The most esoteric menu yet has now gone live over at Trick Dog, the Mission cocktail bar whose wildly creative, themed menu changes every six months. This menu, the 14th iteration to launch since the bar opened in 2013, is a trip back in time to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s: “The Whole Dog Menu” is an adaptation of the iconic counterculture manual, the “Whole Earth Catalog.”
The Catalog was published by Stewart Brand, a writer and biologist who became known for hanging with the Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and organizing epic acid-fueled festivals played by the Grateful Dead. It was essentially a magazine filled with recommendations for tools for hippies, geared towards commune-dwellers and promoting self-sufficiency, a DIY ethos, and more.
The categories within, mimicked in Trick Dog’s menu, covered topics like “Shelter and Land Use,” “Community,” and “Nomadics.” Cocktails in the menu fall into those categories as well, with drinks like the Commune Life (gin, bitter herbs liqueur, dry vermouth, Yellow Chartreuse, and burnt honey) and Dome Geometry (Elyx vodka, Ancho Verde, Giffard Passion Fruit, pineapple, jicama, and lime).
Like the original Whole Earth Catalog, the Whole Dog Menu features essays, including one from author Rita Bullwinkel, and students at 826 Valencia, the nonprofit that aids students in writing skills.
Past menus have focused on different topics like tattoos, a spoof on The Joy of Cooking, and a mural project. And like all of its previous menus, the Whole Dog Menu will be available for purchase ($25) with proceeds supporting the Bon Vivants Scholarship in partnership with Dave Eggers’ ScholarMatch Custom ceramic cups from Oakland’s Luv Haus Ceramics can also be purchased for $50/pair with all proceeds supporting the scholarship.
Check out the whole, wacky thing below: