Bar Opening: Playful Cocktails and Quirky Environment at SOMA's New Bergerac

I remember the first time we sat down with Russell Davis to talk though the possibility of doing a video profile on him (like we did with Victoria and Tony).

“What is one word that you would use to describe yourself?” asked our resident producer Kerry.

Russell smiled. “Dangerous.”



And it’s true—though not in the cowboy-gun-blazing sense. Rather, Russell is a person who knows how to keep folks surprised—whether it’s gracing Rickhouse with cowboy hats and flair mixing, blowing fireballs in Rio Grande, or captivating audiences on Spike TV's "Bar Rescue," where he is now featured as a bar expert.



Now his latest bar project, Bergerac, opened in San Francisco’s SOMA district Saturday, and it has a little bit of that dangerous charm as well. As bar director, Russell is collaborating with Chef Randy Lewis (Food and Wine's best new chef in 2001), Speed Rack 2012 champ Yael Vengroff, and owners Bruce McDonald (Foreign Cinema), David Brinkley (Vessel), and Anderson Pugash (Crossroads Nightlife Group). Fun-seekers will find what the bar is calling a "Bohemian setting"—an eclectic, elaborate interior with playful, unpretentious cocktails, making it a relaxed environment for evening drinks. (Those feeling a progression can even hop upstairs to the sister dance lounge, Audio Discotech).



Bergerac's decoration makes the atmosphere especially fun. The bar itself is handsome but simple with deep wood tones and classic accent lamps. But the rest of the bar features a delightful mish-mash: half a globe juts out of the table, cow-skin rugs spread across the floor, glass chandeliers hang alongside '60s lamps, and the chairs are plush but don't match. It's fun and makes you feel like you fit right in, no matter how you're dressed or what mood you're in. “I want it to be like your grandma’s house, where you can’t really figure out what time period you’re in,” said Russell.

Ice Nerds Alert: Russell combines hand-cut pieces of ice from a crystal-clear block with a cutting-edge Hoshizaki machine that supposedly creates even colder, purer, slightly smaller ice than Kold-Draft.



The cocktails draw on Russell's crossbreed of club bartender meets inspired mixologist.

Here are just a few of them:

One of the most creative cocktails from the new menu is Live and Let Die—a disorienting blend that includes coconut oil-washed Pisco, sweet Vermouth, Froot Loops foam (yes, you read that right), and orange zest. The scent of Froot Loops will take you right back, though the Campari adds a nice grown up twist. It tastes like childhood in a glass.

Dirty Work is a bright, airy, and sparkling mix of Reposado Tequila, Lime, Pineapple Gomme syrup (fancy simple syrup), Cardamom tincture, and champagne. Perfect for a hot Indian Summer's day in San Francisco.

The Midnight Hour is another bright, herbaceous cocktail. It is made with Tomintoul, Maurin Quina, Yellow Chartreuse, Lime, Sage, and smoked salt.

With the Croquet Rouge, Bergerac nods to an elegant modern classic, borrowing a cocktail from the famous Milk and Honey bar in New York. The cocktail—a twist on the Manhattan variation called Red Hook—mixes rye, Punt e Mes, Vadouvan-infused Maraschino, and Angostura bitters. The menu calls it "an Indian-inspired, French take on one of America's best cocktails."

The Red Medicine was a spicy twist on sangria—easy drinking on a hot day.

Lastly, Russell makes the Fireball Inside Her—a celebratory, old-fashioned bomb of Fireball (yup, that's cinnamon whiskey) in Magners Cider. See video below to see how to properly make enough for a large, soft opening party. And let Russell welcome you there himself. (Shot on a Moto X!)

Bergerac
316 11th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 255-9440
Bergeracsf.com

First Look: Russell Davis's New Audio Discotech Club

Josh and I were lucky to check out a sneak peek of new SOMA club Audio Discotech tonight, the latest project by San Francisco celebrity bartender Russell Davis. If you're thinking a stuffy craft cocktail bar, you best change your perception now. Audio Discotech, opening Aug. 16,  is Russell's effort to bring craft cocktails to club bartending. As bar director, Russell is working with well-respected Yael Vengroff (winner of Speed Rack 2012) to bring fast, free pouring of fresh ingredients to a fun, club environment. No excuses.

"If you're going to order an AMF, it's going to be the best Adios Motherfucker in the galaxy," Russell said. "It's AMFs and old fashioneds."

And it totally makes sense. On one hand, you have mixologists who would dain to put away the jiggers and make anything resembling a neon club drink. And on the other, you have club bartenders who have never seen fresh citrus in their well. It's about time we saw the meeting of the minds. And yes, that includes flavored vodkas.

"I was a club bartender for 11 years," Russell said. "Why would I turn my back on them now?"

There is no menu for the two wells. Just what the crowd pleases. For us, we tried two recommended cocktails tonight. One which was a champagne cocktails and one with Dr Pepper.



In addition to two wells on either side of the room, the venue sports state-of-the-art audio and lighting equipment.



There are lounge sofas for high rolling.


"Sometimes I just want to order an old fashioned and dance my ass off," Russell said, speaking to his ambition in the club. Now we can too.

Meanwhile, the much anticipated Bergerac—also fronted by Russell and the same owners as Audio Discotech—is waiting in the wings. The craft-cocktail-focused lounge will be just below Audio Discotech, meaning that patrons can catch a meticulous drink there and then head up for booty-shaking fun upstairs. Something for everyone.

For myself, I had forgotten how long it's been since I actually went to a club. Other people showed up in their mini fur jackets, cocktail dresses, and heels. And there I was in my Toms. I had also forgotten the fine art of ordering in a club. I squeezed myself into the small spaces that I could and waited among suits and heels. This will be an adventure for all.

For more pictures, check out our Flickr album.

Audio Discotech
Opening Aug. 16
316 11th St.
San Francisco, CA

Czech out Becherovka, the Czech Republic's finest amaro

You've probably seen the distinctive bottle on the shelf at BevMo, on some back bar, or perhaps in the hands of SF bartender Russell Davis (above) but could never pronounce it: it's "becker-OV-ka." Becherovka, an amaro, has been produced in the village of Karlovy Vary (aka Carlsbad) in the Czech Republic for over 200 years. It's making its way onto the cocktail menus all over the city, such as Local Edition and Rickhouse. It's also regularly stocked at a huge variety of bars, such as Clock Bar, Cantina, Dave's in SOMA and Bender's in the Mission.

The amaro is by far the most drinkable amaro I've had. Anyone can pick up an ice cold glass of this stuff (keep the water content to a minimum, so store it in your freezer) and immediately fall in love. It's not very bitter, but you definitely get a little bit of bite, especially when it's served cold. The flavors I get most are cinnamon and then clove on the finish. There are 38 other spices and herbs in the secret recipe, but only two people in the world know what they all are and in what proportions (seriously).

In addition to tasting great on its own, Becherovka also mixes very well with others. We recently enjoyed a few cocktails starring Becherovka at the Burritt Room in the Mystic Hotel

Bijou variation



Usually, a Bijou contains gin, vermouth, and chartreuse. This version substitutes the Becherovka for the chartreuse, and it's incredible. The Becherovka blends perfectly into the cocktail; it doesn't drown out any of the flavors but only enhances them.



Becherovka citrus cocktail. This one is a variant on an Aviation or Last Word, depending how you interpret the recipe. It's got Becherovka, gin, lemon, falernum. I was pleasantly surprised to see Becherovka work so well in a citrusy drink.





A Hot Toddy with Becherovka is my next winter drink obsession. Its flavor profile makes it super easy, too. All you need to do is add a bit of lemon and honey to some Becherovka and hot water and you're done.



At $24.99, this amaro is substantially cheaper than most amaros we'll review. It's worth buying.

Yummy Specials to Celebrate The Ice Cream Bar's 1-Year Anniversary This Week

One of the nation's only authentic 1930s-style soda jerk fountain and lunch counter, The Ice Cream Bar, turns 1 this week, and to celebrate, the Cole Valley shop is offering specials all week.

• Tuesday, Jan 22 - buy a Russell's Sassafras Root Beer and get one free.
• Wednesday, Jan 23 - buy any size scoop and get a free topping.
• Thursday, Jan 24 - buy a hot chocolate or hot butterscotch and get one free.
• Friday, Jan 25 - buy an angostura phosphate and get one free.

Josh and I have frequented the fountain since it opened—it's one of our favorite places to take out-of-towners (or is it just another excuse for us to go again?). But the history of The Ice Cream Bar started long before.



For the uninitiated, The Ice Cream Bar is an immersive lesson in history. The fountain itself is a real artifact from the 30s, found in and driven from the fountain's original location in Mackinaw City, Mich. When it came to making the drinks (our favorite part!), owner Juliet Pries called on the help of Russell Davis (winner of Nightclub & Bar's Bartender of the Year award, previously seen around San Francisco at Rickhouse and now at Rio Grande).

Russell, a fun-loving, born-and-bred Texan, who makes drinks with flair (literally and figuratively) took the task seriously, delving deep into bowels of fountain history. Soda jerk history is not terribly well-written about, and so he not only consulted the de facto authority on soda jerks, Darcy O'Neil's book Fix the Pumps, but also embarked on a quest for primary sources. This search led him to the depths of libraries and, eventually, to a collector of all collectors in Martinez, Calif. This committed curator of a wide variety of things owned orignal soda jerk fixtures—including unopened acids and phosphates, made radioactive by the early overzealous soda jerks who believed that exposing the ingredients to uranium would impart healing properties into the drinks (The Ice Cream Bar is not authentic to history in this way). This collector was not necessary a student of soda fountain history, but he allowed Russell to connect the dots for the bar—and buy a bunch of working equipment from the period, too.

The result is a splendid drink menu that borrows from days of yore and modern mixology.



All of the ingredients are housemade, including a wide range of tinctures and extracts (such as anise, thyme, molasses, ginger, sarsaparilla, bitter orange, rosemary, lime, and tobacco), syrups, and ice creams.



They also make use of traditional soda acids that keep the cream from curdling and impart a dry or citrusy flavor to the sodas.



Soda jerks wear classic garb.



Though the original menu was all non-alcoholic, Russell recently added a new selection of "remedies"—drinks with a light kick of ports, bitters, wines, and beers. Check out the menu:



"The cool thing about it is that many of these drinks don't have alcohol in them," Russell said tonight. "It makes you think differently about them."

Josh and I have been to the Ice Cream Bar often enough over the past year to try everything on the menu. We highly recommend:

...the milkshake Too Good to Be True (rye-based butterscotch syrup, eggs, malted cream, blackstrap molasses). It's a rich, caramel, butterscotch delight.



...and the lactart Stalk in the Park (celery seed extract, fountain syrup, cream, lactart, soda, celery stalk, fresh mint), which is refreshing, light, airy, though also creamy.

Tonight, in particular, we indulged in the...

...the lactart Ode to Mr. O'Neil (chocolate syrup, lactart, and double-charged soda). It's the perfect drink for someone like me, who loves chocolate when it is dry and not too sweet or rich.



...and the Hamilton (fresh lemon, a spoonful of ice cream, malt, fountain syrup, and soda). Also light and airy, like a pleasantly carbonated lemonade with malt.



For lovers of classics, we guarantee that you will order the best root beer float of your life.

Since we've been to Ice Cream Bar so many times, feel free to browse this slideshow of photos from the shop.



The Ice Cream Bar
815 Cole St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 742-4932