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Credit: Courtesy of Wildhawk<\/p>\n
Regional food and drink trails are a fine way to entice visitors to a destination. There\u2019s a pie trail in Arkansas, a mayonnaise trail<\/a> in South Carolina, and a Sonoran Dog Trail<\/a> in Arizona. I\u2019ve written about beer trails and bourbon trails and eaten along a tamale trail in Mississippi. And there may be nothing more brilliant than the San Francisco Travel Association\u2019s Martini Trail<\/a>, launched in 2025 as \u201ca curated journey highlighting 23 standout Martinis and local establishments in the City by the Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n It felt as if my name was called down from the heavens to do what I do best: drink cold Martinis<\/a>. When inquiring about the genius behind this idea, I was told by Anna Marie Presutti, San Francisco Travel Association\u2019s president and CEO, that they created the trail as a celebration of the city\u2019s deep connection to the Martini and as a way to spotlight San Francisco\u2019s ever-evolving bar scene.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the neighborhoods that shaped its legacy to the innovators redefining it today, this is where the Martini found its swagger \u2014 and where it continues to be reinvented.\u201d Presutti added that it’s equally important that the trail highlight local establishments and small businesses.<\/p>\n San Francisco is one of the handful of places that lay claim to inventing the Martini. As it goes, the city was a booming port keen to welcome an influx of miners in the 1850s and \u201860s and the Occidental Hotel bartender, to whom I\u2019m forever indebted, mixed up gin, vermouth, bitters, and maraschino for a drink dubbed the \u201cMartinez,\u201d paying homage to the miners\u2019 destination.<\/p>\n I took my husband along for this journey to my college city, because he\u2019s even better at drinking Martinis than I am, and if we were going to tick a solid number of drinks off the Martini Trail list, I\u2019d need an extra mouth in the name of journalism.<\/p>\n We start at the Starlite<\/a>, inside the gloriously refurbished Beacon Grand Hotel<\/a>, which serves as an outstanding home base for the trail. The Starlite is pure glamour and a better place to start your evening, than say, end it as you don\u2019t want to forget a single detail. I sip the Dirty 90s Martini, made with vodka that is infused with extra virgin olive oil, olive brine vermouth, blue cheese olives, and a salted lemon rind. As a gin purist, I strayed for this drink because it is a signature of the establishment and most importantly, because it comes with a sidecar that waits patiently on ice until I\u2019m ready for a refill. Not only is the Martini top notch, but the views while you sip are spectacular.<\/p>\n Related: San Francisco in a Shaker \u2014 Iconic Cocktails From the City by the Bay<\/a><\/p>\n Continuing the historic route, Tadich Grill<\/a> fits the bill, perfect for a group of friends in one of the private booths, far from any judgement of how many Martinis can be held on one tray. Here, the drink is served exactly as it should be in a place that\u2019s been open since 1849. No frills or fuss, no fancy glass \u2014 and expertly made by a bartender whose first rodeo this is not.<\/p>\n The evening of day two begins at Bix<\/a>, a swanky supper club with live piano music that makes you feel like you\u2019re sipping your Gibson in a place where there should be no other option for a drink. For a piano experience that feels more lively than luxe, the next stop must be Martuni\u2019s<\/a>, which my friend best described as a karaoke cabaret and the ideal place for an espresso version to keep the party going. The 150 or so patrons drinking nothing but beverages out of large v-shaped vessels confirm the decision. Dinnertime calls for an excuse to knock one more off the list at True Laurel<\/a>, which offers a more modern vibe and Martinis that come in a dainty glass with garnishes as attractive as the people eating and drinking here.<\/p>\n If the body is made with 50-60% water, mine feels as if it has been swapped with gin by day three. I imagine my head to be growing into the shape of a coupe, with olives for eyeballs. But we press on, hitting Absinthe<\/a> for a happy hour, where my husband has his favorite Martini thus far, and while I love that mine is petite, and the Plymouth is delightfully cold and perfectly wet, I bemoan the lack of back on the barstool because this is the person I have become. A quick Lyft later, the Balboa Cafe<\/a> presents as the perfect place for Martinis as big as all the babies’ heads who are seated around us. Their young parents are also drinking Martinis, each drink stirred in a metal shaker, ice skating on the top.<\/p>\n Related: Can Fine Dining Actually Be Fun? One of San Francisco’s Top Chefs Is Betting on It<\/a><\/p>\n The night \u2014 and trip \u2014 ends at Brazen Head<\/a>, a delightfully dark and moody restaurant in Cow Hollow with a version of the Martini that\u2019s as classic as they come. We order ours with a burger and feel as if we are part of some secret club \u2014 one that would have a mile-long wait around the block in New York City but seems to be nothing more than a classy local\u2019s joint in San Francisco. When I search my notes app to report on the beverage, I find nothing more than aggressive caps: \u201cI WANNA LIVE IN THIS PLACE THIS DRINK IS BETTER THAN WATER!!! SHOULD WE MOVE BACK TO CALIFORNIA???\u201d<\/p>\n As I sit down to write this, I wonder what all of these places have in common. It\u2019s not the shape of the glass (though that is highly debatable), the style of drink, or even the price. To me, each bar or restaurant is the exact sort of place where you\u2019d want to have nothing else in the world but a perfectly made Martini. In a city of cars being driven by ghosts, the chance to sip an iconic cocktail in a space with interesting people might just be the most innovative idea in the world.<\/p>\n Read the original article on Food & Wine<\/a><\/p>\n