Freemans Sporting Club Heads West

The barbers from Freemans Sporting Club are heading west in more ways than one. The original is doing so well that Taavo and the gang have decided to double their pleasure, securing a space at 8th Avenue and Horatio place to open a second barber location. However, this FSC location will feature a traditional apothecary instead of clothes. Expected opening is sometime in June.

DBTH Goes Green

In honor of Earth Day, we here at DBTH have asked some locals about to discuss what they do to promote sustainability. First up, William Tigertt from Freemans explains how one of our favorite spots keeps it green.

We have several Green initiatives at Freemans:

1. All deep fryer grease is recycled into Bio-Diesel.

2. All paper, glass, metal and cardboard is recycled. It's the law, but a lot of small places just dump it for lack of space and effort.

2. 60% of our power comes from Wind and hydro green providers (we're still working on finding vendor for the other 40% - high voltage meter)

3. Our house brand bottled water comes from Maine in re-usable bottles that are sent back and re-filled.

4. Our wine list is mostly European which is uses less energy to mass ship via freighter than trucking wines from California or shipping from Australia. The bulk of our list is also bio-dynamic or organic wine from small estate bottled traditional producers.

5. Our eggs are all organic. Our diary is growth hormone free. We use mostly local producers and labor such as Heritage Foods pork which slaughters 1000 pigs a year versus 1000 pigs a day at large commercial farm.

6. Many of the building materials at Freemans are from reclaimed wood and recycled antiques

7. We keep a small potted garden outside in the Alley which is used for herbs and maintained by local community gardener.

We're constantly looking for new ways to reduce our footprint despite being such a busy neighborhood place.

All excellent measures, keeping the food delicious with a minimal impact on the environment. Just like us. Stay tuned for more.

Quick Hits: Springtime Edition

Holy crap what a week. We better do something fast before it's over. Quick Hits fast. Quick HITS. ARGH!

1. The people love Nicolette. That's great, because so do we. She ain't going anywhere. One reader emailed to say: "Thank you thank you thank you for introducing us to the gloriousness that is Nicolette. Have been lapping up her blog this morning. Saw you just put up a post on her visit to this Touch place but based on careful perusal over the last couple of hours I think there's a lot of other stuff out there that's pure. genius. and deserves a spot on your homepage." Much more to come.

2. Some intial reviews of Antik are in, and we aren't sure what to make of it. One Little Birdy told us it was "a shit show", but a commenter says, "I was there last night and there is definitely a bar, and a lot of models . The place although is incredible small. I think you should send Nicolette there on a recon mission and watch her mingle. This could make for a great new reality show." That may be a good idea. But it's now property of DBTH.

3. Our friends at Freemans Sporting Club are having a sale this weekend. Cheap expensive stuff is always fun, so go get some.

Kissed By a Bee

What's the Spring Drink for 2008? Courtesy of our favorite bartender, the sassy lady at the back bar at Freemans, comes the Bee's Kiss. Best described as a Tequila Gimlet with honey, the drink is sour, sweet, and packs that smooth punch that only a quality tequila cocktail can provide. Go ahead and order one (or two) - but beware, she will use your weaknesses against you - and you may wind up with a wimpy gin and tonic if you don't order with conviction.

Tequila Goes Old Fashioned

What are we thankful for? The helpful and crafty bartender at Freemans who whipped us up a Tequila Old Fashioned, a tasty twist on a classic cocktail. Made with Don Julio and a smoky punch, it certainly added a pleasant cheer to our already rosy fall disposition. Two or three of these Benito Juarez's (as we have dubbed it), and you are feeling no pain. But remember, everything in moderation. Right? Right.

A Healing Tonic

What is the new cocktail trend that is sweeping through Manhattan's finest cocktail establishments? Tonic water. Yeah, we know that tonic has always been around, but (relatively) new to the market is Q Tonic. Made from Peruvian quinine and sweetened with organic agave, Q is quickly becoming the go to tonic for the City's top bartenders. The product got some early buzz when it was introduced last fall, but it only recently has broken into the market. Example, Freeman's has just begun using it in it's tonic based drinks. Sweet. In fact, naturally sweet. After tasting it ourselves, we find it to be much improved over the traditional Schweppes tonic. The unnatural aftertaste is gone and the flavor blends nicely with a high quality gin. But it is still tonic. It doesn't really jibe with what we like to drink.

DBTH will never shill for anyone. EVER. When we find a product worth mentioning, we feel a duty to share and share alike. If there are any questions regarding this policy, please feel free to let us know.

Blogging for a Flogging: Gemma

We admit, we're not perfect. And when we're bad, we deserve to be punished. In our excitement over the possibility of Freeman's being a part of our favorite new hotel, we got our facts mixed up. It seems Taavo and the crew will not be operating Gemma, the new spot at the Bowery Hotel. Mr. William Tigertt from Freeman's checked in to say:

Taavo did the design for the Gemma restaurant at the Bowery Hotel as the architect. We do not own it, or are not going to operate it. It will be run by the same chef/group that does the Maritime Hotel, Bowery Bar, and Waverly. It has no association with Freemans.

We've been a bad blogger, and we're ready to bend over and take it. We promise to be good.

Italian Surprise at The Bowery Hotel

We admit that we are a sucker for this Bowery Hotel thing. When we saw those first guests walking in, we were oh so jealous. So we decided that we should check it out too, and check it out we did. The place is sweet, ranking up there with the other boutique powerhouses, both in NYC and globally. That's right, globally.

But we have more than just praise. We have some juicy intel. Like the bar is open for business. And that the restaurant will be of the Italian variety and is named Gemma. And that the operator is none other than Taavo Somer of Freeman's. To top it all off, there will be a super stealth Japanese joint in the sub-level that is still a few months away.

So let's take a deep breath and recap, shall we?
1. The Bowery Hotel is sweet.
2. The bar is open for cocktails.
3. The restaurant is Italian and a co-production with Freeman's.
4. Stealth Japanese joint coming soon.
5. Oooh, how could we forget, their website launched too.

Looking good, Billy Ray. Feeling good, Lewis.