NY Barfly

Win a Man Cave from 1800 Tequila. It's Like a Rec Room, but with the Word Cave.

Liquor companies love to give away prizes to attract attention, but it's not every day that they want to give you $10,000 toward a man cave. What’s a man cave you ask? 1800 Tequila says it’s a place where dudes can hang out to watch TV, play video games, and drink lots and lots of their product. We say it’s a sloppily designed space with comfy couches and REALLY BIG electronic devices. Either way, $10,000 would go a long way in creating a cozy space, especially if you spend it all on tequila.

To enter the contest, you can head to 1800’s Website at www.1800tequila.com/mancave. We assume ladies can enter as well, and that they’d probably spend the money much more wisely if they were to win the contest. Yes dudes, a $10,000 flat screen TV does not a man cave make, even if you do have to sit on the floor of an actual cave.

The contest lasts until August 15th, and they let you enter daily. Better start practicing your cave drawings now.

New Bar Menu at Sora Lella. We'll Never Make it to the Dining Room.

Who really wants to sit at a table, anyway? The bar has the interesting patrons, plenty of chances for socializing, and you’re oh-so-close to the liquor bottles (and they are some of your best friends). If there’s some tasty bar snacks, there’s really no reason to cop a squat in the dining room.

Soho restaurant Sora Lella just announced that they are joining the bar menu club, so their stools are sure to be crowded. Their new offerings include signature dishes such as Grandma’s meatballs, fried artichokes and croquettes to accompany bartender Tommaso Mongini’s classic and modern cocktails, from a solid Negroni to his Rossini (campari, prosecco, fresh strawberry juice).

What makes this spot stand out from the other comfy bar stools in town? The restaurant is the sister outpost of their famous Roman locale. Better yet, the bar snacks are cheap ranging from $2 to $6. Best of all, they announced a new happy hour that will get you the cocktails for $10, every day from 5 – 7:30 pm.

We’ve posted the cocktail menu below the jump, so you can get your drinking plans in order. The list has a lot of the standards, and offers a few Italian twists (lots of Campari, a little aperol). If it’s not happy hour, the drinks run around $13-14. We love that the recession continues to create such enticing drink deals around town, if only that it gives us an excuse to visit our best friend bottles a little more often.

Sora Lella is located at 300 Spring Street between Hudson and Greenwich.

Are You the Next Top Bartender?

We’re still waiting for a great bartending competition show to make a splash the way Top Chef did with cooking. Could LXTV’s search for America's Next Top Bartender do the trick? Their first season of webisodes showed promise, but moved too quickly and were ultimately a let down. The show is relaunching as a facebook page if you want to check out the episodes.

Take an electronic sip here: http://www.facebook.com/AbsolutTopBartender

The good news is that they are going to shake out few more rounds of cocktails. The facebook page promises regular updates about Season 2, which they are casting for. Like any good bartenders know, it could take a few tries to perfect a cocktail. Anyone out there ready to shake it up?

Superdive Opens / Studio B Closes

- It’s Superdive to the rescue. Eater has word that the Village’s new drink-hole is officially opened. What is this hero’s power? It’s like superman, if he drank an 8^th of Jameson every time he flew to an emergency.

-DBTH noticed some questionable Michael Jackson related drinking at City Winery. The upscale haunt hosted a party where they poured 5 wines and played 25 songs for $25. Crass? Or, as MJ might put it, Bad?

-Once again, its whiny bitch neighbors vs. club goers over at Studio B. Grub Street reports that the club is slated to close again, sometime in July. Can Superdive swoop in and save them in time?

Best of Show at the New York Bar Convention

We stopped by the Javits the other day to visit the International Bar Show. There were spirits and bar supplies galore, and free samples galore galore. Sadly, we don’t remember everything we tasted before we spilled out onto 11^th Avenue in the midday sun. Happily, there was a tasting panel on site that sifted their way through over 250 brands. Besides having the best job in the world, these folks were charged with determining the winners of the New York Spirits Awards. They scored each spirit based on a scale of 100 points, and the brand with the highest combined total won Best in Show.

As any drinker knows, it’s hard to decide what libation is best. This year, there was a tie for first place. And the winners are:

Bache-Gabrielsen Hors d’Age Cognac – this brand is over 100 years old. Although not widely known in the US, it’s the best selling cognac in Norway (where they sell over 1 million bottles annually, yowza). Leave it to the Scandinavian folks to pick a winner, much like they did with Norwegian whale steak.

Tequila Corrido Extra Anejo (pictured) – this is a very small batch of about 58 barrels, so you’ll want to snatch it up ASAP.

We congratulate the winners! Also, a special shout out to Bluecoat Gin, which was a Barfly favorite at the show and took home the Best in Category Award. How will we celebrate all of this adulation? Why, by drinking Cognac, Tequila, and Gin (not necessarily in that order).

Tiki Tribute Tonight at Elettaria!

Home to the Violet Hour, one of the best happy hours in the city, West Village Restaurant Elettaria just announced they are expanding their cocktail program with some excellent deals on Tiki drinks. The special will run every Monday, and will feature half priced Zombies, Scorpion Bowls, and Mai Tais until 8 PM. Better yet, the night will feature some Hula music, so you can get the buzz and the hips going at the same time.

They’re previewing their list tonight, and the event will run on subsequent Mondays. Stop by, say Maholo, and become a Zombie yourself.

Elettaria is located at 33 West 8^th Street at MacDougal. If you’re really into the Tiki tippling, it's located on a small, tropical island, accessible only via paddleboat. Either way, get there.

NYBarfly on Vacation! What Will You Do? Follow Us on Twitter!

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are taking some time off. Next week, you won’t have your beloved Barfly to keep you company. You’ll have to figure out how to drink by yourself (hint, it involves your mouth).

Don’t think we’re neglecting you. In fact, we’re taking this trip with your liver in mind. We’re headed to bourbon country. We hear the grass is really blue. Better yet, we hear the whiskey really is tasty.

You can keep up with us through the site’s downtime on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nybarfly. We’ll be tweeting everything: the buses, the bourbon, and the boo-yahs.

See you on Monday the 29^th! Have a drink for us in the meantime. If you get really lonely, consider us the monkey, and you the dog in this picture. Don’t worry, everything will be ok:

 

Happy Birthday Hustler Club!

It’s amazing how time flies, especially when you are in the exotic confines of a strip club. Wasn’t it just yesterday when the only option for that kind of fun was some seedy den in Times Square? Yes, those lap-dancers may have been feisty, but they were only trying to distract you as they picked your pockets. Now, the city is host to many upscale skin clubs, where you can enjoy emptying your wallet on purpose. The other night, we stopped by The Hustler Club for their fifth anniversary party. Yes, it’s true, Larrry Flynt’s illustrious West Side den is 5 years old. Awwww. Isn’t it amazing how the kiddies grow up without you even realizing it? Like a lot of other things in the club (ahem), the little ones get big real quick.

Our favorite part of being Hustled wasn’t the party raging inside, it was the outdoor roof deck. With views of the Hudson River, it’s the perfect place to enjoy a cigar as you wonder where they hell your money went. Just like the Penthouse Club down the block brought serious steaks to the strip club scene, Hustler impresses with this surprising and relaxed patio.

Downstairs you’ll find what you came for, and plenty of it. The club didn’t seem as large as Penthouse, but there is plenty of space for the dancers to work their charms. The anniversary bash was quite the soiree, we noticed numerous girls crawling over the chairs as we crawled over the crowd to the bar.

Hustler and its upscale naked pals are the type of thing that every New Yorker needs to try at least once. You’ll want to head over soon. More birthdays will follow, and it will be no time before you’re too old to appreciate jokes about the little ones getting big.

Favorite Bar Snacks: Chips, Peanuts, Dried Baby Crabs

The Junk Food blog noticed some delicious new bar snacks. A shopping trip to the Japanese Market turned up this bag of dried, roasted crabs. The packaging goads you to party! Naturally, as there is no other option when dried baby crabs are involved. They are sprinkled with sesame seeds, making them ideal to serve as scrumptious bar snacks along with pretzels and deep fried grasshoppers. Here's a question: what pairs best with a fistful of baby crab?

Where We're Headed: Kettle of Fish

There’s a special place in our drunken heart for New York’s survivor bars. They are the drinking dens that have made it through decades of the city’s rough and tumble, pouring libations all along the way. Kettle of Fish is currently celebrating its 59^th Year in New York (with 10 years at its current location). We think that calls for a 21 Brew Salute.

How did they make it this long? Kettle isn’t a fancy destination. They’re not mixing trendy cocktails. They’re just a solid neighborhood bar in the West Village. It’s a place that you end up after wandering around the neighborhood, not really knowing where to go. Their 59 years? They didn’t need any gimmicks. The only thing that could have carried them through almost six decades was a combination of grit, grizzle, and an ample helping of Whiskey.

59. We hope we make it in the city that long. We think we will, as long as there are still bars like this to quietly keep us afloat.

Kettle of Fish is located at 59 Christopher Street.