ShaunH

Could PDT accommodate a party of 8? I've always sat at the bar, so I'm having trouble visualizing the rest of the space.

My girlfriend and I were in Chicago over the past weekend for a wedding and were fortunate enough to work in two visits to The Violet Hour. The first was on Friday night at 9pm with two friends who aren't cocktail lovers, and the second was just the two of us on Monday right as the bar was opening. Two very different circumstances, but we had a great time on both occasions, and I even have a feeling our non-cocktailian friends (who live in Chicago) will be returning soon. On our first visit, we were seated at a corner booth in the back room. The place is bigger than I thought it would be, but with the multiple rooms and nice use of curtains it still maintains a fairly intimate feeling. After getting some initial suggestions from us, our friends got some excellent guidance from the waitress and selected a couple of rum based drinks that I unfortunately forgot to note the specifics of. Suffice it to say they enjoyed them much more than I think they were expecting to. I started with a Clapless Belle: Bulleit Bourbon, Lemon, Ginger Syrup, Laphroaig Scotch. This was delicious and well-balanced, and the ginger was not overpowering at all. My girlfriend asked for something tequila based and spicy (her favorite hobby is making tequila infusions with hot peppers of various kinds) and was given a Spanish Margarita: Herradura Plata, Lime, Licor 43, Hell-Fire Bitters. This brings me to my one major complaint about The Violet Hour - since their bitters aren't available commercially, I'm now dealing with the equivalent of a detoxing junkie jonesing for Hell-Fire Bitters. We had a few more rounds after that, but honestly, I did a poor job of keeping track of what else we had, as I hadn't seen my friends in many years and we got caught up in our conversation (I know, I know - I'm a failure as a boozehound). I'll just say this - for every round after the first, my girlfriend and I just gave the waitress a couple of keywords and put ourselves in the hands of the bartenders, and every time they did not disappoint. On Monday we figured we'd shoot for a different kind of experience. We showed up around 6:15, were the first customers, and sat at the bar. As I'm sure my fellow cocktail geeks will agree, this is the best way to experience a place like this - develop a rapport with a bartender and let him or her take you on a journey. On this occasion I started with a Manhattan variant that was made with Wild Turkey and peach bitters and served with a lemon twist. Very tasty, and a great way to start the evening. I followed that with a Gun Shop: Sazerac Russell's Reserve 6yr Rye, Maison Surrenne Cognac, Peychaud's Bitters, with a Herbsaint rinse. A very tasty variation on the Sazerac. My girlfriend again went in the tequila direction, most deliciously with a Flaming Heart: Lunazul Blanco, Pineapple, Licor 43, Green Tabasco. Unfortunately our bartender rapport strategy broke down a bit as more folks came in and the bartenders wound up in different spots than they started. I did have several other delicious cocktails, including a wonderfully refreshing Aviation to close out the evening. That's one of those classics that I overlook sometimes, but boy did it hit the spot (it came out after a request for something citrus-y and shaken as a refresher). Overall, I heartily recommend TVH. I loved the sign hanging in the bathroom which indicated "No Jager Bombs, No O-Bombs, No Bombs of any kind". I believe Grey Goose and Cosmopolitans were also on the list of prohibited items. So if you're the type of person who finds those restrictions "snobby" or "elitist" then this probably isn't the spot for you, but if you're looking for great cocktails in a nice atmosphere you'll be right at home even if you're more of a casual drinker than a full-on cocktail geek. And for $12 a drink you can't go wrong, especially considering you get the excess from the shaker in a little side flask. Finally, The Violet Hour is a great spot on its own merits, but if you really want to appreciate how good it is, I suggest attending a wedding on a day in between two visits. A few hours of function hall drinks places the excellence of TVH in even starker relief. Full disclosure: Toby facilitated us getting a table in an efficient manner on our Friday visit. However, we paid for all of our drinks on both visits, and we were treated no differently than when we visited Monday, when we were total unknowns to the staff. I have no reason to think this review would read any differently had I never spoken with Toby.

I don't live in Brattleboro, but we do venture up there from time to time, so I'll give you my perspective as a semi-regular visitor. There are two restaurants in Brattleboro that I would consider excellent: Peter Havens and T.J. Buckley's. These are both located on Eliot Street (Brattleboro's downtown is quite small - every place I'm going to mention is within easy walking distance of every other place). Peter Havens is fairly mainstream upscale dining, with a good base menu and excellent daily specials. Front of the house is run by the co-owner Tom, whose last name escapes me at the moment, who does an excellent job of welcoming everyone and keeping an eye on things. The food is always solid, and at its best it can be spectacular (I had a lamb chop with a whole grain mustard sauce there once that I can still taste two years later). Interesting and eclectic wine list with nothing terribly pricey on it. T.J. Buckley's, on the other hand, is a unique experience. It's located in an old train car, there are 17 seats (not tables, seats) in the entire restaurant, and the kitchen is totally open to the dining room. This is a chef-driven restaurant - Michael Fuller, the chef/owner, will be preparing every aspect of your meal personally. Unlike Havens, Buckley's typically offers four appetizers and four entree choices on any given evening (typically something from each of the fish, shellfish, poultry and meat families). Wine list is smaller and a tad pricier than Havens, but still solid and reasonably priced. It's hard to draw a comparison between the two - if you have the opportunity you should definitely try both. I've never had a bad meal at either, but in general I would say that Havens is more consistent, but Buckley's at its best is hard to beat. The only thing to bear in mind about Buckley's is this - if you are looking for a traditional fine dining experience, this is not it. When you walk in the door, you are in the middle of the restaurant. If you are early or your table isn't ready, there's really no place to wait in the restaurant, so it's back out on the sidewalk. So if these are the kind of things that would bother you, probably better to take a pass. A couple of other places worth checking out in Brattleboro are Windham Wines (www.windhamwines.com), which is a small, locally owned wine store with an incredibly well-chosen selection of bottles. They also have a wine bar in the back that does tastings and offers small bites. Finally, McNeill's brewery is also worth a stop. Owner Ray McNeill is a nice guy and great brewer, and he's been running a small local brewery since before craft beer was cool. Hope this helps. Enjoy Brattleboro!