When Peche opened on Fourth in the old Malaga spot, I was excited to try some absinthe. Not because I have ever particularly cared about absinthe, but because who doesn’t want to try something entirely new?
Right off, I loved the atmosphere. The wall behind the bar is library shelves of liquor with silver ladders to reach the top shelves–so classic. Love it. There are absinthe dispensers built into the bar, black glass chandeliers, and exposed venting around a wood-detailed ceiling. A little bit library, a little bit baroque? Totally works. I ordered some sort of Kubler absinthe–the mildest, because I hate the taste of black licorice–while my companion ordered us the crawfish appetizer. The absinthe was pleasantly mild and tasty to sip. But at $12 a pop, I’m not sure it’d be worth another.
The appetizer was awesome–creamy crawfish over a polenta cup. The polenta was perfectly textured and the crawfish sauce was great seasonings. We were so excited for our entrees–mine a crab tartine, his a redfish with crab sauce and green beans. The entrees left a little something to be desired. Mine was lumps of crab over two tomatoes on white bread. Not at all impressive. No seasonings. I mean, I like crab, so I simply ate the crab and tomato and left the tasteless white bread on my plate, but I expected better from the appetizer’s flavor. His redfish and crab creamsauce were better than my tartine, but the redfish left something to b desired and it’s pretty hard to mess up crab in cream, so we weren’t all that impressed. The green beans were pretty good, nicely crisp. But really, if the green beans are the saving grace … ?
As I write, I’m puzzled as to why I liked Peche, because I just recounted that my expensive drink was pleasantly mild (am I a grandma?) and my entree was bland. But while the menu needs work, a LOT of work, the atmosphere is good and the drinks good … it did, after all, make me really, really giggly. I wasn’t hallucinating and didn’t feel particularly drunk after just one, but even hours later I was just really, really giggly. A good drink, then! Maybe I’ll go back on a Sunday night, when they have $5 drinks and $5 sandwiches …
A little about absinthe, from wikipedia:
Absinthe is traditionally a distilled, highly alcoholic (45%-75% ABV) beverage. It is an anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood. Absinthe has a characteristic natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is often called “the Green Fairy”. Although it is sometimes mistakenly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a liquor.[1] Absinthe is unusual among spirits in that it is bottled at a high proof but is normally diluted with water when it is consumed. Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Commercial distillation of absinthe in the United States resumed in 2007.
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