Besha and Brad over at Creative Loafing just did a “Charcuterie Smackdown” which I recommend you check out.
My friend Rowdy was the first to tell me about the cool stuff Pura Vida has been doing, and now I’m hooked. Lately it’s been my favorite place to visit the bar and get some snacks, except that it’s crowded all the damn time. I tried to go Friday night twice. The bar was packed at 9PM. It was nutso at 10:15PM.
But it’s worth the effort. The charcuterie really is good, and seems to be improving, with impressive breadth. Blood sausage is killer. Mortadella is the bologna I never had as a child. Pig ear laced testa is both soft and crunchy and pure.
Also, on a recent visit Bradford (below) made me a righteous Hanky Panky cocktail, a gin, vermouth, and fernet drink which I’m obsessed with, created by Ada Coleman near the beginning of the last century at the Savoy restaurant. (Paul Calvert made it for me the first time at PV and gave me the background.)
So yeah, read Brad’s article, and visit Pura Vida. Only not when I want to go. Jerks.
