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| - Basis for my starred ratings (which skews heavily to the food or drink):
1 star: Never again.
2 stars: Poor food, poor experience, extraordinary measures in order for me to come back.
3 stars: Average, nothing really special, nothing particularly bad.
4 stars: Very good, would definitely return.
5 stars: A favorite, one of the best.
Very solid cocktail bar, very good addition to the downtown scene.
We've been here a few times to eat and drink, last night just to drink. We got a lemongrass collins and the house punch. The punch was quite good, very well-balance citrus with the underlying milk notes that its description promises. Hints of bitter and tart, it was a well constructed cocktail, especially for a punch. It was also $14 for a teacup full (they actually served it in a teacup, which I did not mind at all). A little steep for a pre-made cocktail of that size without knowing more about what goes into it.
The lemongrass collins was very good too. Almost a perfect cocktail with one exception - too much vanilla. Vanilla sugar goes into the cocktail and the vanilla overwhelms the other great flavors in the drink. If they reduced the sweetness by 25-45%, this would be a perfect summer cocktail - citrusy, sweet, tart.
We've ordered food here before and I think it's the only place in the Valley that serves a ramen burger. I've had the original in LA, this one is a good approximation. It's worth getting. We've also gotten the Typhoon Chicken and the Yum Yum noodles. The chicken is crispy in the Typhoon Chicken, pretty well seasoned, but the watermelon kimchi throws it off a bit and soggies it up a little. The Yum Yum noodles were pretty tasty, a little salty, but good to have along with drinks.
Props to Bitter and Twisted for coming downtown and making a stand and coming up with a very comprehensive and aggressively ambitious cocktail menu. It's no PDT or Employees Only (both NYC) or Varnish or Edison (both LA) or Canon (in Seattle), but it's a solid cocktail bar worth visiting.
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