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Shaken, Not Stirred

Somär Mango Fizz

    I enjoy a drink in an artsy (minus the fartsy) environment. I love community where I drink, without the cult and Kool-Aid.
One thing some bartenders and bar owners forget is we can all kick back at the house (spend way less) and drink by ourselves. What makes drinking at an address other than our own worthwhile are bartenders like Michael Golondrina and bars like Somär Bar & Lounge (1727 Telegraph Ave., www.somarbar.wordpress.com). Plus, dammit, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.
     Golondrina, my favorite bartender, started his bartending career in San Francisco working various nightclubs.
“I really started to feel my passion for the industry when I went to work for the Tran family at Le Cheval in 1999,” he says.
    Sömar, which is the last name of Golondrina’s grandmother spelled backwards, is run by Golondrina’s cousin Armando Ramos and aunt and uncle Liz and Eddie Ramos. That means the vibe of family, cooperation and community is naturally interwoven into the fabric of Somär and spills over into the nightly crowd and the Uptown scene as a whole.
     “You have business owners cooperating with each other to the benefit of their customers,” Golondrina says. “I always felt Oakland was ready for a great nightlife, even back in 1999.”
    Check out the mind-blowing rotating art lacing Somär’s walls, the no BS DJs, some of the East Bay’s freshest, most meticulously constructed drinks and premium liquors that you won’t find at most other bars in the Bay Area.
     Ask Michael Golondrina for an icy, spicy Mango Fizz to greet the heat this summer. Tell him Lonnie Long sent you.

Mango Fizz
3    sprigs of mint
    splash of agave nectar
2    slices of serrano chile
½    lime
2    ounces mango purée
    ice
    dash of cracked black pepper
1½    ounces Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
    splash of soda water

    In a mixing glass, add 3 sprigs of mint, a splash of agave nectar and 2 slices of serrano chile. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and add the mango puree, ice, a dash of cracked black pepper and 1 1/2 ounces of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Shake and strain the mixture into an iced-filled Collins glass. Top with soda water.