Jean Francois' Apartment Building

Marcassin Vineyards) to try to understand the wine regions of France.  I seem to find myself in Europe whenever I have big questions or concepts that I am trying to figure out.  Both of us were Certified Sommeliers of Wine and this was almost a pilgrimage for us.  A dear friend of mine in Jackson Hole, named Claudine recommended that we look up her Uncle Jean Francois and she was sure that we could crash at his pad while we were in Nice.  In the spring of 2001 we arrived in Nice and were completely awestruck with the beauty of the Cote d’Azur.  Jean Francois is a doctor and was working late so we had to make our way to his flat.  This is where we made our first mistake, we hopped a cab.  Word of advice: never, never ever take a cab in Nice.  With our wallets much lighter we found the flat and the hidden key and let ourselves in.  We found the nearest wine shop and then the charcuterie and then the cheese shop and then the bakery and then returned to the flat with our treasures.  As an aspiring gourmand, during the first couple of hours in France your entire life changes.  Hours later Jean-Francois returned from work and in no uncertain terms let us know that we were less than welcome and it was really only as a favor to his niece Claudine that we were not on the street.  In short, we could stay for a few days and then we would need to be on our way.  Then Jean-Francois noticed the wine and other treasures that we had brought into his home.  He pulled up a chair and we began the first of many nights of “sip-munch”.  Jean-Francois came to understand that we were not “Disneyland” Americans, instead we were two aspiring gourmands in his home as our first stop of our month long pilgrimage to the great wine regions of France and Italy.  By the end of the evening, he had become our mentor (Jean-Francois is the Gourmand’s Gourmand and over the years I have learned more about food and wine from him than anyone else) and

both Matt and I were nestled deep under his wing.  Our quick departure was aborted and replaced with guided tours of Cannes, various vegetable markets, Charcuteries, fish mongers and jolly butchers. When we first opened the Bistro, Jean-Francois sent his then 17 year

My Wonderful French (and Italian) Adopted Family

old son, Gustave out to Montana to work in the Bistro for a summer and perfect his English before beginning his University studies.

In the summer of 2011, Claudine finally got married and chose the Tom Miner Basin as the location and the Bistro of course took care of the catering.  Jean Francois and Gustave came from Nice, Brother Bernard and his sons came from Alsace and Claudine’s Mom, Nicole and her wonderful husband Chuck came from Minnesota.  It was one of those incredibly special events, one of the best events I have ever been involved in and at the end of the day, Jean Francois made me “honorary nephew” and invited me to come back to Nice for Gustave’s 25^th birthday, and then join him to travel to visit his daughter in Milan and attend the truffle festival in November.  So I find myself back in Nice, standing on Jean Francois’ balcony overlooking the amazing city of Nice so excited I can hardly stand it.

View from Jean Francois flat over the Mediterranean Sea

I flew in from Barcelona after a two hour delay and was greeted at the airport by Jean Francois’ ex-wife Anne, who now lives in Morocco (everyone here is very cosmopolitan) and is back in town for the birthday party this weekend.  Anne drops me off at Jean Francois’ (he is working late, just like on my first visit) and I walk up the three flights of solid marble steps to his flat and I am greeted by Gustave’s awesome girlfriend from London, Cosima (Cosima and Gus met at a music festival a year ago in Prague and have been thick as thieves ever since).  Soon Jean Francois arrived home and put the finishing touches on a stew from Madagascar, of Braised Beef with Kefir Limes and Bredes Mafane greens (Jean Francois says if you have never been to Northern Africa you would not know them.  The closest description I have to how they taste is like eating lightning).  Soon Jean Francois, Anne, Gus, Cosima and I sat down to dinner as a family.  Once again, for the second time in as many days I was overcome with a feeling of indescribable gratitude to the blessings of this life and the friendships it offers.

We have created our Bistro Manhattan by balancing the flavors of a smooth Kentucky bourbon, I use 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, with a great Italian vermouth, and orange bitters.  The 1792 bourbon pairs well with the solid, yet smooth and complex Carpano Punt e Mes vermouth.  The Regans orange bitters that I use give a nice background softness to the drink, yet are not so subtle as to get lost in the dark vermouth and aged bourbon.

Recently a guest gave me a bottle of the Carpano “Antiqua Formula” vermouth to use for his Manhattans.  Wow, I have a hard time not just drinking it all, just poured on the rocks.  It is a complex, slightly bitter Italian vermouth with a refined character and layers of flavor.  It is the original recipe created by the Carpano family generations ago, and I should be getting in a special order bottle of it for everyone to try in the next couple of weeks.  I plan on creating another great Manhattan from it, using a more robust bottling of whiskey, probably a traditional rye and using the Angostura bitters.  But who knows, the experimentation is half the fun.  I’ll keep you all posted and let you know how this turns out.  And feel free to stop in and give me a hand in the creation sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Nathaniel

Director of Wine and Booze

Second Street Bistro/Murray Bar

I start by zesting 10 lemons for every liter of vodka. Use decent vodka, something triple distilled, but you don’t have to go over the top with ultra high end, unless that is what you like. Wash the lemons, then zest them. Be sure to only remove the yellow skin and none of the white pith. Put all of the zest into a big, clean glass jar and add the vodka. I like to add the simple syrup at this time, others prefer to let the zest infuse for a week before putting in the simple syrup. To make the simple syrup for one liter of vodka put 2 cups of sugar into 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. This will dissolve the sugar into the water. Let this cool a bit, then add it to the lemon zest and vodka mixture.

Now comes the easy part. Let this rest and infuse in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks. Some people say to let it go for at least a month, but I have a hard time letting it sit for that long. After it has done its thing of infusing, pour it off through a strainer to filter out the big bits of lemon zest. Then pour it through a cheesecloth and strainer to take out the smaller bits of lemon that are left. Bottle up the Limoncello and stick in in the fridge, or the freezer, and enjoy it whenever you like. Traditionally it is served after dinner in Italy as a digestive aid. I think it tastes like yellow lemon sunshine. Come on down and try a glass after dinner some night, I would like to hear what you think of our brew and if you have any great recipies of your own.

Nathaniel
Director of Wine and Booze
Second Street Bistro/Murray Bar

I had the great opportunity to visit the TT Ranch operation this past week to see what they do to produce all of our local free range beef.

Zachary Jones is the ranch manager for TT beef, a family operation for generations. When he took over the family cattle operation he began to implement a system of free range beef, from calf to finish, all on open grassland. One of the greatest aspects of the ranch, and what separates him from most other ranchers, is his use of grass only. They don’t feed hay. They don’t feed grain, or corn. Just all natural, grown by the sun and rain and soil, grass. Zachary has taken down almost all of the barbed wire fences on the ranch and gone to a rotational grazing system that utilizes only one strand of thin electric fence. One person can go out and move the cows from one pasture to another in only a few minutes, all by themselves.

All you have to do is drop the one wire to the ground, and the cows come a runnin’. Just like people, they want the greener grass in the other pasture. After they go to the new grass, you just raise the wire up again and its all taken care of.

This type of grazing does require a rancher to constantly monitor the state of the grass and rotate the cows accordingly. As Zachary points out, he grazes his cows and raises the grass “the way the buffalo did”. A herd would come through, eat all the grass, trample the ground up some and move on. This type of grazing is beneficial to the landscape, and is in harmony with the way that nature operates. When looking out across the rolling green landscape, you can see what Zachary means, what he is striving to do, and how it has helped the ecosystem. Hawks fly overhead, curlews pick for bugs in the grasses, coyotes bound across the hills and badgers dig their dens in the valleys. Pronghorns run free across the prairie, unhindered by barbed wire fences, and the cattle are happy.

One of the biggest joys that I found at the ranch were the generations of cows all living together as family units. Unlike most traditional cattle ranches of our time where the calves are weened young, separated and then shipped off to be fattened at feed lots, the TT ranch keeps all the different ages together. They are not weened, but live naturally and switch to grazing when they are inclined to. The cows also live for several years, wild and free, before they are sent off to become steaks. You see, it takes 2 to 3 years for a cow that has been grazing on grass alone to reach slaughter weight. During that time they all live together. There are sometimes up to four generations all living in the same pasture together. That in itself makes me feel good.

I also saw lots of calves, some only a day or two old. Thats not the norm for most operations. But when you don’t have to fatten up a calf by fall to ship off, it stands its best chance of survival when it is born in the late spring. Zachary explained that cows will naturally be bred when the time is right for their bodies and the natural change of the seasons. Everything on the ranch seems to focus on bringing about the natural cycle, the cycles of the weather, the seasons, the plants and the animals.

While we were making the rounds and checking on the cows, the grass and the water Zachary showed me one of the great treasures of the ranch, a massive artesian well bubbling from the ground in the middle of the green rolling hills.

I was also shown a more traditional well, an old windmill from generations ago.

And even the next generation was happy to help with mending fences.

I came to a few conclusions while touring this great operation. I realized that Zachary, his family and all of those working on this ranch live a life close to the earth, attuned to the seasons, the land, the animals and how it all fits together and is interrelated. I realized that the cows have the chance to live a healthy life, a true life walking the hills and grazing the grass. I saw how the landscape blended the sun, the rain, the snow, wind, the soil, the plants, the insects, the animals and the birds all together to live harmoniously and to the benefit of all. And all of this is brought together in its final form as a steak on the table. But its a real steak, a healthy steak, a nutritious steak and a tasty steak. It makes you have a fuller appreciation for all that goes into our food, and where it comes from. The TT beef is a local product we are proud to serve, and people that we are proud to do business with. We hope you feel the same way.

For new drinks I have created a Ginger-Tini with the ginger vodka. We combine the ginger infused vodka with a touch of triple sec and a splash of fresh lemon juice, shake it and serve it up with a lemon garnish. Its similar to a Lemon Drop martini, but not as sweet and with the great ginger zing. If you haven’t tried our popular Pink Tulip cocktail it may be just what you are looking for on a hot summer afternoon. We combine the raspberry infused vodka with fresh lemon juice and top it off with Sprite. Its a refreshing sparkling raspberry lemonade that you won’t find anywhere else.

We offer our guests the option of combining the house infused vodkas with any mixer of their choice. I suggest lemonade for a hot summer night, or even just soda or sprite is right for some people. You can make any of the house infused vodkas into a “Mule” by combining it with ginger beer that we always keep on hand. For example, use the strawberry infused vodka and ginger beer to make a “Strawberry Roan” or the blueberry vodka for a “Blue Roan”. Maybe the names are a little off, but this is Montana and I can’t help but think of horses when it comes to mules.

If you are wondering how to make your own infused vodkas and liquors, its not that difficult to do at home. This is how to make your own raspberry infused vodka. Get a big glass jar to start with. In it combine:
1 Liter of Vodka. You don’t have to go totally high end, just something clean, like Smirnoff.
1 1/2 cups of raspberries. Use frozen if you don’t have any fresh ones.
Now put the jar in a nice dark place to sit for a week. If you can’t help peeking, go ahead and shake the jar every day or two. After a week strain the raspberries off of the vodka and put the now infused vodka back in the bottle.

To make the Pink Tulip cocktail combine 2 shots (oz) of the raspberry infused with 1 1/2 shots (oz) of fresh lemon juice in a tall glass. Top it off with Sprite or 7 up and garnish with a lemon slice. Next, relax in your hammock and enjoy the summer sun. If martinis are more up your alley, you may want to try our Raspberry Gimlet. To make it combine 2 shots (oz) of the raspberry infused vodka with 1 1/2 shots (oz) of Chambord with 3/4 shot (oz) of fresh lime juice. Shake this with ice, strain it and serve in a martini glass garnished with a lime.

So there are some of our secrets and how you can make these infused liquors at home. Coming up in a future blog I will let you in on how to make great infused vodkas with fruit that isn’t as sweet as raspberry, such as blueberrys! Use your imagination, and if you have any questions, feel free to stop down at the Bistro and ask a question. Hope to see you soon,

Nathaniel
Director of Wine and Booze
Second Street Bistro

Here are some shots from our latest project.

We were very excited to find this classic painted brick advertising underneath the plaster walls. This is an ad for Levi’s overalls.

Stay tuned! We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

The Bistro bar is not only known for their classic house cocktails, but for their carefully crafted wine list, too.

With an eclectic variety of house pours and a hand-picked book of wines-by-the-bottle, the Bistro wine list has something for everyone.

Nathaniel Browning, the beverage director, says he tries a lot of wines. He tries to pick wines that express the grape as it should be, and wines that are at a good price point. Nathaniel strives to have a collection of affordable and fine wines to choose from.

Currently, Nathaniel’s favorite white wine by the glass is the Viognier, which he describes as “Chardonnay’s hot sister.” It is a full-bodied white, perfect for pairing with fish. Nathaniel chalks it up to a red wine masquerading as a white.

His favorite red wine by the glass is the Masciarelli, a dry Italian wine that is the Bistro’s house pour.

If you have some time to spare, swing by the Bistro and have a seat at the bar with Nathaniel to talk wine. You’ll walk away with a pocketful of facts and tips that could make anyone seem like an expert.

Nathaniel Browning, the beverage director at the Second Street Bistro, makes a mean cocktail. In fact, it’s not unusual for a regular to ask who is behind the bar before they order their favorite cocktail. If you spend some time in the bar area during a busy Power Hour, you’ll see him mixing up pineapple-jalapeno margaritas – the house favorite – or chatting with the customers about their wine, their day, or their dinner.

Nathaniel said that over the years, the Bistro bar has evolved into a place that is known for mixing really great cocktails and serving up excellent pours of wine. Nathaniel boasts years of experience behind a bar, as well as a heavy background in reading classic mixology books. He has taken this experience and helped to establish many of the Bistro’s best selling cocktails. He gave the house sweet and sour mix a makeover by bumping up the amount of fresh-squeezed juices used in the mix, and stopped topping off the margaritas with a splash of water. The result? The best margarita in town.

The Bistro’s greatest asset behind the bar is the house-infused liquors that make the signature cocktails, which happen to be Nathaniel’s specialty.

“The keys to infusing liquor are to use really good products to infuse it with, and letting it sit for the right amount of time,” he said.

When he first started infusing liquor, Nathaniel would make several batches, each with different amounts of ingredients and sitting for different periods of time. He discovered that one week is the magic number – less time will yield weak flavors, and more time will cause the flavors to turn.

Currently, the Bistro infuses the following liquors: raspberry vodka, cucumber gin, mint rum, pineapple and jalapeno tequila, and ginger vodka. Nathaniel is also currently experimenting with blueberry vodka.

The cocktails using these liquors are by far the most popular at the Bistro. On a busy summer night, Nathaniel said he has made more than 40 pineapple-jalapeno margaritas. Other popular cocktails include the classic Mojito (with mint rum), the Pink Tulip (with raspberry vodka, lemonade and soda), the Cucumber Gin and Tonic (with cucumber gin), and most recently the Ginger Martini, which sold out in its debut weekend.

When asked about the recent trends in cocktails, Nathaniel laughed and said he is “self-inducing” the trend of bringing the classic cocktails back. The cocktail du jour is often a throwback to the early twentieth century. Last week, the special was the Aviation cocktail (gin, lemon juice, and maraschino), which was made popular by a bartender in New York in 1916.

“People aren’t really into the mixing of cocktails anymore,” Nathaniel said, adding that it is often due to hard-to-find ingredients.

“But if we have the resources to do this mixology, we might as well,” he said.

Photo courtesy of wolfridgelambandwool.com

This week we want to continue with a spotlight on our producers, highlighting our resource for lamb. When we first put together our menu, we featured an entree-sized Lamb Greek salad. We marinated lamb in Moroccan spices and grilled it on a skewer, then served it over a Greek salad tossed with homemade dressing, bell peppers, feta, kalamata olives, and a side of tzatziki sauce.

When we started sourcing products locally, it became apparent that producers were not able to keep up with the demand of this salad. We took the Lamb Greek salad off the menu, and instead we have started focusing on featuring lamb as a evening special.

We are lucky to have so many great local producers from which to get our lamb. Crazy Woman Farm, out of Shields Valley, Montana, provides lamb meat that is organic and hormone- and pesticide-free. The farm raises their own grass and hay sans chemicals, and they focus on using low-stress handling methods. These lamb are raised at the foot of the Crazy Mountain range just north of Livingston.

Another great lamb producer is Wolf Ridge Lamb and Wool from Pray, Montana. Located near Emigrant Peak in the beautiful Paradise Valley, this small family-owned farm raises Icelandic lamb. The Wolf Ridge Lamb and Wool producers also pride themselves in the fact that they do not use pesticides or herbicides, and the fact that the lamb is raised entirely outdoors and naturally pastured.

Recently we started purchasing lamb from a family out of Whitehall, Montana, which is about 80 miles west of Livingston. Montana Highland Lamb has been in existence since 1983 at the foot of the Tabacco Root mountain range. A sustainable family operation, the farm practices intensive grazing to produce abundant nutritious grass, irrigated with water from the Jefferson River. They raise Polypay, Hampshire, and cross-bred lambs with a mild flavor. We’re excited to start featuring Montana Highland Lamb in our nightly specials.

Whether you’re a long-time lover of lamb, or interested in trying your first bite, you won’t find better quality product than what we serve from these local producers at The Bistro. Stop in and see for yourself!