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

[oakapple]

A few friends and I hit PDT last night and had another lovely time.

←

I'm always curious about the timing at this place. Did you book in advance, or if you didn't, how long did you wait to get in?

[Vinotas]

We had a 7pm table RSVP, but I showed up early, around 6:20pm, with a friend to sit at the bar as she'd never been. They made us wait about 4-5 minutes. The bar was already packed but the tables were empty when we arrived.

I find that either going at 6-6:30pm or after 3am are the best times, otherwise you need to wait and it can get a bit crowded in there.

[Sneakeater]

In other words, you can only go when you don't want to.

[slkinsey]

I, for one, like going for a cocktail at 6:00 on a weeknight.

One of the things that has honestly kept me from going to M&H a lot more often is that they don't open until 9 PM, and it's just very rare that I'm in Chinatown looking for a cocktail at 9 o'clock on a Wednesday night.

[Sneakeater]

I -- and I think most NYC professionals share this -- can only dream of the day I can leave work as early as 6 p.m. (or, even more unbelievable, 5:30 p.m. so as to get somewhere by 6).

(Although these days one must be careful about dreaming of things like that -- it's all too likely to come true.)

Edited December 23, 2008 by Sneakeater (log)

[Vinotas]

I -- and I think most NYC professionals share this -- can only dream of the day I can leave work as early as 6 p.m. (or, even more unbelievable, 5:30 p.m. so as to get somewhere by 6).

(Although these days one must be careful about dreaming of things like that -- it's all too likely to come true.)

←

LOL! Very true. Still, those hours are fine with me (my business starts late and goes on until very late sometimes) as I'm a night owl. I can understand the frustrations, however, for those of you who get out later from work. You can always call at 3:30 and make an RSVP for a table.

[Steamtrain]

i'm a little late on my TR, the new menu might be out already.

skip down to the 3rd paragraph to get to the good part

I rarely get a chance to out with my wife so i decided to try an make it a relaxed evening. Relaxed meaning not having to wait for long peroids of time or running around for a reservation. We got a babysitter for friday night(Dec. 19th) and left UES at 5:15. Walked to garnet liquors near the subway stop for a quick samples of champagne before hopping on the 6 train downtown.

Astor Place to PDT by foot in the freezing rain arriving at exactly 6:03PM. About 10 people in the place with one couple obviously waitng to get into the bar. They said they had already buzzed and were told to wait 5 minutes so they could finish preparing to open. They said we should buzz since they just did. We buzzed, they opened the door and said come on in, so we did. Seated at the bar at 6:05. The couple that were waiting were seated at about 15 minues later. They took a few pictures and no one seemed to mind. The bar was full by 7:15 and didn't pay attention to the tables.

link to one page of fall menu

http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/200...20081105pdt.pdf

We started with a Green Deacon and Falling Leaves with Chang and Wylie dogs. The Falling Leaves was outrageously good, especially since both of us love pears. I remember that it contained reisling and pear brandy and had a star anise floating in it. The green deacon was just OK, a touch sweet and not at the same level as the falli---HOLD ON my drink gets picked up by Jim and he quickly makes another Green Deacon. Jim saves the night. A mistake had been made by something taking the place of the grapefruit juice in the first drink. The grapefruit juice brings a nice acidity that was missing and the Green Deacon is popping in my mouth.

The Green Deacon is excellent!

The next round my wife had a French Maid. A good description is given in this thread by Verjuice. This drink would be perfect for warmer weather, but i'd still drink them now. Sitting at the bar has its advantages, one being able to have drinks made that suit your tastes. Which landed me with a Vieux Carre, that was spectacular. It had a 2in X 2in ice cube surround by a fantastic brown amber liquid in a rocks glass. I asked what was in it, then was told what was in it, then forgot what was in it.

We split the 2 dogs and were in heaven. The Chang dog was so good we munched a second one before leaving for dinner. We both had the same idea on our next visit, 2 Chang dogs for every Wylie. This idea should hold til we try the other dog.

We left at about 7:45 according to the check. It also has The Norman Inversion on there which we drank but don't remember any details.(probably to busy chomping hotdogs)

Freezing rain had stopped.

We walked by Momofuku Noodle Bar on our way to the Ssam bar. The Ssam bar was immediate seating and outstanding. We were on top of the world by getting lucky not to wait at both places.

After dinner we went for dessert. We wanted to go to one more place before heading home. As we walked and discussed options we found that we wanted to finish the night on the highest of notes. Our feet brought us back to PDT, expecting not to get in since it was almost 11. When we arrived at least 15 people were in the place and a man was in the booth talking to the hostess. When he left the booth i buzzzed, she opened and said to wait one minute. She came back before i could tell my wife we were waiting and in we go again.

It was very busy in the bar compared to earlier. The second time we went for the easy homeruns-->Falling Leaves, Vieux Carre and the Green Deacon.

And we split another Chang dog and headed home.

PDT service, cocktails and bar are excellent and professional.

It is very close to heaven for me. My wife loved it as much as I did.

[sickchangeup]

Have reservations here tonight at 8, anyone know if the latest menu is posted anywhere? I checked here and on their site only.

[campus five]

Hey, I'm trying to figure out the recipe on a Paddington from PDT.

From what I remember, it's a white-rum based Corpse Reviver #2 variation, with orange marmalade for the cointreau, and lime and grapefruit for the lemon juice.

Anybody got anything more concrete than that?

(and of course I'm asking when so many of the cocktail world are in New Orleans right now - great timing)

[Fat Guy]

As of last time I had one the cocktail consisted of Flor de Cana Silver dry rum, Lillet Blanc, fresh lemon and grapefruit juices, Bonne Maman orange marmalade and St. George absinthe. I don't know the exact quantities.

[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.

[johnder]

Yes, but it will be tight. You will have 6 ppl in a booth and 2 on small stools at the end.