NY Barfly

Party Report: A New Brother Jimmy's is Born

Awww, it’s a BBQ baby. Wednesday night saw the opening of the newest Brother Jimmy’s. The Union Square location, located in the former Rye House space, promises to put more focus on the food. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of margaritas in jars and fishbowls full of hooch.

The party was quite the time. Joey Fatone sang Mustang Sally with Sarah Mather – need we say more? Nick Lachey was also in the house to celebrate the birth of the new Jimmy’s location.

Check out some of the pics from the party, and a view of the new and spacious bar area. Time to put a little more south in your mouth (followed by way too many drinks):

Vicious Assault at a Midtown Bar

Woah – looks like there was a vicious attack at midtown Meathead haunt Social. It’s always been a guido den, but we didn’t think things there would ever get this out of hand:

A stranger followed a woman into a New York City bar restroom after she rejected his advances early Thursday, savagely beat her in a toilet stall and perhaps even sexually assaulted her, police said.

The attack occurred around 2 a.m. at Social, a three-story bar and lounge on Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan where the victim, a nurse, had gone with a friend, authorities said.

The nurse was badly injured, and no suspect was in custody as of Thursday evening. Reports are that she turned down a man’s advances on the dance floor, and he followed her into the bathroom stall. Yikes!

This comes after a stabbing on 47^th Street – is Midtown West becoming the new nightlife danger zone? That’s not very social at all.

Because Everyone Wants to Go Home with The Bartender

Ok kids, now’s your chance. You know you are always drooling over the bartender at your favorite watering hole. Yes, it’s true that your point of view may be tainted by the fact that they just gave you all of that glorious alcohol, but it’s ok to admit it: you have a bartender crush.

Doesn’t everyone? Scoring the bartender’s number when they are behind the bar is always a challenge, mainly because they’re working and you’re a drunk asshole. Well, Time Out NY is giving you a chance to score a date with some of the city’s top tenders. Male and female entries from some of the city’s top spots are on the list.

If your idea of a good time is smooching the staff at Bar Henry or Clover Club – then check out the bartender personal ads here. There’s another plus to this arrangement: on these first dates, it’s definitely ok to drink your butt off.

New Happy Hour Alert: 10 Downing

We’re still looking for that perfect happy hour to replace the beloved Violet Hour at Elettaria. You remember – half priced drinks every evening and tiki Monday (sigh, how could we forget). Well, it looks like restaurant 10 Downing is getting into the high end happy hour mix with a cocktails deal.

On Monday - Friday, from 4 – 7 p.m. their drink list will be reduced from $14 to $8 each. Not too shabby, considering there aren’t too many drink deals (besides $2 beers) in this area of town.

They don’t have tiki drinks, but they do promise free bar snacks. They’re from Chef Jonnatan Leiva, so we’re not talking about stale pretzels, either.

Can it replace our beloved Elettaria? Only one way to find out. 10 Downing is located at 10 Downing Street. Duh.

Cocktail Smack Down at Hudson Terrace

With this gorgeous weather, there’s really only one option when it comes to going out on a Thursday night. The city’s sidewalk cafes are opening for the foodie set, but the drinkers are heading straight to the roofs. This Thursday, Midtown penthouse spot Hudson Terrace is playing host to a cocktail contest – sounds like the perfect excuse to drink your butt off in the open air.

The Cocktail Smack Down pits a bunch of well known mixologists against each other. A panel of judges (including the mind behind A Muddled Thought) is prepared to selflessly sample every drink, and one bartender will be crowned the winner. You probably won’t make it that far, as the competition starts at 9 and a winner won’t be crowned until 11. That’s after everyone samples every drink. Did we mention there’s also an open martini bar?

You’ve got your work cut out for you. Tickets are $40, and you can purchase them here. It’s warm out, drink up.

Club Owner Sexual Harassment Coke Scandal!

Looks like a New York Club owner is getting in trouble because he couldn’t sniff off a mirror like all the other city derelicts. The New York Post has a story about a sexual harassment / why are you cornering me in the closet lawsuit, check it out:

In a $3.5 million Manhattan Supreme Court sexual-harassment lawsuit, Nicole Slama says Quo co-owner Gary Malhotra cornered her in a storage closet at his West 28th Street club, and then forced her into using her body as human drug paraphernalia.

"I want to sniff it off your [butt]. You have a great [butt]," Malhotra told her while grabbing her rear in the creepy 2007 attack, the suit says.

She wasn’t so keen on the coke / butt idea, so he acted reasonably and just forced her to use her shoulder as a coke platform. Then he went all tongue licky – gross, no wonder she is suing.

Funny thing. Knowing these clubs, he probably could have found an employee who would have consensually played his game. Well, besides the being locked in the storage closet part.

Chuck E. Cheese Gang Crackdown

Um, what’s going on at Chuck E. Cheese? We thought the only objectionable thing about this children’s spot was having a gigantic rat serve you pizza. Turns out there’s something even worse: gang warfare. The New York post has word of a new warning sign that was posted in the chain’s Harlem location:

"No gang-type conduct or behavior, including verbal slogans, greetings, hand signs or intimidation. No weapons or tools or any sort whatsoever; including knives, chains, screwdrivers, glass cutters."

Perhaps it’s time to change their logo from Where a Kid Can Be a Kid to Where a Kid Can Get Shanked by a Box Cutter.

Where We're Headed: Print Bar at Ink 48

We had the pleasure of dropping into the newest bar on the (very, very far) West Side of Manhattan: the Ink 48 Hotel’s lobby lounge. It’s attached to the hotel’s restaurant Print, which focuses on regional cuisine and farm-to-table ingredients.

 

But, more importantly, what about the spot’s alcohol-to-mouth selections? The bar is small but stylish, perhaps not as opulent as other Midtown Hotels (we still prefer The Royalton), but it’s by far the best thing going on this far west. There are nooks bedecked in bordello-red wallpaper, and plenty of leather couches meant for lounging in the restaurant area.

We didn’t get to try the grub – we were too stuffed from a visit to nearby Virgil’s BBQ – but the drink list was solid. We tried a Scotch and Ginger concoction, and were pleased to see plenty of reasonably priced wines on the list. Guess you can’t charge $15 a glass once you’re on 11^th Avenue.

The true excitement at this spot is yet to come. Their rooftop restaurant and lounge has yet to open, but it’s sure to be a choice destination. Until then, we’re perfectly content to sit in this stylish lobby and order another round.

Print at Ink 48 is located at 653 11^th Avenue at 48^th Street.

Black Eyed Peas: First a Band, Now a Garnish

Call us cheesy, but we’re huge fans of the Black Eyed Peas song I Gotta Feeling, because we really do believe that most nights are going to be good nights, at least before they devolve into the usual shitshow. We noticed that the Peas are currently on tour (they’re billing it the E.N.D. World Tour 2010). Even better, we noticed that the tour has a signature cocktail.

Bacardi Rum is a partner for this concert, and they created a drink to make sure that even the doubters will have a good night. This isn’t the usual swill you’d drink at a concert hall. They’re serving the drink during the VIP after parties, and it contains interesting ingredients like egg whites and black sugar.

Best part? The garnish: actual black eyed peas. Nice. After all, if it’s really going to be a good night, you should probably eat something along the way. Check out the recipe below, if you want to rock out to i-tunes with drink in hand:

Bacardi V.I.Pea

Recipe:

2 parts Bacardi Superior

1 part Freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp Black Sugar (Fortnum & Mason)

1 dash egg white

Garnish:

4 dried black eyed peas

Preparation:

Put all ingredients into a shaker, stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Fill ½ cubed ice and ½ crushed ice and shake vigorously until chilled.  Double strain into a chilled or frozen coupe or cocktail glass.

China Club Kaput

We recently noted that the China Club space changed its name to BLDG, without changing anything else in the interior of the club. Looks like that was a ploy to keep the space open while the China Club peeps get their bankruptcy filing in order. Club Planet has news that they have been hard hit by financial troubles since the economic collapse:

China Club’s management has been pretty verbal about their money woes, claiming that job cuts at Lehman Brothers (which accounted for a large chunk of their customer base) was to blame for putting their already-slowing business deeper in the hole. Nightlife Enterprises LP (China Club) listed up to $10 million in assets and liabilities in Bankruptcy Court last Wednesday.

Wow – it’s really true that everyone and their sister blames Lehman Brothers for their financial troubles. Our credit card debt? Damn those selfish bankers.

Drunk Shopping Time / Strongest Beer in the World

-Racked has a fun new feature they’re calling Drunk Shopping. They’ll show you where to get blitzed during brunch, followed by nearby spots where you can run up the credit card. Nothing is as fun as waking up the next day and seeing what you bought.

-Fork in the Road has a bittersweet interview with Donald O’Finn from Freddy’s Bar and Back Room, which is facing imminent closure by the city due to the Atlantic Yards project. They put up the noble drunken fight, that’s for sure.

-A Scottish brewer just took the title for producing the strongest beer in the world with their Sink the Bismarck label. The alcohol content is an astonishing 41%. Although it’s served in beer bottles, it’s meant to be consumed in spirit sized portions. We suspect the secret ingredient is vodka.

Drink this Now: Argentinean Wine with French Flair

Our recent visit to the Wine Expo left us largely impressed with the wide range of South American labels available for tasting. One winemaker in particular stood out, perhaps because they combine a dash of French tradition with the hearty South American terroir. Catherine Péré-Vergé is one of the seven French estate owners who are currently producing wine at the foot of Argentina’s Cordillera de Andes.

This cultural combination works like a (tipsy) charm, as evidenced by Péré-Vergé's Malbec sold under the Lindaflor label. The years of working the estates of Bordeaux have clearly made their way into her new world wine production. This was easily one of the best reds we tasted at the expo, with notes of pepper, plums, and licorice balancing throughout its long finish.

It may be a little more expensive than your average nightly purchase, but we urge you: put the magnum of cheap crap down. You’ll find this label in the $25 – $35 range (here it is at Wine Library for $30). Perfect for when you want to impress at a dinner party, when you’re just feeling fancy, or when you simply can’t stomach the Four Buck Chuck for one more second.