Bar Agricole

Another item on my 31 list is to try 8 bars on the sf top 100 list that I haven't been to. No, I'm not a lush just eager to try some cool new places away from the spots I always go. Within a month I attended two birthday parties at Butter, located around Folsom and 11th, an area very outside of my normal stomping grounds. For those who haven't been to Butter it's one of those places you won't forget. The outside is bright yellow and as soon as you walk in you are greeted by a Winnebago, deep fried twinkies, Jell-O shots and cocktails with names like Tangtini (remember tang tea?) and Shotgun Wedding served in mason jars. If beer is your style don't worry you can get a tall boy or better yet a 40 in a brown bag. Yes, this place is klassy, but despite being a hot spot for birthday parties this is not on the top 100 list.

What is on the list is Bar Agricole; Butter's across the street neighbor. Bar Agricole is on both the top 100 list for restaurants and also bars. Prior to one of the birthday parties a friend suggested we grab a drink at Agricole and what a wonderful suggestion and absolute contrast to Butter. Walking up to the restaurant you take a long ramp past a beautiful wooden fence with seating below and enter an open and chic restaurant. We sat at the bar where we were reunited with the art of cocktail making. The "bartenders" would never refer to themselves as this as creating a cocktail to your liking is a science and art for them, they are mixologists. They have a menu but prefer to ask about the type of cocktails you like and favors of liquor so they can craft a specialty drink. The bar is lined with a number of jars of bitters and such along with different types and shapes of ice depending in your drink. After 5-10 minutes of watching a science experiment in front of our eyes, our well crafted and artistically served. They were delicious and sophisticated and even this non-liquor loving girl throughly enjoyed each sip.

I look forward to returning to Bar Agricole and trying their locally sourced food, and checking another item off my 31 list.