NY Barfly

Where We're Headed: NOT to Promenade Nightclub in Chelsea

We were all ready to get our B&T face on and head over to Promenade, until we realized it’s just too nice out to get stabbed. From a weekend report:

Police say four men were stabbed during a dispute that broke out at about 4:30 Sunday morning at the nightclub Promenade on West 28th Street in Chelsea.
Police say the four men were hospitalized in stable condition.

What’s worse – getting stabbed at 4:30 AM on 28^th Street, or paying $500 for a bottle of Goose on 28^th Street? Tough call.

By the way, Promenade? We admit that we prefer a fancy cocktail den over the club scene anytime, but these places are sprouting faster than we can keep up. Is that where they have the haunted houses on Halloween? Maybe the stabbing was a PR stunt to stand out from the crowd. If that's the case, we'll try to stop by.

NYBarfly Giveaway: No Fear Energy Drink (Makes for a Fearless Mixer)

Ladies and Gentlemen, we try to give you all that we can: our wit, our drunken suggestions, our adoring love for you (especially when you give us money). There is one area in which our blogging benevolence has been lacking: schwag. Our recent Pepsi Super Bowl giveaway was a raging success, and we’ve decided to follow it up with another non-alcoholic mixer package. We’d love to give away actual hooch, but the friendly ATF agent who visited us told us that sort of thing is a no-no.

No Fear Energy, has launched its first-ever under the tab code promotion—Earn Some Cred.  You crack open specially marked cans of No Fear Energy drink, find the code under the tab, enter that code at earnsomecred.com and start earning cred for No Fear gear or if you’re super lucky, instantly win the VIP Credentials for 1 of 8 once-in-a-lifetime experiences like a trip to a Mixed Martial Arts event, Hawaiian surf getaway, a Motocross event, or to a stop on the No Fear Energy Music Tour featuring the metal band Lamb of God.

The giveaway package should appeal to the younger males in the group. Note: when we say it “makes for a fearless mixer”, we mean the drink, not the surf wax. The package (pictured) is valued at over $100 and includes:

2 – No Fear Hoodies

2 – No Fear T-shirts (one of each style)

1 – No Fear Bloodshot Hat

1 –  12-pack of the new No Fear Bloodshot Energy Drink

1 – Lamb of God’s latest CD “Wrath” released on Feb. 24

1 – Sticky Bumps Surf Wax                            

There are two ways to enter:

1. Comment on this post and tell us when or how you drink Energy drinks (with vodka on the rocks, before a night out, etc).

2. Sign up for NYBarfly’s daily email here (if you already receive it, shoot us an email and let us know).

Enter before 11:59 on Saturday the 4^th. We will randomly choose a winner on Sunday the 5^th and notify them via email. Good luck.

A Bobcat Attacks at at a Bar. Maybe He Was Mad That He Missed Happy Hour.

Everyone knows that nightlife isn’t without its risk. The roofies, the chance of having your purse stolen, the dangers of having too much to drink and waking up with a fat person the next day, there is a lot to navigate if you’re frequently on the scene. A bar in Arizona recently highlighted a new nighttime danger: bobcats. You’re out on the town, enjoying your cocktails, and suddenly a wild feline walks in and starts eating people’s ears off. No, we’re not talking about urban cougars. Check it out:

A bobcat has attacked three people in the central Arizona community of Cottonwood, including two men who were bitten by the animal after it wandered inside a bar. . . About 11 p.m. came the call from the bar that a bobcat was inside as patrons climbed atop bar stools to get away.

We’re not a wildlife expert, but we don’t think that standing on a barstool offers much protection from a bobcat. What should you do if you’re in such a situation? We suggest a friendly gesture to diffuse the situation. Buy the beast a round of Jager-bombs. No way he will want to eat your face after that.

TWI Drunktown: No Wine at the Supermarket, LXTV Names America's Top Bartender

-Turns out you won’t be able to buy wines at your local Gristedes'. The liquor store lobby successfully killed the bill that would have allowed grocery stores to apply for liquor licenses, scuttling our hopes that we’d be able to buy vino, baby bok choy, and rat traps all in one place.

-Want to know which state has the best beers? This map tracks all brew medal winners throughout the country. The leader is California, with Wisconsin, Colorado, and Pennsylvania not too far behind. New York may not be in the top rankings, but we could still kick those wimpy state’s asses any day.

-LXTV’s search for America’s Top Bartender wraps up with an Absolut Mango cocktail contest. The web show is down to the final two contestants, Graham and Amanda G. The winner takes home a $100,000 prize and gets the honor of coming over and making us a cocktail (note to winner: our calendar is open – stop by anytime!).

Drink of the Week: Cold River Vodka from Maine

As any true New Yorker can tell you, living in this city comes with constant dreams of escaping to somewhere else. No one who enjoys a proper cocktail is about to turn Amish, but after a stressful week, dreams of that cabin in Montana or the houseboat in Tennessee start to seep through. It’s only natural to long for the simpler life. We all know that you’ll never actually close up shop and head to the plains, but you need something to take the edge off city life. Luckily there are a few liquors that help us along with their story. Cold River Vodka is a gluten-free spirit that is hand-crafted from potatoes and water from a local river. In Maine.

Forget the cabin, just pour a martini and imagine Maine’s farmers hard at work. Growing potatoes. Batch distilling the spirit in a copper pot still. Saying hello to the friendly moose who came to watch them make Vodka. Ahhh – the simple life.

Barfly sampled some Cold River the other day. We shook it up in a martini shaker, and let ice crystals form on the side of our glass when we poured. Some folks claim that all Vodka tastes the same, but a true Barfly knows that there is something about potato brands that makes them bolder and earthier. Sipped by itself, Cold River evokes a walk through a field just as spring arrives and the snow starts to melt. We suggest skipping the olives you’d usually place in your martini and using Cold River to make a good old fashioned Gibson. A well chosen cocktail onion will pair perfectly with the savory spirit.

We also tried out their blueberry flavor. Flavored Vodkas have come a loooooong way from the first days of chemical laced citron. The blueberry flavor is tasty and subtle, just like the real fruit (though, we wouldn’t suggest using it in pancakes). Better yet, their flavor goes perfectly with the pastoral “escape from New York” theme. It’s made with wild Maine blueberries from a family-owned farm and is produced in limited quantities. No word if any Moose were involved, but it sure fulfills our escapist fantasies.

If you’re really jonesing for a sip of Maine, you can pick up some Cold River at these NYC liquor stores.

Astor Wines & Spirits – 399 Lafayette Street

Spring Street Wine Shop – 187 Spring Street

Columbus Circle Wine and Spirits – 1802 Broadway

Check out a recipe for their Blueberry Cosmo below the jump.

Just the Fax, Ma'am: Happy Hour at High Bar

Rooftop bar season is heating up along with the temperature. The scene is getting pretty competitive, so the open-air drink dens are coming up with some different ways of attracting after work crowds. A reader notified us that Midtown’s High Bar is skipping modern techno marketing (Twitter, Facebook, email blasts) in favor of a more archaic promotional tool: the fax machine. They forwarded the below form over to us, thankfully via email (communication we can understand).

A question: just what kind of crowd is High Bar trying to attract? “Business attire required”, 2 for 1 martinis “for ladies” – it sounds like they are passing these flyers out at neighboring meathead bar Latitude. The deal is pretty good though, especially if you can make it for the one hour open bar that starts at 5 PM. Since you’ll be in business attire, maybe you can convince some of the ladies that you’re a “hiring manager”. Since they’re going to be liquored up on 2 for 1 martinis, you’ll surely be able to convince them to sign up for an “interview”.

Check out the fax. We can’t wait to see which rooftop bar starts using carrier pigeons to break through the digital clutter.

TWI Drunktown: Help a Wine Bar Move and Get a Free Meal

-Tini Wine Bar in Red Hook is moving, and they need your help! If you show up Sunday to carry a box, you’ll get a free dinner after the move. Sounds like a fun party to us, especially if you can convince someone else to carry the box for you. 

-The Atlantic blog takes a look at the origin of the term Mixologist, and wonders if Bar Chef might be a better occupational name. Like Juliet said: “A Rose by any other name, blah blah blah, now give me my damn drink.”

-According to Porky’s, the recession is no excuse if you look sloppy. Grub Street posted about their dress code, which may be the strictest in the city. No baggy jeans, ok, that’s not too bad. But, no skull caps, doo rags, or flat rimmed caps? What is one supposed to wear these days!?

Dinner at the W: Small Plate Deal at ICON Restaurant

We’re pretty jazzed about the soon to open W Hotel in Hoboken. While we wait for its April debut, we thought we’d stop by one of the city’s other W’s and grab some tasty morsels. What’s that? You don’t like our use of the term “jazzed”. Ugh – you’re impossible to please. Excited, frickin’ stoked, dutifully full of anticipation – call it what you will – we’re going to dinner at ICON Restaurant in the W Hotel on 39^th Street while you pretend to be a thesaurus.

The restaurant builds its dinner out of a series of 21 dishes, offering a great deal for the recession. For $40, you can try 5 different plates from chef Michael Wurster’s menu. Selections include touches of classical Americana with unique interpretations of Buffalo Wings, Traditional Veal Meatballs and Chorizo scented Clam Chowder. Avant-garde style dishes for more adventurous diners include Sashimi of Big Eye Tuna, Calamari and Melon Salad and Scottish Langoustine Ravioli.

Any way you cut it, you get to try 5 (they also have options if you’d like to splurge and get more). Even if it’s the only time you go out to dinner during the week because of cash flow, you’ll have had enough different dishes to make the rest of the week’s ramen worth it.

The restaurant also offers tasting flights of wine to pair with your plates. Sounds pretty – no, we’re done thinking of positive adjectives for you. Just get your hungry butts there!

A Purse is Stolen at The Eldridge. Much Wackiness Ensues.

We usually leave the juicy gossip to our friends at GofaG and ChiChi212, but this one is just too good. A week or so back, a patron’s purse was stolen during a night out at The Eldridge. The culprit? Turns out that a “socialite” by the name of Paul Johnson Calderon was caught on camera taking the purse from the premises. PJC is a fixture on the downtown scene and is known for his “fashion-sense” (clearly, check out the picture). What else is he known for? Well, stealing purses we guess.

The recession is really hitting hard if spoiled party-goers are having to make off with the belongings of the other patrons. Paul, maybe a few nights buying 2 for 1 drinks at Local 269 is in order. We know it’s not fancy, but at least it’s affordable.

What happened to the purse? The Cheshire Cat over at Chi Chi whispered that it was traded for drugs. The punishment? PJC promised to pay back the $3,000 value of the bag. With a loan from his mother.

How does a court mandated ankle bracelet go with those cut offs?

Where We're Headed: Macondo

When the weather gets warm enough, Macondo unlatches its front windows. It’s a tad too chilly for proper outdoor dining, but as soon as spring is in the air we plan to camp out at their bar. The three front stools offer a prime perch. You can order some inspirited cocktails and, when you get bored watching the action in their open kitchen, you can take some swipes at people walking by on the street.

Maybe you’ll steal something good. A wallet or a purse would be a choice score, but neither will be as tasty as their Grilled Skirt Steak Flatbreads and Guava and Whisky cocktail.

Macondo makes an excellent first stop for dinner if you’re planning on Lower East Side style mischief for the rest of the night. Those wide open windows let the boisterous vibe drip in from the street. Instead of stealing, make friends with the passerbys and join them for a good time. You can all head down the block and shoplift together!

Macondo is located at 157 East Houston Street between Allen and Eldridge.