A New Bar Grows on Henry Street, Brooklyn

by Fredo

A funny thing happened on the way to get bread at Caputo's yesterday morning. I ran into a reliable source who gave me a most interesting scoop. The team behind Brooklyn Social, a Loungerati favorite, are opening up a new bar in Cobble Hill. The former television repair shop space on Henry Street between Atlantic and Pacific Streets has been under construction for a few months but they hope to be open for business by the fall. The new bar, tentatively named Henry Public, will also have a full service kitchen and a full array of local beers and original cocktails.

Plus, it is five blocks from my apartment which makes it very convenient indeed. Good luck fellas, let us know when we come by and sample your wares.

Barbarians at the gates ...

by Fredo

I had to read the New York Post article twice to actually believe it. In fact, it seemed like an article from The Onion, so I threw down the rag on the floor and hit the web for a double confirmation. I found it at Eater. It was true. The venerable 21 Club, one of New York's most prestigious establishments had adopted a new dress code.

"Ties are still preferred and greatly appreciated, but they are no longer a must."

The 21 Club, which opened as a speakeasy in 1922, was one of the last Manhattan restaurants that required a jacket and tie for gentlemen to eat in the main dining room. For 87 years, celebrities, politicians, the well to do, of course ordinary gentlemen and their ladies, have been making the scene at 21 wearing ties. The formality and the sense of special occasion made it a place where you wanted to get dressed up. Now it is in danger of being lost.

See I'm really pissed off at The 21 Club because they missed the point as to why business is down. The New York Post article insinuates that the reason for the policy change is less covers. However, they fail to realize that the slow down has nothing to do with the formality of a tie. No, it has to do with their price point and the tanking economy! As Bernie Madoff used to say Keep It Simple Stupid: Ridiculously high prices + recession = less business!!

For example, two items from the menu:

The ’21’ Burger, green beans, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, choice of potato
30.00
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, mescalin greens, pickled fresh horseradish
20.00

Those items are on the low end of the scale! Seriously, even if they get more business from the pre-theater crowd, the a la cart menu will surely keep the crowds away. You don't need an MBA to figure that out!

Instead, 21 let the Visigoth of dress down conformity across the frontier and hope he will just settle down, satiated by his new rep tie. Then the hordes will barge into "Upstairs at 21," ordering Budweiser in a bottles and the West 52nd Street restaurant will sacrifice the blazer hoping they go away. Then the Vandals will be across the threshold of the Bar Room, clad in distressed denim and sneakers. By then it will be too late, for the barbarian of comfort dress will be talking loudly on his cell phone throughout dinner and watching "the game" on the club's new flat screen. His date sitting ignored, his shirt untucked, and the magical place that was The 21 Club relegated to antiquity.

Wednesdays at Clover Club - Michael Arenella's Quartet

News from our pal and maestro Michael Arenella:

Presenting the Michael Arenella Quartet's new, weekly appearance...
Wednesday Nights at Clover Club
7:30 - 10:30 pm

Join us at Smith Street's swankiest "Speak", from the proprietors of Manhattan's fabled Flatiron Lounge. Champion, well-groomed bartenders will stir up your favorite old-time cocktails, whether it's a Ramos Fizz or a real Whiskey Sour.

Fresh bitters, black cherries, and even the long forgotten essential ingredient to a true cocktail, the egg, are among the charms to be found.

Tasty gourmet bar food menu.
Cozy up with the Quartet in a handsome leather booth, for Brooklyn's most sublime evening out.
(Room to dance, but keep it a secret.)

Clover Club
210 Smith Street, between Butler and Baltic
F or G to Bergen
718.855.7939

Destinations: The Salon at Galapagos Art Space

Join us at The Salon at Galapagos Art Space

Featuring 2 sets of the one and only
J. WALTER HAWKES QUINTET
w/ special guest TODD LONDAGIN

the sax and strings hard rock ensemble
FREEDOM HATERS

MONIKER : RED
Indian rhythms, electric violin & improvisation with live, multi-channel electronics with guest vocalist Zahra Hashemian.

BURLESQUE DANCING
RUBY VALENTINE and WEIRDEE GIRL
courtesy of Sugar Shack Burlesque

BELLY DANCING
Fresh off the stage from the Metropolitan Opera's
production of Thais - ZAHRA HASHEMIAN.

Guest Mixologist & Specialty cocktail menu by
FREDO from LOUNGERATI

--------------

Saturday January 17, 2009
7:30pm doors open.
Live Music starts at 8pm

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main St, DUMBO Brooklyn

$15 - Cash at door or with credit cards online, in advance.

for more info and advance tickets go to:
http://www.thesalon.biz

(Photo courtesy of Michael Soluri)

2008 Best of Lounge

It is safe to say that 2008 has been a turbulent and surprising year. While the nation witnessed history at the ballot box and in the capital markets, we doubled our efforts and hit every joint, bar, lounge, dive, and burlesque show in an effort to spread the lounge gospel. Loungerati partnered with The Salon and JC Hopkins. We helped promote events and crafted their cocktail menus with the help of top mixologists. We continued to buck the "dress down" (aka dumb down) aesthetic that plagues our society and went out dressed to the nines. We tried new cocktails like the Silver Fizz and old classics like the Martinez (two ways on Repeal Day).

The day after the most momentous election in our lifetime, Loungerati operatives were spotted at the Chelsea Hotel hunting down the Senator (not Obama or McCain but The Senator of Kansas City). Once apprehended (stumbling and muttering down 23rd Street), he was whisked to Flatiron, Daddy-O, and Little Branch. A mini-Summit occurred and the Lounge Doctrine reaffirmed over Penicillin cocktails. A new era in lounge living seemed on the horizon.

December saw Loungerati celebrate its' second birthday on Repeal Day and make the scene at all the top lounges to celebrate holiday cheer. We didn't let the doom and gloom of the daily financial results stop our mission. Sure, our Paul Stewart houndstooth jackets maybe purchase on ebay, but that doesn't mean we cannot be civilized about it all. After all, looking like a million, doesn't need to cost a million. We proved that at Ella Lounge for Holiday Cocktails. What a perfect ending for a banner year. On that note, we would like to bring you our Best of Lounge list for 2008. These selections were hard to make but we believe they accurately capture our year:

Top Lounge Newcomers
Clover Club, Brooklyn
Macao Trading Company, Tribeca
White Star, LES
(Honorable mention: The Jakewalk)

Top Lounge Veterans
Death & Company, East Village
Milk & Honey (sorry can't say)
PDT, East Village
(Honorable mention: Pegu Club, Flatiron Lounge, and Little Branch)

Top Old School Joints
Lenox Lounge, Harlem
Freddy's, Prospect Heights
Arthur's Tavern, West Village
(Honorable mention: Frank's, Ft. Greene)

Top Pubs
Conker Hill, Hell's Kitchen
Chip Shop, Brooklyn Heights
Spotted Pig, West Village
(Honorable mention: The Libertine)


Top Burlesque clubs
Corio Parlor - "This is Burlesque"
The Zipper Club
Slipper Room

Best Seat in the House
The "Mafia Table" at PDT
Seat F14 at Clover Club
Any Bar Seat at M & H
(Honorable mention: The "Regular" seat at EO)

Top Loungerati Hangouts
Clover Club, Brooklyn
White Star, LES
Employees Only, West Village
(Honorable mention: Brooklyn Social, Flatiron Lounge, The Jakewalk)

Top Brooklyn Lounge/Bars
Clover Club
Brooklyn Social
The Jakewalk
(Honorable mention: Weather Up, Huckleberry Bar, Hotel Delmano)


Top Biergartens
Radegast Hall, Brooklyn
Loreley, LES
Franklin Park, Crown Heights
(Honorable mention: Gowanus Yacht Club)

Top Joints for Eating at the Bar
Char No 4, Brooklyn
Jack the Horse Tavern, Brooklyn
Freemans, LES
(Honorable mention: Blue Ribbon and Balthazar)


Best of the Internationals
Curio Parlor, Paris
Tausend, Berlin
Bramble, Edinburgh
(Honorable mention: Experimental Cocktail Club - Paris, Victoria Bar- Berlin)

Best Cocktail of 2008
Paper Plane (Bourbon, Aperol, Nonino Amaro, Lemon Juice) - Sam Ross
(Honorable mention: The Jersey Julep - Giuseppe Gonzalez, Vieux Carre at Little Branch)

Best Bar Food
Lamb burger, Clover Club
Deviled Eggs, Pegu Club
Bar Steak, Balthazar
(Honorable mention: John Delucie's Pork Chop at The Waverly Inn)

Best place for a cigar
University Club private balcony
The Havana Room
Hudson Bar & Books
(Honorable mention: Circa Tabac)


Best place to get a cocktail after dodging an oncoming taxi
Little Branch

Top Bartenders of 2008
Giuseppe Gonzalez, Clover Club
Sam Ross, Milk & Honey
Damon Dyer, Flatiron Lounge
(Honorable mentions: Maxwell Britten, Jack the Horse Tavern, Alex Day, Death & Company, Nino Cirabisi, Brooklyn Social, Jason Kosmas, Macao Trading Co, Igor H, Employees Only, and Ari Form, The Jakewalk)


Best Night to go out
Sunday Night (Death & Company then White Star then M&H - ask for bar seat)
Runner up Wednesday (Tailor then Little Branch then cab it to Clover Club for night cap)

Worst Night
Whenever Senator stumbles into town

Most Sought Liquors for the Home Bar
Plymouth Sloe Gin
Carpano Antica vermouth
Batavia Arrack
(Honorable Mention: Bols Genever, Branca Menta - for our pal Bena)

Best Dressed Loungerati staff members
Eff from Loungerati
Neville
Jee Jee
(Honorable mention: Grumpy, Fredo from Loungerati)

Places we want to visit in 2009:
Dutch Kills (to be opened soon in LIC)
Dressler for brunch
Victoria Bar in Berlin
Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans
Woodson and Ford
The Violet Hour, Chicago

RIP:
Grace - this bar was just one of those place that had a great Whiskey/Scotch selection, consistent food, the longest bar I've ever seen, and a proprietor (Fred M) who remembered your name even after a year. It survived 9/11 and years when Tribeca was no mans land. It closed this year and we will miss Grace. Salute!

Happy New Year!!!