A savoury vodka mixed with banana

By SOPHIE GITONGA

You have heard about wine and food or beer and cupcake pairings (that last one is actually a thing, a thing that needs to happen in Nairobi soon), well now there’s a cocktail and food pairing. We have the Bistrology Bar to thank for that.

Opened last December, it is the sexy other half of the Brew Bistro & Lounge on Ngong Road. It is a hybrid of lounge space with sultry blue lights, bar with the high chairs and a nose away from the drinks, and restaurant style sitting for those who like to be closer to the ground.

Quite a stir

This timely idea of pairing cocktails with food is the brainchild of Chef Rami Saloum, a recent export of fine Dubai eating establishments and now in Nairobi and from the looks of it, he’s here to stay.

He and Renny Malesi the mixologist (never call him a bartender, it’s irks him) had a small meeting and after a lot of trials and late drunken nights together, they created the Grey Goose vodka menu. Genius, if you ask me.

The gist of it is that the vodka theme runs right through, you get it in your glass and on your plate and eventually in your mouth. So say you want the Spiced Halloumi, which is what I tried, here’s what awaits you.

Chef Rami prepares these lightly breaded pan-fried halloumi cheese cubes and sits them on a flaky pastry crust. He garnishes the assembly with onions soaked and cooked in Grey Goose vodka and pomegranate to make a bewitching jam. And while that is happening, Malesi is causing quite a stir with his cocktail. Grey Goose Vodka, Cointreau, Pomegranate juice, and homemade berry syrup, poured lovingly into a martini glass topped, a few cubes of ice and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.

A bite of the cheese assembly and a sip of the cocktail and I thank God I’m alive in 2017 to experience this decadence. The way the flavours and textures collide with each other is something to remember.

So I have a two-drink limit, so it seems only appropriate that I try out another cocktail from the menu.
Chef Rami suggests the Duo of Meringue, a fancy, doubled decked, strawberry topped meringue with a sprig of mint for added beauty.

New menu

Again the meringue gets a dash or several of vodka and is paired with a Grey Goose vodka, Amarula, Galliano, banana and homemade berry syrup cocktail.

While the previous combo was more savoury, this one is dessert like, sweet, light and fruity. I eat it in contemplative silence, trying to figure out where one flavour ends and another begins.

I have a few words to describe my experience at the Bistrology Bar, totally un-boring and to be repeated. Which shouldn’t be too difficult to do because Chef Rami will be unveiling his fine dining menu mid March. Consider yourself invited.