Sub Mercer Books Up

We stopped by SubMercer for a repeat visit over the weekend and had a chance to scope their revamped cocktail menu, featuring the Tequila Mockingbird, a literary take on a the traditional margarita. Featuring maraschino liqueur, grapefruit and lime juice, it's the perfect tequila cocktail to keep you refreshed when drinking in a sub basement during the summer - if Stefan ever lets you in.

Pegu Club Goes Picante

Stopping by the Pegu Club for a drink this weekend, we were tantalized by a wickedly delicious cocktail that left us wanting for more. Called the "Poquito Picante" (meaning, a little heat), the gin based drink consists of muddled jalapeno pepper, cilantro & cucumber, cointreau, and lemon juice. It's served up with a jalapeno to dare those who want a bit more spice, and is beyond smooth. We suggest climbing those steps to enjoy several.

Antik Keeps The Bar Hidden

Antik has been up and running for a few weeks now, and besides the opening night event, things at the retooled Bowery lounge has been pretty quiet. Well, we heard they were booked for a pretty important birthday party last Friday night and things didn't go so well. A Little Birdy checks in and confirms the rumors, saying:

Went to Antik on Friday night for my friend's bday. She took the upstairs over for the night. It was really fun bc it was all our friends but i think people got a bit annoyed with the whole drink situation. They wouldn't let you order from the window/bar at the front only from the waitresses walking around which didn't come by often enough.

The venue should be happy bc she brought a good crowd of a ton of big name models, marisa tomei, jamie burke, may anderson, few guys from the strokes etc, but the people running it were trying to be all velvet rope dbag when everyone there was there for this private party. not sure why they had to act all too cool at the door, it was a bit annoying. party was fun and our friends were djing so music was good. but the place cleared out fairly early which i assume was because of the drink situation. its real comfortable, lots of tables and places to sit. if they could hire a few more waitresses i think it would be a good spot to host a party.

Slow drink delivery is not a good way to run a cocktail lounge, which goes back to our original theory. It takes more than a bar and a cocktail menu to run a proper lounge. Interaction with the bartenders, seeing the bottles and conversation with knowledgeable servers is how you run a lounge. This is apparently a mess.

Antik Opens Tonight

Antik is open for business as of tonight - if you are on the invite list that is - and according to reports, there is no bar in the joint. Customers will be ordering all drinks from cocktail servers who will then pop back to a service bar where they will be made.

Weird concept, since patrons who enjoy cocktails also enjoy speaking to the knowledgeable mixologists who create them. Call us crazy, but this is probably the final nail in the coffin of New York's speakeasy trend.

An Evening At: Death & Co.

What is it about Death & Co. that drives the people so crazy? The regulars love it and want it to stay forever. The neighbors hate it and want it gone immediately. And where does that leave us?

After visiting several times after it first opened, Death & Co. left us with a bad taste in our mouths. The food wasn't good, the seats were small, and the price point was, in our opinion, too high. We decided to stop going. But after almost a year, we decided to give it a chance. We showed up early in the evening to meet a friend, but when we told the door guard we were meeting someone, we had to wait outside in the cold until the rest of the party arrived. The next guests were told the same thing, saying the bar doesn't seat incomplete parties. Luckily, our party arrived before after a few minutes and we managed to get the last available small table. The other waiters never got in.

The room is still dark and well designed. Jazz is still on as background music. The cocktail list is lengthy and varied, with several creative concoctions that were tasty, but took 10 minutes to be delivered to the table. We didn't eat, but the food we saw still came in excessively small batches. The size of the room, the crowd and the music make it very loud and hard to talk. Maybe not the best place to catch up with friends, but then what is it a good place for? We aren't sure.

Do we want it be closed? Of course not. But we have our complaints. If it's a cocktail bar with food, then let people wait inside for their group. If it's too small, then allow people to reserve tables. The community issues have Death and Co. walking too fine a line, trying so hard to put it's restaurant foot forward while doing everything it can to operate as one of the most upscale cocktail lounges in town. No one can be everything. Death & Co. deserves a chance to do as it pleases, operating as a full service lounge until 4 AM, 7 nights a week. But that doesn't mean we are going to go.

Waverly Inn's Secret Red Cocktail

What's the latest cocktail craze at the Waverly Inn? Why, the secretive Off the Red Wagon, a cocktail who's recipe is so crazy it's better if you and DBTH don't even know the recipe. Just fork over $15 and they guarantee that you will love it. But will you?

As an aside - nice little post today on the Waverly Blog, as Emil Varda finally figures out that managers and publicists are more than willing to alert the paparazzi when their clients are out and about. Good for you Emil. Now maybe you can work on updating the Waverly's tired dinner menu, which is the same as when they opened the joint a year ago.

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.

I Am Not a Bar

We pity poor David Kaplan, the young up and comer who's Death and Co. has gone to battle with the fearsome fogies of Community Board 3. It seems his cocktail restaurant lounge type thing is going to be bullied by his neighbors right out of business. How bad have things gotten? So bad that Kaplan has to take umbrage with the author of a recent sympathy piece that labeled Death and Co. as a bar.

The madness has got to stop. While we support a neighbor's right to relative quiet, New York as a city must make it possible to open and operate a business. With the pending economic issues, this will become even more evident, as potential entrepreneurs (David Kaplan) who are hoping to pour their heart and soul into opening a restaurant, lounge or bar will look at the neighborhood, the high rent, the fees, taxes and regulatory BS and run the other way. Add an onerous community board to the mix and opening an interesting place to have a cocktail is nearly impossible.

Death and Co. is a bar! Their drinks are good, their food is passable. Give them a damn liquor license and let's wrap this shenanigan up.

[Photo Credit]

Quick Hits: Death and Co.

Time for a super fast edition of Quick Hits, where we tell you something oh so quickly.
A very special Little Birdy tells us some news from the bowels of the East Village, saying, "after dinner, when my friends and I couldn't get any seats at PDT, we headed over to Death and Co. around midnight. They were already closed, the doors were locked and there was nobody there." Thanks VSLB. Death & Co.'s troubles with the neighborhood and the SLA are well documented. We certainly wish them the best and hope they are able to stay open.

Photo Credit

Rye at Rayuela

We love to hear from our readers. In fact we don't think hear from you enough. WRITE! Anywho, a reader checks in to say, "Went to Rayuela last night had a really good drink there tonight called the 'rye'. . . it's worth checking out." They mention something else about the food being good, but who really cares about that? We don't need no stinking food. Checking out their cocktail menu, we learn the Rye consists of "guava, lemon, agave nectar, mint leaves, Michter’s Straight Rye, Becherovka." That's a lot of flavors - but flavor is good. We will have to check this out. Thanks reader. Keep the tips coming.

Smith Slings the Bubbles

Early reports from The Smith, the new Third Avenue restaurant from Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt (Jane), are giving the word that it's all bubbles. How's that? Yes, the restaurant is going green by not serving bottled water, and for those that want some gas with their H2O, Smith is serving up a house blend free of charge. How nice. The rub? The water is not very good. The mix of CO2 and water is off, giving you a drink that isn't quite bubbly and isn't quite flat. Not to critique, because we appreciate the effort, but it is hard to mess up water. But it is free, so you get what you pay for. Drinks from the bar were above average, with beers coming in a $5 a pint, and bartenders still trying to get a handle on how each specialty cocktail was made. One member of our party ordered the same drink 3 times, with it coming up twice and on the rocks once. The food was very solid. May we suggest the schnitzel? We just did.

Obviously, The Smith is brand new. Kinks are being worked out. It doesn't mean The DBTH can't tell you how it is.

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.

Quick Hits: Weekend Drink Recap

It's Monday morning, the perfect time for Quick Hits. The hits are so quick, you probably didn't realize we've already hit you. Damn that's quick. Today's subject, what we drank this weekend.

1. We stopped by the Belcourt to see what's what at the French styled bistro on Second Avenue. Besides the food (which was good), we particularly enjoyed the Napoleon Rye, an all around classy drink made with Sazerac Rye, Napoleon Mandarine, and homemade orange bitters. It packs an orange punch, and went down very smoove.

2. We made our way to the Whole Foods beer room to fill up a growler, and despite some so-so service from the resident experts, we walked away rather happy. The reason? The growler full of Brooklyn Blast, the first in a special brewmaster's line from Williamsburg finest. The Blast is a super hoppy beer that packs 8.2% alcohol. We suggest getting it before it's gone.

Over the Hill Country

We recently paid a visit to Hill Country. Very smart move. But we aren't here to discuss the food. Others much more experienced than us have already done that. No, today we are here to discuss cocktails. Hill Country has them, and they are pretty special. And that's what makes Hill Country very special. On top of the kick ass cue, they went the extra mile and pulled together a kick ass drink menu, featuring Tito's vodka (from Texas, where else), bourbon and tequila based drinks that are interesting and tasty. And at no more than $10 a pop, not wallet busting either. All of this without mentioning the expansive bourbon, whiskey and tequila selection, Lone Star beer and ice tea in a mason jar, live music in the basement bar etc etc. You begin to get it. Hill Country is good.

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.

Tailor Serves Friends and Family

It's time to wrap up our coverage of Tailor, Sam Mason's new spot in the Lower East Side. What better way to do it than to announce it's official soft opening. Without further ado, Little Birdy! "Soft opening (investors, friends, family) happened this evening (of august the 28th)." Thanks LB, and please, do tell us how the drinks taste soon.

Oh, and major bonus points for a cocktail menu.

Tailor is All Sewed Up

We are glad to say our commenter appears wrong. Sam Mason's Tailor is poised to open on August 30, and the town is aflitter. Strange little notes keep flying coming in about the place, like one from a Little Birdy saying, "Fran Derby has recently rigged the kitchen of Tailor with a top-of-the-line surround sound speaker system and ipod connection so everyone will be on the same page during service. Ballin'!" If you say so. What's "ballin'!" to us is this rumor we are hearing from the cocktail menu. Beyond infused whiskey's, it seems Sammy has plans to serve a desconstructed margarita, breaking each of the ingredients down to highlight each of their flavors. Sounds fun. We like ours on the rocks with a lot of salt.

Tailor-Made

We are starting to hear some very interesting coming from Sam Mason's corner of the Lower East Side. The former WD-50 man is getting ready to to open Tailor and his rep for messing around with molecules is already well known, so we know the menu will have a few twists and turns. It's a given. But what is interesting to us is the drinks. We hear Sr. Mason giving whiskey the once over, giving the American classic a new twist with multiple infusion treatments. An example: Brown butter. Say what? Like it isn't sweet enough without anything, this guy has decided to spike it with a dose of brown butter. Look out! We are always up for the new, but when you mess around with whiskey, you mess around with our soul. Infuser beware.

Something's Wormy at the Waverly Inn

We stopped by the Waverly Inn for a hot minute recently. Pretty good. But what we found most interesting was the cocktail menu, which gave top billing to Absinthe, the once forbidden spirit derived from wormwood. To be certain, we aren't talking about the spoon/sugar/fire technique. The tenderhorns behind the bar are serving up an both an absinthe/gin Martini and a Sazerac that has an absinthe boost. A bit too gimmicky for us, especially when their Old Fashioned comes with muddled fruit (a big no no) and they don't know what a honeysuckle is. But what they make, they make well. For $15 a drink, they damn well better.

Dear DBTH

It's time for another edition of Dear DBTH, where we do our best to answer our faithful reader's questions. Unlike most places, we're always open.

Dear DBTH,

What is the standard for ordering specialty drinks at a relatively fine-dining establishment? I joined a friend for a semi-double date and when, the waitress came around, one of the girls asked the waitress if the bartender could make her a 'Wet Pussy' shot. I was embarrassed, and the waitress quickly answered no. Shouldn't we establish some kind of system for what is and is not appropriate?

To be honest, we thought that any semblance of a proper upbringing does establish this kind of system. Obviously we were mistaken. But for those who don't know, let's proceed. When dining in any restaurant, it is never proper to order a shot or drink who's name is also relatively vulgar. Even if it sort of exists. This excludes established cocktails like 'Sex on the Beach', which every bartender and waitress already knows. However, if in a bar, you can feel free to ask for anything, as long as you can tell said bartender how to make it. They are, or at least should be, experts in drink creation, and should try to accommodate you. A server in a restaurant should not be put in that kind of position. We suggest being more selective in your dating practices. Or sign your friend up for charm school.