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Best places for a cocktail b4 Modern and Aureole


chefmcone76

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I'll be dining at the Modern at MOMA and Aureole this Monday and Tuesday respectively. What would be a good spot within walking distance to the two for a serious cocktail before or after our dinners? Any suggestions would be appreciated as I rarely get to Manhattan and am unfamiliar with the areas around the two restaurants.

"I'm drawn to places that fear their customers" -Kenji

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There are lots of great penthouse/rooftop bars, hotel bars and lounges in that area. The penthouse of the Dream Hotel has a great lounge.

For something different, after dinner, I'd check out Kyotofu - they have a full assortment of cocktails, shochu and sake, as well as amazing desserts

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I'll be dining at the Modern at MOMA and Aureole this Monday and Tuesday respectively.  What would be a good spot within walking distance to the two for a serious cocktail before or after our dinners?  Any suggestions would be appreciated as I rarely get to Manhattan and am unfamiliar with the areas around the two restaurants.

unfortunately, serious cocktails are almost non-existent in midtown (the NY cocktail connoisseur scene is located entirely downtown). the good news is that the cocktails off the house list at the Bar Room at the Modern are generally excellent. I just wouldn't ask them for anything off the menu. ditto for the cocktails at the London Bar at Gordon Ramsay.

as Raji noted, midtown has a plethora of lounges and bars...often with great views and decor...however, the cocktails are almost uniformly crappy.

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I agree that the best place for cocktails near the Modern is at the bar there. Most of the restaurants operated by the Union Square Hospitality Group are at the more sophisticated end of the restaurant cocktail spectrum. They're not hard-core cocktalian places, but they're a cut above most bar/lounge-type places.

I think of Aureole as being more Upper East Side than Midtown, and it's only about a 15-minute walk from the Carlyle. I believe the Carlyle has remained a good cocktail destination post-Audrey Saunders. Also, the Campbell Apartment, by Grand Central, seems to attract a cocktail-savvy crowd.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Campbell Apartment is a cool space, but I was there twice very recently, and concluded that they really do not know what they're doing. Blank stares when I asked for more simple.

I'd go to the Modern, Alto or London Bar. Oh, or Town. (I've actually had more success off the menu at the Modern than on . . . .)

Edited to add: there used to be real talent behind the bar at Alto - i'm not sure if that's still the case

Edited by daisy17 (log)
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Just got in to twn and it's quite beautiful out. Thanks for all the sugestions. We will probably have a post dinner drink at the modern bar. Do any of these spots mentioned have outdoor seating? Perhaps a rooftop spot for our pre-diner drink tonight?

"I'm drawn to places that fear their customers" -Kenji

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Just got in to twn and it's quite beautiful out.  Thanks for all the sugestions.  We will probably have a post dinner drink at the modern bar.  Do any of these spots mentioned have outdoor seating?  Perhaps a rooftop spot for our pre-diner drink tonight?
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Stopped in at Bemelman's a couple of months ago and was sorely disappointed by their cocktails -- mostly in their execution, but also in their conception. They're certainly not doing things in the same vein as the latest round of new "serious" cocktail destinations downtown (PDT, Death & Co, Pegu and the like). On the other hand, wines by the glass were not your run-of-the-mill selections. Although pricey, you'll find things on there you won't normally get to taste by the glass.

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Daisy, have you been to Town lately? I was in there and found that, in the past three years or so, the cocktail menu has gone from reasonably inventive to predictable and sweet. Maybe it just reads that way, though -- I don't know.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Daisy, have you been to Town lately? I was in there and found that, in the past three years or so, the cocktail menu has gone from reasonably inventive to predictable and sweet. Maybe it just reads that way, though -- I don't know.
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