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Just in time for spring, a fresh twist on the vodka martini
• by By Anne Earney • Photo by Josh Monken
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When my husband and I were dating, we used to go to the Vietnamese restaurant LemonGrass in its old location (farther south on South Grand) so often we didn’t have to order. The servers all knew what we wanted, which meant we got our food in record time from what must be the fastest kitchen in the city anyhow.
Despite the fact that the glowing-eye lobsters moved with the restaurant to the new location, we just haven’t been as regular as we used to be. And now we have a new reason to visit the old place, although it has nothing to do with food. The space was converted more than a year ago by Nhat Nguyen into Urban, a cool little bar with a nice drink menu.
While we marveled over how the place, with a fresh coat of paint and new fixtures, looked nothing like the old LemonGrass but felt just as comfortable, Nguyen introduced us to several cocktails he’d created for spring using fresh fruit, mint, lemonade and Pearl vodka (Nguyen thinks the line of Pearl vodkas is “excellent,” and I have to agree). Pearl, an award-winning Canadian wheat vodka, comes in Black (plain), as well as pomegranate and coconut flavors.
We started out with the Berry Smash, a mixture of fresh raspberries, lemon wedges, Pearl Pomegranate and a splash of sour mix. Served over ice with chunks of muddled berries in the glass, the Berry Smash is the quintessential spring drink: fruity, sweet and easy to drink – perfect for sipping on a warm day. Next up was the Mint-Coconut Lemonade. The taste of this one is easily imagined from its name. It was made with Pearl Coconut and looked like a mojito, with pieces of muddled mint floating with ice in a pint glass.
Then we tried the Big Kahuna, which Nguyen described as having Hawaiian ingredients. He served this cocktail, made from Pearl Coconut, pineapple and Coco López cream of coconut, in a martini glass, and as soon as I sipped the milky concoction, it became my favorite. If I were making this one at home, though, to hell with the lemonade – I’d serve the Big Kahuna in the pint glass.
Nguyen had one final brilliant creation for us – olives stuffed with wasabi and cream cheese, which he uses to garnish a Pearl Black dirty martini. To my husband’s chagrin, Nguyen didn’t make us a martini (fools that we are, we admitted we pretty much knew what one tasted like), but we attempted to eat him out of olives anyway. We stopped at Jay International Foods on the way home for some wasabi so we could make more. They’re addictive, those little wasabi olives.
Not all of Nguyen’s cocktails use Pearl vodka, and if I were to recommend one that didn’t, it would be the Demure. I don’t want to tell you what’s in it, because it won’t sound good (balsamic vinegar). Nguyen left the ingredients off the menu precisely so you wouldn’t think whatever negative thoughts you’re thinking now. But you should try it. If you don’t like it, call me and I’ll come down and finish it for you.
It’s interesting how things change – we don’t go to LemonGrass so much anymore, but I’ll always think fondly of the original location. And to tell the truth, I’ve been rather tired of vodka drinks, especially vodka “martinis,” but I loved the Big Kahuna. It’s spring, or nearly so, and time for a refreshed attitude, if there ever was one. It’s also time for fresh, easy drinks. The drinks created at Urban certainly fit the bill.
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