I first learned about apéritif in Chicago, which is very much not a city known for this European ritual of gathering for a drink and bite in the pre-dinner hours. Happy hour might be the closest we get culturally to apéro, and Happy Hour was outlawed here until just a few years ago.
When I worked at Red & White I met my friend Nadim Audi, who grew up in Paris and is now a partner at the importer Selection Massale. I think it was because of Nadim that this concept became part of my social life. And also because of Mac Parsons, who is also an importer now, at El Rancho. Em says she didn't know what apero was until hanging out with the likes of Mac and me, when we’d invite her over and she’d ask what time to come by and we’d say something like ‘apero is at 7’ which indicates a loose time frame, and means dinner will be ready when it’s ready. Em actually added something more like, “because you people don’t know how to serve dinner on time,” in a very loving way.
I recently asked Nadim about apéritif, and if it needs to take place out at a bar, or if it must be a specific type of spirit or drink. He said that apéro is apéro as long as you’re drinking before dinner. The place doesn’t matter, so stopping somewhere for a drink on your way to a dinner reservation is apéro, but drinking a bottle of wine in the kitchen while the host cooks before sitting down for dinner is also apéro. Sometimes you get invited to ‘apéro donatoire,’ which, he told me, just means whoever is inviting you over doesn’t really wanna cook and you’re about to get drunk and nibble on cheese. He added that after apéro donatoire you might wind up at the McDonald’s in Paris on St. Lazaire.
Apéro is also something you can enjoy on your own, or with just the people you live with. My friends from outside Montreal, Sophie and Isabel, told me that their grandparents always, always had a little apéritif and a digestif, it was fundamental to their dinner meal. Apéritif whets your appetite for food, and the digestif helps - well - digest the meal. Over in Spain, alcohol is commonly used to prepare for eating a meal, including at lunch. La Hora del Vermut, meaning “the Vermouth hour,” is a specific time to drink vermouth. Drinking vermouth is a treasured tradition, particularly in the city of Madrid. Traditionally, la hora del vermut was just before lunch. The idea was to drink a vermouth before eating to wake up your appetite. The vermouth, paired with a good tapa, would prepare your stomach for lunch.
I use apéro to mark the end of my work day. Once I’m having a little glass of vermouth, some olives, a carrot stick, maybe a slice of pecorino, I’m signaling to my mind and body to relax, and slow down. This is where apéritif doesn’t feel very American to me. Shutting down the work day, decisively turning towards quiet time or social time. There’s no rule that apéro be consumed standing up, but it’s most common, whether out at a busy bar, with friends standing around the kitchen, or solo, hovered over a little plate of snacks. The fact that you still feel like standing, still have energy, but are winding down the work day, as opposed to working yourself to the point of collapse and falling into a seat as dinner is on the table, feels like a statement of values to me.
In her cookbook Old World Italian, Mimi Thorisson, who lives in Italy but was raised in France, describes aperitivo, the Italian word for the same concept. “Torino is the city of aperitivo. It seems like every evening at around 6 o’clock, the whole town gathers for a drink and something to eat, whether salty or crunchy or cheesy. I love to do it, too, but I can’t do it every day, so shakerato is my salvation. You meet friends in a cafe or bar and they’ll have a Negroni or spritz and sometimes I’ll join in, but other days, I'll order my trusted shakerato, which is shaked black coffee with ice. It’s served with the same ceremony as a Bellini, in a high glass, delightfully foamy, topped with three coffee beans.” The three coffee beans symbolize the holy trinity from Catholicism. This seems a little more American, and a nice option without alcohol, a delicious shakerato.
Cocktail hour is distinct from apéro. Both involve making a beautiful display, but canapés are more work. Apéro snacks are also fairly calorie dense but involve little or not preparation. The apéro beverage is typically not a cocktail. In France the old tradition is to have a liqueur like Pastis, Picon, Pineau des Charentes. Something you can just pull from the fridge or pour over ice. You might have a Champagne cocktail or kir, but generally the only thing you need is a bottle of one thing. For our friends, this is just opening a bottle of wine. Rosé and dry white wines are a broad category but always work. I think of Lulu’s Provencal Table, by Richard Olney, a cookbook that covers the kitchen of Lulu Peyraud, part of the family at the iconic southern French Domaine Tempier. The Tempier vin rosé remains one of the most coveted pink wines, and a solid apéritif. For every menu Olney lists, Lulu starts with apéritif. In summer it’s bagna cauda, octopus confit, grilled mussels, fried eggplant, and artichoke fritters. Year-round there are olives from the Peyraud farm, anchovy puffs, tapenade, salt cod purée, dry cured sausages. Olney writes, “When there are few guests, and the weather discourages an out-of-doors apéritif, Lulu and Lucien love to serve vin rose at the kitchen table, accompanied by sea urchin and violets.”
I keep food in my pantry and fridge for company. Food for company that you can break into yourself if needed out of hunger or spirit - opening the box of crackers, jar of olives, unwrapping a nice salami. Although I do try to resist opening these things, like Sebastian Maniscalco’s mother who always had a store-bought cake on hand but insisted “the cake is for company only.” My go-tos are a saucisson sec, a hard cheese, generally sheep’s milk, kept very well wrapped, a jar of olives in the pantry, with a package of crackers and - importantly - a bag of chips.
In preparing this post, I thought it might be fun to make some fresh chips myself. While apero is all about ease, and it doesn’t get easier than popping a bag of Great Lakes, making chips turned out to be fun and feel special. I also really like that you can season them yourself with some spice that really works with some wine and welcomes the dinner to follow.
Spiced Potato Chips
Makes about 2 quarts
Adapted from Toni-Tipton Martin in Jubilee
Tipton-Martin tells us of the history of this snack in Black foodways. “According to legend, George Crum was head chef at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853. One evening, a guest complained that Crum’s French-fried potatoes were cut too thick, so Crum very thinly sliced another batch, fried them very crisp, and seasoned them with salt…After that, he served the crunchy snack as an hors d’oeuvre in baskets in his own restaurant for thirty years.”
Chips
2 pounds russet potatoes
2 teaspoon salts, or to taste
Quart of Peanut Oil
Seasoning
Any 2 teaspoons of your favorite spice blend (I like Old Bay, Baharat, Shichimi Togarashi)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Method
Using a mandoline, or a vegetable peeler, or a sharp knife, slice the potatoes into ⅛ inch rounds. Place in a large bowl. Rinse with cold water until the water runs clear. Cover the potatoes with ice water and refrigerate 1 hour.
In another small bowl, prepare your spice blend. Set aside.
Pour oil, enough to rise about 2 inches in a cast iron skillet, dutch oven or frying pan. Heat to 350 degrees, over medium-high heat. (Without a thermometer you can flick a few bread crumbs, if they sizzle immediately but don’t burn instantly the oil is ready). Adjust the heat to maintain this temperature.
Drain the Russet potatoes and thoroughly pat dry with towels. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, fry the chips until golden, 3 - 4 minutes per batch. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate. Season them immediately, while still very hot. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the chips to firm up. Serve with your apéritif and enjoy.
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