Make the Mōst of Your Aperitif Hour with atōst

 

The weather is warming up, it's the first day of spring, and it's time to start having drinks outside (get that fire pit going if you're still chilly). It can be particularly pleasing to enjoy an aperitif pre-dinner, especially with dusk holding off ever longer. What a perfect way to ease into a night, to release the tensions of a day.

Even better, we have a fine new local product to enjoy. Created in Ventura, atōst is a tribute to California agriculture--co-founder Cindy Pressman's grandparents migrated from Mexico to work in CA's citrus fields, and that's where the liquor's flavoring begins, with oranges. (Its alcohol base, and that's not a crazy strong base at 18% ABV--it's built to savor and not slump over--starts from grapes, which is even more Californian.) Then there are strawberries, and other local botanicals they keep a secret, as most such products do. They hand zest, chop, and blend. It's artisanal, y'all. The ultimate result to my palate is a West Coast Aperol, a bit of bitter, but then plenty of unctuous fruit and that good syrupy quality such products can have.

Not surprisingly, they first suggest we enjoy it as a spritz, as one might imagine with an Aperol-ish liquor. Two ounces atōst, 4 ounces sparkling rosé, garnish with orange. Hard to go wrong there, and the bubbles bring the jollity to the party. 

But you know me, I had to make my own cocktail with it. Leaning in to the Alta California feel, I opted for a margarita variation, only to see they offer one to on their recipe page, a Sunset Margarita. Mine's a bit different, though, leaning into my love of smoke, so mezcal, and my good fortune to be able to pick delicious Meyer lemons in my own yard. Plus I thought getting another local-ish product--Camarillo, but coming to Santa Barbara, at least that's the rumor?--Chareau in couldn't hurt. I mean, something that ups the aloe, but also gets in cucumber, lemon peel, a bit of mint, etc.? Sounds good to me (tastes good too, as I'm my own test kitchen). 

Smoke at Sunset (makes one drink)

1 oz. atōst

2 oz. mezcal

1 oz. fresh squeezed Meyer lemon

.25 oz Chareau

lemon peel

Add everything but the peel into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel. Let the world feel better.

Me and Ventura High School Students

ECTV - George Yatchisin from CAPS Media on Vimeo.

Tasting Tibet Without Airplane Tickets

Compared to the nearly 8,000 miles between here and Kathmandu, it’s merely a stone’s throw to get to Ventura to enjoy the new restaurant Himalaya. Opened last July on West Main Street, this former Taco Bell has been transformed into an entrancing spot to enjoy exotic Eastern cuisine that’s not very available on the Central Coast, particularly the Nepali and Tibetan specialties. “Nepal is right between India and China, so it’s influenced by the foods of both,” explained owned Anup Rimal, a native of Nepal. “Sometimes it’s with the spices, and sometimes it’s with the cooking methods — there are various ways of fusion.”

Want to read the rest then do so at the Indy's site.

Hot Diggity Dog (Ziggity Boom)

Since there's a new pup in Georgeeatsvania, we've been spending a lot of time tracking down places with patios that allow dogs so our four-legged friend can come with and we don't have to be worried that he's home figuring out which parts of the house taste best mouthful by pointy little puppy teeth mouthful (he's even tried to chew on cast iron lawn furniture, so you just never know). Turns out more and more places are being nice about doggie diners, so here's a quick round up of three recently stopped at spots.

Cafe Nouveau, 1497 E. Thompson Blvd, Ventura
It was a quiet Wednesday night and my wonderful companion (MWC) and the boy and I were the only customers on the patio, which is actually pretty much walled in from the street-corner. That's a plus, and I have to hope it's not the usual, as the place was really really nice to us--even brought a water bowl for junior. The menu is a bit all over in that California way ("we appropriate all your foods, fools!"), sort of natural, sort of cafe, sort of Mexican. Things come out a bit of a mish-mash, but tasty; I liked a seafood stuffed relleno, but they seemed a bit hopeful to make the seafood feel still at home, as it was asea in the voluminous amount of sauce. Not delicate food, this. Still, filling, pleasing if far from gourmet, and they sell Green Flash IPA in bottles for $5 per. And, again, the waiter was a total sweetie about our pup. No doubt we'll be back. (And they don't have a website, although Yelp does list a URL--sloppiness, or a sign of bad things?)

Churchill's Pub & Grill, 887 West San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos
This spot now has a 48-tap beer engine pouring all sorts of hoppy goodness, so discovering they had a tiny bit of bricked in, concrete floored garden where we could sit with the dog was great. Unfortunately, being dog friendly also means they turns their back on patio-smokers, as if one gets cancer from second-hand-dog, but a canine-companion life often leaves one in a second-class world. That said, again the help was great, and our waitress even chatted about what he was and the dogs she had (who weren't well-behaved enough for going to pubs). Of course MWC and I had Plinys, how could we not. And we asked about the Craftsman Aurora Borealis, supposedly featuring mint and persimmon, which we figured could either be a delicious summer refresher or a pound cake in a glass. Our fine waitress warned us they can't give the stuff away and brought us tasters, and we learned why. Beer shouldn't taste like it's brushing your teeth for you. Oh, and as for the food, we split fish and chips for a late lunch. Some of the best, crispest chips we've had, and the fish was solid--great coating, but the fish itself ok, nothing to get worked up about either way. I'm sure we would have liked it more if we had more time to have more beer. Go check out the website and the beerlist here.

Pizza Port Carlsbad, 571 Carlsbad Village Dr., Carlsbad
I've been here many a time, most frequently because its the site of some amazing beer fests, like this Belgian one I extolled the glories of long ago. All the Pizza Port's make great beers--all on site and in what seems to me a friendly competition--and serve up puffy-crusted pizzas that do a fine job soaking up the usually high alcohol suds you can get to drink. This time the patio was abuzz (it was Father's Day) with families and silly people with human babies and not doggie ones, but our boy was well-behaved and met people of all ages (the youngest ones' hands taste best, you know)(or so he tells me--I don't lick the young kids' hands myself). Guest beers included some rarities like a Green Flash Le Freak aged in grenache barrels (and you certainly could taste that wine), but then their own Wipe Out IPA, which isn't an Imperial and is still over 9%, so take that, hopheads! Get the full scoop at their website.

Oh, and if you don't know the song the title of this entry comes from, Perry Como's going to croon for you.

Letting it Roll Fowl

I make it a practice not to mock chickens as I go to San Diego sometimes and there's a really big one down there. OK, seriously, there is mock chicken, except at Mary's Secret Garden it's called "chycken," and I think I know why. For Mary's is all vegan, and often raw, even, so the chycken is either some vegetable protein made yummy or the work of seitan, but when it appears in Mary's sun-dried tomato mushroom pasta--as homey and lovely a heaping plate as you could dream for--it almost seems like another type of mushroom, with that good sort of rubbery chewiness you might get from a hearty portobello, say. It, and the large variety of mushrooms full of their earthiness, also do a fine job carrying the light white wine and basil pesto sauce, so every bite is rich and rewarding. And that doesn't even get me to the whole wheat linguine, which is lighter than you might expect and certainly doesn't have that air of "it's good for you"-ness that often seems to pervade vegetarian restaurants' pasta dishes. One of Mary's greatest secrets is it actually want to serve you food that pleases. Thanks, Mary. (Note there are greens in there, too, for more variety of texture and taste, and nuts, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheeze, guaranteed to displease your spellcheck but still make you a happy eater.)

So after several visits to Mary's Secret Garden in Ventura, I am not yet a vegetarian, even with the deluxe raw tostada, the Syrian hummus plate, the secret burger (of soy meat), and the tofu pad thai. Enjoying their housemade kombucha isn't even enough of an elixir to turn me. As long as there's a match and a pig left on the planet, I will hanker for bacon.

But Mary's is the place I want to be if the last oinker ever hoofs it off to that great sty in the sky.