I had so much fun last week at Rayuela in the Lower East Side that it inspired me to come out of retirement and write about it. A friend and I met at the bar and had a fantastic time with Gonzalo, the head bartender at Rayuela. The food is Latin-inspired or “freestyle Latino cuisine” as they call it. On Gonzalo’s recommendation, we ordered a bunch of small-plates, including a hamachi ceviche with grapefruit/avocado in a wasabi-lemongrass foam, blue point oysters crusted with quinoa, and a “tuna rellena” (crab and shrimp wrapped in sliced tuna sashimi) – all were fresh and delicious.
What was really inspiring about this particular experience for me, was Gonzalo’s passion for cocktails. After a tasting of several drinks on their menu, Gonzalo decided to grace us with some of his personal creations (off the menu). The problem with most cocktails is that they use tons of sugar/fruit juice to cover up the taste of the alcohol. Sure, we’ve all enjoyed our share of cosmos and appletinis in earlier years, but I now find myself drawn to less-sweet drinks with more complex flavors that actually enhance the natural flavor of the alcohol. I love the mystique of creating the artisanal cocktail: the rows of bottles containing nuanced herbs, botanicals, handmade infusions, essential oils. The complex interplay of liquors, liqueurs and fresh ingredients. The combination of art and alchemy.
As Gonzalo zest oranges, crushed jalapeños and set some Chartreuse on fire, I asked him if he considers himself a mixologist (the term many are using for this “new/modern” generation of cocktail creators). In short, NO was his answer. The reason, he explained, is that the craft of creating cocktails is not new at all, in fact, it’s very retro. Bars have been a part of the restaurant business for a long time and bartenders used to spend years being an apprentice, honing their craft, measuring ingredients, developing their palate…and they always dressed the part. That IS what a bartender is, so why invent a new title to somehow separate and distinguish? A law school dropout turned bartender, Gonzalo enthusiastically explained that this is what he loves, this is what he’s good at, and this is what he’ll always do. His dream in the near future is to open up a bar with quality, artisanal cocktails in Colombia, his home country.
His answer was not only admirable, but pretty much sums up the life philosophy that I’m more and more aligning myself with. There is a social trend in the return to artisanship. An artisan is essentially a craftsperson; “a person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand and using traditional methods.” This turns me on beyond belief, and I think what it is, is the sense of pride in your work, the importance placed on the value of the individual. Specialization over mass-production. I love the idea of every person being a spoke in the wheel of life – belonging somewhere, doing what they’re meant to do, and doing it with focus and passion.
The only problem with delicious cocktails, is that it’s far too easy to drink too many. Whiskey, rum, mezcal. We were sent a couple desserts from the kitchen with very unique ingredients: an avocado (with vanilla bean) cream, and the “chocolate cortázar” which came with YERBA MATE ice cream. Incredible. As we drank late into the night with Gonzalo, taking intermissions from the cocktails with tequila shots, we finally told him that we should probably stop. After downing what must’ve been his 5th tequila (after our cocktail tasting session), he looked at us and said, “Yea, I should probably stop too. I’m running tomorrow at 9AM. A 10K.”
{ 0 comments }
