Tiki's Revenge

by Fredo

The First Wave
The first wave of the Tiki revival hit New York ten years ago with the opening of bars like Zombie Hut (Brooklyn), Otto's Shrunken Head (14th Street), the Lei Bar in Niagra's basement (Ave A),the clubby Tiki Room (Flatiron), and the kitsch 1950s Polynesian themed Waikiki Wally's (East Village). These places were heavy on retro kitsch factor and gimmicks. The worst offender was the Tiki Room, an awful nightclub in the Flatiron district that catered to the B&T. This place had wide screen HDTVs over the bar and their cocktail program was closer to a Spring Break bar than the Tonga Room. In our opinion, they were straight up poseurs more interested in capitalizing on a trend than paying attention to the history and craftsmanship of the genre. Other bars like Otto's Shrunken Head and Zombie Hut got the ambiance and inspiration right when they first opened. It seemed like they were taking pages out of the Trader Vic's play book circa 1956. Unfortunately, the same attention to detail and quality was lost at the bar. The main criticism of the first wave is the lack of fresh ingredients, proportioned pouring, and artisanal touch that has come to typify the new generation of top cocktail bars. However, in all fairness, they were not all mediocre drinks and sugary hang overs. I do thank them for putting Tiki back on the radar after forty years in the vault.

The Desert Island
In recent years, there have been some gems among the coal. A disciple of Tiki, Brian Miller of Death & Company and Joe Swifka of Elettaria preached the gospel of Don the Beachcomber in his classics. Miller slayed notions of the genre's fad with reinterpretations of the classic island cocktails. My favorite being a Gin version of the Zombie called the Winchester. This concotion stays true to the Zombie formula but uses three types of gin in lieu of rum. A Swifka original is the Black Pearl, which is Tiki-fied old fashioned using Cruzan Black Strap rum in addition Old Forester Bourbon as the base spirits. This proved Tiki was not pigeon holed. Quality ingredients and creativity kept the genra alive in the late-2000s when the trend and flavor of the month establishments like the Tiki Room and Waikiki Wally's were washed away. Thank the Tiki Gods for Elettaria's Tiki Mondays!

Tiki's Revenge
Once again the trade winds are guiding us to the Forbidden Island, so queue the Les Baxter but also add Desi Arnaz to the mix. This time around prepare for cocktails made correctly! The wave is moving from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic. In San Francisco, Smuggler's Cove which opened in December 2009, has 70 plus cocktails on their menu and top talent from West Coast bar scene rolling the drinks. In New York, Painkiller is under construction in the Lower East Side. The noticeable differences with these bars is they draw their inspiration from the Caribbean in addition to the South Seas. They should really be called Rum Bars in the tradition of Trailer Happiness in London. It is clear that the Rum Revolution illustrated in Pete Wells New York Times article is in full swing.

Dutch Kills owner Richard Boccato and award winning bartender Giuseppe Gonzalez should have Painkiller open by the Ides of March but this won't be another Trader Vic doppelganger. I'm expecting something out of Mean Streets. According to Eater, Boccato says:

"Since the team is planning to blend 1970s New York culture and 1940s tiki culture, this may just be the best-ever tiki bar. Even the address is cool."

That cool address is the former East Side Company space on Essex and Grand. Expect freshly squeezed juice, an ice program par excellence, lots of falernum, private reserve rums,the classics made to perfection, as well as inventive cocktails and punches.

So until you can venture to PK NY to try the namesake, enjoy one of the British Virgin Island's most famous drinks:

The Painkiller
4 parts fresh pineapple juice
1 part cream of coconut
1 part fresh orange juice
2 oz Rum (we recommend Smith & Cross Jamaican pot stilled rum)
touch of fresh grated nutmeg

Stir the juices and creme in bar glass, then add rum, stir again. Fill goblet with crushed ice, serve the mixture, and top off with dusting of fresh nutmeg.

PAINKILLER
49 Essex St
New York, NY

(Photos of PK NY courtesy of Giuseppe Gonzalez)

In Memoriam: Elettaria

by Fredo

Elettaria, Aktar Nawab's eclectic one and half year old restaurant and cocktail destination is closing tonight due to lease issues. The restaurant, whose cocktail menu was designed by mixologists Lynette Mararro, Brian Miller. and Joe Swifka, featured many rum and tiki drinks such as the Navy Grog which used the original 1941 recipe. The place was one of a kind, especially on Tiki Mondays. We are very sad to see the Elettaria go.

According to a press release:

Today is the last day of service at Elettaria restaurant in Greenwich Village. Chef/co-owner Akhtar Nawab, co-owner Noel Cruz and their partners have made the difficult decision to close the restaurant due to issues with lease negotiations. A personal project for everyone involved, the team did their best every day to establish and maintain the high standards for which the restaurant is known. Akhtar is proud of his work at Elettaria and looks forward to applying the experience he gained there to his future projects.

(source: New York Magazine)

Go there tonight for a proper send off. I will miss my favorite cocktail from their house classics: The Black Pearl

"The Black Pearl like an old fashioned flying the jolly roger. dark and mysterious, old forester bourdon, cruzan black strap rum, demerara sugar, bitters."

Elettaria
3 West 8th St at MacDougal St
New York, NY 10011
ph 212.677.3833
fax 212.677.4733

Barfly's Beat: Industry Night at House of Campari

Late Sunday, I received an email from a friend in the Hamptons. It read, "what ever you do, be at the House of Campari's Industry Night with Radar Magazine featuring New York Mixologists and a burlesque showcase. This Monday, as in tomorrow!"

Monday night, hmmm - that is a tough sell for a regular office stiff like me. Then I scanned down at the featured NYC mixologists and knew it was fate. I would be dressed to the nines and ready to imbibe. The folks crafting customized cocktails (oh alliteration!) included a whose who of the New York industry: Allen Katz, Director of Mixology of Southern Wines & Spirits, Brian Miller of Death & Company, Dushan Zaric, Jason Kosmas, and Igor Hadzismajlovic of Employees Only, Naren Young of Bobo, and Lynette Marrero of Elletaria. Oh and it got better. The burlesque numbers would be provided by Amber Ray of Light, Ms. Tickle, and the World Famous "Bob." Gulp!

I popped by Balthazar for a quick pre drink bite. I wolfed down my bar burger and headed around the corner to 54 Crosby Street in SoHo. Campari had taken over an art gallery for the show. The theme of the Industry Night event was "Celebrate your Passion" but the party was an installment of the greater Campari sponsored art festival "Defining a Moment: 25 New York Artists." This showcase is a series of events spread over two weeks at New York art galleries, clubs, and museums. The way this crowd celebrated their passion was to drink free cocktails made by some of the NYC's best cocktailians (with Campari natch!)

The Employees Only bar: Jason, Igor, and Dushan were on my side of the bar for a change. Their apprentices were furiously at work making refreshing Waterloo Cocktails made from Martin Miller's Gin, Campari, muddled watermelon, and fresh lemon juice. The drinks were served on the rocks in Collins glasses and imbibed with a straw. Now, I am not a big fan of Watermelon, but it was unseasonably hot outside and with the gallery's air conditioner drumming away at London tube levels, I gulped down their cocktail with gusto. Bonus - no pits!

Next on the Hit Parade, the Bobo cocktail: This tangerine, vodka, and Campari mixture was aesthetically pleasing. The orange liquid was served up in a martini glass and garnished with a violet flower. It was distributed by comely cocktail waitresses who buzzed around the main floor. I had one and chatted up Allen Katz and several industry folks (some of whom were clearly at checking out the competition.) Katz told us to keep a look out for cocktails with Kirschwasser and other l'eau de vie this summer. I made a note Kirschwasser good, drinks with tangerine mehhhhhh.

Upstairs I went and so did the heat. Mind you, I was clad in an impeccably tailored blazer, gabardine slacks, fitted shirt, and a daring tie with the required accoutrement's (deco tie clips, cuff links, in other words - the nines).Unfortunately, the eco-system in the gallery was more conducive to a guayabera or perhaps nothing at all!!

On the second level, I hit a double team effort from Death & Company and Elettaria:
Brian Miller was sorting out a delicious cocktail called the Benjamin Barker Daiquiri. This drink is made from Goslings Rum, Campari, St. George Absinthe, Demerara sugar syrup, and fresh lime juice. You could really taste the absinthe flavor but it did not overwhelm the drink and or overpower the slight bitterness of the Campari (which is the point of using it). The cocktail was served up in a stemless martini glass.

Next to Mr. Miller, the bar was manned by Lynnette Marrero of Greenwich Village restaurant Elettaria featuring veterans of Freemans and Death & Company. My left eyebrow was arched at 180 degrees as I approached. Her cocktails were served in champagne flutes and though I missed the name (Rose something?) I saw the words tequila - which have haunted me since freshman year of college. So I went safe and asked for a Negroni. Ms. Marrero kindly advised me that only the custom cocktails are available. So I shrugged like Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glennross, my will power deflated, and reluctantly picked up a flute. The first thing that impacts your senses when you take a sip of this delicious concoction is the dried rose bud that is used as a garnish. It is floral yet effervescent. Then the mixture, Campari, reposo tequila, and sparkling wine begin to numb what's left of your resistance. I fell in love with it. I loved that Rosey drink the second and third time around too. She was my bad habit. She was hypnotic. Then I realized I was broiling.

I retreated back downstairs and took a stance near a cool vent like a Gecko lizard. It was strategically perfect. A stone's throw from the EO bar and on route to the bathroom. Everyone walking by naturally started conversation and I met many new friends. Upstairs the burlesque show was going full swing with the Fisherman's Quartet supplying xylophone studded lounge music that Martin Denny would dig. Downstairs the crowd was getting loopy and actually checking out the art for the first time!

What a memorable evening and it was only Monday! If anyone was at the event and knows the name of that Rosey drink, please send me an email. I'm getting no hits on Craiglist's Missed Connections!

- Fredo

The House of Campari
54 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012

For great pictures of the House of Campari Industry Night check out Patrick McMullen's site.