.Drink

Absinthe, the signature drink of Belle Epoque France, also had a ritual based on delayed gratification, though one not nearly as complex as the jigsaw puzzle of women’s undergarments. The traditional way of drinking the moss-colored spirit—nicknamed “the green fairy” for the supposed buzz it brings—is to start by pouring an ounce of the potent potable in a glass. Next, perch on the rim, like a vulture hovering over your soon-to-be comatose self—a slotted spoon holding a sugar cube. Now, slowly pour ice water over the cube, which takes the sugar down into the glass, releases the oils of anise, fennel and wormwood, and turns the verdant elixir a cloudy white known as the louche. 

Local craft distilleries are in high demand, particularly in areas like the Bay Area, where people tend to be very interested in where the products they eat and drink come from and how they are made. They may even be in greater demand in the Bay Area than anywhere else in the state because there are so few craft distilleries compared to wineries and breweries. To wit, there are close to 4,000 wineries in California, but just under 150 distilleries—and fewer than a dozen of those are Bay Area craft distilleries that offer tasting experiences.

The Bay Area’s Fieldwork Brewing Company Legend has it that in ye olde days, people drank beer because it was safer than water. Albeit, this is a medieval-era myth, from an age of plagues and egregious class disparity....

Third places are the places we go for social connection, for a sense of belonging; they’re the spaces outside of our home and workplace, like temples, cafes, gyms and bookstores. There have been myriad television shows and...

Photo by Nathan Dumlao. Pattern recognition 101: Jack London Square, early morning. The steely grays of the sky and water meet the steely grays of the Bay Bridge in a fog dense enough to spatter my shoulders like...

Photo by Road Trip with Raj I’m on a small stage in a swanky art gallery fashioned from an orphaned Wells Fargo branch—there’s a weird and wonderful installation in the vault, snacks are being served from the teller’s...

By Amy Glynn I’m on a small stage in a swanky art gallery fashioned from an orphaned Wells Fargo branch—there’s a weird and wonderful installation in the vault, snacks are being served from the teller’s counter, paintings and...