Tuesday, February 21, 2012

More Details on Charles Phan's and Erik Adkin's New Project


Learning about Charles Phan's and Erik Adkin's new Embarcadero restaurant had the curious effect of making Josh and me very excited and very thirsty. And so we found ourselves, only moments later, dashing down to The Slanted Door, one of Mr. Phan's and Mr. Adkin's tried, true, and institutionalized restaurants in the Ferry Building. After all, we wanted to end the three-day weekend on a celebratory mood.

And as it happened, Mr. Adkins was there that night behind the bar! He shared with us a little more about the new spot, which is set to open just a little ways down from The Slanted Door at Pier 3.

The new restaurant will take on a New Orleans flare in fare and in cocktails. The drinks, specifically, will draw inspiration from the the book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, an artifact from the '30s and one of the few pieces documenting drinks from that place. For Erik, that means being able to do a lot of what he enjoys—stirred drinks and the like.

It's a very neat direction to go. New Orleans drinks are celebrated for some very significant contributions to the cocktail menu—the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz, just to name a few. But I don't know of very many bars who have chosen to thematically embrace New Orleans. And with the growing number of New York-style, Charles Baker, tiki, and tequila spots, it seems that Phan and Adkins might carve out a very unique spot.

The new place won't be solely about the cocktails and actually the cocktail menu won't be "seasonal," as I had previously thought. Instead, we are encouraged by with what we know about Mr. Phan's other spots—both great food and great drink. There's not much not to complain about that.

And so we wait with more anticipation! 2012 will, indeed, be a very good year.

9 comments:

ernie.cordell said...

Will share with a facebook friend who lived in Nwallinz at last note :-)

l-arginine plus said...

It's true. Im hearing a lot about it from my friends.

Noelle said...

Ernie - You totally must tell your friend! I'm sure he/she would enjoy it!

ernie.cordell said...

I shared it on her facebook page :-)

ernie.cordell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ernie.cordell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I heard that Victoria D'Amato Moran is heading up the bar and cocktail menu . . . she is hiring at present.

Noelle said...

Hi Anonymous - Interesting! I've never heard that before, but we will definitely check it out. Feel free to email us at thejoyofdrinking at gmail dot com if you want to talk more about it! -Noelle

Noelle said...

Hi Anonymous - I just wanted to circle back. We check out the rumor you mentioned and have found no evidence of it. Erik is still behind the program at Charles Phan's new spot.

Perhaps you are thinking of another project? Would be interested in hearing about that as well. We can check it out.