The bar program at Absinthe recently got a makeover from one of its original bar managers, Jeff Hollinger, who is now co-owner of the Absinthe-affiliated Comstock Saloon. One of the drinks on Hollinger's new list is called the Green Room, and it's a vermouth-based drink Hollinger thinks is perfect as an aperitif, especially before drinking wine with a meal. more ›

Newly installed bar manager at Absinthe, Carlos Yturria (formerly of Range, Bacar and Rye), has come up with several specialty cocktails for the board in his first weeks on duty. Our favorite is this wintry take on a whiskey sour, which includes one of the best and most unsung cocktail fruits of the season, the kumquat. more ›

Word has it that Absinthe chef and Top Chef cheftestant Jamie Lauren has been stung harder by the fame bug more than she has arugula's peppery tang. (Fame is fleeting, Lauren! Your palette and plates, much like your tattoos, are forever!) But in a fusion of attention grabbing and culinary trickery, Lauren and 7x7 Magazine are having a springtime veggie contest. It goes like this: You create a phenomenal original first-course dish using asparagus, one that would fit in with Absinthe’s "American-influenced French brasserie and Northern Italian cuisine" menu, and your creation will be featured on the menu for two weeks. Also, you'll get a complimentary dinner for two at Absinthe, a swank KitchenAid stand mixer, and coverage in 7x7. more ›

Sure Jager makes things all surreal, tequila makes you do things you normally wouldn't do, and whiskey makes things all sh---kicking but if you really want something that brings the crazy, there's absinthe. Absinthe was a drink popular at the turn of the last century but was banned supposedly for "making people insane" and by insane we mean too fin de siècle, you know-- into impressionism, dressing colorfully, chopping of one of their ears, and being gay. But now it's making a comeback, thanks to a heroic lawyer who got the prohibition in the U.S. revoked and thanks to that lawyer, a distillery in Alameda is going to start making some. Hell, if people thought they needed it to make it through the turn of the last century how do they expect us to make it through this turn of the century? more ›