretty decanters from the freezer and poured us shots of the viscous liquid into tiny limoncello glasses (Yep, Chrissy’s the type of gal who owns glasses just for a particular drink). 

In Italy, limoncello is tradtionally made with sorrento lemon peels, but really, any old lemon will do. What makes Chrissy’s limoncello extra special is that she uses Meyer lemons, which are sweeter and almost orangey tasting. But this great flavor comes at a cost: Meyer lemons have thinner peels than conventional ones, so you have to be really diligent about not including any of the pith (the white part of the rind), or else your limoncello with have an unpleasant bitterness.

For the base for the drink, Chrissy uses Everclear, a neutral grain alcohol, which insures you really taste the bright citrus. I was amazed by how much the Meyer flavor really came through. Here is Chrissy's recipe:

Meyer Lemon Limoncello

Ingredients:
- 15 Meyer Lemons, peeled in thin slivers avoiding pith
- 1 liter bottle of Everclear (190-proof) alcohol
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 5 cups water

- Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any residue of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry.

- Carefully peel lemons in strips with vegetable peeler so there's minimal white pith on the peel. Try to stick to the outer part of the rind as much as possible. If you're using regular lemons, you might simply zest them to avoid the pith. 

- Pour Everclear into a large glass jar.


- Add the lemon rind.

- Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place.


- Stir ingredients every few days, making sure to keep all rind moist and below the surface of the Everclear.

- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; bring to a gentle boil for approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool.


- Add cooled sugar mixture to the jar with Everclear and lemon rinds.

- Cover jar and allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

- After the rest period, strain the limoncello, discarding the lemon peels/zest. Pour strained limoncello in bottle/bottles of your choice and seal tightly.


- Keep your bottle/bottles of limoncello in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve ice-cold in little shot glasses at the end of a meal.

Categories: Food & Drink

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