11 minute read
PERFECT PAIRINGS
Game Night in Vietnam
by CAROLYN B. HELLER
Our grilled fish, garlicky beans, and Tiger Crystal beers had barely touched the table when a man approached, holding two red ribbons. He tied one around my husband Alan’s forehead, did the same for me, then returned to his friends.
Raising their glasses, they pointed to our headbands, which read “Viet Nam Vô Dįch,” and translated across the crowded room, “Vietnam! Champions!”
Less than an hour earlier, Alan and I had been contemplating our dinner choices as we strolled in the direction of Da Nang’s brightly lit Dragon Bridge. Along the way, we passed jammed storefront restaurants, bars with patrons squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder, and homes with people spilling across tiny gardens and out onto the streets.
After a curious few minutes, we realized that everyone was staring, transfixed, at television screens. Each screen was tuned to the same soccer game.
Outside of a massive restaurant, we stopped to gaze through its glowing windows where dozens of people were drinking beer and eating from overflowing platters of fish and crab. Between bites and sips, they were cheering and calling to children whose faces had been painted with red and gold Vietnamese flags. “It’s the final of the Southeast Asian Games,” Alan said, peering intently at a wall-mounted screen. “Vietnam’s playing Indonesia.” Although every seat in the place seemed full, a server waved us in.
He carried a table toward the far side of the restaurant, positioned it half-outside, near a pack of parked motorbikes, and took our order. Shortly thereafter, we were headband-wearing honorary members of Vietnam’s cheering squad.
One with the crowd, we settled into our meals and the action on the screen. Suddenly, the room went crazy with people jumping and screaming. “Three to nothing,” Alan said. And, though it was obvious, “Vietnam won!”
A man sprinted through the dining room, waving a Vietnamese flag. Another began setting off firecrackers, just steps from our indooroutdoor table. Two small boys flashed us a thumbs up, shimmying past in a victory dance.
We joined the flow as the euphoric fans swarmed into the street, forming an impromptu parade of roaring motorbikes, honking horns, and flapping flags. As we shared in their reveling, our headbands elicited smiles and waves.
Tonight, everyone in Vietnam was a champion, including us.
Between Two Tables
by GABBY PEYTON
“Could we move over there?” I pleaded with a bewildered server after we were seated next to two sour-faced men who didn’t seem the least bit excited to be dining at Antica Macellaria Cecchini.
The restaurant’s owner, Dario Cecchini, is an eighth-generation, nose-to-tail butcher who has been featured on the documentary series Chef’s Table. Deep in the hills of Italy’s Chianti region, he serves communal meals in the Solociccia (butcher’s kitchen) above his 250-year-old butcher shop.
The meals are designed to promote the importance of local butchers and showcase the meat from his respectfully raised bovines. It’s the kind of place where the chefs chant “Car-ne! Carne!” standing in front of a fiery hearth that is open to the dining room.
This was the second time my husband, Adam, and I had been to Italy. In contrast to the backpacking trip we had done in our twenties, this time, we were there to explore the cuisine. To that end, we had booked a Tuscan agriturismo and spent a week visiting vineyards, farmers markets, and Michelin-starred restaurants.
Our reservation for this 10-course, fixed-price lunch had been made months in advance, and were determined to enjoy it. With the Italian habit of seating people close together, table position was key.
As the accommodating server guided to a new table, we breathed in the aroma of the roasting meat and readied our inner cave people—only to learn upon sitting down that one of our new dining companions was a vegetarian. Sarah and Noah, on vacation from Philadelphia, turned out to be ideal dining partners. Those who come to Cecchini’s restaurant are ardent foodies, whether they like meat or not. Here, there is a full menu for each, and plenty of extra for everyone to share.
The four of us bonded over fresh bread and olive oil, then the procession began. Sarah dove into the luscious pickled vegetables, crostini, and tomato stew. The rest of us were treated to diced beef tartare, thick slices of carpaccio, and Panzanese steaks with potatoes and decadent Chianti butter.
As we ate, we chatted about travel, wine, and, of course, food. To everyone’s surprise, the vegetarian dishes were a hit. I’ve never tasted a sweeter, almost beefy, braised onion.
By the time the cake, coffee, and grappa came out, we had become fast friends, exchanging contact information and promising to meet back here again someday.
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Beyond Vodka
Bar hopping in Warsaw reveals a city ready to take its place as one of the world’s best new cocktail destinations
by EMILY MANTHEI
When an old friend opens a cocktail bar, it’s time to pay him a visit.
Hubert Olczak knows cocktails better than anyone else I know. He fell for them while judging a nationwide best bartender contest in 2011. Since then, he has been traveling the world comparing cocktails made by master mixologists in destinations like Hong Kong and London. But those served in his hometown of Warsaw have become his favorites and he was keen to show me why.
With my interest piqued, I headed to Warsaw ready to bar hop to the places making it a new go-to spot for top-notch cocktails.
Leisurely sipping your liquor is a recent phenomenon in Poland, where traditional bars are focused more on serving shots of vodka. Mixed drinks played second fiddle. But in Warsaw, things started changing in 2005 with a bar called Paparazzi where bartenders learned to make classics. That’s where Paweł Rodaszyński, then a young bartender, first became inspired. Today, he is one of Poland’s leading mixologists and co-owner of El Koktel.
From behind the bar, Rodaszyński opens the seasonal menu and presents it to Olczak, who is keen to introduce me to this unpretentious, dimly lit spot because of its reputation for serving up some of the city’s very best cocktails. Hubert orders the mysterious sounding Darkness, presented in a black stone cup. Only the bartenders know the exact ingredients in it, prompting the bar to ask its patrons what they may be.
Rodaszyński was an early cocktail advocate, but by 2014, Warsaw’s creative cocktail scene had erupted. “People became more interested in quality craft breweries, third wave coffee and cocktails,” he explains. Along with this shift, bars transitioned from pre-club stopovers to evening destinations themselves with owners creating unique settings and focusing on hospitality.
As Olczak and I make our way through a back alley and descend some basement steps, an underground lair opens to reveal a wooden bar, carved with gothic
motifs. His next pick of the night, Weles, is named after a Slavic god, known in Polish mythology as “lord of the night, defender of music and magic.”
“Our cocktail list focuses on regional, herbal flavors, and our cocktails are mostly gin and vodka based. And we only serve vodkas from Poland,” says head bartender, Maciej Chludziński.
A Warsaw native, Chludziński loves the community in the city’s hospitality industry. “If you’re going for cocktails, you know you’ll see friends. And you know where to find the cocktails you’re in the mood for because each bar delivers something specific.”
We also hit up Kita Koguta (which means “cock’s tail” in Polish) for its rum-based tiki creations, as well as Woda Ognista, a bar oozing with retro charm. Finally, it’s time to see Olczak’s BackRoom Bar. Although he has never worked behind a bar, he has used his expertise from the barstool and his days spent as a marketing rep for Absolut Vodka to curate a special experience.
“When I traveled, I came back to Warsaw sharing ideas and inspirations with bartenders,” he says as we come to a darkened, dead-end street. Around the corner, a few smokers stand outside an unmarked wooden door.
Inside, vintage New York jazz, funky Art Deco wallpaper and dark, velvet curtains perfectly set the mood. Groups of patrons gather around intimate tables and chat with servers. Olczak explains that BackRoom’s bartenders are also servers so they can share their expertise with all guests – something usually reserved for those seated at bar. Our server for the night is Karol Rychlewicz, managing bartender, who explains his approach to cocktails.
“I am really into classic recipes, like the ones we find in old bartender books,” he says. His eclectic, rare cocktails are supported by ingredients made in-house, including sloe gin, Swedish punch, hopinfused gin, and Polish vodka with spices and honey. As we polish off our final cocktails, I’m feeling that our trek here was well worth the trip.
All of the highly regarded bartenders I met – thanks to Olczak – love to focus on the craft of making exquisite drinks with their own unique flair. The one thing they agree on is that bartending is still just 10 percent mixology and 90 percent socialization. It’s the latter that drew me to Warsaw in the first place.
I recall what Rodaszyński told me earlier in the evening: “Sometimes we spend a lot of time describing flavor and aroma, but it’s just as important to get the cocktail and spend time with the people around you.”
To plan your perfect overseas cocktail tasting adventure, contact your trusted Ensemble Travel Advisor.
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