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| - Sidecar is primarily a restaurant[1] but even Mormons will be hard pressed to ignore the liquid portion of the menu. Whoever is creating the drinks has put exquisite care into selecting the best ingredients--in the right proportions--taking the time to infuse mixers and make garnishes in house. Even their choices of glassware, stemware and often-overlooked minutiae like a cocktail pick reveal the kind of OCD that elevates a drink from good to extraordinary.
The Manhattan ($10) is served in a massive old-fashioned glass over a chunk of ice the size of a Rubik's cube, keeping the drink chilled without diluting the flavor too quickly. The combination of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters went down smoothly and better than most boyfriends I've had. This is easily the best Manhattan in all of Toronto (even better than the one at The Black Hoof) and in serious competition for the best Manhattan I've ever had anywhere. It's garnished with Sidecar's own macerated black cherry, foregoing the usual sickly-sweet maraschino cherry that so often ruins the cocktail for me.
I sampled some of the other cocktails, too. The Painless Brazilian is a pink confection of strawberry cachaca blended with lime and coronated with a frothy egg-white crown. The dainty Champagne coupe it comes in evokes a demure past era even as the name reminds me of horrific lady business. I normally don't like frou-frou girly drinks, but this is the rare one that didn't induce a diabetic coma.
The Vesper, on the other hand, is a serious drinker's drink. There's nothing to mask the potent combination of Lillet, gin, vodka; just a fresh lemon spiral in the stemmed glass that will transport you to a lemon grove with one whiff.
So impressed was I by the cocktails that when the mixologist behind the bar came over to deliver another drink, I felt compelled to lead our table of 12 Yelpers (or was it 14?) in a round of applause. Yes, they were THAT good.
Tipples in this town are expensive, so I appreciate that the cocktails at Sidecar have been crafted with respect for the ingredients and respect for the drinker. I'll be back.
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[1] I have yet to try the food so this review is just for the drinks.
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