cheers from the Thirsty Bear!
My friend, Mate, originally from Uruguay but now currently resident in Huntington Beach in Southern California, came into town to visit with her family. She insisted on a girls night out and wanted to eat tapas. I searched on-line. Turns out, there are quite a few tapas places in San Francisco, but the one that caught my attention was Thirsty Bear. I had been years ago for a beer and some olives, so remembered it fondly.
welcome to Thirsty Bear
They have an all organic micro-brew beer selection large enough to quench the thirst of any thirsty bear. Beyond that they also have live Flamenco shows on Sunday nights and a wide array of Spanish inspired tapas. Here’s their “philosophy” which I quote from their site:
The original concept for Thirsty Bear Brewing Company is simple: to pair the ultimate social beverage, beer, with the ultimate social food, tapas.
Thirsty Bear interior: look at the bullfighter painting!
Thirsty Bear is quite the place for a taste of Spanish food and culture right in San Francisco. We ordered Sangria made with red wine, brandy, seasonal fruit and spices at first. It was refreshing and superb with lots of fruity flavors. Later in the evening I tried a glass of Spanish wine, Legado Muñoz, Tempranillo, 2010 to sip with the tapas. That’s where Thirsty Bear really shines.
First we got the “yellowtail & Monterey squid salpicon, orange, jalapeño & micro cilantro.” The yellow tail was ceviche style and the squid was slightly sautéed: very good and fresh tasting. Next, we tried empanadas with oil-poached tombo tuna, potato, spicy piquillo sofrito & caper crème fraîche. My friend Mate called these empanaditas ‘cause they are smaller than the ones she remembers her mom made in Uruguay. We couldn’t go without patatas bravas: fried Kennebec potatoes, brava sauce and aioli. These yummy potatoes tasted just like being in Spain!
Thirsty Bear "empanaditas"
Mate and me enjoying our sangria
patatas bravas
We decided against the salads as we can always have those and we were trying to have an authentic Spanish experience. Salads are way to Californian! LOL! Since we were off the salads…we debated on desserts. Mate recently went to Spain and loved the churros with chocolate milk, so we got those and a second, apricot and almond cake with almond milk ice cream. Delicious!
This whole event was a wonderful treat. It was great to spend time with my friend, Mate. Thirsty Bear is cool because it’s walking distance to SFMOMA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Yerba Buena gardens. I can’t wait to go back again with some more good company, possibly after a trip to one of the many museums. Ciao! Adios!
apricot and almond cake
Comments