Saturday afforded my wife and I a rare opportunity for a night out sans children. Before taking in some Looney Tunes, we dined at the Bank Restaurant , located in the former lobby of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank downtown. We enjoyed excellent food and drink in a stylish atmosphere. The F&M building is a treat and it's great to see it being put to good use.

I was also able to enjoy what may very well be the best new cocktail that I've had in years. The Bank menu advertises the Ten Thyme Smash thusly:

refreshing and sophisticated-fresh
thyme, cucumber and lime shaked with
ultra premium tanqueray ten gin and
white cranberry-the perfect apertif

And indeed it was a perfect pre-dinner cocktail. Absolutely sublime and completely delicious. The waitress told us they made it with freshly squeezed limes and you could definitely tell. I tried to find the exact recipe online, but so far haven't had any luck. This is one drink that I need to know how to make.

The only rain that fell on what otherwise was a perfect evening was coming home to watch the end of the Wild game. Talk about lame. I would have been much better off heading back to the Bank and getting Smashed.

UPDATE-- James from Folsom e-mails to lament:

The menu looks like the kind of place that Barry O'Bama would eat. Arugula? Honestly. Who eats that? What is that? I can feel his pain though. If Arugula is running $8 in Minny, I can only imagine how much it is in Washington D.C. Maybe I'm just bitter.

Arugula?

A drink with cucumber?

Am I reading the right blog?

[Virtual head-patting]

I feel and understand your confusion and frustration James.

You go into these towns like Folsom and, like a lot of towns in the Sun Belt, the promise of hockey has been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced it. And it faded through the Ziegler Administration, and the Bettman Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna have hockey, and they have not.

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to Chili's or Hot Pockets or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-cucumber sentiment, or anti-arugula sentiment, as a way to explain their frustrations.

[/Virtual head-patting]

In order to salvage my populist cred, I should note that Saturday's dinner was not on my dime. One of the "service recognition" options at our company is having them pick up the tab at a nice restaurant for you and your spouse (or significant other, domestic associate, life partner, dog, etc.). An option that I exercised with great pleasure.

Labels: Cocktails

Posted by Chad--Link