We Love that Dirty Water
Only in San Francisco would such an excellent restaurant-slash-brewery be located inside of a tech company’s headquarters — in this case, the new Twitter office space at Market Square, the fantastically refurbished Art Deco building on Market Street.
We know, you’re wondering about the name. Local legend has it that the moniker hearkens back to the pre-prohibition term for moonshine — a tongue-in-cheek reference, given that alcohol is not only legal but offered in stunning abundance at this new hotspot. The name inspires curiosity, for sure, and apropos, Dirty Water is highly focused on beverages: craft beers, carefully sourced wines, and creative cocktails.
Their wine is carefully curated and stored with a state-of-the-art preservation system so that they can offer nearly every vintage they sell by the glass. On-draught-only beer includes both local and international microbrews handpicked by the staff. And the liquor is equally sublime. Think: Hendricks Gin (a local favorite), “hard” Kombucha, and four types of Taiwanese dessert wine. The mixologists at Dirty Water aren’t messing around, either, led by libations visionary and restaurant owner Kristian Cosentino. (Take a look at their “Libations” menu and read about their “Drink Love Philosophy.”)
Now, let’s talk about the food. Mmmmmmmm, the food. Chef Jared Gallagher refers to the menu as “paleo-friendly,” which means there’s a lot of meat. Charcuterie, grilled quail, grass-fed hangar steak, and deer tartare are all currently on the menu — a lot of which is cooked in the open kitchen’s giant wood-fired hearth, filling the place with a divine aroma during lunch, dinner, and brunch.
There are also tantalizing sides to go along with the sophisticated caveman fare: fresh corn risotto, charred shishito and padrone peppers, and a glorious cheese selection. But above all there is the dessert, which should not be missed, in our opinion. “Floating Islands” is a house specialty that we’ll leave up to your imagination.
Note that Dirty Water is also open for happy hour in their not one but four lounge areas, making it a great destination for techies and downtowners on their way home from work.
Related: Forgery & Verso: Plumpjack adds to the mix
Craft cocktails are all the rage in San Francisco these days, and smart restaurateurs are capitalizing on this trend by opening new venues citywide. Forgery is one of these, but with a twist: this historic Mid-Market space has actually existed for decades, once as Sloane and most recently as
a glass-blowing studio; Forgery is just its newest incarnation.
Plumpjack recruited Ken Luciano and Jacques
Bezuidenhout, who met while working at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants many years ago. They are hands-on leaders, working the bar and inventing drinks with what SFGate calls “a voracity for esoteric cocktails.”
Forgery has more than 300 spirits on deck, wines by the glass, and beers on tap and by the bottle. Their craft cocktails involve innovative twists on old favorites plus original concoctions like “El Vampiro,” a brew of mescal, Manzanilla sherry, crème de cassis, and salt. Visionary combinations of flavors (Nutmeg and grapefruit! Raspberry and absinthe! Who knew?) give the menu an air of originality and zestful bravado.
And recently, Forgery renovated the adjacent space to create an “entertainment complex.” Verso, which opened on December 19th, is a lively electronic music venue in what they call a “dramatic warehouse location.” Open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights only, the space will be available for events Sunday through Thursday and can accommodate over 400 guests.
