Holy shit, sculpture ice

I was so utterly entranced, I forgot to take a pic. Time to get to Sable and get your big rocks on.

retzie wrote:Holy shit, sculpture ice

I was so utterly entranced, I forgot to take a pic. Time to get to Sable and get your big rocks on.

It's SOP for Mike, Sterling, Freddy and the crew to chip away large ice forms -- to order -- for Old Fashioneds, etc., which is totally wonderful. Is this what you're referring to, or was there a giant ice dolphin on the bar?

=R=

Haha, no, no ice dolphins (or indeed skulls, no matter how many times I asked).

What I was referring to is that they aren't making their big ice in-house anymore - they are buying in blocks of sculpture ice! It is r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s. Seriously, you can't even see it in your drink. Judging by the look on Mike's face (and the oft-repeated demonstrations and references to a chainsaw) it is a joy to handle/carve.

Get yourself an old fashioned and just try to stop staring at it

There've been a few pics that have surfaced on twitter showing the crystal clear ice, and Mike wielding a chainsaw (in the Palomar parking garage?) to break it down to manageable size...

Thanks, kl, for the links. Sadly, it's been a couple of months since I've been to Sable, as I tend to let the annoying neighborhood and perpetual construction outside the building keep me away. I'll have to make a point getting over there again soon. I really miss it and obviously, I've missed a lot.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I tend to let the annoying neighborhood [...] keep me away.

This was a very big hurdle for me, especially since I live stumbling distance from TVH, DeVille and the Whistler. Indeed, Sable's annoying crowd still does bug me (though, let us not forget the potential entertainment value. Drunk lady going around and around the revolving door* still makes me snigger ). I'm more of a 'visit the bartender, not the bar' kind of a customer, though, and that often makes the decision for me.

Btw, r_s, I think we have met. Do you carry LTH business cards?? If so, me = Australian girl quaffing Malört at the Whistler. (As much as I'm sure there are many who'd fit that description in the Chicagoland area...) Anyway, I finally joined LTH


*One day, it will be me.

retzie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I tend to let the annoying neighborhood [...] keep me away.

This was a very big hurdle for me, especially since I live stumbling distance from TVH, DeVille and the Whistler. Indeed, Sable's annoying crowd still does bug me (though, let us not forget the potential entertainment value. Drunk lady going around and around the revolving door* still makes me snigger ). I'm more of a 'visit the bartender, not the bar' kind of a customer, though, and that often makes the decision for me.

Btw, r_s, I think we have met. Do you carry LTH business cards?? If so, me = Australian girl quaffing Malört at the Whistler. (As much as I'm sure there are many who'd fit that description in the Chicagoland area...) Anyway, I finally joined LTH


*One day, it will be me.

It really is quite entertaining...I still vividly recall sitting at the bar one Saturday night watching Mike's brain seize up when a server put in an order for a "Bloody Mary Martini". This had been preceded by a riveting conversation with a patron sitting next to me on the correct proportions of a B-52.

retzie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I tend to let the annoying neighborhood [...] keep me away.

This was a very big hurdle for me, especially since I live stumbling distance from TVH, DeVille and the Whistler. Indeed, Sable's annoying crowd still does bug me (though, let us not forget the potential entertainment value. Drunk lady going around and around the revolving door* still makes me snigger ). I'm more of a 'visit the bartender, not the bar' kind of a customer, though, and that often makes the decision for me.

Btw, r_s, I think we have met. Do you carry LTH business cards?? If so, me = Australian girl quaffing Malört at the Whistler. (As much as I'm sure there are many who'd fit that description in the Chicagoland area...) Anyway, I finally joined LTH


*One day, it will be me.

Oh yes. I remember you.

I agree about visiting the bartenders, not the bars. That's why my recent, extended absence from Sable is such an egregious error.

See you around, I'm sure.

=R=

kl1191 wrote:It really is quite entertaining...I still vividly recall sitting at the bar one Saturday night watching Mike's brain seize up when a server put in an order for a "Bloody Mary Martini". This had been preceded by a riveting conversation with a patron sitting next to me on the correct proportions of a B-52.

Watching the 'tenders deal with the hilarity that comes from over the bar is truly a spectacle worth celebrating. The other week, with the place in full, Saturday night, flesh-eating zombie mode, the guy next to me put in an order for no less than 8 espresso martinis (which was, incidentally, followed by an attempt to leverage this display of impeccable taste into chatting me up. He seemed baffled that it didn't work!) I'm pretty sure my own conversations are just as annoying at the other end of the spectrum ("no really, I would totally drink a bottle of chilled Angustora in a pineapple") but they deal so graciously with both

On a more serious, chin-stroking note: I think this potential for absolute hell to walk in at any moment keeps the crew razor sharp. In fact, this is a quality shared by all my favourite bars (Clover Club, Dram, Sable). As much as I can appreciate the cocoon of a controlled door, I've just never quite fallen as hard for the likes of Milk & Honey, Death & Co., etc.

ronnie_suburban wrote:See you around, I'm sure.

No doubt

Very disappointing stop at Sable early last night. At least three out of four of us had unbalanced drinks, one almost flavorless-ly watered down, as if it had been sitting around for a while, one Corpse Reviver #2 that was totally out of whack, with the absinthe completely overpowering the gin, amazing for such a typically simple drink. Maybe it was a weird off period, maybe the b-team was working, but frankly it seems strange that not one, not two, but three of our $13 cocktails left us let down. It's a testament to the friendliness of the service that we did not have the heart to complain, but I doubt we'd drop the cash again at a place that can be this erratic.

Armchair bartender: maybe they'd be better off whittling down the drink list a little from their imposing book of a menu to a more manageable number?

It sounds like you caught them on a bad ice day. I'm told that the 'mighty' Kold Draft machines are affected very badly by high humidity. I had heard bartenders' complaints, but only recently saw the hollow cubes for myself. These behave well below par in any shaken drink, which would explain all of your observations. (An overly watered down Corpse Reviver #2 would not let the gin and lemon juice balance out the absinthe in the rinse.)

Apparently Kold Draft is working on a fix for the sensor panel, but for now, a bar operating at Sable's volume is pretty much screwed. There's only so much a 'tender can compensate when the ice is turning to mush before them.

I urge you not to write them off on the basis of this experience. However, for now, you might want to enquire with a bartender about the ice status before ordering. Good news is that the big ice is unaffected and superb.

Or there's always just ordering neat