24 distiller
July 1st when they finally had to lay everyone off and stay
in "hibernation" mode, as it just didn't make financial
sense to even do to-go cocktails. e hope and goal is to
reopen once bars and indoor dining establishments are
allowed to do so. marioandjohns.com
Bird & the Bole, Santa Rosa
Stark Restaurants is a venerable restaurant group
across the county. But in Santa Rosa, the county's big-
gest city, quality cocktails still are few except for hit-and-
miss (yet artful) cocktails at Perch + Plow (perchandplow.
com). Stark's Bird and the Bottle is a casual tavern offer-
ing wood-fired and house-smoked foods, nailing seafood
and barbecue dishes (don't miss their pastrami tacos).
eir cocktails are easy drinking, seemingly simple, but
made with balance and care. With patio dining and take-
out, they offer large format bottles to go, including cock-
tail favorites like What Pho? (a mix of Old Grand-Dad
Bourbon and Rittenhouse Rye, lemon, house tamarind
drinking vinegar) and ideal food pairings like B&B (gin,
dry vermouth, dill drinking vinegar, lime, cucumber
water). birdandthebottle.com
Mendocino County
Fog Eater Cafe, Mendocino
Spectacularly stunning and varied as Mendocino
County is, from its rocky, cliffy, redwood-strewn coast to
meandering, winery-and-farm-rich Anderson Valley, it's
not the county to find solid cocktails but for rare excep-
tions like the Little River Inn. ankfully, brightly col-
ored, charming Fog Eater Cafe opened in 2018. Besides
being one of the better food options in the Victorian vil-
lage of Mendo proper (serving "California cuisine with
a Southern twang," and all vegetarian), it's also the only
place I've found vintage glassware and low-proof sherry
and vermouth cocktails in the entire county. eir ador-
able garden is open for outdoor dining alongside take-
out. eir cocktail menu is reduced to a couple drinks
during pandemic, but you'll still find thoughtful imbibe-
ments with a sense of place, like e Briney Glimmer:
Douglas fir and cypress-infused manzanilla sherry,
Lo-Fi dry vermouth and kombu (edible kelp) tincture.
fogeatercafe.com/drinks-menu
[ is page ] Above — Bird in the Bottle, Santa Rosa, What Pho? (a mix of Old Grand-Dad
Bourbon and Rittenhouse Rye, lemon, house tamarind drinking vinegar
Below — A visual example of the artful cocktails at Fog Eater Cafe.
[ Opposite page ] Top — Bird in the Bottle, Santa Rosa, patio deck
Below — Fog Eater Cafe, Mendocino
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