The mark of a great San Francisco tourist destination, after all, is that the locals go there, too.
On a brisk autumn Thursday afternoon, SFGATE photographer Doug Zimmerman and I squeezed through a mob of
tourists to belly up to the bar. It may have been the middle of the day, but that didn’t stop anyone from ordering Buena Vista’s specialty: the Irish coffee.Besides actually drinking the cocktail, the best part of a Buena Vista Cafe visit is watching the bartenders at work. Some have been working there for three or four decades , and they’ve got Irish coffee-making down to a science.
We placed our Irish coffee orders and watched in reverent silence as the bartender in a white tuxedo jacket proceeded to make a whole line of them at once. First, he rinsed each glass with hot water, then dropped in two C&H sugar cubes. Next came the steaming pot of Peerless coffee, which he poured down the line and then stirred with vigor, followed by a hearty glug of Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey.
That first sip, the sharpness of the coffee softened by a puff of sweet cream, chased by a bite of whiskey at the end, was even better than I remembered. You see, this wasn’t my first rodeo at the Buena Vista. But it’s been so long that a more recent Irish coffee memory for me is trying to make my own subpar version at home during the pandemic.
It’s a deceptively simple drink, the Irish coffee. Four ingredients — what could go wrong? A lot, apparently. In fact, the Buena Vista formula is so exacting that according to some stalwarts, if you don’t use the right glass, you shouldn’t even bother.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fleet Week San Diego 2022: Honoring San Diego's Military CommunityFleet Week is back and honoring the contributions the armed services have made in the the greater San Diego community.
Read more »
PolitiFact - Pelosi has surveillance cameras at her San Francisco houseHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has surveillance cameras at her San Francisco house that are monitored by U.S. Capitol Police.
Read more »
Junk King acquired by national home services company Neighborly - San Francisco Business TimesMichael Andreacchi founded Junk King from his garage in 2005. He just sold it to a national home services company.
Read more »
Antitrust regulators probe Adobe's $20 billion plan to buy Figma - San Francisco Business TimesThe acquisition is the most expensive ever for a private software business and it could be drawn out if the DOJ decides to try to block it.
Read more »
New Culture inks investment from Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang - San Francisco Business TimesEast Bay alt-cheese maker New Culture's new partner is one of the world’s largest players in fermentation technology and the U.S. frozen pizza market.
Read more »
Paul Pelosi released from hospital after attack last week at San Francisco housePaul Pelosi, 82, was hospitalized on Oct. 28 after the middle-of-the-night attack, which left him unconscious and bloodied.
Read more »