Asian Cocktail Bar Blind Pig Reopens on Polk Street | Eater SF

"After reopening on March 29 in the former Sato Omakase private dining room at 1113 Polk Street, I found Blind Pig operating as a speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar with no reservations and password-protected entry—the secret word drops each Monday on Blind Pig's Instagram courtesy of owner Derrick Li. The new menu is bold: the Pig Steals My Purple Corn pairs mezcal with pineapple bun, prickly pear, salty toasted nuts, blackberry, and sage and is served in a ceramic dancing pig, while the Hong Dou blends Ron Zacapa with passion fruit, coconut oolong tea, red bean, five spice, sour cream, apple, and citrus. The food menu is small but brazen, offering four Chinese snacks—honey-roasted nuts, mixed chips, crispy rice chips, and latiao (spicy strips)—and snacks plastered on the walls give the bar an extra layer of cover so passersby might think it’s a convenience store. Li emphasizes underused ingredients and drinks from Asia, often spotlighting baijiu because he believes it can rise in popularity like mezcal; he previously ran Cold Drinks Bar at China Live, served as bar director for Sushi Sato, and won the 2023 West Coast regionals of the United States Bartenders’ Guild World Class competition (placing 15th overall). Blind Pig opened in October 2022, spent six months in Chinatown, then spent the last year in SoMa with Dragon Horse before moving to Polk. It is open Wednesday–Thursday 5:00 p.m.–11:30 p.m., Friday–Saturday 5:00 p.m.–12:30 a.m., and Sunday 5:00 p.m.–11:30 p.m." - Paolo Bicchieri