There is a relatively new bar in town. But this isn't just a bar. More accurately: there is a small, unassuming cafe and bar that's successfully blending elements from numerous concepts (small plates, cocktails, draft beer, brunch, book-lending library, book club) with style, comfort and grace. The place is Two Sisters Bar and Books and the story goes something like this: two sisters, Mikha Diaz and Mary Elliott decide to travel before settling down into the job market. In graduate school, Mikha studied continental philosophy and Mary studied Russian language and literature; they decided Poland was a good place to start their journey and they quickly stumbled across Massolit Books in Krakow and fell in love. After just one week in Krakow, the sisters knew they wanted to recreate a similar place in San Francisco. Mary stayed on in New York City (where the gals went to school) and worked from afar helping curate the books for the space. Mikha set to work with her business partners, her husband and parents, on finding a storefront in a desirable neighborhood in the city -- no easy feat.

The bar at Two Sisters

It took Mikha one year to find the old Marino's space in Hayes Valley; getting it into ship-shape took some elbow grease and dealing with city permits always takes a whole lot of time and patience, but Two Sisters had their soft opening on Oct 12, 2011 and things have been growing and evolving ever since. When I walked in, I saw old volumes of books lining the wall to my left, tables full of folks reading, chatting, eating and drinking to my right and a welcoming bar towards the back. I asked Mikha to tell me more about the space: are they an actual bookstore? Do they do coffee or is it really more of a bar? They serve dinners, too? In talking to folks around the city, there seems to be a little confusion about the identity of the spot, and after visiting, I think that's actually part of its charm. You need to go and visit to really see for yourself.

But I did learn that it is a charming bar and restaurant, serving wine and beer, specialty cocktails and fermented sodas, snacks and charcuterie plates. They do a $20 fixed-price brunch on Sundays. The rest of the time they serve a few daily plates, such as pork meatballs and kabocha squash bread pudding. Alex Smith is the kitchen manager at Two Sisters, and she and Mikha describe how the price of the plates really reflects the little-bit smaller portions (right inbetween a tapas plate and an entree). They're all particularly excited about the house-smoked blue cheese they've been doing, and the spring menu that will be unveiled towards the end of February. It seems, all around, there's a lot to be excited about.

Book-lending library at Two Sisters

Before I left, Mikha and I were just casually talking about the neighborhood and what kind of folks Two Sisters is attracting. She beamed and said it's truly becoming a neighborhood spot where locals come when they don't really feel like cooking. It's not as big of a financial commitment as a true sit-down restaurant so you can just dabble with a few snacks and a small plate. It's also a big day-time hangout with the book-lending library and the (genius) Books and Booze Reading Club where a monthly book is paired with an appropriate cocktail.

Folks can stroll in and pick up a book they're interested in and take it home, replacing it with a book they've decided to leave behind. Mikha described an interesting phenomenon of people wanting to get rid of books but feeling like they were too special to drop off at a nameless donation center, so the lending library has been growing quickly as more and more people want a special home for their books.

And it's clear from the crowd on a cold Saturday afternoon that many San Franciscans are claiming the actual space as a home, too. Just what the sisters had envisioned. Each element (good cocktails, books, and seasonal food) have truly come together in perfect harmony. There's a lot to discover here. It's the kind of spot that makes we wish I, too, lived in the neighborhood. For now, I'm eager to come back when I have a little more time to sit, swap a book, and try a nibble.

Two Sisters Bar and Books
579 Hayes Street (between Laguna and Octavia)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 863-3655
Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 4 pm - 11 pm; Friday 4 pm - 12 am
Saturday 1 pm - 12 am; Sunday 11 am - 10 pm

Happy Hour: 4 pm - 6 pm Tuesday - Friday & 1 pm - 4 pm Saturday
Brunch: Sunday 11 am - 4 pm
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"Do you have a cocktail list?" is one of the first questions I am often asked as a waiter in an upscale restaurant. It is one of the few questions I get to cheerfully answer with a big "no."

"You should really have one," is sometimes the response that follows. "Don't you have a signature cocktail or something?"

No, we really, really shouldn't and no, we do not.

And then I get to say something along the lines of "Well, we thought about it for a while, but Greeks don't really drink cocktails-- they drink wine, and beer, and ouzo. I suppose we could mix them all together for you, if you like."

More often than not, they will need a moment to get the imaginary taste of that concoction out of their mouths and regroup. Quite often, their drink of choice ends up something depressing, like a Cosmopolitan, or something perfectly respectable but equally unimaginative, like a martini. And the martini that is ordered is often done so incorrectly.

On one hand, I do see the point of cocktail lists. People seem to need help with their drinking. The thought of facing a full bar stocked with hundreds of liquors blended into thousands of different combinations is enough to pickle anyone's brain, even before it has become clouded with alcohol and a little printed instruction can often help a drinker narrow his choices to those that the list-offering establishment feels it does best.

On the other, heavier hand, I am tired of the fact that nearly every watering hole seems to have a menu of "signature cocktails." There are a few places around town (Alembic, Aziza, and Clock Bar, to name a few good ones) that offer up delicious, inventive cocktails that are, in fact, unique and they rightly highlight them in menu form. It's all the others I take issue with. The So-and-so Martini (made with Ketel One and a splash of cranberry!). That is not a signature cocktail, that's called pushing premium liquor. It's also called a Cape Cod in a Martini glass.

I am also tired of the general lack of creative naming. So many venues have several (insert noun here)-tinis: The Saketini, The Mangotini, The Weenytini. Or The (insert name of venue) Cosmo.

Enough already.

If one is going to create a signature cocktail, I say make it memorable. Make a statement. Create a drink philosophy and apply it to your inventions. I have currently been looking for a way to help alcoholics get more nutritional bang out of their cocktails by creating a series of meals-in-a-glass.

When discussing this idea the other night over dinner, my friend Jen stared at her beer for a moment and declared, "You know what I like about beer? It's like there's a sandwich in every glass."

And so the idea took off. All sorts of cocktail ideas poured out of my friends as quickly as the beer was being poured into them, all mocking the "tini" trend: The BLTini, The Pork n' Beanitini, the super-spicy TNTini. And then, when discussing Nabokov, somebody came up with the Tweeni. I don't even want to think about what might go into one of those.

So today, I leave you with a future, classic drink-- my first "signature cocktail." It's much more than a drink, it's an entire meal unto itself. A perfect little lunchtime tipple. And, to keep Jen happy, there's a sandwich in every glass.

The Martuna

Serves one. It will most likely be the only one.

Ingredients:

3 parts vodka
1 part canned spring water from your favorite can of tuna. Do not use oil-packed.
Ice
Mayonnaise
Ruffles potato chips, crushed. Whichever flavor you prefer
Cornichons

Preparation:

1. In a mortar and pestle, crush potato chips until fine, but not too fine-- you still want a hint of their ridges to show. Empty the crushed chips onto a small, round plate in an even layer.

2. Smooth about 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise across the bottom of a similar plate. Gently coat the rim of the glass with the mayonnaise, then roll the now-wet rim into the crushed chips to create an even, attractive coating.

3. In a cocktail shaker, place ice, vodka, and tuna water. Shake vigorously.

4. Pour cocktail into the awaiting glass and garnish with cornichons.

Serve immediately.

Variations:

There are two classic twists on this All-American cocktail:

For a Martuna-on-Rye, replace the vodka with Akvavit.

For a Martuna Melt, simply swap out the mayonnaise for melted Velveeta cheese.