The Trastevere gastropub has developed a cocktail list suitable for both a late breakfast and lunch, with low alcoholic drinks, hangover proposals and coffee-based mixes
Imagine New York at the turn of the sixties and seventies, the explosion of the advertising market and the enthusiasm of an economic boom. At that time it became customary to have a drink at lunch and the Martini was very popular, strictly with olive, as is done in the United States. It happened at the time that the "3 Martini lunch", the lunch based on three martinis, had even been the subject of a tax deduction as a business lunch. The assumption was that the topping olives had enough calories to be a meal replacement.
Over time, the habit of drinking alcohol at lunch, as well as during working hours, has been replaced by healthier fashions, but never underestimate the historical courses and resorts. And here is that in an era of pandemic and forced closure of premises after 6pm, the need for a drink has shifted. There are those who have replaced the appointment of tea with that of the aperitif, as well as those who have invented the cocktail menu for breakfast and lunch.
It is the case of Treefolk's, a beautiful gastropub opened in Rome, on Viale Trastevere, for a few months. He was not very lucky with the progress of the pandemic, having practically opened an epidemic already in an advanced state, however he had the ability to reshape his offer in an always innovative way.
And here he has been pulling a drink list called out of his hat a few weeks ago Good morning cocktail list, in short, a cocktail menu for lunch. Not just the hangover classics that are normally offered at brunch, such as the Bloody Mary, of which Michele Ferruccio, the bartender of Treefolk's, offers six versions, but also a variety of low alcoholic cocktails with coffee base, extracts, prosecco and fermented. The idea is to bring it to Italy British style that from 11.00 in the morning prefers the consumption of long drinks, beers and bubbles.
Among the low-alcohol cocktails, Ferruccio went to recover the memory of the great classics, such as Mimosa, which becomes Welcome Mimosa in its reinterpretation based on freshly squeezed orange juice, with the addition of ginger, bergamot, as well as prosecco: perfect to start the meal well, perhaps with a boiled meatball like the one they serve at Treefolk's, because we know that the bubbles degrease the frying. More refreshing is theExotic, a mojito with a carbonated taste, thanks to the fermentation of mint and ginger, mixed with Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Always fishing in the history of mixing, indeed going even further back in memory, Ferruccio proposes his version of punch in the menu of lunch drinks, the Real Punch, based on spices and fruit cider. The result is a light drink with a strong alcohol content and complex in taste, which takes you in a sip by a fireplace in Scotland on Christmas Day.
Then there are the drinks in which Ferruccio has put coffee as the protagonist, both because they are perfect at the end of a meal or for a slightly alcoholic coffee break, and because that of specialty coffees is another variation of the varied offer of this all day long venue. Given that in the evening menu one of the best sellers is the classic Espresso Martini, at lunch the game becomes even more serious, with a perfect drink for couples, the Cremini Martini. The customer is served a tray with a teapot containing a home-made coffee and whiskey-based liqueur, two glasses with ice, a portion of coffee cream and a mocha: the preparation of this decomposed Espresso Martini ends at the table and makes interactive and fun drinking.
Still on the “coffee drink” line, Ferruccio has put the Cold Brew Bourbon, a cocktail that combines the world of Specialty Coffee and that of blending. The whiskey is processed as a Cold Brew coffee, that is, through a cold percolation, it is left to filter through the finely ground coffee of Ethiopian origin. It is then mixed with a sugar syrup and banana flavorings. A drink that gives the right energy in the morning or is recommended to end the meal in joy.
The breakfast format that accompanies these cocktails features British-inspired dishes adapted to local raw materials. A selection of eggs, English Breakfast, avocado toast and a variety of club sandwiches, in addition to the most home-grown husbands, both in savory and sweet versions, and dishes of the day, which vary according to the shopping at lunchtime.
Photo by Alberto Blasetti.
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