umamimart

Finally made it out to The Alembic, a bar on Haight Street in SF– it’s a spot that has been buzzed about extensively for their cocktails and gastroeats. I believe it is related to Magnolia, the brewpub right down the street.

Yoko, Washi and I enjoyed ourselves at the bar– with their awesome cocktail list, personable bar chefs, a wall of supremely well-curated brown liquors, Carl Sutton’s local vermouth on tap, and curiously pink pickled quail eggs. After a few drinks, we called it quits, and I picked up a box of matches on our way out.

I gave a box to Yoko. We were mesmerized. “This is a work of art,” she proclaimed.

And it is.

It’s hard to tell in this picture, but the actual box that the matches are encased in is gold foil. I love the stark blackness of the matches inside the box of gold. GO SAINTS!

I usually hate when there’s too many different typefaces on one product, but this all comes together so well.

Now, fancy matches are nothing new, if not greatly debated, in the haute cuisine scene. In matters of dining, how relevant is graphic design? Packaging Whore says: VERY RELEVANT. One of my favorite matchbooks ever can be found at WD-50. I do love the attention to detail in Alembic’s, very much.

Don’t leave the bar without one!