Local food writer and avid CHOWhound Robert Lauriston recently opened his own restaurant in Berkeley, Locanda da Eva (2826 Telegraph Avenue), featuring Italian cuisine from chef Huw Thornton (formerly a sous chef at SPQR and A16), and a cocktail program created by Jackie Patterson. Like several other local bar stars this year, Patterson recently stepped out from behind the bar, where she's worked steadily at Heaven's Dog and elsewhere for the past few years, to take a job as a brand ambassador for Lillet, and the drink below from the menu she created at Locanda da Eva features that lovely, orange-y aperitif.

Says Jackie, "It's a delicious Martini variation, with the herbal addition of green Chartreuse to complement the botanicals of the gin and the citrus sweetness of the Lillet."

Make us one now, please. Happy Labor Day, everyone.

The Green Wire

1.5 oz. Beefeater Gin
.75 oz. Lillet Blanc
.25 oz. Green Chartreuse
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Stir ingredients on ice until properly chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled cocktail
glass and garnish with a freshly cut lemon peel.