Cocktail – Page 3

Tupelo Junction’s Savannah Georgia Peach Squeeze

April 30, 2010May 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Third time was the charm when Tupelo Junction finally settled into its current location to the left of The Granada. It had previously tried a spot on Chapala and then moved into a space to the right of The Granada. But we like its final choice for one major reason: It allowed them to get a liquor license. When the food is Southern, what could be better than an accompanying cocktail in a hooch jar?

The Palace also does this jar business, so we assume that nobody in Louisiana ever pickles or preserves anything, as all the drinkers are busy using their glass. Unless you’re talking about pickling your own liver.

Tiburon’s Red Stag Manhattan

April 23, 2010May 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

RED STAG MANHATTAN Nik Blaskovich/News-Press — RED STAG MANHATTAN
Nik Blaskovich/News-Press

Eddie Beltran has that mix of friendly and imposing we imagine works well for a bar owner and bartender. Military background, stocky — we weren’t all that surprised to hear he also works the door on Tiburon’s rowdiest night, Friday’s karaoke. We could imagine him throwing some people out, literally. But he looked after us well on our return trip to the Tiburon Tavern, upper State’s neighborhood bar of choice. Five regulars sat at the bar, nursing beers and watching the game.

We first came to the Tib in our guise as cocktail wiseguys in 2007, but did not meet Beltran. Six years ago, Beltran bought the Tiburon and decided not to change the name of the five-year-old establishment. “It was on its last legs,” he says, and set about repainting, redecorating and revarnishing. A few large mirrors stayed, but most of the décor is his.

Shoreline Martini

April 16, 2010May 20, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Sitting on the beach, feet in the sand, kicking back with a cocktail. You’d think that in a place as desirous as Santa Barbara this would be a common occurrence. But the number of establishments where this is a possibility is actually quite small. The Shoreline Café is thankfully one of them. Located at Leadbetter Beach, right across from City College, what looks like a small and unassuming burger-and-fries shack offers more than a post-surf snackathon. Despite the lack of a bar, we found that it has a healthy cocktail menu.

Owned by Steve Marsh since 1997, the Café contains a list of about 10 cocktails all designed by Marsh himself. Location, location, location: that explains the New York style prices, so be ready. But value for money comes in the form of tasty, strong drinks. Joe’s Café strong.

Union Ale’s Mississippi Swamp Water

April 9, 2010May 21, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Union Ale thinks big. And it prints big too. Its menu looks something like a Wild West Wanted poster and can be read across the room. It’s sweet potato fries come in a metal bucket. Its ‘mini’ pizzas could feed a family of 10 (and they make the dough on the premises). So we expected big things from our drinks.

Now, of course, Union Ale is known for its beer. Its Albino Python, for example, contains ginger, fennel and orange peel.

Cody’s Cafe

April 2, 2010May 22, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

If you think the lunch specials at Cody’s Café (and bar) look similar to the Mesa Café, well, you’d be right. The two locations are owned by the same people. And much like the Mesa Café, the bar at Cody’s ? standing all by itself at the Turnpike shopping center ? has drinks that are strong and don’t mess around.

Six seats are at the bar itself, and three tables line the wall opposite; one regular told us he found it a year after going to Cody’s for the food, never knowing it existed. Like our other favorite “lost bars” around town, Cody’s is the place to go when you don’t want to be seen.

The Study Hall’s Cherry Cheesecake

March 26, 2010May 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Let’s face it. Choosing “The Study Hall” as a bar name in the center of college students heaven/hell is the height of wit in a block full of d’oh-inspiring shop names. (“The IV Drip” coffee shop! “Naan Stop” Indian take-out!) How comforting knowing that you can tell the old folks at home that you spent all day (and night) at the Study Hall.

Jason Smith has been serving here for seven years. The regulars all call him Smitty. Come here twice and you too will be a regular. As one of the two bars in sizzled and schnookered Isla Vista, The Study Hall has its work cut out for it. How to convince students to drink here, when the liquor store and a Del Playa house offers a cheaper night out?

EOS’ ‘Two in the Pink’

March 12, 2010May 14, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Is EOS as schizophrenic as it appears to be? During its late afternoon hours, it’s all icy blue and purple, chic and modern. Throw in a couple go-go dancers and we’d be at a New York nightclub, trying to get a seat next to James Bond. Wait until about 11 p.m., however, when the place is loud and proud and crowded out, and you’d be lucky to spot the exit sign from across the room. Is there any room in this madhouse for a cocktail?

Well, yes, according to bartender Andy Davis, who says he will gladly be muddling fresh ingredients even when five or 10 guys are waving dollars over the bar and waiting for beers and Red Bulls and whatever else people drink on dancefloor breaks.

Marmalade Café’s Regatta

March 5, 2010May 18, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The Marmalade Café took over the former Red Robin in La Cumbre Plaza over two years ago. Two years! Time has flown, as we here in mixology central are only just now getting around to checking out the bar that sits in the middle of the café like a rugby scrum. Let’s get this done, we said, in our own little huddle.

Bartender Kristian Nelson has been here since they opened, but he also slings drinks at the Shoreline Café (a place we shall be shortly looking at, so keep posted). Both places are a switch from the complete hectic schedule of Wildcat, where he really learned his trade.