Zig Zag Café
Seattle
“Like anything worthwhile, a night at Zig Zag Café must be earned,” said Kevin Sintumuang in GQ. In this case, the trick is finding the place. Near the fish stalls at Pike Place Market, you descend a set of stairs, traverse “worn wooden ramps” and a skybridge, then go down more stairs. And still people pack Zig Zag’s dozen bar stools by 5 p.m. each day, thirsting for the expert cocktails of Murray Stenson. Cocktails just might be the “great American invention,” and this is one of the best places in America to have one. The reason is Stenson, a “bartender superhero” who dazzles with his efficiency and deep knowledge of spirits rather than such theatrics as shaking things above his head. In his hands, each drink is a “mini-revelation, an introduction to rare spirits and a bold use of common ones.” In my case, it was a Sayonara, “whose slow, intense pepper-infused-tequila burn can only be soothed by the sourness from a sip of the same drink: fire and extinguisher in a single glass.” 1501 Western Ave., (206) 625-1146
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Manifesto
Kansas City, Mo.
When Ryan Maybee opened this tiny, no-sign space with an alley entrance and $11 drinks, people called him crazy, said Anne Brockhoff in The Kansas City Star. But look at the number of local imitators competing with 2-year-old Manifesto these days and it is clear Maybee was ahead of his time. After the closing of its parent restaurant forced an eight-month hiatus, the subterranean speakeasy-style bar reopened in December with many of the city’s best bartenders doing the pouring. The only thing that appears to have changed is that the city’s growing fascination with “all things artisanal” now includes craft cocktails. The show here is a good one, with “nattily dressed” servers igniting drinks, pounding ice in canvas bags, and “extolling the virtues of Japanese whisky.” The drinks hark back to the “so-called golden age of cocktails”—1890 to 1920. But Maybee says the one for first-timers to try would be the Smokin’ Choke, which combines applewood-smoked small-batch bourbon, Grade B maple syrup, and an Italian amaro made with artichokes. The boss says it’s “very indicative” of Manifesto’s aim of “striking a balance between classic cocktails and modern innovation.” 1924 Main St., (816) 536-1325
La Descarga
Los Angeles
“Three years into the cocktailian revolution,” we could name dozens of “essential” L.A. cocktails and the best places to sample each one, said Jonathan Gold in LA Weekly. But if you happen to be in the mood for a “rum bar at its best,” head to East Hollywood’s La Descarga. Some would argue that the way to really appreciate the rum collection at this year-old tribute to Old Havana is to grab a spot on the patio, “buy a hand-rolled stogie if you’re so inclined, and spend an hour contemplating a snifter of the oldest, deepest rum you can afford.” But then you’d miss out on the “close-packed crowd,” the rumba band and burlesque dancer, and the superb rum concoctions of cocktail consultant Pablo Moix. Moix’s Tapping the Admiral is “an amber, caramel-y concoction of 13-year-old rum, cherry Heering, vermouth, and a healthy dash of bitters.” It’s named for a legend about Adm. Lord Nelson, who died at sea and was purportedly embalmed in a barrel of rum before being shipped back to England. It’s a great story for a drink that proves “old rum can be as serious as old Scotch.” 1159 Western Ave., (323) 466-1324
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