San Jose: Food and Drinks at Roots and Rye

 

Over the summer, I went to visit some family in San Jose. My uncle wanted to take me to his favorite whiskey bar. So we checked out Roots and Rye. It was already past happy hour but we decided to sit at the bar.

I did all the ordering and later he told my aunt I had good taste. Ha, well, I do get around a bit.

We started out with the bone marrow which seems to be their signature.

 

After looking over the cocktail list, I opted for the Seersucker. It has all the things I’m fond of; brown, bitter, stirred.

Seersucker – cognac, rye whiskey, Amaro Montenegro, chocolate bitters

 

 

Hey California, don’t take away my foie gras! But until it’s officially banned again, I’m glad spots like Roots & Rye are coming up with tasty dishes. This foie gras dish came with housemade spam and a fried egg. It reminded me of a loco moco with foie.

 

We also tried the shrimp and grits. The shrimp are wrapped with prosciutto and the grits were more like polenta cakes. We also had the brussels sprouts (not shown).

 

 

My favorite dish of the night were mussels and shishito peppers with the itty bitty sticky rice balls. Great broth.

 

 

I also ordered a Manhattan made with rye. I figured a whiskey bar would be able to make a great one.

We had a good time but I wished there was a little more interaction with the bartenders. I could talk about all their whiskies on the back bar but there wasn’t much input from them. Then again, we didn’t want  the upsell either.

 

Roots & Rye at Santana Row

3055 Olin Ave., Ste 1005, San Jose, CA 95128  —  (408) 429-2909

© The Minty  2017