GETAWAYS • San Jose
A trip to downtown San Jose — resplendent land of tech conference hotels — is generally more business than leisure, but more places like Alter Ego could change that. The chic new cocktail bar calls to mind Firefly in Bangkok, Dark Room in Seattle, and Bar Iris in San Francisco.
Alter Ego’s entrance is through the back of the Still O.G. listening bar — a solid hang itself, with premium audio, rotating vinyl selectors, and draft cocktails — through a soundproof, retro velvet curtain into a brick dining room filled with (more) velvet-lined banquettes and chairs. Two softly-lit LED orb light fixtures hang over the center of the room-length marbled granite bar top that matches two and four-top tables. Modern R&B, from Frank Ocean to SZA, plays softly throughout.
The cocktails are also velvety. Easy Tiger is a balanced creation with amaro, Mexican raicilla, allspice, almond, lemon, tobacco bitters, and a torched cinnamon stick garnish that arrived smoking, pleasantly filling the air around my table. Mycology Mixology, with scotch, coffee, hazelnut, porcini, and shaved truffles gently placed atop an ice cube gave off amazing aromatics with every sip.
Led by Manresa and Saison alum Robert Mendoza, the kitchen mixes Asian flavors with Latin touches. Take special note of the Passard egg over Spanish chorizo topped with caviar, that perfectly cooked halibut with cauliflower and broccolini salsa, and the sliced prime New York steak served with a superb guajillo bordelaise.
There's also a loaded selection of both reserve and old and rare whiskeys, with a level of depth you won’t normally find among the top shelves of San Jose. Few weekend getaways are easier to get to from SF, and Alter Ego is a proper destination bar, worthy of a 55-minute drive from the city for a night. –Adrian Spinelli
→ Alter Ego (San Jose) • 66 S 1st St • Tue-Thur & Sun 5p-12a, Fri-Sat 5p-2a.