Sleek, mostly sexy Soho newcomer (minus some questionable art) Jezebel also happens to be kosher, which means the entire bar program is subject to these dietary laws. We dropped in the other night and tried the Bugsy Siegal, a delicious mix of Michter's 10 year old rye, home crafted spice syrup and Lost Tribes Shikra Ale. The drink reminded us of a dark and stormy with the botanicals amped up and a nice creaminess from the beer. Definitely recommended though steep at $16 for a drink. Then again the list had cocktails at $18 so we'll take it...
Since opening a few years ago, Anfora has proven to be one of the city's best wine bars. Known for producer's nights and Manhattan Mondays, Anfora just launched its first happy hour with half-price specialty cocktails and draft beers. Drop in Mon - Sat 5pm - 7pm and Sun 3pm - 5pm for a great deal.
New York can be notoriously inhospitable to outsiders - be they Alain Ducasse, Tim Love or Miguel Sanchez Romera. Heck even Iron Chef Michael Symon couldn't cut it here - remember Parea? So we were curious about the arrival of highly regarded Parisian cocktail bar The Experimental Cocktail Club (191 Chrystie Street). Would it be clubby and hard to get into? Would it be off the wall wacky in a way the letdown that is Booker & Dax is not - sorry but hot pokers heating up booze is not all that interesting after it's done once. And what do the French have to teach us about cocktails anyway?We arrived one night mid-week to find a friendly bouncer manning the door. He described various seating options that, alas, proved unavailable once inside the space. Quickly, a spot opened up at the front bar and we slid in. Behind us, someone banged on the piano cluttering up the wall leading to another bar in the rear. Thankfully this noise was soon replaced by a not-too-awful deejay. We eyeballed the space and appreciated the roominess, not to mention a policy that allows people to stand at the bar - hallelujah!
Then there was the drink menu, certainly daunting at first read - cocktails are extremely complex, some with numerous ingredients, and it's not clear at first what you'll be getting. Our bartender, though, was a trooper and provided a lot of insight into various flavor profiles, some of which would prove very surprising. When we were unfamiliar with an ingredient or asked about a particular housemade syrup, he appeared with a taste. Frankly, it was some of the best service we've ever experienced in a NYC cocktail bar. Later on, a group off the street appeared and one of them ordered a rum and coke - the bartender didn't bat an eye and served one up. If it were our joint, we'd have thrown the cretins out on the street.
We began with the Black Heart (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Cynar, Luxardo Maraschino, East African French Dark Coffee, Bittermens Boston Bittah, Laphroaig Rinse & Orange oils, $14) and The Artist (Drouin Calvados, Verjus, Pear and Apple Cider Shrub, Peychaud's Bitters, Didier Meuzart Ratafia de Bourgogne, Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe & Billecart-Salmon Champagne, $16). The Black Heart had distinct black walnut and smoky tones but the orange oils were lost on us, while the Artist had a strong ginger flavor even though it had no ginger. It was pleasant but hardly a drink for the ages, strongly paralleling our feelings for the overrated Oscar winning namesake.
Looking for sherry and intrigued by the promise of mezcal caramel, we ordered the Curious Prescription (Pueblo Viejo Reposado Tequila, Pukhart Pear Williams Eau-de-Vie, la Cigarerrera Manzannilla Sherry, Homemade Salted Mezcal Caramel syrup, Lime Juice & Bittermen's Habanero bitters, $14). Here expectations feel short - the drink was fine but missing a defining note. The caramel syrup, which we sampled separately, was delicious on its own but MIA in the drink.
Still on the hunt for a sherry flavor, we asked the bartender for a recommendation and he pointed out The Last One (Cardinal Mendoza Spanish Brandy, Bonal Gentiane, Cocchi Barolo Chinato & Akanone Carrot Shochu, $16). We skeptically replied that there was no actual sherry in the drink but took the plunge - thankfully the result was a delicious drink with a strong sherry profile. Best of all was the Noblesse Oblige (Grosperrin VSOP Cognac, Byrrh Quinquina, El Maestro Sierra Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Bittermen Xocolatl Mole Bitters & Orange Oil, $15) - a rich and delicious drink.
The cocktails at ECC proved to be some of the most complex and layered we've ever tasted in New York. The care and construction of each is admirable even if they weren't always as delicious as they should be. That's what the big boys like Death & Co know how to do best. Is ECC in that league? Not yet, but the place is certainly one of the most exciting recent developments on the NYC cocktail scene. And to a cynical old boozehound like myself, that's saying something.
Fairly unassuming NoLita pizza spot Rubirosa may be best known for its pies but don't overlook the booze selection. The all-Italian wine list is varied with some unusual choices - Movia Sauvignon Blanc with your pizza? Sign us up. Equally interesting is the drink selection - we tried a couple but most impressed by the Constantinople (Single Malt Scotch, Nonino Amaro, Maraschino liqueur, lemon, angostura).
No idea where the name comes from but the drink was delicious - nicely balanced with aromatics imparted from one of our favorite post-meal tipples, the excellent Amaro from Nonino. Better yet, the drink paired perfectly with the excellent Vodka Pizza.
Astor Wines & Spirits is welcoming the start of Rose season with a sale on all still Roses this Sunday May 20. Get 15% off any in store and taste two - a Sancerre Rose and Brun d'Folie Rose - from 3pm - 5pm.
One of the newest vogue ingredients around town is black walnut, often used to bring a nuttiness to traditional drinks such as the Manhattan. Black walnut generally takes the form of bitters from the expansive Fee Brothers library though a new liqueur has recently debuted - Kuchan Juglans Nigra Black Walnut Liqueur from a Croatian-born distiller working in California.
Empellon Cocina (105 First Avenue) is using the black walnut bitters in an excellent drink called Hecho en Humo, made with El Mayor Blanco tequila, Mexican Coca Cola reduction, Regan's orange bitters, black walnut bitters and "smoke". The reduction gives it a sweet, almost burnt caramel-like flavor that mellows nicely with ice melt. The smoke element, however, was very faint, if not completely missing.
At Hospoda (321 E. 73rd Street), a great spot for beer and modern Czech food, they make a Manhattan with black walnut liqueur. The result is a dark, rich drink with lots of body - almost like a dark beer minus the hops. Perfect for the richer dishes on their menu.
We weren't fans of the drinks at the predecessor to Inoteca Liquori (323 Third Avenue), Bar Milano, but the cocktail program under Chaim Dauermann has become the best in the area. Ask for the off-menu Black Manhattan made with Rittenhouse Rye, Averna, Cocchi Vermouth and black walnut bitters - it's a bit sweet but delicious.
Have you come across black walnut in a cocktail around town? Drop us an email or comment below.
Astor Wines & Spirits (399 Lafayette Street) has an incredible sale today for "Leap Day" - 20% off any bottle of wine in the store. Sale available in-store only today until 9pm and does not includes spirits or sake.
Le Du's Wines (600 Washington Street) is holding an amazing crafts spirits tasting this Saturday 2/18 from 4pm - 7pm. Two dozen spirits will be available for sampling, from American whiskeys to scotch to gin and mezcal. Admission is $20. Click here for more information.
Every few weeks, a frenzied culinary hypestorm descends on
NYC like a Nor'easter - some newfangled spot materializes with just the right
pedigree, the media goes apeshit and you inevitably succumb to its awesome power.
In the case of the latest, "newfangled" proves an apt description indeed. Yes
folks, we're talking about Booker and Dax in the former Momofuku Milk Bar space
behind Ssam Bar.One week in, we slipped inside early and perched ourselves on open stools at one of the two bars. The somewhat awkward space doesn't lend itself to comfort, with the bars replacing the former service counter and mini-kitchen, which oddly still churns out buns, infecting the place with a sour pungency that does not mix well with cocktails.
The molecular gimmickry, courtesy of FCI whiz Dave Arnold, mainly consists of liquid nitrogen to chill glasses and a hot poker to warm drinks, while the drinks themselves lean heavily towards the bitter - from amaros to various aromatic bitters. The Laurel and Hardy (rye, cognac, maraschino, fernet, benedictine, mole bitters) was far too cold thanks to the aforementioned liquid nitro super chilldown and when it did warm up enough for the flavors to come through, they were mainly medicinal and not altogether pleasant. Jenny and Scott was a spicy mix of yamazaki, mole and hellfire bitters. Pretty good but the kick was surprising given the innocuous menu listing. Possibly the best drink was the Friend of the Devil, rye, campari, sweet vermouth, pernod & bitters, given the hot poker treatment. The result is a very warm drink with a nice caramelization, nearly too sweet but good for a cold winter's eve. Unfortunately, the less said about pistachio trainwreck Mustachi-ode, the better. Cocktails are $14 each.
Sometimes things live up to the hype and sometimes they don't. For a bar to attain staying power, it needs good drinks, not just a floorshow and fancy doo-dads. Booker & Dax may have the latter but in this town, that's just not enough.
Sometimes we wish there was a course for restaurateurs on what to do and what not to do when opening a place. Three recent openings are indicative of how things can quickly go awry:
New Upper West Side spot Slightly Oliver was promoted as a gastropub with cocktails from Albert Trummer, surely a welcome addition to the area's frat boy bars and generic food mills. Instead the reality is completely different, and no we're not talking about the DJs, which show they've already tossed in the towel quality-wise. On a recent night we arrived early and sat at the bar where we were witness to a bartender having a heated discussion with another staffer and a dish tasting by the staff in plain sight. Yes, they were open, and we persevered, ordering a pair of cocktails that were fine but overpriced at $12 - this isn't downtown folks. Clearly they've heard about the barrel aging trend - actually the entire place was an amalgamation of every current trend in the food world - and their Barrel Aged Apricot Infused Rye Manhattan was pretty good. But served by a woman in a low-cut cleavage enhancing top? Guys, we're not looking for a good time, just a well made drink. And don't even get us started on the clump of staff in the middle of the room or the scowling suit supposedly running things.
On another occasion, we dropped in at newcomer Bigoli, drawn by the appealing opening menu bandied about in the press. In a complete fail, not only was the menu dumbed down - no kurobuta pork chop, no game hen 'al mattone,' no wild mushrooms - but the room was beyond ugly, the waiter from the haughty academy of culinary arts, and the wine list an underpopulated joke full of run-of-the-mill wines and pricey, undrinkable young Barolos. Even worse, the world famous chef was out of town. Dude, you open in NYC, you better be in the house for at least a month, not in Vegas. Maybe they'll find their way but honestly no one would willingly want to eat the same old Italian food in that dowdy, awkward space.
Lastly we have the buzzed about, industry spot. This kind of place is fun if you are known to the owners and staff, but if you're not, watch out. We popped into Corkbuzz and found the owner entertaining some friends at the bar. That's fine and dandy but when your service is perfunctory, you might want to pay attention to someone other than your friends. When customers have to up-sell themselves on wine, especially expensive stuff, that's another issue. And at the end, don't give us a silly card telling us what else we might like when you don't interact with us to know what we know or don't know. The hint we know what we're doing might be in the wine we do order. It's called attention and should be paid as much as the check.
The Beagle. When thinking of things to name cocktail bars after, small meek-mannered canines are not necessarily where we would go. But when a co-founder of Portland's seminal Clyde Common decided to drop a cocktail restaurant in the middle of the uber competitive East Village, we were intrigued. Name notwithstanding.
It was almost as if by accident we found our way to The Beagle shortly after it first opened. The hype was fairly minimal and the room quiet, so we easily found spots at the bar. Apparently, that night we had sherry on the brain - ordering both the Adonis, a mix of fino sherry, sweet vermouth and orange bitters and The Artist's Special (scotch, oloroso sherry, lemon juice & red currant syrup), which both hit the spot. The only misstep was a "pairing board" of sweetbreads and calvados - more on that concept in a moment.
A few months later, we dropped in for a more. The room was buzzing in a way it hadn't been earlier though luck had two barstools ready for us. We revisited the two aforementioned drinks, which stood up over time, though the Adonis now strikes us more as a jumping off point. We delved further into the menu, finding unexpected combinations and complexity. Highly recommended are the V.O.C. (Genever, Swedish rum, Lillet, lemon & angostura), which was very complex with herbal notes - let it warm up for the full effect - and the Golden Dog, a rich yet slightly sweet drink with Talisker 10 year old scotch, Lillet, Benedictine, apricot liqueur & angostura. El Guero shows off the lighter side of mezcal - another drink to start with. Meanwhile, if you're feeling adventurous, try one of the Barrel-Aged Cocktails - when we were in they were serving a rich, terrific Solera-Aged White Dog Manhattan.
A word on the pairing boards - they can be hit or miss. If you're looking for a high wire act, this is where you'll find it. Burrata and gin? Lamb neck and rye? Sweetbreads and calvados? The last one we tried over the summer and it was discordant. More recently, it was uni and sherry - yes that again, it's a theme at The Beagle. The sherry was good, a manzanilla from Manuel Cuevas, though the uni that came with it was on the meager side.
Sherry cocktails, attention to detail and barrel-aged drinks. That's a recipe for success and we'll happily occupy a stool anytime one is open. Maybe it's not the most famous place in the in town, but, somehow The Beagle stands on its own. And that's really saying something.
NYC has a new heavyweight entrant to the cocktail bar scene - The Tippler (425 W. 15th Street), a subterranean hideaway opened by the Tippling Bros aka Tad Carducci and Paul Tanguay. Up till now, they have consulted around town but this is the first standalone venture opened by the duo. And what a spot it is - a sprawling former storage basement underneath the foodie paradise & media hub known as the Chelsea Market.
Nothing can prepare you for the two story descent off the street or the large, heretofore disused space in such a prime location. The room is momentarily disorienting so head for the bar, which is carefully woven into the structural beams along one side of the space, or grab a table under the archways across from the bar.
The menu is large - more than two dozen cocktails plus numerous wines and craft beers - but the care put into everything is clearly evident. Of the many cocktails we sampled, most were very good and the couple that didn't quite reach that standard were nevertheless interesting. Drinks follow the current trend of being layered with sometimes competing flavors, using artisanal bitters and unusual ingredients (hops, chiles, malt).
The Dizzy Oaxacan (Sombra mezcal, Averna amaro, grapefruit, lemon, ginger beer and chile) had a light touch, slightly sweet but the mezcal's smokiness came through nicely. The Improved Improved Wisecracker (Ron Zacapa, Meletti amaro, demerara, lemon, harissa) had a nice savory quality, while he Crippler (WhistlePig rye, J.M overproof rhum, Stroh Jagertee, Fidencio mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, bbq bitters) landed on right side of vanilla and caramel thanks to its surprising mix of ingredients, and the Spazerac (Redemption rye, sugar, Peychaud's bitters, absinthe, sacrilege) was okay but a little heavy on the absinthe. On the other hand, the delicious Stool pigeon (Pierre Ferrand cognac, amontillado sherry, orange curacao, blackberries, Peychaud's bitters) had a nice salty quality from the sherry. Curly and the Turk (G'Vine gin, curacao, lemon, hibiscus, chile, Moroccan bitters) was a bit odd and was best served by stirring until it achieved a bloody mary-like effect. Lastly, the Wise Cold Sage (J.M white rhum agricole, Creole Shrubb, grapefruit, sage, sirop de cann) was a nice balance of rum and fruit, while the Marauder of 15th Street (El Jimador tequila, sloe gin chile) was an excellent top-off to the night.
This may not necessarily come as a surprise, but The Tippler simply annihilates all its "competition" in the Meatpacking wasteland. It's reassuring that ambition still has a place in that part of town and even better, that a place this good has plenty of room for both scenesters and more serious cocktail aficionados.
Midtown is hardly known as a cocktail destination, though the odd exception does pop up like Lantern's Keep, so we were intrigued when speakeasy in the sky J Bird opened up at 251 W. 48th Street.
For starters, let's just say most of the fun is getting there - you enter a service area and an elevator operator whisks you up to the rooftop lounge XVI - from there you follow the birds in the hallway, go through a door, down the steps and make a left, go through another door and find yourself in the "secret" lounge. The space is large - don't let the website fool you with talk of being intimate or having limited reservations - with a large square bar at the entrance and two seating areas under a covered skylight. A view of the Hudson makes the western side the best place to sit, besides the bar, though be forewarned that the space is littered with tiny cocktail tables that barely hold drinks and are too low for the seats.
The drinks? Well, let's start with the absurd price of $16 per cocktail. This sort of pricing is egregious and far above what other, better cocktail dens charge. Should we pay a premium for some difficult to find space run by less-than-household name cocktailians in Midtown? Certainly not.
The menu is large with lots of infusions and syrups - our recommendation is to talk extensively with the bartender about sweetness level and flavor profiles as the flavors can be surprising. The best drink was the Moon on the Rain, (Calvados VSOP, Dubonnet and quince gastrique) that was rich and pleasantly Dubonnet forward, followed by La Rosita (Anejo tequila, Antica Vermouth & Campari) - the Campari perfectly balanced out the tequila. The Coco Viejo was Zacapa rum infused with coco and coffee beans, cane syrup and grapefruit bitters - a strong coffee flavor that thankfully mellowed somewhat with ice. Not unpleasant but for a particular palate, not to mention it overwhelmed other drinks on the table. Worst was the Brush on the Bush (Anejo tequila, mezcal, cherry bark, sage agave nectar & vanilla bitters), which buried the mezcal in sweetness even though we were assured it was a smoky drink. The staff raved about The Maddow, a gin cocktail overwhelmed by elderflower, and not likely to be favored by its TV star namesake. Were any of these drinks worth $16? Nope.
Aside from the pricing, the other thing to watch out for is the 20% service charge tacked on every check - making the drinks $19! While we always tip 20% or more, we found this to be shady - when the credit card bill comes, there is a section for tip and no doubt many people have added on extra without needing to. While the service charge should be clearly stated, it wasn't on the menu and the bartender did not state it, so it left us with a bad impression.
Frankly, there is little to recommend a trip to JBird - certainly it hasn't caught on by the looks of the empty room on a recent night. Shockingly, they are threatening more of these places. Unfortunately, his bird is more of a turkey. And we all know they don't fly.
This week Sam Sifton awarded St. Anselm (355 Metropolitan Ave) a deserved one star for the mostly delicious food coming off its grill but we were puzzled by his decision not to highlight the wine program, which is one of the most exciting lists for wine geeks to come along in some time. Sadly, the list suffers due to the lack of a sommelier and the fact that the staff has not tasted most of the wines. So obscure bottles from geeky producers such as Scholium Project (likely the city's largest collection of these wines), Radikon, Gravner and more get short shrift since there is no one to sell the wines. If you just want a glass, the short list includes a very good '03 Tissot Vin Jaune and a Damijan "orange wine," among other selections. But if you want to delve further into the list, you might want to do your research ahead of time.
Even shakier is The Cannibal (113 E. 29th Street) from the same folks as Resto. This hybrid beer store/restaurant is an odd duck and not entirely successful. The night we were in, the food was okay (pates and various meats) but not memorable while the staff was a mess. Food was misplaced, bers could not be properly described and the menus did not list what was on tap, a key issue when you're paying upwards of $10 (!) for a craft beer. Tastes were provided, which was appreciated, but if we have to ask repeatedly which beer we're drinking and the answer still remains a mystery, that's a problem. The wine program is better than expected but they were inflexible when asked if half-glasses could be combined into a flight (no button for open wine on the iPad?)
Oh and about those iPads. If it takes longer than the normal processing time for a transaction, fancy technology is not improving the customer experience.
As the weather cools, our thoughts turn to beer. Okay, not really. We like beer any time. But the beer gods have bequeathed this a special time of year.
For the Deutschophile, mid-September means the start of Oktoberfest. A good place to start off the celebration - which goes until the first Sunday in October - will be Loreley Williamsburg (64 Frost Street, Loreleynyc.com), where Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be tapping a keg of HB Oktoberfest beer just like they do in Munich to kick off the festivities. Show up at 3pm for a free mug of beer. Both Loreley locations will have 4 different Oktoberfest brews on draft.
NYC Beer Week starts on Friday and runs until September 25 with special events and tastings around town. Once again, they are selling a $10 Beer Passport that gets you $3 pours at well over 100 NYC bars. More info and a full list of the numerous events at NYCBeerWeek.com.
While not quite Marienbad, the last night at M. Wells did have a slightly surreal quality - a mix of industry folk and devoted followers lined up outside the battered diner on the corner of obscure and nowhere in Long Island City, ready to dive once more into an order of bone marrow and snails. Surprisingly it was our first and only visit to this now legendary institution - one which we had imagined to be found at the end of some epic journey, surrounded by a sea of taxi lots and the remnants of industry, rather than just steps from the 7 train two stops removed from Manhattan.But accessibility did not break the illusion that this was something odd, not quite great but still some kind of wonderful in a distinctly 21st century, non John Hughes way. Legendarily lax on the service side though it may have been - we saw some evidence of that but also had incredibly cheery and accommodating interactions with several staff members - and a supremely tight fit, M. Wells was a place for rich cooking and bold flavors. And we can't say it disappointed on that front.
Now this being a booze column, you'll likely want a round-up of spirits and notes on wine. We can't really judge a place on its last night as the list was no longer complete - what we did see looked good and we managed quite well, but a request for another bottle of a certain wine was met with an apology. We had drunk the last one, something that was just right given the circumstances. We did try a couple drinks - the Defenestration was a nicely aromatic yet somehow lacking, its mix of cognac, cocchi americano, punt e mes and benedictine not quite coming together, while the Glimmer, gin, aperol, licor 43, cava and orange blossom developed a kind of bubble gum-y quality enhanced by the fizzy cava. Interesting and not unpleasant.
But M. Wells was about the food - the bone marrow, the giant pieces of meat, putting foie on everything. It was comfort and excess all in one, an ode to times full of uncertainty where corporate profits break records but regular folk are left out and just want something that's, well, a bit different. The superstar sadly wasn't the bone marrow, which was sampled a few times and only half delivered due in part to underwhelming snails, but the surprising General Tso sweetbreads. This was a sweetbreads dish for those who are afraid of the ingredient and would rather pretend it were chicken. Or more simply, crack for foodies. Also excellent was the beef tongue salad, great big chunks of tongue over greens, and the chix fried schwab - though you had to watch for the funky bits. This is post-modern cooking which means you can always expect funky bits.
All was topped off by an unbelievable banana cream pie. Pillowly soft and deliciously decadent, it was the perfect accompaniment to the staff conga line that bounced through the tiny space. Last night indeed.
The latest culinary hotspot to land in NYC is Tertulia (359 6th Ave), an Asturias-inspired casual Spanish restaurant inhabiting the former home of the West Village's La Palapa. We slipped in early on night, barely avoiding the crush at the door, and found two plush barstools waiting. From this vantage point, we watched two women churn out tapas near the window while a line of people formed behind us. Note to New Yorkers - if you want a seat right now, get there early. Beyond the bar, the space is divided into two cramped rooms with an open kitchen in the back.
Happily ensconced at the bar, we quickly learned that they are still overwhelmed from last week's opening and have some work to do. The opening enu was somewhat cut down - supply issues were blamed - and wines by the glass were not printed but posted on a blackboard in the back of the front room, all but impossible to see from our vantage point. We tried some Raventos Blanc De Nit cava and some cider from the taps installed in the large oak cask sitting next tot the bar. The cava was good if pricey ($14) while the cider was something of a revelation - a cloudy yellow in color, complex with a hint of fruit and a bit of earthiness. The sizing will throw you off at first - $4 for 3 ounces - but the portion size keeps the cider fresh. A rose from the tap was advertised as more earthy than its counterpart in the bottle but we didn't really taste it. Sangria was flowing freely while we were there but otherwise there are no cocktails yet. Seven sherries are available as well, which we plan on delving into at some later date.
The food has some items of note and a lot that will be familiar to fans of Chef/Owner Seamus Mullen's cooking. Recommended starters include a very good tortilla espanola and the delicious tosta matrimonio, black and white anchovies over creamy sheep's milk cheese with roasted tomatoes. Less exciting were the lamb meatballs, which had a nice tangy tomato sauce but needed more oomph, and the grilled octopus which, along with its sliced potato accompaniments, lacked seasoning, not to mention the apple which really added nothing to the dish. Not to be missed is the Arroz a la Plancha, a medley of mushrooms, snails, calasparra rice, celery and fennel topped with pieces of Iberico ham. The nice crust the rice gains from the plancha brings the dish an extra layer of flavor. And for those leery of snails, they are chopped into very small pieces so as not to disturb any delicate sensibilities.
Tertulia has the makings of a good neighborhood spot in an under-populated stretch of Sixth Avenue - once the crush moves on to the next hotspot. In the meantime, get there early if you want a seat at the bar.
Danny Meyer restaurants are known for service, attention to detail and devotion to great ingredients, but often overlooked are the beverage programs. Sure the group has published a book of cocktail recipes, but no one ever seems to talk about their cocktails. One place we've never failed to have a well made drink is the Bar Room at The Modern (9 W. 53rd Street) and a recent visit introduced us to a modern version of the Bronx cocktail called "The Heights." Incredibly aromatic and herbaceous, this layered drink worked very well with the charcuterie and Alsatian-style menu. The base of the cocktail is Ransom Old Tom style gin, which is more malty than the cleaner modern gins, and Ramazzotti Amaro, an Italian bitter. The grapefruit juice and grapefruit bitters work in harmony to enhance the botanicals and give the drink unexpected depth of flavor. Here's the complete recipe:
The Heights, courtesy The Modern
1oz Ransom Gin
1oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1oz Grapefruit Juice
4 dashes A.B. Smeby Spiced Grapefruit Bitters
Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker and stir well. Strain and serve into a martini glass. Garnish with grapefruit twist.
There aren't many reasons to trek up to the East 70s but we've found one - the recently opened Czech restaurant Hospoda (321 E. 73rd St, website). At first glance, a modern Czech (!) restaurant may seem like a natural beer destination but in reality they only serve Pilsner Urquell, which we've had a few times in bottles but struck us as too bitter and inferior to Czech Budvar (sold here in the somewhat reformulated Czechvar). At Hospoda, Urquell is served four ways from the all foam 'sweet' to the no foam 'neat' so we were skeptical. However, once we saw the serious set-up for dispensing brews and the sample of the sudsy 'sweet' arrived on the table, we were won over. The 'sweet' version was worth a try but not a full glass in our opinion, but the 'creme' with its substantial head proved ideal. At $8 per pint, it's not cheap but it was definitely fresh and well paired with the modern Czech-inspired market menu. You can also get a tasting of all four types for $19.
Perhaps surprisingly, the secret weapon at Hospoda is a terrific winelist, full of fun, geeky wines. Vanessa, one of the sommeliers, is constantly getting her hands on fun stuff - just ask to speak to her and let her know your preferences. More than a dozen wines are offered by the glass including a terrific Tokaji Furmint 2007 and Gruner Veltliner 2010 from Anton Bauer. Also very good was a 2008 Slovakian Riesling, made by a German winemaker across the border from his homeland. Wines by the glass are listed as pairings behind the menu - just line up the two pages to see suggested matchups - but really don't need to be so prescribed. There is a growing by the bottle list, and if you have the big bucks, some very good but pricey sparkling wines such as the Sekt Brut 2005 from Brundlmayer and a number of grower champagnes from Egly-Ouriet, Philipponat and Pierre Gimmonet & Fils.
Overall the food was very good albeit with some unnecessary fussiness in presentation and occasional overload of ingredients on the plate. The menu design is also a bit precious - three categories of small plates divided into Green Market, Chef's and Czech. Two canape/amuses were served including an amazing, perfectly seasoned beef tartar. The standout dish was Prague-style ham with a zesty horseradish foam while the boletus mushrooms accompanying the chicken were also outstanding. Almost as good was the take on a scotch egg, a crisp free range egg accompanied by a delicious creamy cauliflower veloute and the smoked beef tongue atop a yellow pea puree. Our one critique would be simply give us more Czech - the best two dishes came from the Czech section and left us wanting more Eastern flavors. Desserts unfortunately were largely skippable.
The space is loud and cool - a lightwall shining through cutout shapes, long standing bar where the beer is dispensed and glass-ceilinged wine cellar - though it's not quite sure if it wants to be a high end restaurant or casual dining spot. Whichever it chooses to be is fine by us. But it would help greatly if it were 60 or 70 blocks south. Then again, we'd never get in if it were. So make the trek and enjoy one of NYC's most interesting new restaurants.
The dead of summer brings a certain kind of zombie to NYC - the perpetually shorts clad denizens of Middle America descending on Times Square in search of "New York" pizza, dirty water dogs and stale pretzels after a showing of The Lion King. This is a must-to-avoid creature, though since they travel in packs, stumbling about, blinded by the big city lights, it is increasingly difficult to avoid them.
Suitably culture shocked, we found ourselves in the center of the Times Square not once but twice in recent weeks, and needing drinks, not mobs, we descended on two neighborhood newbies - Lantern's Keep and The Rum House - in the hopes cocktail culture would be alive and well in tourist hell.
Lantern's Keep (49 W. 44th Street) is the more downtown of the two, a stylish 25 seat room hidden in the back of the Iroquois Hotel where serious imbibers are shielded from the backpack clad hotel residents by a pair of discreetly pulled back curtains. The cocktail program is under the purview of Meaghan Dorman, whose creations at the Raines Law Room once led us to name it "Cocktail Bar of the Year." Shockingly, not one of the out-of-towners who were making a beeline for the elevators bothered even peeking in, which was fine by us. We quite enjoyed the relative serenity of our comfy banquette.
Drinks uniformly impressed. The enjoyable Boulevardier (bourbon, campari, sweet vermouth)
was a rich, nicely balanced drink, the rock it was served on helping to mellow out and unify the flavors. The Star is their Manhattan variant, a very good drink made with apple brandy, sweet vermouth, orange and angostura bitters. But the biggest hit was something we almost didn't order, the Wildest Redhead (scotch, lemon juice, honey, all-spice dram & dash of cherry heering). Here the lemon brought a nice acidity to balance the scotch, lending a deceptive freshness and lightness to the cocktail, one we could drink over and over. We did actually, come to think of it. Cocktails are $14.
The Rum House (228 W. 47th Street) is a reboot of an old bar at the Edison Hotel, now run by the same guys who opened Ward III in Tribeca. This is an odd duck, a bar a stone's throw from Times Square with a mixed crowd of tourists, old timers and the odd cocktail fan. As opposed to Lantern, which has the pedigree of Raines Law Room behind it, the Ward III connection is far less hip. We hadn't been impressed with our visits to Ward so it remained to be seen whether W. 47th Street could be made passable by the addition of this place.
The first moments were the worst - stepping off the street, the odor was almost too much. The place smelled like a toilet. Not fancy hotel, L'Occitane soap boudoir, but how we imagine that bathroom in the subway stop beneath 42nd Street must smell. But we persevered and ordered a Manhattan (pictured above) made with Templeton Rye from Iowa ($14) as well as The Barrymore ($15), with Bruichladdich single malt, Ramazotti Amaro and Yellow Chartreuse. The former was an interesting take on the classic, good though slightly more herbal than many rye-based renditions, while the Barrymore didn't live up to the potential, more medicinal than delicious. Better was the Diego Rivera ($12), Corazon Tequila, Melletti Amaro, Bonal Gentiane, citrus & egg white, but not so good we would travel for it. There is also a smallish list of rum cocktails which we did not delve into.
Overall, it seems the long wait - assuming anyone in the vicinity was actually waiting - for a good cocktail near Times Square is over. Lantern's Keep has the edge but The Rum House is worth further investigation if you're in the neighborhood.
