NY Barfly

This Week in Drunktown: Champagne and Cocktail Parties

-President Obama took a lesson from his most important advisor: Barfly. We are glad to see that he plans to host a cocktail party in the spirit of bipartisanship. We suspect that Pelosi is a four Martini kind of chick. No word yet if he plans to take our second suggestion. If the two parties can’t agree, then a tipsy Michelle should take the floor and shout  “EVERYONE INTO THE POOL!”.  

-New York wine and liquor stores are worried about a regulation that will allow supermarkets to sell vino. They are particularly concerned about large chain stores like Whole Foods. A spokesman explains: “If buying arugula and wine in the same store makes a drunk feel fancy-schmancy, we’re doomed.”

-And the winner is Moet & Chandon. The upscale Champagne was named the official brand of the 81^st Annual Academy Awards. It will be served at Oscar and pre-Oscar events throughout Hollywood. We think it’s a good choice. If only the characters in Revolutionary Road had access to this bubbly, they wouldn’t have been crying in the corner for the whole movie.

Where We're Headed: D6 Bar and Restaurant

The adjoining restaurant is always crowded, but the bar at Dublin (aka D6) is where the party’s at. This is one of our favorite pubs in the city. In the summer, get there early to snag one of the spots by their wide-open front window. In these winter months, we think your best perch is in the back room. They have a cozy cabal of wooden tables, and there always seems to be space for a few more.

D6 takes its homeland seriously. They offer “inspiration” to patrons in the form of photographs from their native country. There's nothing like pictures of passed out Irish-men to make you want another round.

We are going to stop in for the relaxed, after-work scene. If you really need a distraction after a hard day at the office, they have Jenga and Connect Four hidden behind the bar. Judging by the drunkards in the pictures on the walls, we think the booze should prove distraction enough.

Davey and Drunky are Ready for Some Football

More Super Bowl Goodies: Brother Jimmy's Takeout

If you are planning on staying in for the Bowl, you’ll need something tasty to go with those cocktails we helped you make. Note: while it is acceptable to be “sophisticated” drink-wise, fancy-schmancy tapas and cheese platters do not fly during the game. This is football. More importantly (we’re talking to you liberals) this is ‘Merica. The only kind of grub that’ll do is the kind that leaves your fingers as dirty as a proper Republican’s (yes, we know it's oil money, but you should really wash your hands).

We just got word that Brother Jimmy’s, our favorite NYC BBQ Joint, has an extensive takeout, delivery, and catering for your at-home bash. Their wings and ribs are sure to impress your football loving guests. Be sure to make jokes like “touchdown!” when your ravenous buddy finishes a pulled pork sandwich in three bites.

You can find locations at the bro’s website (www.brotherjimmys.com), and takeout can be ordered directly through the restaurants. Be sure to come armed with an ample supply of wet-naps. If you have any extra, you can use them to wipe the losing team (not to mention your drunk friends) off the floor.

This Week in Drunktown: Not So Secret Bars

-On Tuesday we asked: Is The Rhum Rhum Room another secret bar? Grub Street quickly answered: not so much. Turns out that it's just a gussied up apartment. How did they know that when we didn’t? Turns out they have access to some fancy-schmancy database called “Google”. It must be nice to be so rich.

-Turns out Hooters isn’t the only “breastaurant” in town. Local chains like Bone Daddy’s and Twin Peaks are trying to capitalize on the infamous chain’s business model. We would tell you what model that is, but we’re too busy chuckling at the term “breastaurant”.

-Midtown dive Holland Bar is scheduled to reopen after its owner renegotiated the lease with his management company. Located a block away from Port Authority, we’re glad to see this bar make it back onto the scene. There are plenty of bars where you can have a couple drinks and watch the magic of the city at twilight on your way home. Only at Holland Bar can you have more than a couple and watch the magic of the buses head to New Jersey.

Cocktails for the Super Bowl

To some Super Bowl fans, drinking anything other than beer during the game is pure blasphemy. Let those nay-sayers swill their watery brew from cans, we plan on making cocktails for our Super Bowl party. Yes, they may call anyone who wants a cocktail Un-American, but the beer drinkers also call people who like soccer “foot-fairies” (ever so eloquent, those beer drinkers are). We’ve provided a few cocktail recipes that will go well with the game, let them mumble about “stupid commies who don’t like beer” during halftime.

Bartender Magazine is a one stop shop for game day beverages. They offer up a handy list of Super Bowl Drinks for the Cocktail inclined. Our favorite uses our latest Vodka muse: Sobieski. This “Super Punch Bowl” appeals to a wide variety of drinkers. Better yet, you can bet the cash you saved by using Sobieski on the game. Even if you lose the bet, you’ll still feel like a winner (as will all of your guests, did you see how much vodka is in the recipe?).

Sobieski Super Punch Bowl:
8 oz. Sobieski Vodka
4 oz. Cointreau
5 oz. Orange Juice
5 oz. Cranberry Juice
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
Top with Champagne to taste.

If you’re looking for something inspiried by the spirit of the game (aka blood-lust) then we think you should go with the Bloody Carioca. The concept is simple, it’s a Bloody Mary made with Cachaca instead of Vodka. Perfect – the festivities start early – you don’t want your buzz to tackle you before the end of the game. We think Leblon is a particularly good choice, as this ultra premium brand provides an air of sophistication as you’re rooting for the opposing team to go down in flames. Plus, you’ll look quite fetching sipping on this savory concoction while   wearing your oversized jersey. Just be careful, it can be difficult to hold this glass while donning a foam finger.

Bloody Carioca:

2 oz. Leblon Cachaça

5 oz. Tomato Juice

½ oz. Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Pinch each of: celery salt, cracked pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and onion powder.

Shake all the ingredients on ice and pour into a highball rimmed with paprika. Stir well and garnish with a slice of cucumber.

If you are having a large group over for your party, you should make sure to have a few reserve beers on hand. Even though you know they would like the cocktails better, it's sure fun to watch them crush that empty can on their skull after their team gets a touchdown.

You Know You Want to Stalk Us. Follow NYBarfly on Twitter.

A friendly reminder to all of you ravenous, drunken readers out there. You can now imbibe our "tweets" (interpret as you will) by following us on our Twitter page: www.twitter.com/nybarfly. Isn't the digital age wonderful? It gives you access to your charming Internet friends 24 hours a day.

Oh yeah, we've been meaning to tell you, about your Internet friend Leslie. She's really a 400 lb dude named Vito who lives with his parents. How do we know? Let's just say it all goes back to the magic of Twitter.

If tweets are not your cup of tea, then you can also get NYBarfly as a daily email by signing up here.

Where We're Headed: Vero Wine Bar, Midtown Edition

Vero Wine Bar has two classy outposts in the city, but we prefer the larger locale at 53^rd Street and Second Avenue. We think we’ll stop by this evening to enjoy a few bottles of Barbera and some delicious tapas. Those Braised Short Rib Soft Tacos compliment a second (or third) bottle perfectly.

With many reasonably priced vinos and a friendly wait staff, it’s easy to make an entire night out of Vero. You might be tempted to run for a more “trendy” drink down the block at Haven, but our vote is for keeping your well fed bum on these sleek barstools. Your wallet will thank you in the morning. If you plan on stopping in on a Monday, your stomach will thank you too. The bar offers a free Panini with a glass of wine, quite the upscale recession special.

The location is in the obscure reaches of Midtown East, so if you really do want to start here and move on after a few drinks, your options are limited. You always can walk a few blocks to the United Nations. We hear that world peace stuff is supposed to be pretty darn tasty.

Vero is located at 1004 2^nd Avenue at East 53^rd Street.

Super Drunk Sunday: Where to Watch the Super Bowl in New York

Poor you – no one invited you to a Super Bowl Party due to last year’s “incident”. Plenty of New York Bars are showing the big game, so you won’t have to spend this glorious Sunday cooped up in your apartment. By the way, if we were you, we’d look into some new friends. They should have forgiven you for drunkenly trying to spike their child after your team got a touchdown. It happens to the best of us.

If you’re looking for a little class (and promise not to spike anyone), you can head over to Mickey Mantle’s Sports Bar (42 Central Park South). While it may be New York’s most famous baseball bar, they are planning to show the big game. They also serve up some good football grub. They have the standards like chicken fingers and chips & salsa, but we think Mantle’s favorite dish is the way to go for this game. Nothing says America like watching two football teams rumble while eating a chicken fried steak. Tastes like freedom.

For something a little more, ahem, low class, check out Latitude (783 8^th Avenue, between 47^th and 48^th). This multi-floored Midtown bar has more televisions than we could count (we stopped after 2, as we find counting televisions to be boring). They plan to show the game and the crowd should be amped. Judging by the fact that Port Authority and Penn Station are nearby, we think that the clientele wouldn’t mind so much if you tried to spike someone. Just make sure that it’s not any of their, as they so artfully put it, “bruthers” or “cuzins”.

Still want the casual atmosphere without the Midtown crowd? Maxie's Bar and Grill, 233 Park Avenue South (at 19th street), gets you far away from Guido-ville. The trip downtown has another plus: this place has one of the best Super Bowl deals in the city. $35 gets you all you can eat wings, sliders, and pitchers of beer. Think bar food at that price must be Saturday night's leftovers? Think again. Maxie's is run by the same folks who bring you Angelo and Maxie's Steakhouse. The food is sure to be quality, but save room for the beer. Did we mention its $35 all you can drink? Better hope the game doesn't hit overtime or you'll be hitting the curb on your way out.

If you are determined to carry on like last year and have another incident, remember the golden rule of drunkenness: hurt yourself, not others. Head over to Johnny Utah’s. As per Metromix, the game will be projected on their 15 foot screens, and they will help you enjoy it all the more with $3 Bud and Bud Light Drafts. When you’re getting the urge for an incident, don’t look around for a kiddie to throw, hop on Utah’s mechanical bull. Try to do this during halftime, so the rest of the patrons can watch you fall off and break your arm in three places. You may remember it as a sorry disaster, but they’ll treasure it as the best Super Bowl Halftime Show ever.

Is there a secret Rum bar in the East Village?

These days, secret bars abound. We’ve been following the controversy about Woodson and Ford. On one side, the management claims that it’s strictly rented out for private parties. On the other, BoozyNYC and Urban Daddy claim that members of the public can get in, at least on a limited basis (UD says a password is the key). We are still investigating, but think the password might be “how exhausting, just open the fuckin' door.” We will advise shortly.

In the attempt to forget about all of this confidential cocktail nonsense, we were trolling through one of our favorite blogs: Beachbum Berry’s Grog Blog. Deep within his 2008 recap, we came across a claim of yet another secret NYC bar. In November, the Beachbum visited The Rhum Rhum Room, a members-only space somewhere in the East Village. Check it out:

Through the coconut wireless, the Beachbum had heard rumors of one particular members-only bar that offered 128 different brands of rum — mixed on request into the vintage tropical drink recipe of your choice.  Supposedly the place was called the Rhum Rhum Room.  In November we were assured that the Rhum Rhum Room does indeed exist.

He then talks about his visit to this secret den of rum-rum. He describes its location as “a dark alley, not far from St. Marks.” Our favorite part:

[The door] swung open and we entered the Rhum Rhum.  Martin Denny music greeted us, with bird calls from live birds — an enormous macaw and two equally well-nourished Amazon parrots, whose cage took up half the room.

How did those birds get in?! They must be very well connected, as the Rhum Rhum is completely off our radar. Could a couple of rum aficionados have set up a make-shift members-only club in their apartment, or is the Rhum Rhum room for real?

We are on the case. We think we’ll start by interrogating the birds: “Polly wanna tell us where the hell the Rhum Rhum Room is?”