Email Author Lou Bustamante

2012 Stories by Lou Bustamante

• Drink of the Week: Palomaesque at Comal

  published Jul 13, 2012

  Often the most innovative and drinkable cocktails are those that offer simple tweaks on old classics; switching out an ingredient here, adding a small flourish there. It may sound easy, but doing it w... More >>

• Boozy Events Round-Up: Beer Floats, Bastille Day, and Summer Celebrations

  published Jul 12, 2012

  With warmer weather finally in the forecast, and a host of Bastille Day celebrations around town, its time to get out of the house, flash that pasty skin, and be merry. Here's our pick's for this week... More >>

• Drink of the Week: St. Martin at Absinthe Brasserie

  published Jul 06, 2012

  Few bars have the cocktail pedigree that Absinthe Brasserie has, with a parade of graduates from the bar that continue to keep the city's thirst for great cocktails quenched. With the recent hiring of... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  4505 Meats' New Marshmallow Bar is a Real Cereal Killer

  published Jul 05, 2012

  The era of pork in desserts has been slowly fading--and for good reason. We've seen bacon in chocolate bars and fast food sundaes, [insert any pork product here] ice cream, and pork belly everything, ... More >>

• Drink of the Week: Sutton & Celery at Cotogna

  published Jun 29, 2012

  The idea for creating a new cocktail can come from some unlikely places. For Cotogna bar manager Jason "Buffalo" LoGrasso, it was the classic peanut butter on celery stick afterschool snack that inspi... More >>

• After 75 Years, Tapatio Tequila Finally Arrives

  published Jun 28, 2012

  Talk about late bloomers. Tapatio* Tequila ($33/one liter bottle, 40% alcohol by volume), a new spirit hitting shelves in the US, is a 75-year old brand that is popular in Mexico for having a balance ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Drink of the Week: Cucumber Collins at Goose & Gander

  published Jun 22, 2012

  For most people, it takes a talented bartender to make them enjoy a complex spirit in a cocktail, especially whisky or one they might have developed a terrible aversion for (usually tequila). For me,... More >>

• The Week in Cocktails: Doing Good, Tequila, Pride, and Bourbon

  published Jun 19, 2012

  With the weather in a teasingly typical San Francisco pattern, plus vacations and visitors and Pride month, there's a lot to do this week. Here's our pick's for cocktail focused events around town. L... More >>

• Drink of the Week: Irish Coffee at Buena Vista

  published Jun 15, 2012

  Solstice arrives next week, marking the celestial start to summer and bringing with it the arrival of tourist season. Yes, that means that soon we'll be shepherding out-of-towners around the various t... More >>

• Boozy Father's Day Event Round-up

  published Jun 14, 2012

  Help your dad celebrate this Sunday by giving him the gift he'll actually enjoy: food and booze by using our guide to the best and booziest Father's Day happenings. Father's Day Brunch Where: Chaya ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hooked on Tonics: Priscilla Young of Brasserie S&P

  published Jun 14, 2012

  Brasserie S&P at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is officially set to open on Monday the 18th with a unique gin and tonic focused cocktail program: Patrons can customize the perfect gin & tonic for themse... More >>

• Drink of the Week: La Mar's Vamos Pa' Chicha

  published June 13, 2012

  When you've been to enough bars and had enough cocktails, you learn to glean information from the contents of a drink. Tease through the... More >>

• Drink of the Week: Rosa The Beautiful at Bocanova

  published Jun 08, 2012

  Wandering the Oakland waterfront pathways on the scenic estuary one weekday evening, my brain kept chirping "so THAT'S where that is!" as I spotted Heinhold's Last Stand, Haven, Blue Bottle, Miette Pa... More >>

• Drink of the Week: Vamos Pa' Chicha at La Mar

  published Jun 01, 2012

  When you've been to enough bars and had enough cocktails, you learn to glean information from the contents of a drink. Tease through the evidence in the ingredients like a CSI (Cocktail Special Invest... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Drink of the Week: Golden Gate 75th Celebration in Cocktails

  published May 25, 2012

  With the official 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend, the festivities will also come in cocktail form.* At Aurea inside the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel on Nob... More >>

• Where to Drink This Week

  published May 21, 2012

  Memorial Day is right around the corner, but why wait to start celebratingr Here are a couple of events to ease you into the unofficial start of summer. Great Divide Brewing Dinner Where: The Monk's ... More >>

• Drink of the Week: Breakfast of Champions at District Oakland

  published May 18, 2012

  Bacon, bacon everywhere, including in my drink. Our porcine fetish is not new, nor is adding bacon to cocktails, but the Breakfast of Champions ($10, bacon-infused bourbon, maple syrup, egg white, ma... More >>

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  Cocktails at Grand Cafe: Classics Meet French Charm

  published May 17, 2012

  With bar superstar power in place at Jasper's, Startlight Room, and the Fifth Floor, Kimpton Hotel group seems to be determined to improve the quality of cocktails for visitors and locals alike. Now, ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Drink of the Week: Chinese Mai Tai at Li Po Lounge

  published May 11, 2012

  "Feel pretty good. I'm not, uh, I'm not scared at all. I just feel kind of ... feel kind of invincible." -- Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China The infinite mulitverses concept was developed to... More >>

• Chris Cosentino's Cookbook Hits Bookstores

  published May 09, 2012

  The charismatic, culinary tornado and executive chef at Incanto with a James Beard Award nomination this year, Chris Cosentino has built his reputation as a loud, meat-fueled, barely unofficial offal ... More >>

• Drink of the Week: A Smokin' Pair at 15 Romolo

  published May 04, 2012

  While cigarette smoke at bars may be out, smoke in cocktails continues to fill in the void left by the ban. It's almost as if the allurement between liquor and smoke is too intrinsic to divide apart. ... More >>

• Boozy Weekend: Big Hats, Tequila, and Fast Horses

  published May 02, 2012

  What happens when Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby fall on the same weekendr A lot of trouble wearing big hats, awash in tequila and bourbon. Here's our handy guide to help you stay well refreshed... More >>

• K&L Wines Shakes Things Up with Faultline Gin

  published May 01, 2012

  In the Bay Area, we have more than our fair share of great spirits retailers and producers--a symbiotic relationship that keeps our personal bars stocked with delicious and unique local spirits. Two o... More >>

• The Bloody Mary at Laszlo

  published Apr 27, 2012

  It's hard not to love weekend brunch. Besides the lazy limbo of the hours it typically runs, it's the only morning meal where cocktails are encouraged and often necessary first aid. The most brunch-wo... More >>

• Tequila Hecho en San Francisco, Parte Dos

  published Apr 27, 2012

  Where: CUESA Kitchen at the Ferry Building (north end, near Gott's formerly Taylor's Refresher) When: Sat., May 5, 6 p.m.- 9 p.m. Cost: $55 online The rundown: With Cinco de Mayo falling on... More >>