Wildwood Welcomes the Kid

One of our most trusted Little Birdies was on the scene last night at Wildwood, the new BBQ restaurant from B.R. Guest on Park Avenue South. The occasion? A Kid Rock post show after party. They filed this report:

Good crowd. Some SMOKING hot girls. Free BBQ ribs, which were excellent. Open bar - Coors (sponsor), Plymouth Gin, Jim Beam. Everyone was chilling basically just waiting for Kid Rock to show up, which he eventually did at about 1:45 with a bottle of Beam and a cigar in hand. Not a bad way to make an entrance. The food and festivities went until 4 AM I'm having a rough one today.

Late night BBQ and Beam sounds like an OK way to spend a Thursday night, even if you wind up paying for it on Friday. Kid sure looks happy up there. And it just proves that New York still loves the hours between 2-4.

Mr. Soft(Shell Crab)ee

It's that time of year again. Soft Shell Crab time! So drink until your hearts and stomachs desire greasy food and head down to our favorite late night grease fest at Great NY Noodle Town and devour an order of soft shell crabs. We're not talking about those frozen ones they serve all year. Real fresh ones. You know what we're talking about. But like all other late night food, expect prices to have increased from last season. Ouch.

Rusty Knot: The Video

Behold, a video tribute to the Rusty Knot.

Blogging For a Flogging: Greenwich Hotel

Looky what's back? The Flogging. Its been a while since we've been naughty, but when we are bad, we need to be punished. Now that the Greenwich Hotel and Ago are open to the (paying) public, David Rockwell and his firm have gotten a lot of credit and praise for the design. Undeserved credit, as Rockwell really had nothing to do with the exceptional work. It's time to set the record straight.

We’d like to set the record straight on the proper design credits for Robert De Niro’s new Greenwich Hotel and Ago restaurant. While Rockwell Group originally developed a proposal for the site, those plans were abandoned over 4 years ago. Our firm, Grayling, designed the new building’s exterior, Ago restaurant, all of the Greenwich Hotel’s public spaces and guest corridors and one of the duplex suites (the other duplex suite was done by Rockwell Group).

The building has a rich and detailed creative story that unfolded over several years and involved many talented people (Samantha Crasco, Mikio Shinegawa, Paul Alter of Skolnick Architects, Matt Markowitz). It would be a shame not to give proper credit where it belongs.

We couldn't agree more and apologize for the mistake. In fact we had already discussed this way back when. But let the world know, Grayling did the work, and they did a heck of a job.

Inside The Rusty Knot

Behold! A Continuous Lean supplies some quality images from the Rusty Knot, Ken Friedman and Taavo Somer's much discussed and admired nautical bar on the West Side Highway. ACL says, "What we found when we arrived was pleasant (granted we went fairly early and on a Monday) and accommodating. No huge crowds, no bridge and tunnel. I suspect everyone in the bar was a blogger of some sort. At least from the quantity of coverage the “dive bar” has been receiving, that would be a logical assumption. We quickly managed to score one of the wooden booths (faux wood carvings and all) and got to work on some very well made Dark N’ Stormys served in tiki glasses. The menu was limited, but very well done." Here, here!

But what follows is really the perfect description, "I like to think of it more as working-class meets Threes Company. I was expecting to see Mr. Roper hanging out at the bar." Go and knock on their door.

Dark N' Stormy in a Tiki Glass

Bar food.

All photos courtesy of A Continuous Lean

Late Night Chang Sauce

Momofuku Ssam bar, lauded for its great food served late into the night, has quietly shrunken it's late night menu. A visit on a recent Tuesday shows that the late night menu is, in fact, rather limited. Gone are most of the delicious menu items that require lengthy prep time, including the now banished dinner ssam burrito. What is available are items from the cold stations, hams, bread and butter, and some line items like pork buns etc that are lined up and only require assembly. It's disappointing that all of the items aren't available after 11, but don't fear, this limited late night menu is only in place from Sunday to Wednesday - after which the full menu, with all of its glorious Chang sauce, returns until closing. Mark your calendars accordingly.

Rusty Knot Makes Good Party

We loved, loved, loved our first visit to the Rusty Knot. Good food, good music, good vibe. Just good. But in case you don't believe us, a Little Birdy filed a report, saying " I was at RK last night for the after party for Run Fat Boy Run (Ed. Note: Last Thursday) and wanted to let you know the food was great, I sampled some meat pies, potato croquettes, coke a cola ribs, bbq shrimp, chick pea spread on a crouton, and a rocking Scottish egg. I was really impressed with the place but I am big on nautical themes, someone I was there with though said it reminded them of a bar on the Jersey shore." Sounds delicious, and since the the bar is on the river, we have to think that your friend's feeling means the design is doing it's thing. Thanks for the report.

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.

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.

Blah Blah Bar Buloud

Bar Boulud - Daniel Boulud's new Upper West Side wine bar - sure is generating a ton of attention. Understandable of course. But if you are interested in Chef Boulud's most important project, may we please direct your attention to Maison Boulud a Peking. We may? Thank you. Set to open this spring at Beijing's (Legation Quarter), Maison Boulud will inevitably become the finest French restaurant to open in Asia's hottest city. The design is by Gilles et Boissier, the French firm responsible for Budakkan NYC and the Gramercy Park Hotel. We asked our Little Beijing Birdy for some additional color, and of course they obliged, saying "perhaps most interesting - this restaurant will be located in the former American embassy with views of the Mao mausoleum and Tiananmen Square. And get this - the dining room is in the space where Henry Kissinger secretly met Zhou Enlai to lay the framework for Nixon's historic meeting with Mao." Historic indeed LBB. You are so learned. Maison Boulud will feature a main dining room and separate bar and lounge. So enjoy your wine bar New Yorkers - we're booking our tickets for Beijing.

A New Year's Special

Via our friends at HotelChatter, we come across the Gramercy Park Hotel's New Year's Eve special. Per the GPH's website, the offer includes

Enjoy unique luxury accommodations, dinner for two at Wakiya, champagne and truffles, and guaranteed access to the Rose Bar.

This package starts at $975, but we can't tell if this is some kind of deal or not. Even though the hotel is sold out for New Years, we assume it's mostly tourists. Even if you live in the city, are you and a mate want to really live it up, is a crappy meal at a crappy Chinese restaurant and being shoved around at Rose Bar the way you want to do it? We guess no. Is guaranteed entry enough? Still probably no. But to each their reach. We expect a full report on 1/1.

PrimeTime Tables Hits A Snag

Speaking of tough tables, it looks like PrimeTime Tables, the service that provides members with "hard-to-get reservations at leading dining venues" has run into a problem with their business model. It seems members are bailing on their reservations. A Little Birdy sent along an email that PTT sent to its members, saying:

We are aware that at this time of the year you have a lot of events ,cocktails and dinner parties to attend and are trying to be at more than one place at a time. We also know that this is the time of the year where dinner reservations are the most difficult for everyone to get and using PTT to secure that reservation is a smart way to go. However asking for a reservation or securing a reservation from the website and NO SHOW will not be accepted as it simply destroys the business and the relationship we have built with a lot of restaurants over the years. This email is sent to all our members and is not meant to attack anyone in particular, but we have received calls lately from restaurant that our Member did not show up. Each time this happens it affects our relationship and the capability to accommodate the next member to that restaurant

As PTT is a web community, and its business is based on trust. You trust us when we confirm your reservation, we need to trust you that you will show up once you acquire a reservation.

To try to stop from happening again we need to implement a rule that will maybe stop the NO SHOW and affects every other member. The rule is as follows:

1 No show = 2 months no access to the website

2 No show= membership cancelled.

We thank you for your time and understanding.

Boom! Threatening your own customers - we like your gumption PTT. But if your clients are such busy, important people that they can't bother making their own reservations, why would they bother to cancel either? Answer: They wouldn't. If you are willing to buy a table, than surely that fee includes the right to bail without notice. Apparently not.

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.

Bad Dog

Late night hot dog lovers can officially begin shedding some tears. St. Marks second and obviously less popular hot dog joint, Good Dog, is closed.

The Dog is dead. Long live Good Dog.

A Long Time AGO

Date: February 18, 2007
Location: Downtown

It was at that time and place where DBTH first made it's entrance to the world of rocking your face off. We announced that Robert De Niro had lured his good buddy and business partner Agostino Sciandri from SoCal to open a branch of Ago in his new Greenwich Hotel. We also told you some poor sap would be jamming a bunch of wine corks into a ceiling panel to accentuate the design. Fun stuff right? We think so too. The world picked up on it and the rest is DBTHistory.

Well, the whole shebang is getting close to opening, and we are proud to unveil some quality shots from inside the space. Please pay special notice to the arched ceiling and old world masonry work in the top image, as well as those corks both in the panels and then installed high above in the proceeding frames. Those hand crafted bricks look real good. And for the panels, a Little Birdy has an update, telling us "there are only 100,000 corks and they were gotten from a branch of the Canadian girls scouts that collected and sold them for charity." Naturally.

A Noble Play List

Noble Food and Wine has been making a go of it since this summer. The restaurant game is a tough slag, so you have to do anything and everything possible to differentiate yourself from the competition. It seems that Noble has gone and commissioned a fancy play list from Producer & DJ du jour Mark Ronson to set the music mood. How do we know? Their publicist told us, saying that "with . . . custom play lists by Mark Ronson, NOBLE exemplifies New York’s downtown-chic style." Now, Ronson's play lists may in fact exemplify the crapiness that is downtown's current style. We're not sure. But we do know that having a CDJ make a mix for you is not going to make or break your restaurant. We suggest saving the money and knocking a dollar or two off those $9 glasses of wine. But unlike this PR campaign, our advice is free. Keep the change.

The Drop In: Spitzer's Corner

We've all had a bit of time to kill before an appointment, engagement or what have you. Is there a better way to spend it than having a quick pop at a local joint? Of course not. Let's begin.

Welcome to Spitzer's Corner, a lively joint that recently opened at the sleepy little corner of Ludlow and Rivington. That's in the Lower East Side. You may have heard of it. Anyway, while waiting for an additional friend to join our party, we happened upon the place and decided to drop in for a drink. First, we loved the front room set up. It's chaotic, it's wooden, it's fun. The two main tables and bar were packed, but there was plenty of room to sit on the surrounding benches on the side. Very resourceful use of space. It took a few minutes for our waitress to come by, but that gave us a bit more time to choose our beverages from the lengthy beer menu. Old Speckled Hen for us. The drinks arrived shortly thereafter, and while a bit too cold for a proper Hen, it was still damn tasty. At $6, also not too outrageous. Our friend arrived just as the round ended. Our waitress reappeared with the bill and we were on our way. All in all, the Spitz was the perfect Drop In.

Quick Hits: Weekend Recap

It's Monday morning. YAY! Time for another edition of Quick Hits. You're probably pretty tired so we will make it quick.

1. It's tough to be the new guy on the block, especially in the East Village Hot Dog war. Good Dog, the upstart newcomer on St. Marks Place, may be done for. A Little Birdy says, "walked by Good Dog late Saturday night, there is newspaper covering the glass door and wall." It was going to be an uphill battle to beat the neighborhood statesmen Crif Dog, and it looks like Good Dog has lost the good fight. Thankfully, their large dog mascot still remains.

2. A very special Little Birdy filed a report from Max Fish, saying "I was just walking out of one of the nasty bathrooms at Max Fish when I overheard a guy in the bar say: 'I would never fuck a girl who peed in that bathroom'. Too bad for me." Yes too bad. Too bad.

3. Finally, a tale from our own weekend. As we ambled home after a evening of food and beverage, we were approached on the street by a cheerful young man from Chile, who was looking for the Beatrice Inn. In his best English, he explained he was with also with a Brit and a Spaniard, and if they would have fun there. We told him yes, you probably would enjoy yourself. Then he asked what kind of music. Rock and roll mostly. Their faces lit up and after a hearty hand shake, they were on their way. How lucky we were to have met new friends. How lucky they were to happen to stop everyone's pal, DBTH.