Quick Hits: Bowery Hotel Service, Candy Cafe, Trouble at Tailor

Some fun Friday tidbits that we wanted to share with our first ever edition of Quick Hits.

1. Following up on the roof party at the Bowery, a commenter notes, "Now if only the staff at the Bowery would lose the pathetic attitude. The hostess at Gemma is only out done by the Einstein managing Bowery's outdoor patio." A little rough, but we know the feeling. Ordering a drink inside that hotel is a guaranteed adventure. And still no music.

2. A Little Birdy files a report from the recently rejiggered Candy Cafe, saying, "My girlfriend arranged to host a little early evening birthday celebration for me at the Candy Cafe. We had about 18 people for wine and small plates before we went out for the night. It worked out great." Glad to hear it, and sorry we weren't able to attend. We love birthdays.

3. Sam Mason's plan to craft brown butter whiskey sure sounds sweet to us, but are we ever going to get a chance to try it? A commenter throws some doubt on the fire, saying, "Inside contractor sites serious financial problems due to time overruns. Place may never open unless stable backer steps to the fore."

Gemma Cracks the Whip

A funny note came over the wire about the oh so popular out of the gate Gemma. It seems they are oh so strict when it comes to showing ID's. A Little Birdy, perhaps a humming bird, writes,

I walked into Gemma last week to meet my girlfriends for dinner. When I arrived, one of them was pleading with the bartender to be served. He simply refused to do so unless she showed him some ID, which she had left in her fiance's pocket. It's not like we are some 19 year olds or anything. One of the girls even said, 'Come on, she's almost 30.' Can you imagine? The bartender turned it over to the manager, who wouldn't budge, so we all chipped in to give her money for a cab so she could go get her passport. When she came back the bartender gave her a free drink, which was nice. Oh, and the food was pretty good too.

Slow down there Little Humming Birdy. Wow, that story is long. We haven't really heard about a restaurant being that strict in a long time. Good to know that the folks at Gemma really do respect the law.

BREAKING: Gemma Open for Business

A normal summer weekend in New York City is slow. A semi-holiday summer weekend is very slow. Not the best time to open a restaurant. Or is it? A DBTH commenter dropped a weekend bomb on us, saying

Gemma the restaurant at the Bowery hotel opened last night (Friday 29th) - no tastings, no private parties, just simply opened the doors at 6:30 - by 9:30 the place was packed! The food is delicious, the wine fantastic and the service impeccable - especially considering it was the first night. It is a gorgeous space with no detail left unconsidered - like the hotel it is a knock-out! Where were you?

Unfortunately, we were away on official DBTH business. And the praise seems a bit too praisey, if you catch our drift. However, the space is very well done. We attended a small get together there a few weeks back. Thankfully, we can now rest peacefully knowing Gemma is ready to go.

Gemma Gets Set

You could say we are excited for Gemma. Or you could say we are just a sucker for little birdy's who go the extra effort with their cameras. Maybe it's a little of both. A weekend peek behind those lacy curtains has birdy fluttering with anticipation, singing, "Gemma is officially ready to open. Furniture is in, glasses line the bar (pictured above), there is even some freshly chopped wood in front of the pizza oven!" Oooh, we love us some fresh cut wood. Makes it good. But we have some bad news for you. We know that Gemma's not quite ready for John Q. Birdy. But it is ready for the privileged. Private parties kick off next week. You know where to find us.

Gemma Getting Ready

Behind those lacy curtains is Gemma, the Bowery Hotel's soon to open Italian restaurant designed by Taavo Somer. The last time we passed by, the place was still pretty much under wraps. No more. A little birdy walked by and snapped this pic, saying "the restaurant is getting close to being ready. There are lace curtains hanging over all the doors and windows and when I peered inside, I could see the furniture had been delivered. Wasn't set up though." Dirty birdy. We think there are laws against peeping like that. It's OK. We won't tell. Looks like it's time to sit back and wait for our invite to opening night. We think we deserve it.

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.