Drink Dok

BY RON BECHTOL

Editor’s Note: This is the first edition of Drink Dok, the Current’s ongoing cocktail column.

The Manhattan is a cocktail that has it all: depth of flavor, ease of preparation, minimal and easily sourceable components. Plus, for those so inclined, it lends itself to tinkering at home — and it’s almost bulletproof at any half-decent bar.

Whether out or at home, the first call to make is whether you want your Manhattan built around bourbon or rye. Bourbon is allegedly the most popular, but rye is a personal favorite due to the way its spice, herb and honey profile plays with sweet vermouth, the cocktail’s second major ingredient. Angostura bitters — think of it as the drink’s salt and pepper — is the third, and almost universally agreed-upon, component.

If you order the drink at, say, San Antonio cocktail spot Amor Eterno, you’ll automatically get Old Overholt rye — a perfectly respectable well liquor — paired with Carpano Antica, a high-end sweet vermouth, all stirred with ice and the Angostura. The combination is killer.

I’ve played with higher-end ryes at home, but my current go-to for cocktails is Rittenhouse 100. It’s only a few bucks more than the Overholt Straight, but also a tad more complex and proof-potent. Here’s a good baseline recipe to get you started.

Basic Manhattan

2 ½ ounces rye, preferably Rittenhouse, but hey…

1 ounce sweet vermouth, preferably Carpano Antica

2 shakes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass—or whatever you have at hand. Garnish with a high-quality preserved cherry such as Luxardo, if desired.

Normally, I hate recipes that get really specific about brand names, thinking, cynically, that the writer has been co-opted. But, pricey as they are, the Luxardo cherries are really worth it. Please promise never to use the fluorescent red ones. Or, for that matter, to muddle orange slices into your mixing glass, as was inexplicably the rage a generation ago. A naked Manhattan is better than a tarted-out Manhattan. It’s fair, though, to fiddle with the vermouth. Carpano is especially bold and unctuous, and I sometimes cut it 50/50 with a lighter version such as Martini & Rossi or the French-made Dolin Rouge. I less often do the so-called Perfect Manhattan, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t give it a try. The perfection here is in the equal split of sweet and dry vermouths as follows.

Perfect Manhattan

2 ounces rye ½ ounce dry vermouth, preferably Dolin Dry, but Carpano also makes one ½ ounce sweet vermouth

2 shakes Angostura bitters

Stir as above, garnish with cherry.

The logical next step is the Dry Manhattan, which uses only dry vermouth and is accordingly garnished with a lemon twist. Instead, though, let’s move on to the Black Manhattan. Yes, it involves buying a bottle of amaro that you might not otherwise think you need. Trust me, you do. Using two types of bitters may seem finicky, but try it. If you still think it’s too fussy after that, you can always revert back to the Angostura alone.

Black Manhattan

2 ounces rye

1 ounce Averna or other herbal but not-too-aggressive amaro

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

Stir and serve as above.

For what’s basically a two-part recipe plus seasoning, it’s clear that almost infinite variations are possible by just playing with the range of ryes or vermouths on the market. By and large, though, none of the tweaks will result in a change of texture or “mouth feel.” Here’s a hack that will do that without materially affecting the taste or aroma of the drink: add rice.

Yes, I had the same reaction. But a serious drinks magazine suggests stirring a tablespoon of raw sushi rice stirred into a Manhattan recipe, so I tried it. Amazing. Stirring an obsessive 60 times with the rice rounded off the edges of the drink and gave it a fuller-bodied texture.

There’s just one word of warning before you and I both try this with every stirred cocktail in the repertoire: double strain. Rice grains in the bottom of your Nick and Nora coupe are not what I mean by enhanced texture. I speak from experience.

A chat with Moureen Kaki of Saha Palestinian Cuisine

Name: Moureen Kaki

Job: Chef and partner in Saha Palestinian Cuisine, now doing a Saturday residency at Little Death Wine Bar, 2327 N. St. Mary’s St., through April 29.

Age: 31

Birthplace: San Antonio Industry Experience: Began as a pizzaiolo’s apprentice at age 19. I’m also a former bakery owner with four years’ catering experience.

Something that makes you smile: The smell of a freshly picked fig when it’s torn in half.

Why does Palestinian food resonate with you so much?

It’s a love of two things combined really — a love of food and a love of Palestine and Palestinian culture. When I first learned to cook, I thought the foods we made at home — Palestinian food — was lame and not fancy enough to serve in a restaurant. And I’m glad to say now that I realize how wrong I was. Somewhere along my food journey, I intersected with this sort of need to connect with my Palestinian roots and different ideas for recipes started to float around in my head and, along with them, the memories of sharing and making these foods with family and friends.

Tell us about your process for selecting ingredients. Are any intimidating to work with?

At Saha, we try to showcase as many Palestinian ingredients as is possible. What’s available to make these dishes back home isn’t always the same as what’s available here, so it can be intimidating to have to make these kinds of adjustments while still ensuring that what we’re serving is authentically Palestinian.

What has Saha allowed you to express that can’t be explained otherwise?

Saha has allowed me to express my pride and love for who I am and the place I come from in ways that words can’t do. When people think of Palestine, their first reaction often isn’t very positive, but we have such a beautiful culture with a profound respect and love for life that I think is really apparent in our food and food culture.

Saha is still new to San Antonio and rotates its menu every week. Is there a specific dish you have lined up that you are excited to showcase to the city?

There are a lot we’re excited to share and also a lot that is limited by the availability of seasonal ingredients. One dish I’d love to be able to share with San Antonio is dawali, which is a stuffed grape leaf dish. There’s a vegetarian version too called yalangee. The traditional way to make it is to use fresh vine leaves and stuff it with a rice, tomato, meat and mint mixture that’s cooked in a beautiful broth that features pomegranate molasses. It was my favorite dish as a kid.

What’s something you want people to feel when they try your food?

There’s something about sharing food that feels like you’re passing on memories and the love of that food along with each bite.

Have you traveled to places beyond Palestine that have influenced your food?

I haven’t really had much chance to travel other than to places to visit family, including South Florida and Los Angeles. Those [visits] motivated me more to pursue food, but not so much an influence on the recipes. The influence of the Saha recipes comes from where my family has traveled as a result of leaving Palestine. My mom was raised in Brazil. They didn’t always have access to all the Palestinian foods my grandmother grew up with, so they made adjustments.

Sara and Suzie Masoud — [my business partners] and fellow Palestinians — have also influenced the menu. Their family comes from a different part of Palestine than my family, so we’ll often put our heads together and adjust based on our own recipes and the traditions our families used. —

Brandon Rodriguez

Nationally lauded 2M Smokehouse is plans a fall opening for its second location, this one in nearby Castroville. 1303 Lorenzo St., Castroville, 2msmokehouse.com.

Next month, Japan-based bowling, karaoke and entertainment chain Round1 will open at San Antonio’s North Star Mall, offering exclusive games its website touts as being “imported straight from Japan.” 7400 San Pedro Ave., Suite 2600, round1usa.com.

North Carolina-based fried-chicken chain Bojangles will open its first San Antonio store this spring. 8610 Potranco Road, bojangles.com.

Monterrey, Mexico-inspired eatery Tu Asador now serving breakfast specialties including barbacoa, tacos al vapor and three varieties of French toast. 8055 West Ave., #125, (210) 5304595, tuasadorsatx.com.

Longtime local sandwich institution Zito’s Deli has opened a second location near Balcones Heights. 1554 Babcock Road, (210) 684-6555, zitosdeli.com.

Tripoli’s Mediterranean Grill has closed its Lackland-area shop ahead of a relocation to the Alamo Ranch area.

Fiesta San Antonio’s Taste of the Republic culi- nary event will return to the hallowed grounds of the Alamo for 2023. tasteoftherepublic.com.

Openings

Austin-area barbecue mainstay Milt’s Pit BBQ is now open in a new space in the Northeast San Antonio neighborhood of Live Oak. 8000 Pat Booker Road, (210) 267-5794, miltspitbbq.com.

Gourmet hot dog spot The Dogfather quietly opened a second location in Northeast San Antonio, serving up all-beef hot dogs and burgers loaded with specialty ingredients. 13032 Nacogdoches Road, Suite 201, sadogfather.com.

San Antonio-based Pizza Patrón has opened its first downtown location, this one near San Pedro Springs Park. 1107 San Pedro Ave., #101, pizzapatron.com.

Luna Rosa Puerto Rican Grill has relocated into the distinctive Southtown space that, until recently, housed culinary powerhouse Rosario’s Mexican Cafe y Cantina. 901 S. St. Mary’s St., lunarosatapas.com.

New bar River Sun is now open in the space that formerly housed music venues The Ventura and Ten Eleven. It serves up zero-proof and high-octane craft cocktails, seasonal craft beer and organic wine. 1011 Avenue B., instagram.com/ riversunsa.