End of year time means we're reflecting on the best and worst of 2009...
Best reason to go to a non-descript part of Manhattan - Raines Law Room, clearly the best new bar of the year. Runner-up for non-descript visits is Dutch Kills, literally in the middle of nowhere.
Worst bar of the year - Ella. This bordello-like bar turns out some of the worst cocktails in town. Add in the faux-brothel decor, loud DJs and a doorman on Avenue A and you have a must-avoid joint.
Best reason to avoid the hype - the Tom & Jerry at Bar Henry. We like Bar Henry a lot for its great wine program and tasty dishes, but the Tom & Jerry is an unctuous boozy snot-like mess that booze writers should really not be promoting to the general public.
Worst trend - while food and beverage deals abounded in recession plagued 2009, beer prices skyrocketed. A week didn't go by without a new restaurant trotting out a beer list full of craft brews at $7 or $8 per. Memo to restaurateurs - stop milking beer drinkers.
Best reason to overthrow the government - the State legislature never even voted on the option of selling wine in supermarkets, ensuring your crappy corner liquor store will live on in perpetuity.
Best reason to overthrow the government #2 - the inept State Liquor Authority also turned out to be corrupt. Big surprise there.
Biggest disappointment - Flatiron Lounge, for uninspired, barely drinkable summer drinks
Most obvious "I told you so" - Ward III, a loud, skimpily decorated bar with a non-workable concept ("pick your liquor and I'll make you a drink but you won't know what it is and how to order it again") for the neighborhood. Just because you heard of the cocktail craze does not mean you should partake.
Best chance to taste expensive wines usually only available by the bottle - a tie between enomatic-crazy SD26 and Vintry Wine & Whiskey. There is a certain lack of soulfulness in getting wine from a machine, but the preservation technology means you can try old or less common vintages in small tastes. Runner-up - Bar Henry with its extensive list of wines available by the half-bottle pour.
Best cocktails - in no particular order: the Murray Sour from Minetta Tavern, Creole Daquiri from Rye House, L'Heure Verte #2 from Allen & Delancey, Belhaven Cocktail at the Vanderbilt, NCL from Ssam Bar, 1868 Manhattan at Dutch Kills, Oaxaca 747 at Eleven Madison and the perfectly made Gold Rush and Negroni, both from Raines Law Room.
And lastly, the worst things even booze can't improve - the godawful triumvirate of Dinner with the Band, The Wanda Sykes Show and the truly horrific On the Rocks, which inexplicably ran after SNL for a few weeks this fall. Each show features drinking in some form and each proved to be terrible in spite of the booze consumed while watching it. Way to bring down an entire industry folks.
See you in 2010!
Best reason to go to a non-descript part of Manhattan - Raines Law Room, clearly the best new bar of the year. Runner-up for non-descript visits is Dutch Kills, literally in the middle of nowhere.
Worst bar of the year - Ella. This bordello-like bar turns out some of the worst cocktails in town. Add in the faux-brothel decor, loud DJs and a doorman on Avenue A and you have a must-avoid joint.
Best reason to avoid the hype - the Tom & Jerry at Bar Henry. We like Bar Henry a lot for its great wine program and tasty dishes, but the Tom & Jerry is an unctuous boozy snot-like mess that booze writers should really not be promoting to the general public.
Worst trend - while food and beverage deals abounded in recession plagued 2009, beer prices skyrocketed. A week didn't go by without a new restaurant trotting out a beer list full of craft brews at $7 or $8 per. Memo to restaurateurs - stop milking beer drinkers.
Best reason to overthrow the government - the State legislature never even voted on the option of selling wine in supermarkets, ensuring your crappy corner liquor store will live on in perpetuity.
Best reason to overthrow the government #2 - the inept State Liquor Authority also turned out to be corrupt. Big surprise there.
Biggest disappointment - Flatiron Lounge, for uninspired, barely drinkable summer drinks
Most obvious "I told you so" - Ward III, a loud, skimpily decorated bar with a non-workable concept ("pick your liquor and I'll make you a drink but you won't know what it is and how to order it again") for the neighborhood. Just because you heard of the cocktail craze does not mean you should partake.
Best chance to taste expensive wines usually only available by the bottle - a tie between enomatic-crazy SD26 and Vintry Wine & Whiskey. There is a certain lack of soulfulness in getting wine from a machine, but the preservation technology means you can try old or less common vintages in small tastes. Runner-up - Bar Henry with its extensive list of wines available by the half-bottle pour.
Best cocktails - in no particular order: the Murray Sour from Minetta Tavern, Creole Daquiri from Rye House, L'Heure Verte #2 from Allen & Delancey, Belhaven Cocktail at the Vanderbilt, NCL from Ssam Bar, 1868 Manhattan at Dutch Kills, Oaxaca 747 at Eleven Madison and the perfectly made Gold Rush and Negroni, both from Raines Law Room.
And lastly, the worst things even booze can't improve - the godawful triumvirate of Dinner with the Band, The Wanda Sykes Show and the truly horrific On the Rocks, which inexplicably ran after SNL for a few weeks this fall. Each show features drinking in some form and each proved to be terrible in spite of the booze consumed while watching it. Way to bring down an entire industry folks.
See you in 2010!
