I went to The Alembic for the first time last Saturday.  Matt and I sat at the bar {my favorite way to experience a restaurant}, and ordered the Kampachi {served sashimi style}, the beef cheeks {served with an espresso dusting}, and the bone marrow, which, grotesquely I must order whenever it is on the menu, which these days, is not an infrequent occurrence.  The bone marrow was served with roasted whole garlic cloves and capers – the squishy sweetness of the garlic and the brininess of the capers against the roasted fattiness of the marrow was perfection.  Everything was beautifully presented and lovingly prepared, including our Pisco Sours {me} and Old Fashioneds {Matt}.  I loved that our bartender was such a mixology perfectionist that he actually threw away the first Pisco Sour he made for me after tasting it because “it wasn’t right.”  The food, coupled with the music {old school hip hop mixed with 90s alternative rock} and lighting {mostly candlelight} created an environment that was difficult to leave.

A memorable event of the night was when Matt, who is English, ordered the {fresh} “chickpeas” and our bartender brought over the check.