|
|
>
Aureole
|
Aureole was never known for its cocktails, but with the cocktail Renaissance in full swing, even Upper East Side stalwarts like Charlie Palmer's flagship restaurant are now offering mixed drinks that tempt a detour from the wine list. Mixologist Ektoras Binikos peppers the summer cocktail list with fresh flavors and seasonal ingredients that mimic the dining menu; in fact, Aureole offers a five-course tasting menu paired with his cocktail creations ($150). For summer, Binikos reaches for the white goods-not just vodka, but rum, pisco and gin-then punctuates the spirits with fresh mint and bright citrus like yuzu and verjus. "I also use a lot of figs because growing up in Greece, that was the summer fruit. And fresh herbs like verbena also find their place in the cocktails," says Binikos. His Valparaiso cocktail is reminiscent of a mojito, but it's more aromatic with Aba pisco from Chile. Served in a thirst-quenching portion, this drink gives pinot grigio some serious competition when the heat is on.
-Jeffery Lindenmuth
34 East 61st St., New York; 212-319-1660
Valparaiso
4-5 mint leaves
2-3 drops of orange bitters
1 1/2 ounces Aba Pisco
1/2 ounce fig purée
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce verjus
In a mixing glass, muddle the mint leaves with the bitters. Add ice and remaining ingredients and shake thoroughly. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.
|
|
|
>
Chanterelle
|
Chanterelle in New York's Tribeca is not the kind of place one goes to sit at the bar, order a Cognac and light up a matador. Karen and David Waltuck's elegant eatery doesn't even have a proper bar, for that matter. But that doesn't stop Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn from stocking an impressive inventory of aged and rare Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados (not to mention 5,000 bottles of wine). The big names are accounted for - Remy, Hennessy, Martell, Hine, Delamain, Larressingle - at XO or better status for the Cognacs and vintages for the Armagnacs and Calvados. Check your credit limit before ordering the sublime La Fontaine de la Pouyade Grande Champagne Premier Cru Cognac for $150 a glass, or the Domaine Baraillon 1900 Calvados for $250 per pour. On the esoteric side (read: affordable, too) are the Marcel Ragnaud Fontvieille Cognac ($20), Laubade Armagnac 1963 ($35), and R. Giard Calvados 1965 ($35).
- Anthony Giglio
Chanterelle, 2 Harrison St., NYC; 212-966-6960; chanterellenyc.com
|
|
|
>
Dell 'Anima
|
Dell'Anima is the instantly hot brainchild of Joe Campanale, a former sommelier at Babbo, and
Gabriel Thompson, formerly of Le Bernardin and Del Posto. As the name suggests, everything here is
italiano, including the cocktails, which they begin pouring appropriately during aperitivo hour.
Legendary mixologist Dale DeGroff worked with former Babbo barman L.R. Laggy to create a list of
libations that range from classics like the Americano and Negroni to nuovo neat treats like the
Amarena Crush (Junipero Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, fresh lemon and muddled Amarena cherries), the
Cynarino (Cynar, club soda and a squeeze of lemon) and of course-"with all due respect" to the
Manhattan-the Palermo (Michter's 10-Year-Old Rye, Cinzano Rosso, Averna and a candied lemon twist).
- Anthony Giglio
38 8th Ave. at Jane St.; 212-366-6633 (reviewed W&S 2/08)
|
|
|
>
Dylan Prime
|
Dylan Prime is a fine steakhouse, no question there, but for many people the real scene belongs to the next-door lounge. Step in off Tribeca's warehouse-dominated streets and you're wrapped in various shades of dark, with mahogany accents gleaming here and there. Yes, it's one of those places that hums the word cocktail like mood music. Sure, there must be people drinking beers here, or wine - there may even be a few lunatics partaking of Dylan Prime's modestly named 48-ounce Ultimate Martini, or the equally imposing Massive Mojito. But for purists, Dylan Prime says Manhattan; cocktail-wizard Michael Waterhouse, the man behind the drinks list here, will be more than happy to mix you one of his own design.
- Ray Isle
Dylan Prime, 62 Laight St., NYC, 212-334-4783; dylanprime.com
|
|
|
>
Dos Caminos
|
Dos Caminos' buzz has everything to do with co-owners John McDonald (Merc Bar, Canteen) and Steve Hanson (Fiamma, Blue Fin, Ruby Foo's), who've joined forces to combine PR flair and hipster design sense in this cavernous, 250-seat space. The action-packed bar is the right place to taste the silky guacamole and sip beverage director Greg Harrington's icy treats, such as his tangy-sweet strawberry-basil margarita, or the frozen Prickly Pear Cactus, made with El Tesoro Silver, triple sec and fresh fruit juices.
- Anthony Giglio
Dos Caminos, 373 Park Ave. South, New York; 212-294-1000
|
|
|
>
Eugene
|
Come to dance, stay to eat. Or come to eat and stay to dance. Or just pop the cork on some bubbly and take in the scene. This hip lounge space has recently re-opened its restaurant under the steady hand of Sam DeMarco (First, Merge, District), in an art-deco room that draws in the main space's finger-snappin' cocktail vibe, albeit at slightly lower volume. Dishes from DeMarco's simple but clever menu are available either for one or for four or more; sharing is the name of the game. And the well-chosen wine list offers unexpected gems like a Lorca Pinot Gris from Monterey or a Nicolas Joly Savennières, all at level-headed prices. Special cool plus? DeMarco's decadent first-date menu, five courses with paired champagne at $100 per couple. Guaranteed to - well. You get the idea.
- Ray Isle
Eugene, 27 W. 24th St., NYC; 212-462-0999
|
|
|
>
Gonzo
|
Gonzo joins Fresco and Scopa as the newest and most neighborly eatery from chef Vincent Scotto and his sister Donna. Here, the compact, casual bar scene is abuzz with giant Fumoso Martinis, which bar manager Bill Murphy says raise eyebrows every time he makes one. "Its name is Italian for 'smoky,' and it's meant to have that smoky flavor that single malts have." And it does. Murphy adds an ounce of Glenfiddich to five ounces of Ketel One over ice, stirs - "not shaken," he says with faux hauteur - and strains it into a martini glass with a slice of lemon. The drink, he says, gets customers talking about Scotch, which often leads to a nightcap of The Macallan.
- Anthony Giglio
Gonzo, 140 W 13th St., NYC; 212-645-4606
|
|
|
>
Hole In One
|
Hole In One takes subtlety to new levels, beginning with the entrance: a tiny brass nameplate next to a door buzzer. But behind that anonymous exterior and up a flight of stairs, owner Koichi Hiraiwa stocks more than 300 single-malt whiskies, from the affordable and familiar to the exotic and wildly expensive. If you've been hunting, for instance, for the absurdly rare Black Bowmore, this is one place you can get it - albeit at $780 for a two-ounce dram. Newcomers may balk at the $35 cover charge; Hiraiwa's regulars (many of them Japanese) know that it's a small price to pay for absolute serenity in the midst of brawling Manhattan, courteous, pitch-perfect service, and the kind of Scotch list you rarely see outside of your dreams.
- Ray Isle
Hole in One, 1003A 2nd Ave., NYC; 212-319-6070
|
|
|
>
Kloe
|
Kloe may sound like the name of the perfume chef Erica Miller's grandma once wore, but these days this mahogany-floored former speakeasy smells more like success than eau de toilette. And while Miller and partner Nathan Foreman have transformed this historical space into a swank-but-homey-feeling eatery, imbibing is the common thread, found in the spirits of the politicians and prizefighters who once drank here, and in barman Tosh Marks, who created the "Tunny Manhattan" in honor of a long-gone heavyweight. The connection? "Tunny liked brandy, so I replaced the cherry with Hardy XO-soaked cranberries," says Marks. Dare I say it? It's a knockout.
- Anthony Giglio
Kloe, 243 West 14th St., NYC; 212-255-5563
|
|
|
>
Link
|
Link is the hipster haunt of the Irving Plaza crowd looking for pre- and post-concert imbibing, and also entertainment. Enter Julie Reiner, a master mixologist hired by owner Shaul Natan to dazzle diners and loungers alike, all within view of the island bar. "I hired bartenders to play around and dance and perform, so they're not just pouring," says Reiner. Such conviviality naturally leads to flirting in all directions, which inspired Reiner's Flirtini, made with Stoli Razberry, simple syrup and cranberry juice. Though the drinks aren't free, the entertainment is.
- Anthony Giglio
Link, 120 E 15th. St., New York, NY; 212-995-1100
|
|
|
>
Los Dados
|
Los Dados is the latest roll of the dice by Sue Torres, chef/owner of the Chelsea restaurant Sue–os, and partners David Rabin and Will Regan,
the hospitality veterans behind Ÿber hip Lotus and The Double Seven. The restaurant and adjacent taqueria boast a broad selection of regional
Mexican dishes, celebrating simple recipes and everyday life in Mexico, as well as 50 Tequilas–all 100 percent agave–and hard-to-find mezcals.
The very respectable house Margarita is made with Herradura Silver, Cointreau and properly handmade sour mix, but the Lagerita, made with
Cazadores Blanco, Dos Equis beer and fresh lime, might be better-tuned to Torres' bold, fiery, chile-centric dishes. Purists, of course, can
quench their thirst with a neat shot of Del Maguey Tobula Mezcal, a Gran Centenario Leyenda or a Don Julio Real.
- Anthony Giglio
Los Dados, 73 Gansevoort St., NYC; 646-810-7290; losdadosmexican.com (reviewed W&S 6/08)
|
|
|
>
M&R Bar and Dining Room
|
M&R Bar and Dining Room has been reincarnated by owners Michael Howett and Richard Bach; the original on Elizabeth Street disappeared when its lease expired in January 2003. Now in a basement space on the Bowery, the antique bottles and art school oil paintings will look familiar to denizens of the old M&R, and the speakeasy feel is heightened by the dark wood interior, salvaged from a 1903 Pennsylvania German singing club in Allentown, PA. The bartenders also like their drinks decidedly on the dark side, like their improved Cosmopolitan made with Maker's Mark ($11), and a near perfect Manhattan with Jim Beam Rye and Campari ($10). The food-small bites like grilled haloumi skewers with walnut and roasted pepper dip and fancy panini-may seem out of place with the Old New York vibe, but that's one compromise we're willing to make.
- Jeffery Lindenmuth
M&R Bar and Dining Room, 356 Bowery, downstairs, New York; 212-260-1890
|
|
|
>
Mermaid Inn
|
Mermaid Inn may sound like a tacky waterside clam bar, but it's really the hippest bar-restaurant the East Village has seen since New York was New Amsterdam. Owners Danny Abrams and chef Jimmy Bradley (Red Cat, The Harrison) dish out North Atlantic seafood that's perfect with a bevy of East Coast beers, including Geery's London Style Porter from Maine, Dogfish Head Pale Ale from Delaware, and Otter Creek Pale Ale from Vermont. Where does the Hitachino Nest White Ale from Japan fit in? "Who eats more fish than the Japanese?" asks Bradley. Good point.
- Anthony Giglio
Mermaid Inn, 96 Second Ave., NYC, NY; 212-674-5870
|
|
|
>
Parea
|
Parea brings Cleveland chef Michael Symon to a Flatiron block already thick with excellent wining and dining options, including Gramercy Tavern, Veritas and Flute. He and executive chef Jonathon Sawyer are holding their own with artisanal Greek food, like house-cured pork, lamb and sausage, as well as an array of spinialo, a Greek take on ceviche. To match, the wine list ranges the Mediterranean but focuses on Greece's best, like an array of assyrtiko that can stretch easily from grilled fish to the saffron sausage and beyond. - T.Q. Thomas
Parea, 36 E. 20th St., NY; 212-777-8448
|
|
|
>
Pegu Club
|
|
Pegu Club is not a library, though it would be wise to remember your reading glasses given its cocktail book collection; neither is it a laboratory, though the bartenders focus like pharmacists as they count dashes of bitters and droplets of tinctures to make drinks like the Pegu Club Cocktail, a keepsake from the original Pegu Club, where British officers congregated in colonial-era Rangoon. Audrey Saunders, formerly at Bemelmans, joined the folks behind NYC's Flatiron Lounge to open this dark, Indo-Chinese-themed lounge secreted two floors above West Houston Street just days before Hurricane Katrina bombarded the Gulf Coast. Saunders, an activist cocktailian and protégé of Dale DeGroff, rallied the troops: By mid-September the armed forces of mixology, including New Orleans treasure Chris McMillian, were mixing up relief in the form of Sazeracs, Ramos gin fizzes and brandy milk punches, with proceeds going to relief funds. On less dramatic nights, head bartender Toby Maloney winds up as if on the pitcher's mound to shake up cool-weather combinations, such as the Cognac-and-Calvados-based Tantris Sidecar and DeGroff's minty Whiskey Smash.
- Sara Roahen
Pegu Club, 77 W. Houston St., New York, NY; 212-473-PEGU
|
|
|
>
Punch & Judy
|
Punch & Judy is an exemplary wine bar conjured up by Constantine Mouzakitis and Giacomo Turone, two twenty-something wine salesmen with a great idea. The cozy room may feel like a hipster lounge - replete with dim lights and kick-ass tunes - but the service is perfectly grown-up, with Riedel glassware and an anything-but-ordinary selection of 100 or so wines, including a stunning Spy Valley Gewurztraminer from Marlborough and a luscious Baron de la Magna "Dignus" from Navarra. A light menu offers insanely great food, too. I want to die here.
- Anthony Giglio
Punch & Judy, 26 Clinton St., NYC; 212-982-1116
|
|
|
>
Russian Samovar
|
Roman Kaplan, founder of Russian Samovar in midtown Manhattan, is a former professor from Russia who began using information culled from 19th-century texts to infuse vodka with esoteric flavors such as cherry, tarragon, coriander and ginger back in 1986. Now, with the flavored spirits craze in full swing, Russian expats as well as Theater District artists, dancers and singers flock to him for a taste of authenticity. Most flavors are sipped neat ($5/shot), though his fiery horseradish vodka does find its way into a Bloody Mary; garlic vodka is prescribed for a cold. Kaplan offers traditional accompaniments like caviar, herring, house-made pickles, blini and even salo, an appetizer of pork lard on small toasts with mustard. Purists can choose from about 25 international vodkas served au natural.
- Jeffery Lindenmuth
Russian Samovar, 256 West 52nd St., New York, NY; 212-757-0168
|
|
|
>
Silverlining
|
|
Slip some silver Tequila into that clichéd cosmopolitan and you get the Rude Cosmopolitan, the Cosmolita, or even the Platinum Cosmopolitan, created by bar consultant George Delgado, using the all-agave El Tesoro Platinum Tequila. Delving further into cocktail semantics, Delgado observes, "You know how I view it: The cosmo is a vodka margarita with a splash of cranberry, so this is the drink going back to its rightful place." In this drink, vibrant blanco Tequila seems right at home with old compatriots Cointreau and lime, which enhance its green, herbaceous flavors. Despite its color de rosa, the drink has popped like a piñata at Mexican standards like Zona Rosa in midtown Manhattan, where a top-shelf margarita by any name, or color, is as sweet. Delgado's Platinum Cosmopolitan combines 1 part El Tesoro Platinum Tequila, 2 parts cranberry juice, 1/2 part Cointreau and 1/2 part fresh lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
- Jeffery Lindenmuth
Zona Rosa, 40 W. 56th St, NYC; 212-247-2800
|
|
|
>
The Smith
|
At local bar gurus Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt's new 20-seat zinc counter, all-American cuisine
is paired with a patriotic list of 20 Bourbon and rye selections, including hard-to-find Old Overholt and
Elijah Craig 18-year-old. A dozen "Fancy Cocktails" include the Hungry Teacher (Bourbon, mint, lemon and lime),
an excellent foil to the blue cheese fondue drizzled over Harris's hot potato chips.
- Anthony Giglio
55 Third Ave.; 212-420-9800; thesmithnyc.com (reviewd W&S 4/08)
|
|
|
>
Suba
|
|
Suba sounds sort of like S.C.U.B.A., and you'll draw the same conclusion when you see how much water there is all over this tri-level Latin-Spanish hotspot, including a dining island surrounded by a shimmering reflecting pool. The menu by Stephane Buccholzer is Franco-Spanish-Latin, with a tapas repertoire ranging from goat cheese Colombian arepas to bacalao-stuffed pimento de pequillos. The wine list follows suit, almost exclusively Spanish and South American, including Trapiche Malbec, Muruve Toro and Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Reserva.
- Anthony Giglio
Suba, 109 Ludlow Street, NYC; 212-982-5714
|
|
|
>
The Double Seven
|
The Double Seven resides in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, an area so trendy that it now has its own corporate sponsor, Delta Air Lines' Song. But with this latest venture, the nightlife impresarios that brought us Lotus add real depth to the breadth of choices sprouting from the cobblestone byways. With stylish accents like leather banquettes and suede ceilings, it looks like the typical Meatpacking district club, but it's free of the thumping bass, resulting in a place that embraces the lost art of conversation over a cocktail. The cocktail list, created by Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey, Little Branch), displays 14 nightly selections, like a classic French 75 or No. 12 Red, made with gin, red currant jam and lemon, culled from a master list of 80 signature drinks. Each cocktail ($16) includes details like hand-chipped ice, steel straws and a suitably paired chocolate from Debauve & Gallais. The house Spiked Warm Apple Cider is partner Monica Chiang's favorite winter pick-me-up: Spicy and sweet, it's perfect for cold-weather sipping. And the accompanying Earl Grey ganache is reason enough to order a second round.
- Jeffery Lindenmuth
The Double Seven, 418 W.14th St., New York; 212-981-9099
|
|
|
|