A Toast to the End of Time, Pt. 1: A Nod to a Classic

It suddenly occurred to me that I was running out of time…and not just to get gifts for friends and family, not to get the tree decorated, the mantel hung with garlands or dotted with candles ready to light.

No, I was running out of time itself.

That's because, in case you've been living in a cave without wi-fi the last few months, some Mayan dudes about a million years ago came up with this thing called the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar (left). To make a loooong story short, their calendar is purported to run out on Dec. 21, 2012. Which means, as you might imagine, that some wackos have been running around with their hair on fire proclaiming that the world is going to end on that date.

So, on the very very off-chance they're right, I want to be prepared. And because the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of what I want to be doing when we all go poof is toasting it with the appropriate libation, I've asked a few of Portland's premier bartenders what their personal choices might be for that purpose.

First up is Brandon Wise, current president of the Oregon Bartenders Guild as well as the self-described "presiding barman" at the newly opened (and widely raved) Imperial and Penny Diner. Wise, a classic guy if ever there was one, chose a classic cocktail called the Last Word as his pick to salute our plunge into eternity.

According to Wikipedia, the Last Word is "a gin-based Prohibition-era cocktail originally developed at the Detroit Athletic Club." It goes on to say that the drink has enjoyed a new burst of popularity thanks to another classic barman, Murray Stenson of Seattle's Zig Zag Café.

If that sounds like a drink you'd like to be draining as the universe come to a screeching halt, here's a recipe to take you out in style.

Last Word
From "The Essential Bartenders Guide" by Robert Hess.

1/2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz. green Chartreuse

1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur


Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Read the other posts in this series: Tiki On! and Shenaut-be-wan Speaks.

Top illustration: Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau (the best).

Getting Schooled

You fly over it when the plane comes in for a landing at PDX; you drive over it when you head north to Vancouver or Seattle. To its credit, Vancouver has several restaurants near the Interstate Bridge overlooking the river, but I'm hard-pressed to think of more than a couple where you can drink or dine on its banks on the Oregon side.

Dan More, Salty's bar manager.

One of those is Salty's on the Columbia. Originally opened as Bart's Wharf in 1961, the building was sold and remodeled in the late 80s, keeping the sweeping decks with views of the marinas and river traffic but, sadly, losing the tuck-and-roll turquoise booths and swivel chairs that populated its dining room. I'd never been there before, but when Dan More, Salty's beverage manager, invited me to come by for a cocktail class, I happily hopped in Chili and drove out for some seat time in front of his bar.

The Aviation.

A recent transplant from Seattle, More's classic cocktail style is inspired by Murray Stenson of the Zig Zag Café, with the philosophy that "simplicity is the key." He set me up with the makings for three of the bar's signature drinks, kindly providing recipes to share, below. My next challenge is to work on him to give up the recipe for the bar's so-good-I'd-drink-it-on-its-own Bloody Mary mix.

Aviation

2 oz. Aviation Gin
1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
Brandied cherry or amarena cherry

Fill cocktail shaker half full of ice. "Too many people go way over the top and overuse ice," More said. Pour gin, maraschino liqueur and lemon juice in shaker, shake briefly and strain into cocktail glass. Add cherry and serve.

Lilikoi Margarita

From Salty's bartender Sam Dixon from his stint at the Hali’imaile General Store on Maui. 
2 slices orange, 1/4" thick
2 slices lemon, 1/4" thick
3 slices lime, 1/4" thick
2 oz. Cazadores Reposado tequila
3/4 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Lilikoi (passion fruit) purée
Lime
Li hing mui plum sugar powder, available online or at Asian groceries

Rim a tall cocktail glass with lime and dip in plum sugar. Place fruit slices in bottom of pint glass and muddle, pressing out the juices but not pulverizing the fruit. Add ice till 2/3 full, adding tequila, Cointreau and purée. Top with metal shaker (called a Boston Shaker). Shake and strain into rimmed glass, garnish with slice of lime.

Sazerac
1 sugar cube
1/2 oz. water
3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters
2 oz. Sazerac Rye
Pernod or absinthe
Lemon twist

Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice water, letting it sit and chill while preparing drink. Put sugar cube, water and bitter in a pint glass and muddle, crushing the sugar cube and dissolving it in the water. Fill the glass 2/3 full of ice, add rye and stir. Dry the chilled old-fashioned glass and rinse with a small amount of Pernod, pouring out any that remains. Strain rye mixture into glass and serve with a lemon twist.

Details: Salty's on the Columbia, 3839 NE Marine Dr. 503-288-4444.

Seattle Outing: A Zig, a Zag and a Lark

I could tell the battery was wearing down. The lights were dimming intermittently, the engine was chugging when it should have been humming and I was beginning to hear clinking and clanking when there should have been purring.

Grapefruit, mache and blackberry salad at the Fairmont.

Thank goodness a kind samaritan offered a helping hand in the form of a free pass to a day-long writing seminar in Seattle, given by Dianne Jacob of "Will Write for Food" fame, one that came with a room at the graceful Fairmont Olympic, the grande dame of the city's historic hotels.

Chocolate ganache truffles with chocolate pop rocks. Um…OK…

Dave, self-sacrificing guy that he is, volunteered to putter around the Emerald City's beer halls while I was otherwise occupied, then meet up for cocktails and dinner. After a lunch provided by the hotel's chef, Gavin Stephenson, featuring dried, shaved grapefruit slices on the salad and pop rocks in the dessert, we hit a little speakeasy my brother had told me about called the Zig Zag Café (top photo) that was tucked down a stairway behind the Pike Place Market.

Zig Zag's Manhattan.

With the rain pouring down it was hard to locate, but we found its dark doorway and were ushered to a corner table with a good view of the bar where we could watch the tango between bartenders, servers and customers as they noshed, shook and drank. A place where the classics reign, I ordered a Manhattan, my new favorite cocktail, and Dave had his usual martini (dry, up, olives). They were perfection.

A day spent in a brightly lit hotel meeting room receded further into the background with every sip, and by the time I bit down on the whiskey-soaked amarena cherry it had stopped raining outside and the sun was slipping into Puget Sound.

Looking out at the rain (and Chili) at Lark.

We'd decided on a little place called Lark for dinner, a spot that came highly recommended (thanks, Langdon!) and was just a short drive up the hill from the hotel. Not in the mood for a big, fancy (and expensive) dinner, I knew the simple storefront was just the ticket when we drove up, and walking in it was clear we'd made the right choice.

Inside Lark.

For some reason it reminded me of a boathouse, though there was nary an oar or float in sight, with unfinished wood rafters and a simple, open room with artwork on the walls and sheer curtains to break up the space and muffle the sound. Seated on a banquette in the back against the windows, with tables near enough but not too close together, it was busy without being bustling and intimate but not dark.

Yellowtail with olives and preserved lemon.

Already well-cocktailed, we ordered a moderately priced bottle, a Mas Que Vinos Ercavio tempranillo, a full-bodied and earthy Spanish red. We also started with a half dozen Penn Cove oysters from Whidbey Island, fresh oysters being something we seemingly can't avoid ordering when we see them on a menu. Firm and briny without being meaty, these came with a lemon granita that, to my mind, would have overwhelmed their lovely brightness, so we shared it as a palate-cleanser before the next course came, a carpaccio of Yellowtail with preserved lemons and green olives.

Farro with mushrooms and ramps.

I'm guessing the olives were cerignola or something like them, slivers that gave the softly textured fish a bit of bite but adding only a mild saltiness. Someone in the kitchen has a deft hand with the subtle of interplay of flavor and texture without being precious about it. Which was evident in the next course, as well, a Bluebird Grain Farms farro with wild ramps and mushrooms that came in a tiny cast iron pan. An easy grain to over or undercook, this was toothy and richly flavored, the color of warm earth and tasting of spring.

Duck confit.

Our mains, mine a hefty duck leg confit that was probably the best version I've had from that bird, meaty and luscious with crispy, salty skin, was served with lightly dressed, sliced new potatoes and watercress. Dave opted for the pork belly, a square of fatty pig that came with spring peas and quartered bulbs of spring onions sitting on braised greens drizzled with a mustard jus. Need I say his knees were buckling?

Pork belly.

I also have to say that the service here is exceptional…friendly and casual yet efficient and knowledgeable. Our server was well-informed about the wine list, the entrées and sources of ingredients, but only engaged when asked. With a menu this incredible and varied, and ingredients treated with such loving respect, it'll be hard to not return on our next trip up north.

Details: Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University St. Phone 206-621-1700 or 1-888-363-5022.
Zig Zag Café, 1501 Western Ave. Phone 206-625-1146.
Lark, 926 12th Ave. Phone 206-323-5275.