Death and Company

[Eatmywords]

Do you know if they got their renewal, or is it just a reprieve?

←

Looks like a repreive........get a tenor while you can!

http://nymag.com/daily/food/2007/03/death_....html?gs-digest

[Nathan]

I stopped in the last two nights...great to see it open again.

fwiw, they seem very optimistic that their problems will be over soon.

[Sneakeater]

For all the negative things I've said, I was there Friday. I missed this place, and will miss it a lot if it's closed.

(Of course, it helped a lot that it WASN'T VERY CROWDED.)

[plattetude]

So, news? Anything? Still open?

Christopher

[Jennifer F]

Yes, they're open....in fact, we're headed there tonight.

[SaltySnack]

I went to Death & Co last night with my boyfriend. I can't tell you exactly what we had to drink. I know he had the daiquiri which neither of us liked. It had an unpleasant smoky aftertaste. I had some type of tequila drink with muddled strawberries that was probably the best drink of the night. Then we had some type of gin drink for him and a rum drink with raspberries for me. Okay but not outstanding. And then as just a test, a margarita with silver tequila. Good but not as good as the margarita we had recently at the Bar room at the Modern or the tarmaind margaritas at the Bread Bar at Table.

Anyway, what was fantastic about our visit to Death & Co was the food. We ordered the filet Mignon and the mac and cheese. It was all finger food, sort of continental tapas to expand the term. They need to be promoting their food more. It was too bad that it was so late and that I had already eaten dinner, or we would have sampled more.

[Nathan]

that wonderful smoky finish in the Jovencourt Daiquiri is from mezcal.

Junior Merino created the cocktails at Bar Room at the Modern and I believe he had involvement with some of the original drinks at D&C.

of course, the best thing about D&C, as with Pegu, Flatiron and M&H, is the opportunity to order any classic cocktail and have it well and properly made.

I didn't find the food at D&C especially interesting, to be honest.

[Sneakeater]

Anyway, what was fantastic about our visit to Death & Co was the food. We ordered the filet Mignon and the mac and cheese. It was all finger food, sort of continental tapas to expand the term.  They need to be promoting their food more. It was too bad that it was so late and that I had already eaten dinner, or we would have sampled more.

←

Somebody send this to the SLA.

[Nathan]

good point!

[Megan Blocker]

According to Gawker, there may be hope yet for D&Co. and other East Village nightlife...

The head of the CB3 SLA committee, Alexandra Militano, told us, "Now it isn't very often that the SLA goes against our judgment but in the past it used to happen a lot." That change was the governorship of former Republican George Pataki, who appointed conservative officers to the SLA. In 2006, Pataki even established the Rapid Enforcement Unit, whose duty it was to strip bars of their liquor licenses.

But now a new and cuter face is in office in Albany, Eliot Spitzer. As soon as he took office in January, the beer and wine started flowing again through the veins of the East Village. He hasn't made changes in the SLA yet but there seems to be the effect of new sheriff is in town.

Accompanying the piece, an appropriately heroic photo of the Governor.

ETA: Or inappropriately heroic, I suppose, depending on your point of view.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Megan Blocker (log)

[plattetude]

Finally made it to D&C last week and had a great bunch of drinks -- mostly off-the-menu concoctions courtesy of Phil. I'll report in more detail later.

Do note that the spiffy website is now loaded with content -- food and cocktail menus, starter bar tips, and such. Very nice indeed.

Long live Death & Co! And all its ilk!

Christopher

[Nathan]

stopped into Death & Co. last night.

the food menu appears to have been expanded.

three new cocktails on the menu: Wondrich, Merino and Regan creations.

[slkinsey]

One of Phil Ward's cocktails was recently featured in "Shaken & Stirred" in the NY Times:

The Oaxaca Old-Fashioned

1.5 oz : El Tesoro Reposado tequila

0.5 oz : Los Amantes Joven mezcal

1 tsp : amber agave nectar

1 : dash Angostura bitters

Orange twist

Shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with flamed orange twist.

“Tequila entered the mainstream in this country at a time, in the ’60s and ’70s, that cocktail culture was dead,” said Mr. Ward, whose revamped cocktail menu, which was to be unveiled this weekend, features an expanded roster of tequila-based cocktails. “It’s not like rye whiskey, which is the base for so many classic cocktails. It’s a really cool spirit to work with because there are still original things you can do with it.”

As its name suggests, Mr. Ward’s Old-Fashioned doesn’t scream originality — until you taste it. This is tequila at its most nuanced, a baritone-voice cocktail with a rich, deep smokiness and dark, elusive sweetness, and it swiftly banishes questions of whether tequila is the new something else. Rather, it is the new tequila: still growing, but decidedly mature.

[plattetude]

So, finally following up about my visit after too long.

After my first round (Lucino's Delight -- a fabulous concoction of Beefeaters, Carpano Antica vermouth, maraschino, and Lucano Amaro), I put myself in Phil's hands for a whirlwind tour of great twists and turns and inventions.

Well, it was a whirlwind all right, and at this point, a few weeks out, details are definitely hazy (okay, I'll face it, by the 5th or so round, there wasn't much chance of hanging on to *any* details for long). There was a Rosita-ish drink of reposado tequila, bianco vermouth, Campari, and... maraschino maybe? And a tequila-based spin on the Monkey Gland (using Phil's "Mr. Potato Head" philosophy of riffing on classics). Then a rye drink with absinthe (not a Sazerac, but I don't recall what else it might have had), and from there it only gets hazier...

But bottom line, everything was superb, and I wish I could make it a regular watering hole. Alas, being father to a young toddler carries with it the responsibility of mixing and drinking at home more often than not.

Can't wait to get back for another marathon session!

Christopher

[phlip]

the oxaca is actually stirred not shaken. Thanks for the post Sam.

[slkinsey]

So it is! My mistake.

What's the thinking behind stirring with ice and then straining onto rocks? I generally build an Old-Fashioned right in the glass and then add the ice.

[Simon_S]

Brief aside: the whole tipping in bars thing confuses me greatly, and I never know how much to leave. How much would one be expected to tip in an establishment such as Death & Co (or Pegu for that matter)? I'm sorry to ask this here, but I don't want to let myself down!

Si

[weinoo]

Brief aside: the whole tipping in bars thing confuses me greatly, and I never know how much to leave. How much would one be expected to tip in an establishment such as Death & Co (or Pegu for that matter)? I'm sorry to ask this here, but I don't want to let myself down!

←

If I'm sitting at the bar, I always tip at least 20% for good service, just like in a restaurant.

[Nathan]

$2 a drink, or 20% of the total bill....whichever is higher.

(this is for a place like Pegu Club or Death & Co....where the drinks show serious care and skill.) if you're just getting beers or gin & tonics at an ordinary bar, a $1 a drink is still the standard.

if you're comped a drink...you should tip more than that (generally I figure half the cost of the comped drink).

Edited April 20, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[Simon_S]

Thanking you!

[johnder]

D&C updated their menu last night and have a really impressive selection now -- including 3 different punch bowls that serve 4 to 6 people.

They are killer.

[weinoo]

Stopped by last night for a couple of the new cocktails that were great.

Started with the Cinder, a 2-tequila based drink that was rimmed with 1/2 smoked salt and 1/2 plain salt...delicious and might go nicely with some bbq!

Ended with a Rojo Blanco, also tequila based (Herradura reposado) with vermouth blanco, Campari and bitters...

[Nathan]

yup, highly recommend the newly expanded list.

the Red Baron has all of my favorite liquors in one drink (hmmm...I'm wondering what it would be like if I substituted Cynar for the Amaro...)

[kiliki]

My husband, who loves a well made cocktail but likes very traditional drinks, was blown away by the Manhattan here, even though they put their own twist on it (wheat whiskey, tea-infused vermouth). He still talks about this drink. I loved mine, too, and we had a nice time chatting with the bartender about the drinks. We went early-before dinner-and had the place almost to ourselves (same with Pegu the next day).

[Pan]

Was any settlement reached with the residential tenants upstairs and so forth?