Another night, grilled jumbo shrimp in an appetizer were a bit overdone but drew great vivid flavor from their marinade of herbs and garlic and their basil-lemon infusion.
There's a bunch of British cheeses for an extra £9, cucumber and perilla in a chilled lemon verbena infusion (glorified Lipton ice tea, basically), and then chocolate-and-hazelnut oil ganache, with chocolate meringue, basil moss and sheep's milk ice-cream.
"So if you put that on top of the chamomile infusion, the lemon, it's going to be so good to lift in the sun".
Robin's D.I.Y. chamomile infusion with lemon helps to lighten and brighten color: 1. Place organic chamomile in warm water overnight.
Add the sugar and lemon juice to the infusion, then turn on the heat to high and cook for three to four minutes, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is starting to simmer.
But Esca's version uses an infusion of lemon peel and fragrant vanilla bean for a more complex perfume, and again against tradition, it comes with a hillock of cooked rhubarb and macerated strawberries.
The aquavit list ($7 each) is a high point: traditional infusions like lemon, cranberry or dill, and more adventurous ones like beet, roasted pumpkin and parsley.
Piscolas (pisco and Coca-Cola, £3.45) are a band-night favourite, but more adventurous drinkers will enjoy intriguing cocktails, such as De Rosa los Petalos (£3.80), an infusion of pisco, lemon and rose petals, or Espumante Tropical (£3.50), local sparkling wine topped with a maceration of lemon and mint.
"At the moment I'm doing an infusion made of lemon peel, orange peel, star anise, rosemary, lavender, saffron... all the things from Provence basically".
Inspired by an Old Fashioned but featuring tequila reposado, vanilla infusion, orange and lemon twists and pecans, the Nueva Moda makes for a tasty sipper at The Larchmont.
