Have you been to the Hotsy Totsy?
Do you drink?
Shot and a beer? Or something more clever in cocktail form?
Do you like local memorabilia?
Are you intrigued yet?
The HTC has been a staple of the easy bay since 1934.
Currently owned by Jessica Maria and Michael Valladares (since 2008) it’s a lovely combination of dive bar and craft cocktail establishment. More info on the owners here.
We have had consistently good cocktails each visit.
This visit we enjoyed a “Warm Hug” made with Merlet VSOP cognac, pumpkin butter and black walnut. A lovely dessert drink.
The “Femme Fetale” with Magnus whisky, sour cherry liqueur, LoFi dry vermouth and saffron bitters.
All in all a lovely start to the evening which ended with dinner at Zaytoon on Solano Avenue which had their bar program crafted by Jessica Maria as well.
We ate small plates-style and enjoyed several plates. Handsome was not wowed by the hummus but the rest of the Mazza plate ($12) was balanced, thoughtful and well-crafted.
The wine list is compact but selves into broad regions. We enjoyed both Greek and Lebanese wine with our meal (glass avg $12.50)
The Warak Inab (Lebanese name for the more familiar Turkish dolma) was soft, and fragrant with herbs that made it a lovely contrast to the baba ghanouj and tabbouli $8)
I look forward to trying more on our next visit.