Pasta Bar drinks are great for Phoenix
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By Megan Finnerty
Metromix
When chef and pasta perfectionist Wade Moises left north Scottsdale's fancy-pants Italian eatery Sassi, he took more with him than his signature dishes.
Josh Augustin used to work with Moises at Sassi and is now the bar manager at the little downtown eatery Pasta Bar, where he's designing and serving cool cocktails with Italian twists. If you've been missing either man since they've abandoned their Scottsdale digs, you can find them in a yellow box of a building on a Phoenix corner that's suddenly become a funky foodie haven, with Sens, Turf and Breadfruit nearby.
Augustin is a darkly handsome man in his early-30s who's familiar with the frou-frou aspects of bartending from his time at Sassi, but who enjoys the minimalism compelled by Pasta Bar's reduced space, prices and liquor selection.
He's designed eight signature cocktails for the austere Phoenix restaurant, all of which are as straightforward and considered as the bowls of fresh pasta Moises serves in the dining room. The cocktails range from $9 to $12 and only make up about a quarter of the bar's liquor sales, which are dominated by wine.
But if going for post-work drinks, or late-night noshes, Augustin's menu makes an argument for moving beyond the wine list.
My favorite, perhaps one of my new favorite drinks of all time, is the Jack Goes to Mulberry Street. (That would be Mulberry Street as in the heart of Little Italy in Manhattan.) It's served on the rocks, a mix of Gentleman Jack, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth and blood orange bitters garnished with Amarena cherries. I know it's a sacrilege to suggest, but this short, dark drink is a classier, more glamorous version of the Manhattan. The bitters add a brightness to the drink, and the dark, slightly sour cherries add sweetness and depth.
A note on Amarena cherries: these little fruits have started to appear in drinks throughout the city, making the Corpse Reviver at Metro Brasserie the best Reviver in the city, and the punch the cherries add to cocktails is worth the price they add to the bill.
Making the maraschino seem like a vulgar orb of neon, with chewy skin and squishy fruit, the Amarena is juicy, flavorful and so good you want to buy the jar along with your drink. If you get three or more of these in a drink, consider it a come-on from your bartender.
Augustin also uses the cherries to great effect, muddling them with oranges in the Jack's New Fashion, also made with Gentleman Jack and blood orange bitters. The sweet drink has a light, syrupy flavor and serves as his Italian take on the Old Fashioned.
His version of the classic martini is called the Russell Jones aka Dirt McGirt, which, if you like the Wu-Tang Clan as much as Agustin and Moises do, you know who that is and will be pleasantly surprised when you hear his music playing in the restaurant. But if dead rappers aren't in your wheelhouse, you'll probably still like the mix of Crop Organic Vodka and Nocialara Olive juice, served with a Nocialara olive in the bottom. It's sweet and slightly salty, with none of the bitter brininess of typical dirty martinis. It's like the drink was made more with the idea of an olive than with actual olives.
The bar even has an Italian margarita called the Camparita, made with the juice of lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits, finished with Patron Silver tequila, Cointreau and Campari. It's served on the rocks, as designed by Susan Pool of the Bar, Pane and Pizzeria Bianco, and everyone who tries it should thank her just as Pasta Bar does at the bottom of the drinks menu.
There are also several simple drinks, including the Alba di Italia, the Eli's Tonic and the Spremute con Gin, which mix just two ingredients and result in gorgeous, sweet flavors. Especially compelling is the Alba di Italia, made with the Punt e Mes and Aranciata on the rocks. It's rich and dark with the flavors or prunes, oranges and raisins and has an unexpectedly holiday-like quality. It should be your next signature Christmas cocktail.
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