PDT (Please Don't Tell) -- St. Marks Place.

[Sneakeater]

Frankly, though, it depends on what you want.

If you're with friends you want to talk to, or even more to the point a date with whom you'd want to have a private tete-a-tete, you'll have a better experience at a booth (except they mostly don't give booths to couples) even though the cocktails will suffer.

When you're at the bar, the bartender is always at least potentially part of your conversation. Sometimes you just don't want that.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Sneakeater (log)

[Nathan]

well, if you want to actually TALK to your dates, I suppose.

with that said, there are often spots at the bar available late as well.

[adegiulio]

We stopped by last night for a few drinks at around 11pm. I guess i should have read this entire thread, since we didn't make reservations, and clearly needed them. Next time I know. Had some tasty hot dogs though...

[Nathan]

new spring menu on the way

[johnder]

very soon -- I will post the drink list once we figure out the last of the logistics. Changing the bar setup to get 20 new drinks in place is always a fun logistical challenge.

[daisy17]

please, do whatever you need to do. what i tasted this weekend was AMAZING. am still thinking about one of them in particular, but I promised not to say anything, so I'm suffering in silence.

[H. du Bois]

You aren't retiring the Staggerac, are you? That one is stellar (I still think about it).

[johnder]

You aren't retiring the Staggerac, are you?  That one is stellar (I still think about it).

←

Unfortunately yes -- the Staggerac is coming off the menu along with almost everything else. One or two drinks will be sticking around for an encore though.which are staying.

The problem with the staggerac is the supply of Stagg. it was a limited edition and we pretty much exhausted the supply of it.

[Sneakeater]

H. is probably getting the shakes right about now.

[weinoo]

Oh, just have two sazeracs instead.

[alacarte]

Congrats to the mixology whizzes over at PDT - they took first and second place at a cocktail competition hosted by Clements Rhum earlier in the week.

I was there & tried the winning drink, "Bitches Brew" (Clément Première Canne, Pampero Anniversario, lime juice, St. Elizabeth All-Spice Dram, Demerera Syrup, and an egg!), and it was delicious.

Full description of the event & winners are here, on NRN's drinks blog:

http://nrnstandardsandpours.blogspot.com/2...-challenge.html

Will this be added to the PDT cocktail menu?

[KatieLoeb]

Sorry I missed the competition. Sadly, I missed the deadline due to having to file my taxes and competing in a local bartender challenge here in Philly. I understand some folks were asking after me. My friend Phoebe (Maria's able assistant) and her crew stopped by my bar the next night and was still exhausted from the heat of battle. I heard all of the drinks were delicious. Congrats to everyone that participated!

Edited May 2, 2008 by KatieLoeb (log)

[alacarte]

Katie, please pass along to Maria & crew that the Seersucker Fizz rocked! I love spicy drinks, so that was my personal favorite.

I was also a fan of PDT's Sargasso, which took second place -- not just because it was tasty, but also because I got a history lesson about East India Sherry!

[kathryn]

Benton's?! Please say that one is staying.

[H. du Bois]

You aren't retiring the Staggerac, are you?  That one is stellar (I still think about it).

←

Unfortunately yes -- the Staggerac is coming off the menu along with almost everything else. One or two drinks will be sticking around for an encore though.which are staying.

The problem with the staggerac is the supply of Stagg. it was a limited edition and we pretty much exhausted the supply of it.

←

Noooooooooooooo!

I'm not shaking, I'm crying.

[johnder]

Benton's?! Please say that one is staying.

←

Bentons is staying.

[FWD]

Noooooooooooooo! 

I'm not shaking, I'm crying.

←

I'm totally with you. I had to grab a friend and cut out of work early to run down and get one while they're still around.

On the plus side, we got to try something off the new menu, and it was fantastic. Can't wait to see the rest of it.

FWD - I'm hoping at some point the weather will decide to play along with this whole seasonality thing. It takes some of the fun out of fresh spring vegetables when it's wet and freezing outside.

[waves2ya]

When's the Staggerac coming off...?

I'm a PDT customer who's obviously taken the menu for granted (putting drinking shoes on now)...

[kathryn]

A little birdie at Abraco (OK, it was Jamie) says there's going to be a coffee cocktail on the spring menu. Alongside the new Wylie dog.

Edited May 5, 2008 by kathryn (log)

[johnder]

The new menu debuts tonight along with the wylie wd-50 dog.

Beer Cassis

Dubonnet Rouge, Theuriet Cassis, Brooklyn Brewery Local 1 beer.

In the 1930’s, aperitif cocktails such as the Byrrh Cassis, which appears in the Savoy Cocktail Book, were commonly enjoyed in sidewalk café’s of cosmopolitan French cities. Hopefully, substituting a better-known quinquina for Byrrh, a proprietary fortified aperitif wine that contains quinine and topping the drink with beer instead of soda will renew the ritual.

The Kin Kan

Beefeater, lemon, house made kumquat syrup, St. Germain Elderflower

This drink was created when winter seasonal produce became scarce as the frost melted and the trees began to flower. Kin Kan, Japanese for kumquat, is a small, aromatic citrus fruit that is cultivated throughout Southeast Asia from autumn until winter. We preserved the last remaining kumquats and are using the syrup and a hint of St. Germain elderflower liqueur to sweeten this floral spring sour.

Swiss Mist

Plymouth Gin, lemon, grapefruit syrup, egg white, Kubler Absinthe

This grapefruit-accented silver gin sour is finished with a mist of Kubler Absinthe Suisse Blanche, distilled in the Val- de- Travers region of Switzerland where absinthe traces it’s roots. Absinthe Suisse Blanche, which forgoes the herbal maceration before bottling that gives green absinthe it's color is traditionally distilled with local alpine plants and botanicals.

The Rose

Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth, Clear Creek Kirschwasser, raspberry

This drink appears in Petits et Grands Verres, a 1930’s French cocktail book that calls for the drink to be made with sirop de groseille: red currant syrup. Until fresh berries are available locally, we’re substituting raspberry preserves to give this cocktail a hint of what’s to come.

Bee's Sip

Chamomile infused Barsol Quebranta Pisco, Masumi “OkudenKantsukuri” sake, Barenjager Honey Liqueur

“OkudenKantsukuri”(mirror of truth), is a junmai sake bottled with no added alcohol from refined rice grains by one of Japan’s historic brewers.The sake balances the chamomile and elderflower in Jim’s shout out to ace Pegu Club bartender, Kenta Goto. We’re hoping this is the May flower you’ve been waiting for after all those April showers.

Pearl Button

Mae De OuroCachaca, Lime, Lillet Blanc, San Pellegrino Limonata

What do you call a drink mixed with Brazilian cachaca, a French quinquina and a citrus-spiked Italian mineral water? Is it a bird? A plane? A caipirinha collins or a corpse reviver #7? Well, John Deragon’s name for it is so damned catchy, we gotta run with it.

Chien Chaud

Rhum J.M. Blanc, Yellow Chartreuse, Coconut Water

On a recent trip to Martinique, I asked cocktail maven David Wondrich if he’d be willing to share a recipe for the spring menu. After our visit to the J.M. distillery,we enjoyed ti punch and ate entirely too many acras (salt cod fritters)and then it came to him: the one and only hot dog cocktail.

East Village Athletic Club Cocktail

Siembra Azul Blanco Tequila, Lemon, Yellow Chartreuse, Grand Marnier

The Last Word, a beguiling mixture of equal parts gin, lime juice, Green Chartreuse and maraschino liqueur was first documented in Ted Saucier’s Bottoms Up in 1951. Saucier credited the Detroit Athletic Club for sharing the recipe: we tinkered with the recipe and named it after our hood.

Rhubarbarita

Partida Reposado Tequila, lemon, rhubarb puree, Grand Marnier, Veloce

As soon as we could secure a sufficient quantity of rhubarb, Don prepared a puree sweetened with Partida’s agave nectar that Jim usedto make a margarita spiked with Veloce, an Italian spirit that treads the line between flavored vodka and stone fruit eau de vie. Enjoy it until the short rhubarb season comes to a close.

French Maid

Hine “H” Cognac, lime, sugar, Velvet Falernum, ginger beer, mint, cucumber

A Hendricks gin mojito with muddled cucumber has popped up on menus all over the country in the past few years. Milk & Honey barman Sammy Ross substituted bourbon for gin and dubbed it the Kentucky Maid giving us a moniker to create a drink family. Jim’s contribution, the French Maid, is a spicy addition to the family made with clove and almond spiced Falernum and house made ginger beer.

The Mariner

Compass Box Oak Cross, pineapple juice, lemon, smoked cardamom syrup

It’s hard to imagine a bunch of weather-hardened sailors sipping gimlets. The historic cocktail of choice among British Naval officers has fallen from grace as bartenders all over the world force artificial Rose’s lime cordial to walk the plank. John’s alternative is made with a blended malt Scotch whiskey mixed with citrus, pineapple and a smoked cardamom syrup that reminds us of the days when spices came to market on ships sailed by hard drinking sailors.

Hotel d’Alsace

Bushmills, Cointreau, Benedictine, rosemary

To commemorate the 400th birthday of Bushmills, we decided to put Irish whiskey to work in something other than a shot glass. David Slape named the drink after the posh Parisian hotel that Irish scribe Oscar Wildemspent his last years in. Although Wilde was fond of drinking absinthe in his final years, we think he may have appreciated this lavish dram of Irish whiskey, French liqueur and fresh spring herbs.

The Brown Bomber

George Dickel No. 12, Lillet Blanc, Suse

We substituted Hard hitting Tennessee Whiskey for gin in the recipe for Nick Blacknell’s White Negroni and named it after the champ: Joe Louis, nicknamed the Brown Bomber of Detroit. Louis, considered the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time, lost his first title fight in 1936, regained it in 1937 and defended it for 12 years, fighting 24 times and recording 22 knockouts. Defend your title.

Dewey D

Old Overholt rye whiskey, Lustau East India Sherry, Aperol

Don Lee fashioned this Negroni tribute cocktail of sorts with rye whiskey (although not Canadian like the man himself) and Sherry since Dewey has always featured it in his beverage program at WD 50. Wylie Dufresne is the draw at WD 50, but let’s not forget that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Benton's Old Fashioned

Bacon infused Four Roses Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Bitters

The crossroad of Haute Barnyard and Barroom: using his connections to the artisan commodities market and science, bartender Don Lee combined one of the foodstuffs we all crave with beloved bourbon and got us through the winter. This one’s too good to take off the menu.

Bizet

Shinn Estate Rose, Luxardo Bitter, Amaro, Moet White Star

David Slape makes yet another contribution to the ever expanding opera cocktail genre with the Bizet, a Champagne Americano of sorts named after Gorges Bizet, a gifted 19th century French opera composer who wrote the score to Carmen.

The Rite of Spring

Tanqueray Gin, Vya Dry, Momofuku's ramp pickle juice

When ramps, the wild spring onions that sprout up in cool, forested regions of the Northeast show up at the farmers market: we all know that spring has officially begun. To commemorate their arrival, Don refashioned the "dirty" martini, the mixological equivalent of someone putting a cigarette out in your beer, with pickled ramp brine from Momofuku Ssam Bar and dry vermouth from Quady Winery in California.

Coda

Pampero Rum, Neisson Rhum Blanc, Lime, Demerara, Allspice Dramm, egg

In music, a coda (Italian for "tail") is a passage that brings conclusion to a particular piece. Beethoven developed the coda into a feature of utmost importance in his sonatas. In Daniel Eun’s words, “The coda allows one, after having worked through the exposition, development, and climax of a piece to look back upon the main body; take it all in, and end with a sense of balance.”

Wylie Dog

Deep Fried Crif Dog, Deep Fried Mayo Cubes, Tomato Molasses, Freeze Dried Onions, Romaine lettuce

Edited May 5, 2008 by johnder (log)

[Mussina]

Oh my!! Sounds too wonderful.

Now . . . how best to get a drink at PDT?? We've tried the last three times we were in NYC -- the first time we showed up after dinner at Saam around 11:30 (Fri) and there was nothing the rest of the night. Second time was Superbowl Sunday and, if memory serves, they were closed. Third time I called around 3:15 p.m. on a Friday -- my birthday -- I interrupted lunch at Jean Georges and spent 15+ minutes trying to get through and when I did they were fully booked already. Next trip to NYC will most likely be a Tuesday -- what are my chances and what is the best way to insure a spot for a drink(s) (and a Wylie dog??)

Edited May 6, 2008 by Mussina (log)

[kathryn]

Call at 3pm (not on a Friday) and ask for a table.

If none are available, show up right when they open and ensconce yourself at the bar. You can always call and ask if they have open bar seats at the moment.

[Mussina]

I was hoping that the Friday thing was part of the problem. What time do they officially open?

[kathryn]

6 PM.

Update: even on "slow" nights they're not that slow. Just tried to stop by at around 11:30 PM on a Tuesday. Quoted wait for 2 was about an hour, and I saw a few parties lingering inside Crif Dogs, already waiting.

Edited May 7, 2008 by kathryn (log)

[Mayur]

Yeah, PDT is pretty much all busy all the time.

Stopped in tonight on my way in from the airport; I had the (rare, for me!) chance to chat with Jim and sample two of the spring offerings. The French Maid was exactly what I expected; really a perfect drink for the exceptionally summery evening. The Bizet was likely as expected (a highly-tweaked Americano with a lot of wine character) and almost exactly like something I was whipping up at the end of last summer using a sparkling Malbec.

The nice thing about the drinks this menu around is how they bounce around the sour/acid/light body/heavy body/booziness spectrum. F'rex, what with jetlag coming on, it was nice to have something refreshing but not stupor-inducing. I may have preferred some of the winter offerings to the spring offerings as individual drinks, but this is a better-composed menu overall, IMO.