Ballin', Shot-Callin' at Mathilde

While I still haven't found the right SF spot to host K&L-related spirits events, I can tell you right now that our dream wine venue has opened up just around the corner from our new store on 5th street. Formerly known as Le Charm, the new entity known as Mathilde is the French bistro we've been waiting for in San Francisco. Simple, hearty food. Reasonable prices. Romantic ambiance. Actual French servers who speak about three words of English and that's it. You actually feel like you're in Paris—much more so than anywhere else I've been in the city. We hosted a big Bordeaux event there this past Saturday night (after hosting a big Champagne tasting at the SF store, which was right after we hosted a gigantic Bordeaux tasting at the Bentley Reserve—busy day!). One of our owners, Clyde Beffa, was in rare form that night, opening anything that even looked expensive. You couldn't take two bites of food without another decanter coming around with something amazing you just had to try.

Magnums, three liters, and regular size—you name it. The fallen soldier graveyard was a veritable who's who of three-star generals. I can see us making this a regular thing with the public. We'll grab a few bottles, rent out the back room, get a prix fixe thing going, and then we'll all chip in to cover the costs. This might be the hot new party in San Francisco once we work out the logistics. Again, I'm more excited about Bordeaux right now than just about anything. Hopefully I can get all of you excited as well once I figure out how to start these soirées.

-David Driscoll