"If you live around Hayes Valley, you’re pretty much out of luck in the martini department because most places around here are best suited for drinking punch bowls or hanging outside for long stretches of time. Then there’s Absinthe. This French restaurant is huge with multiple rooms stretching back to take up nearly half the block, but you’ll usually find us sitting at the bar in the front. Obviously, this place has a good-sized menu of absinthe drinks, but we’ll happily order a martini and eat some pate at the bar while we decide if we want to join all those people sitting outside by the weird sculpture on Octavia." - will kamensky