For Cinco de Mayo eve (AKA "quatro de mayo"), we will be reviewing some signature cocktails at the recently remodeled and re-branded Menlo Tavern. Inside the Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park California, this busy little bar plays host to a large and very descriptive menu.
Down to the drinks:
We both chose to order pink sweet cocktails, our bad. Although this menu boasted several choices of cocktails (for a variety of tastes) we can only drink and spend so much... unfortunately! At least we got our share of fruits and veggies with these cocktails.
Lauren: I ordered "Brookfarm's Finest" which included: hendricks gin, lemon juice, beet syrup, soda, lemon, fresh rosemary (all lowercase according to the menu). I don't personally know Brookfarm, but, if this is his "finest" I don't want to continue the relationship. The drink was basically a watered down beet syrup, with a little alcohol, and a shrub of rosemary sprouting out of the top (the best part). I get the whole "sweet and umami" mix is what they were going for, but the rosemary didn't contribute to the flavor of the drink. I liked the atmosphere of this bar, and the service was great, but my drink didn't have the complexity of drinking twelve blended dollars. I would give this drink 2 out of 10 olives.
Simon: I ordered the "CO-ED" (just like I used to be) which contained: lairds brandy, house-made grenadine, lime juice, absinthe. Like the wizard that I am, I received a tiny goblet with a big unexpected grand-piano-shaped slice of pear sticking out (cha-ching!). I was hoping the absinthe would shine through on this cocktail, but the flavor was hardly there. It was an intensely sweet, and fairly strong drink but, unfortunately like Lauren's, it lacked complexity and flavor. I think the house-made grenadine was overpowering in the concoction. While it was better than Lauren's, maybe 4 olives out of 10, it wasn't anything to write home (or online) about. My vote at this bar would be to stick to the well known drinks, an avoid the fancy signature cocktails.
Down to the drinks:
We both chose to order pink sweet cocktails, our bad. Although this menu boasted several choices of cocktails (for a variety of tastes) we can only drink and spend so much... unfortunately! At least we got our share of fruits and veggies with these cocktails.
Lauren: I ordered "Brookfarm's Finest" which included: hendricks gin, lemon juice, beet syrup, soda, lemon, fresh rosemary (all lowercase according to the menu). I don't personally know Brookfarm, but, if this is his "finest" I don't want to continue the relationship. The drink was basically a watered down beet syrup, with a little alcohol, and a shrub of rosemary sprouting out of the top (the best part). I get the whole "sweet and umami" mix is what they were going for, but the rosemary didn't contribute to the flavor of the drink. I liked the atmosphere of this bar, and the service was great, but my drink didn't have the complexity of drinking twelve blended dollars. I would give this drink 2 out of 10 olives.
Simon: I ordered the "CO-ED" (just like I used to be) which contained: lairds brandy, house-made grenadine, lime juice, absinthe. Like the wizard that I am, I received a tiny goblet with a big unexpected grand-piano-shaped slice of pear sticking out (cha-ching!). I was hoping the absinthe would shine through on this cocktail, but the flavor was hardly there. It was an intensely sweet, and fairly strong drink but, unfortunately like Lauren's, it lacked complexity and flavor. I think the house-made grenadine was overpowering in the concoction. While it was better than Lauren's, maybe 4 olives out of 10, it wasn't anything to write home (or online) about. My vote at this bar would be to stick to the well known drinks, an avoid the fancy signature cocktails.
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