Civil Eats

At first glance, it seems like a distant connection from the wood-paneling-and-mirrors saloons of 1860s New York, where the mustachioed, vested Jerry Thomas mixed drinks, to the sleek modern bars of the Tenderloin and North Beach, where a fresh crop of bartenders are making concoctions with seasonal fruit and fresh herbs. But ask Allen Katz, one of the curators of the Jerry Thomas American Cocktail Bar—also known as the Spirits Pavilion at Slow Food Nation—and the connection between bartenders of old and the modern cocktail is very real. Read More