Sauced

New Bar Manager at MistralKitchen

Matt Bailey arrives from Venik to take over William Belickis’s cocktail program.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 01, 2012 at 09:35AM 0 Comments

Today marks the official debut of both the new bar manager and his 10 new season-appropriate cocktails. Photo by Andrew Waits.

South Lake Union restaurant MistralKitchen has a new bar manager. According to the release sent out this morning, chef-owner William Belickis has hired Matt Bailey to carry on the thoughtful cocktail program begun by Andrew Bohrer when the restaurant opened in 2010 (and carried on by a few others).

Bailey, according to the restaurant, has worked previously at highly legit local cocktail destinations such as Liberty, Barrio and Needle and Thread. His most recent post was just a few blocks away at Venik, the bar known for both its cocktails and its handy adjacency to Russian bathhouse-spa Banya 5.

Mistral’s rep kept mum on the new bar manager’s identity for a few weeks, giving Bailey time to launch his own cocktail menu, which includes a few vodka-based nods to his previous gig. Any time I have talked to a new hire at MistralKitchen, he or she has expressed excitement about being let loose in a kitchen full of gadgets, ovens, and other culinary playthings. One new arrival on the drink list, a ginger caipirinha, includes fresh ginger cooked sous vide along with Brazilian sugarcane-based spirit cachaca.

Both Bailey and his 10 new drinks make their official debut today.

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Tags: Mistralkitchen, Shift Change, Matt Bailey

Five Questions for the Bartender: Michael Bertrand

Meet Mistralkitchen’s lead barman, a jazz drummer turned gin apostle with apparently excellent taste in ties (and shirts).

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 06, 2011 at 12:05PM 3 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

This is Michael Bertrand in a pink shirt. Click on the slideshow to watch him make a Fernet Branca-Maker’s Mark old fashioned with an ice ball.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

This is Michael Bertrand in a pink shirt. Click on the slideshow to watch him make a Fernet Branca-Maker’s Mark old fashioned with an ice ball.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

Step 1: Carving the ice ball.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

Ice ball complete.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

The peeling of the orange.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

Straining the OF into the glass. (Wait, how come we can’t see the orange peel?)

View Slideshow » Photo: Lucas Anderson

And there she is.

White City, Oregon native Michael Bertrand moved to Seattle at age 18. The plan was to study jazz percussion at Cornish College. I dropped out and now I hate jazz music says Bertrand, who started supporting himself through retail jobs. Evenings, he’d belly up at Flowers Restaurant and Bar in the U-District, where he discovered his love of booze extended beyond the realm of consumption.

He became a bartender.

I was hired at Vessel, where my boss was Jim Romdall. Vessel closed, and then I was hired at Mistralkitchen by [former bar manager] Andrew Bohrer. There I am currently lead bartender.

Without further ado, five questions for Michael Bertrand.

What is the most underrated spirit?

I’m constantly creating ways to converse with customers about why and how gin is delicious and excellent in cocktails. You shouldn’t be scared of gin because you drank a bottle of Bombay Sapphire at a party in high school and woke up throwing up in the dirt.

What’s your favorite Seattle bar (other than Mistralkitchen)?

Sun Liquor. I live a block away. If I actually venture outside my comfort zone: Rob Roy, Liberty, and Zig Zag. When Canon opens, there’s a good chance that it will be my favorite bar.

What drink do you order at that bar?

A Sazerac, but also Fernet or bourbon and a beer. Sometimes a glass of sparkling rose.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen someone do in a bar?

I’ve dealt with a lot of gross/crazy/weird situations in a bar (sex, puke), but the worst was when someone snuck into the back office and took our laptop and thousands of dollars worth of another employee’s camera equipment. That was one of the only times I’ve been sincerely upset about someone else’s actions while I was behind the bar.

Name three reasons you live in Seattle.

I live in Seattle for the art and culture, the people, and because it is home.

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Tags: South Lake Union, Five Questions for the Bartender, Seattle Bartenders, Mistralkitchen

Are Craft Cocktails Too Expensive?

If you think $12 (or even $10) is too much to pay for a drink, try this experiment.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jun 30, 2010 at 10:48AM 1 Comments

The specialty cocktails at Zig Zag pack a considerable punch.
Photo: Lindsay Borden

I don’t think every new bar needs to be a highend cocktail lounge. I like a simple bar where I can order a beer for $3 and call it an evening. What I don’t like is when such a bar calls itself a cocktail lounge and charges cocktail-lounge prices for hastily/amateurishly crafted cocktails. And the reason I don’t like this is that it furthers the notion that any drink with a price tag of $10 or up is overpriced.

Because at a good cocktail lounge, a two-digit drink price reflects the cost of the ingredients that go into that drink, ingredients that include fresh-squeezed juices and aged spirits and top-shelf liqueurs and homemade bitters, cachaca, and falernum and sometimes even a Kold-Draft ice machine. In short, many things that are expensive to buy, maintain, and create. Customers may not be aware that at such an establishment, the bartender likely came in hours before his or her shift to prep ingredients and make sure every little detail is in place so that their imbibing experience will be an optimal one.

Value added: these cocktails tend to pack a serious punch. Drink more than two and Lawd help you. Also, they’ll keep tasting good even if you nurse them because they are made with ice that’s designed to melt slowly over time. I’d also say this: if you do get a crappy drink at a cocktail lounge, you should always, always tell the bartender that you’re not a fan. You’re paying premium for that beverage and you should use it as an opportunity to learn more about what you like, don’t like, and why.

If you’re still not convinced these drinks are worth the price, do this: Attend happy hour at Vessel or ZigZag or Mistralkitchen and try the drinks at their lowered prices. (Vessel’s $6 HH cocktail applies only to two drinks—a revolving duo of options off the menu. At Mistral, house cocktails are $3 off (so $9) and classic cocktails are $6. And last time I checked, Zig Zag’s specialty cocktails were $4.75 during HH.)

I encourage you to talk to the bartenders about what’s in your drink, why it’s made that way, etc. If you do this and find that you wouldn’t be willing to pay twice as much for your cocktail experience, come tell me about it.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Cocktails, Seattle Bartenders, Vessel, Mistralkitchen, Zig Zag Cafe

Happy Hour: Healthy(ish) Edition

Light drinks and unfried foods for your early evening snacking pleasure.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jun 28, 2010 at 03:18PM 0 Comments

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Oysters and champagne How is it that champagne and oysters are the most decadently delicious combo on the planet and yet they don’t make you fat? They do tend to be pricey, but you can buck that rule by attending Power Hour at Anchovies and Olives (5 to 6pm daily and 10-midnight. $1 oysters; $2 Peroni; $5 prosecco and some wines).

Another excellent option is HH at Frank’s Oysterhouse over there in Ravenna.

Mistralkitchen, meanwhile, has HH from 5 to 6:30pm daily, and it includes $1.50 oysters on the half shell.

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Vegetarian Meatless HHs are great because you almost feel virtuous, sitting there munching on your veggies, laughing at the sweaty joggers as they chug by. Slide your stool up to the ever-so-natural wooden bar at Cafe Flora from 2 to 6pm on weekdays and your specialty cocktail or wine will cost you $5; draught beer is $2.50. White bean hummus with foccacia will run you $6, as will my favorite app, the “pate” board, featuring a heaping pile of pecan lentil pate (it tastes a lot better than it sounds).
Vegan refuge Plum Bistro hosts HH weekdays from 3 to 6 pm. Wines and specialty cocktails cost $5.
Food specials will run you between $2 (for a tofu or quinoa slider) and $7.

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Mediterranean Hummus,tabouli, tomato salad, pita: these things are all pretty good for you and they offer interesting flavors that can be hard to come by on your typical HH menu.
The Alibi Room has a white bean hummus and pita platter that comes with cucumber and tomato, that’s $5. Try it with the roasted garlic bulb, also $5 and served with foccacia. Sadly, no wine specials: Draft beers are $3, wells are $4. HH is Monday through Thursday 3pm-6pm and Friday through Sunday 12pm to 6pm.
Cafe Paloma also has excellent Medi-style dips, see my advice on happy houring there here.

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Japanese Sushi bar HH fare excels in the healthy-but-tasty department. I like the clean simplicity of steamed shrimp shumai and seaweed salad at Wann Isakaya washed down with a little sake. Dragonfish Asian Cafe has the most famous sushi happy hour in town—$1.95 to $5.95 half rolls and small plates and all kinds of crazy drink specials. Lighter options include tofu veggie rolls and of course edamame ($1.95) and the Dragonfish salad, with cucumbers and miso dressing.

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Vietnamese The happy hour at Long Provincial’s Jelly Bar contains no shortage of fried somethings, but healthier options include chicken satay and tangy salads; all apps are priced from $1.50 to $7.50.

Brighter environs, shorter pants, (allegedly) hotter temperatures: pesky summer has a way of taking the joy out of wolfing down an entire basket of fries then washing in down with some weighty IPA.

As such, I thought you might to take a little stroll with me through some of Seattle’s healthier happy hours, places you can sip on lighter boozes and snack on treats that have never seen the inside of a fry-o-later.

I’ve chosen five types of healthy happy hour: oysters, vegetarian, sushi, Mediterranean, and Vietnamese. Under each category you’ll find my favorite HH options. Happy snacking.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Cafe Flora, Mistralkitchen