Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Death and Company


johnder

Recommended Posts

So does D&C take table reservations PDT style?

mjr

�As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans.� - Ernest Hemingway, in �A Moveable Feast�

Brooklyn, NY, USA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not that taking reservations makes it much easier to get in. I routinely have friends calling up PDT at exactly 3 pm and get offered nothing but 2:30 am. This is no fault of the restaurant, but I'm quickly finding PDT one of the hardest tables to book in the city.

I've actually found getting into D&Co. perhaps easier overall since it's less crowded generally. And imagine if D&Co. doesn't get its liquor license woes worked out and goes away. The overflow would at least partially come to PDT, making it even more difficult to get in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find that both places are doing increasingly better at providing responsive, nuanced table service, especially if you're known to the staff.

Interesting that you find D&Co less crowded, Bryan. I experience the opposite, actually; if I can hit PDT "off hours," there's usually a spot or two at the bar, whereas this is not necessarily the case at D&Co even if I get there at 7 or so (though this may be due to D&Co's early cutoff and fans' desires to get in early so that they can last a while...)

Mayur Subbarao, aka "Mayur"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

sorry if i missed this earlier on but is D&C still opening at 6pm or is it now 7pm again? is that every night of the week?

6pm to midnight, 7 days a week.

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Just something that appears to have slipped under the radar of these boards:

Death and Co. has been running a Bartender Exchange program, sending its own fabulous staff out to various cities while bringing in expert drink-masters from those cities. The last was Kirk Estopinal from the Violet Hour in Chicago; the latest is Thomas Waugh from Alembic in San Francisco. Soon to come will be Charles from the Lonsdale in London.

It's really worth noting these exchanges and taking advantage of them to sample different bartending styles, different ingredients, and different cocktail-making philosophies. I was at D&Co earlier this evening (though not for long, as I wanted to hit PDT and say hi to donbert and johnder!) and had the chance to sample some of Thomas's concoctions; I'll be heading back for a more extensive sampling tomorrow or Wednesday. In addition to porting along his own menu, as well as some custom ingredients, Thomas really outdid himself in putting together some fabulous cocktails.

In any event: For those of you unlikely to make a trip to Chicago, SF, London, or wherever, it's a good idea to keep an eye open for these sorts of things!

Mayur Subbarao, aka "Mayur"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And may I add that Jauqin was in Chicago mixing at The Violet Hour, and what an amazing time was had! His drinks were immpecible and his knowledge extensive. C'mon back soon!

immpeccible????

immpecable. Wow.

Edited by newbie21 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had a chance to try a few of Thomas' cocktails last night. Included among them was the Vow of Silence, a lovely concoction of Wild Turkey rye, Creme de Griotte, Benedictine, and a dash of bitters (Angustura, I believe). Also had the Southern Exposure, made with Junipero gin, mint, lime, simple, and a shot of fresh celery juice. Both of these were really well made drinks and beautifully balanced...it was cool to see the difference in styles, and Thomas has quite an intense shaking technique - as Joaquin commented, "he's killing our ice!" I did try a few sips of my bar mates cocktails as well - the Oh, Sweet Nothing, made with Alembic's house made root beer bitters, and The Macanudo, a nice, smoky tequila cocktail. It's great to experience another city's bartender without having to travel 3,000 miles.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Death and Co launched their new cocktail menu on Friday. Aside from having an amazing new format, they now have the record for most number of drinks on a menu.

I counted 74 drinks, of which it looks like 60 or so are new ones on the menu and about 14 carry over drinks from the previous menu.

They broke down the menu by base spirit, then by method of prep. ie: Gin - Shaken and Stirred, Rum - Shaken and Stirred. They also have a Julep section as well as a Daiquiri section.

I encourage you to go check it out. It's pretty awesome.

John

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I serendipitously stopped in on Friday night, perfect timing for the unveiling of the new menu. I'm blaming its length, my ensuing excitement, and possibly the cocktails themselves on my inability to remember a single cocktail name. (My apologies for the vague descriptions; I'll pay better attention next time.) The new menu is a reflection of the incredible talent and knowledge behind the bar at Death & Co. In addition to what Johnder mentioned, there's a summer cocktail section, and what I think of as "Choose Your Own Adventure" - cocktails with the drinker's choice of spirit (like the Coin Toss from the previous menu). From this page I had a sloe gin/blackberry concoction, with tequila at Phil's suggestion. Complex but still light, fruity and summery. Delicious.

I tried a new negroni riff (with the addition of port) here a few weeks ago and loved it. I was glad to see it on the menu. I also had a tiki-ish libation from the summer section (rum/rye/pineapple/orange/something I'm sadly forgetting) - it was only lacking in that it doesn't come with a boat ride. And the juleps are delightful.

Edited by daisy17 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had an awesome Hyde Park Swizzle the other night, along with another gin drink, the name of which escapes me...great job on the new drink menu.

I've also heard a rumor or two about an upgraded food program...perhaps sometime after Tales of the Cocktail.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The Death & Company guys were at Stella! in New Orleans for a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Dinner last night. Cocktails paired with each course (even one for the amuse), and they were excellent. The standouts to me were the St. Germain Redux, with St. Germain Elderflower, Beefeater Gin, Club Soda, Champagne, and a lemon peel, and the Fresa Brava (favorite) with Herradura Silver Jalapeno-Infused Tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup, and muddled strawberries. The second was my absolute favorite, spicy, fruity but not sweet, and utterly delicious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm, I just saw Juaquin down in New Orleans the last few days for Tales of the Cocktail. Perhaps he didn't arrive until Friday; it was a whirlwind!

...Ah, I see you saw him down there, not at D & C.

Edited by newbie21 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm, I just saw Juaquin down in New Orleans the last few days for Tales of the Cocktail.  Perhaps he didn't arrive until Friday; it was a whirlwind!

...Ah, I see you saw him down there, not at D & C.

Joaquin was there with me in New Orleans since Tuesday along with Phil. We were unfortunately stuck behind the scenes for most of it.

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, yeah, I thought he was there for the whole run.  What a blast!  Although they worked the tails off the 'apprentises', who happened to be some of the best bartenders to be found.

Newbie, don't know about you, but I thought that the best part of Tales was meeting great people and learning about various plans to migrate incredible cocktail programs to new cities. This dovetails very well with the bartender exchange program that VH and D&C and other presently share.

PS -- I heard that the Museum opening this morning was very cool.

Joe Kaiser

Kold-Draft

1525 East Lake Rd

Erie, PA 16511

Office: (814) 453-6761

Fax: (814) 455-6336

Cell: (814) 602-9703

joe.kaiser@kold-draft.com

www.kold-draft.com

It's not Ice if it's not Kold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...