First Annual NYC Cocktail Week

Restaurant week is my favorite week, even though it's more than a week and it comes twice a year. Now I have another awesome week to add to that list... Cocktail week! From June 15-29, participating cocktail bars will offer 2 full sized cocktails + an appetizer for $20.11. Proceeds from Cocktail Week also go toward City Harvest's fight against hunger and the Museum of the American Cocktail (that's a thing? Okay).

Participating bars include Rye, Employees Only and Tuesdee Boozedee favorite Death & Co.

Check out the full list and details here!

Tuesdee Boozedee: KGB

asian glow. 

Okay, so it's technically Wednesdee... but we're fresh off the TB boat so it's excusable, right? For tonight's adventure, we went to an old favorite of ours, KGB. Like most good bars, it can get annoyingly packed on the weekends, but on weeknights, this place is a gem. It sounds trite, but there's really no telling what kind of crazy characters you can meet here... including but not limited to the awesome Tuesday night bartender, Seiji. 

The music here tends to be shoegaze or classic rock (depending on the bartender) and always solid. The decor is Russian kitsch meets your grandma's den. Drinks are straightforward and decently priced. If you're feeling a little spendy, ask to try the bison grass vodka, an off-the-menu specialty-- sweet and earthy, like a spring day that gets you buzzed.

This place is easy to miss, as there is only a small sign and it's on the second floor above a theatre... one word of warning though, if you're not into literary readings, avoid KGB before 9pm, or just check their website!

http://www.kgbbar.com/
85 East 4th Street (2nd floor)
New York, NY 10003-8904
(212) 505-3360

Tuesdee Boozedee: Night of Joy

This Tuesdee Boozedee, I've decided to take a break from our secret bar tour and write up a great neighborhood spot. I've been going to Night of Joy since it opened (ok, it only opened last summer), at first because it's named after the bar in one of my all-time favorite novels (above). I kept coming back because of the awesome 2nd floor patio and laid-back attitude.

If you've read A Confederacy of Dunces, you may walk in expecting a pitch black, seedy, smoky New Orleans bar with strippers and Jones shuffling around going, "hey!" (as I did...) but it's actually a classy place with just a touch of homey southern decor.

If you're feeling adventurous, try one of the cocktails with ingredients like goji berries, basil, jalapeno... and then, there's the vodka infused with beet and dill. Personally, I don't like it-- the beet and dill come on way too strong for a cocktail, but it's a good thing to try just so you can say you did. Despite the impressive cocktail menu at Night of Joy, this is a place where I tend to stick to whiskey, beer and atmosphere.

Night of Joy

667 Lorimer St
(between Meeker Ave & I-278)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North Side

(718) 388-8693

Tuesdee Boozedee: PDT

I stole this picture from google image. 

Not to be confused with PYT, PDT is the next installment of our Tuesdee Boozedee secret bar tour! PDT stands for "Please Don't Tell," which is kind of funny considering it's probably the most well known "secret" bar in nyc... (reverse psychology, eh eh?)

You enter PDT through a phone booth (pictured above) in a dirty hot dog joint called Crif Dogs. You pick up the phone and if / when someone on the other side picks up, you let them know how many people are in your party and they'll give you a wait time. We went at 9 PM on a Tuesdee (naturally) and only had a 10 minute wait! Previously, I've gone there earlier on a weeknight and been given a 45 minute wait time... kind of ridiculous.  Though the waits can be annoying, the hostess is always gracious and will take down your number / call you if you decide to wait.

The reason why the waits pile up at PDT is because they make a point of NEVER packing the bar. There's no standing, only tables or bar seats. The atmosphere is extremely laid back and oh yeah, the COCKTAILS...

We ordered 3:
Victor's Secret - a strong concoction of whiskey, blood orange and... some other stuff that I can't recall.
Venus and Cupid - aromatic gin based cocktail with grapefruit, egg white and cardamom
The Shark - blue curacao, fruit juice, gin... some other deliciousness

The menu is extensive and changes by season. I normally never would have ordered the Shark but it turned out to be my favorite! The normally nasty color of blue curacao turned out a beautiful frothy teal... a little citrus slice and umbrella added just the right touch of playful kitsch to this drink.

One LAST detail about PDT... there are rules, including but not limited to the following: No PDA at PDT, No cell phones and no pictures. Just good ole' fashioned boozing.

Please Don't Tell

113 St. Marks Pl
(between 1st Ave & Avenue A)
New York, NY 10009

(212) 614-0386

www.pdtnyc.com

Boozedee at the Back Room + Free Music!

I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO THIS SONG. Adele + Jamie xx + Childish Gambino AKA this fine specimen: 

Today's Boozedee Instructions: 

Download the above song HERE

Listen to it all day at work and get pumped up 

Go forth and Boozedee. 

Today's review of The Back Room continues the "secret" nyc bar theme... it actually took me so long to figure out what this bar was called and where it was, because every time I had gone there, it was in a post 4 AM haze and seemed like a fever dream where people serve overpriced tiny cocktails in teacups...  but alas! It's real!! 

Getting to the Back Room is the most fun part. Often times, you have to push aside one of those metal-gate-things to get into the alley... once in the alley, wander drunkenly to the back until you see a red toy truck. That's the sign! Climb up the steps and you'll find yourself at the entrance to the Back Room. 

This is a great place to take out-of-towners and new New Yorkers, but it's neither the kind of place I frequent nor the kind of place I'd go to on a special night. The cocktails here are standard, overpriced and tiny, but the teacups are cute. 

The Back Room 

102 Norfolk St. near Delancey

New York, NY 10002 

212-228-5098

A DANCE FOR JAPAN!

Hey all! I posted earlier about ways to help Japan ... here's an update: 

I'll be working the door / collecting donations at this awesome party... which just so happens to also be a fundraiser! Come dance to awesome DJs like Lauren Flax and grab prizes from Surface to Air, Mishka, Aveda and other awesome companies! If you're not in NYC, I'll be sure to post some pictures after the event, and don't forget to donate to Japan Society or Red Cross (text 90999 to REDCROSS). 

Whaddya say, can you make it?

xx 

mukai

Tuesdee Boozedee: Angels' Share

I love a good secret bar, even though a good secret doesn't tend to stay secret very long. Angels' Share places at the top of my list of "secret" NYC bars, which is why I'm reviewing it first! If you haven't been there yet, it's a must visit, though I suggest going there on a weekday as there can be a wait.

Let's start with entry: on that strange triangle in the east village where 3rd ave, 9th st and stuyvesant converge, you'll see a sign over some stairs reading "Village Yokocho". Up the stairs you'll see a normal Japanese restaurant. To your left, an unmarked wooden door. Go ahead, saunter in! You'll find yourself in an incredibly well decorated bar (see pic above).

The staff at Angels' Share is attentive and professional, the bartenders talented and the drink menu (or should I say book?) extremely complex. Don't come here if you want a casual beer. I'm not usually a cocktail drinker, but trust me, the ones here are something to write home about (if you're writing home to classy drunks). We had 3 cocktails: an aromatic spiced apple, a bitter green tea cocktail and a creamy dessert drink. In my opinion, the green tea cocktail was the best choice.

Let me put it this way: I'd be impressed if someone took me here on a date! Here's a little tidbit so you can impress your next date: the term "Angels' Share" refers to the alcohol that is evaporated during distilling... guess those angels like to party too, huh?

Angels' Share (no website)

Village Yokocho
8 Stuyvesant St
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

(212) 777-5415

New Design + Weekend Event

I hope you're as infatuated with our new design as we are! We owe it to the super talented and all-around awesome Pete Sparrow. I'd also like to take this opportunity to plug a great event-- "DRINK FOR THE KIDS"! It's free to attend and all bar proceeds + tips go to Wigs for Kids and the Angel Hair Foundation. We'll both be there and one half of us (mukai) is DJing from 10-11pm. Any requests?!

Welcome to Tuesdee Boozedee!

Every Tuesdee, Mukai and I will feature a drink or a sweet bar that we go to. As of today, the weekly Tuesdee Boozedee tradition begins! No matter where you are, join us on this day and celebrate! Plus what better day than Fat Tuesday to start us off?

We were in BK and decided to stop into Camp for our weekly drink date. I was in the mood for something sweet, which is unusual. (My usual drink of choice is something I like to call "Orange-flavored Nail Polish Remover- Orange Stoli and soda: tangy, but definitely not sweet) I ordered a Dirty Girl Scout to satisfy my sweet tooth. Thanks to a generous pour and two gigantic marshmallows, this drink really hit the spot. We sat at a low table surrounded by camp fires in what appeared to be a massive tent while listening to the DJ spin a mix featuring Little Dragon, Prince and Biggie. I even got my drink on while playing one of my favorite games: Scrabble! I didn't get around to playing Big Buck Hunter or eating a S'more, but I will definitely be back for s'more camping fun! (Sorry, bad joke.)

Camp: 

179 Smith St
(between Warren St & Wyckoff St) Brooklyn, NY 11201