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On October 22Tony Abou-Ganim answered the question:
What does Tony Abou-Ganim think is an underappreciated spirit?
It's fabulous to see gin get its second coming, if you will. I'm a fan of the Harvey Wallbanger — I know this is going to sound crazy. It's kind of a fun, silly drink. I read somewhere that the Harvey Wallbanger helped spur this resurgence in classic mixology. It’s a drink that goes back to the '70s when people really weren't drinking very well. I understand it's just a simple, fun, refreshing drink but best when made with Galliano.
If I had to pick one drink, I would say the Jack Rose. I'm so happy that the Applejack has stood the test of time, one of the oldest American spirits. I think Applejack is a fabulous product that, within the mixology community, has gotten some love of late. It's one of those cocktails that everyone has the ingredients for. During the quick rise of the apple martini, which I rebelled against (unsuccessfully), but I would try to turn people onto sidecars made with Applejack or the Jack Rose. People always liked it, but they wanted the Jolly Rancher-tasting fluorescent green thing with the maraschino cherry at the bottom.
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On October 22Tony Abou-Ganim answered the question:
What cocktail startled Tony Abou-Ganim?
Negroni — I didn't like it when I first tried it. In my defense, it is a proven fact that even Italians have to try Campari three times before developing a liking for it. With that said, it was 1985, I had just moved to San Francisco and had never seen Campari before. I poured a glass of Campari with my best friend Greg and we both shot it down. And, yes, I thought it was one of the worst things I had ever tasted in my life.
It wasn't until five years later when I had the great opportunity to work with Harry Denton, and he opened Harry Denton's on Stuart Street and I met a gentleman by the name of David O'Malley, who is bringing me back from classics and were tasting through some drinks and he made Negronis for everyone, and I was like 'Oh my God, this is fabulous!'
It's funny, when I first moved to Las Vegas and went out to try and find bartenders who knew the drink and knew how to make it and who got as excited about making it as I did about drinking it. Generally, I was greeted with, 'Dude, we just ran out of Negroni,' or the best was, 'I don’t have Negroni, but I have Peroni.'
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On October 22Tony Abou-Ganim answered the question:
What does Tony Abou-Ganim always order when he dines out?
If I'm somewhere like Balthazar, I go for something that I can't make as well, or at all, at home. And it's usually going to include French fries. I cook a lot at home, but rarely do I cook fish. My third favorite thing is pickerel, where if you're from Chicago, you've probably heard of pickerel. You come out here and it's a freshwater fish. You don't really see people eat pickerel, but that would probably be my number three. There's a place in Port Huron, Michigan called the Palms Krystal Bar that does fried pickerel with French fries — imagine that! If I ever see pickerel on the menu, that's what I’m ordering. It’s one of those things that’s hard to find and when you find it done well, you order it. First thing I do when I come home is go the Palms Krystal and have a pickerel dinner.
Steak tartare is another thing I love to get when I'm out. I like the showmanship, the romance, especially when they do it tableside. I guess I'm a little old-school that way. I still like Caesar salads done tableside, or bananas foster. Dining out needs to be fun. When it gets stuffy or pretentious in any way, it's probably not the place you're going to find me.
Now, if I'm in Paris I'm probably eating foie gras with every meal and I feel my arteries harden by the time I get back on the plane. When I'm in Paris, I eat a lot of snails; I eat a lot of foie gras; I eat a lot of cheese — things I can't readily get here.
Tony Abou-Ganim
Tastemaker
Mixologist
Las Vegas
Tony Abou-Ganim is the author of the books Vodka Distilled: The Modern Mixologist on Vodka and Vodka Cocktails and The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails. You may recognize Abou-Ganim from Iron Chef America, where he tag-teamed with Mario Batali to clinch the 2007 competition. Often a guest on the Fine Living Network program Raising the Bar: America's Best Bar Chefs, he grew up in the bar business, learning the craft from his cousin Helen David at the Brass Rail Bar in Port Huron, Mich. Though he got an appreciation for a well-made cocktail using the freshest ingredients at Jack Slick's Balboa Café in San Francisco. In 1990, he helped open Harry Denton's, a legendary Fog City hangout. Then in 1993, he moved to New York City, where he worked with Batali at Po in the West Village. He returned to San Francisco in 1995 to open Harry Denton's Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. It was here that Abou-Ganim crafted his first specialty drink menu featuring several of his original recipes, including the Cable Car and Starlight. Steve Wynn handpicked the mixologist to create the cocktail program at his Bellagio resort in 1998. Today, the Las Vegas resident operates his own beverage consulting firm and serves as the national ambassador of the United States Bartenders' Guild.
