Not to confuse you after we posted a drink from new Oakland restaurant Haven the other week, but another brand new restaurant opened its doors last month, this one in the Lower Haight, called Maven (598 Haight). It's a concept by two guys with a bunch of restaurant experience around town — think Michael Mina, Saison, and Beretta — and behind the bar is a vet from Michael Mina and Wexler, Kate Bolton, who's been featured in this column twice before, and whose drinks are balanced, interesting, and go down easy.

Today's selection, the International Mistress, is a refreshing winter drink with an herbal-smoky Mezcal-Amaro base, served as a highball and topped with soda. And it's paired on the menu with a dish of braised fennel and watercress — the menu, you see, is a little grid of pairings, with cocktail and beer/wine options for each dish. And we should add, the food is pretty tight too!

International Mistress

1.5 oz Amaro Nonino
.5 oz Sombra Mezcal
.5 housemade orgeat*
.75 fresh lemon juice
Soda water

Shake all ingredients (except soda) with ice. Fine strain into collins glass with ice. Top with soda and garnish with long zest of grapefruit

*can substitute Small Hands Foods orgeat, available at Cask and elsewhere.