For my first field trip under the aegis of “The Reluctant Teetotaler”, I decided to pitch myself a softball.
Old Bus Tavern is a local brewpub myself and my wife frequent regularly. Recently Rachel Leiderman, who I worked with for several years on the Savoy Cocktail Book nights at Alembic Bar, started working there. She knows I haven’t been drinking, and is quite non-drinker friendly.
Old Bus Tavern is an unusual “Brewpub” in that the food is a bit more on the modern side, rather than the usual burger and fries brewpub fare. They are also one of the restaurants taking advantage of California’s “Type 75” license. If you have an onsite, small volume brewery, this license allows you to also sell hard liquor based cocktails, at a fraction of the cost of a regular “Type 47” license, which are very hard to come by in San Francisco.
One of our favorite newer restaurants in the city, it’s a fun place with good food, good beer, and good cocktails. A little expensive, maybe, but what can you do, we live in San Francisco, where it is nearly impossible to even get a decent lunch for under $10.
Old Bus has a section of the menu devoted to their “O% ABV” drinks. They usually have a seasonal soda.
In this case, their most recent soda has honey, Citrus, Champagne Vinegar, and soda water. It is quite refreshing, tart, and not too sweet. Dig the basil leaf garnish.
Rachel also made me something she’s been enthusiastic about since a friend turned her on to the “Thad Vogler Method for Ginger Juice”. That is, you take an equal amount by weight of sugar, ginger, and water. Either run it through a juicer or just puree it in a food processor and put it through a china cap. This drink was pretty basic, a fair amount of the ginger juice, some citrus juice, and a few dashes of Fee’s Walnut bitters on top. The Walnut bitters and ginger were an unexpectedly good combination.
Rachel also pulled out a bottle of a German non-alcoholic aperitif she recently discovered. It bears the unfortunate name of “Riemerol” (named after its creator Mr Riemerschid and I presume Aperol), it is a non-alcoholic Orange and Quinine based bitter. She made a drink with Riemerol, Citrus, and Soda water. Pretty tasty, a slightly bitter orange soda.
If you’re in Bernal Heights, Old Bus is not only the place to go for food, beer, and cocktails, but also for non-alcoholic drinks.