Kate "Allergic to Babies" B.'s Profile
Date
New York, NY 10012
(646) 613-7100
La Esquina Corner Deli
Categories:
Latin American,
Mexican
Neighborhood: SoHo
New York, NY 10011
(212) 462-4244
Chelsea Wine Vault
Category:
Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhoods: Chelsea, Meatpacking District
The spirits are still top notch, but at a premium price. Some of the scotches are $15+ more than at most downtown competitors, liqueurs and amarros between $5-$10 higher.
1 Previous Review:
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4/19/2009
Today I had an experience in Chelsea Wine Vault that made me want to lay on the floor and scream "YES! YES! YESSSSSSSS!!!"
I didn't, because that kind of screaming should involve some flailing of body parts, and I can't afford to knock over a wine rack. I also want to be allowed to shop there again.
What elicited this excitement from me? Crème de Violette. You see, I like classic cocktails. I get excited about top shelf ingredients. I even make my own infused liquors and I'm just starting to make my own bitters.
My current favorite cocktail for spring is a bastardization of the Blue Devil (1 oz lemon juice, 1.5 oz gin, 0.5 oz maraschino & 0.25 oz Crème de Violette) made with Monin's violet syrup. Monin is similar to Da Vinci -- cane sugar syrups with exotic flavorings. I doubled the quantity of Monin just to compensate for the less intense violet flavor -- and as you can imagine, that makes the drink far sweeter than it should be. Still great, but too sweet. Since Crème de Violette, and the similar Creme Yvette, were rarities even in Europe and almost never found stateside, I had decided to make my own violet infusion. When I went to Chelsea Market today, it was to scout sources for edible violets for my next maceration. I did not find them. Instead, my partner dragged my frustrated, dejected violetless self into the wine vault so he could pick up some Hudson Baby Bourbon. As we approached the spirits wall, this deep indigo bottle appeared before me like a mirage. Crème de Violette.
Rothman & Winter's Crème de Violette. [ http://www.alpenz... ]
They just started making this liqueur for the first time in over a decade. And THANK GOODNESS. I just shook up my first Blue Devil made the way the recipe intended and it is perfection.
Chelsea Wine Vault's spirit selection may be small, but it is beautifully curated. They also carry Luxardo Amaretto (made of real almonds, not apricot pits like Disarrono), St Elizabeth's Allspice Dram (the liqueur formerly known as Pimento), Plymouth Gin and Old Tom Gin (that's where the Tom in "Tom Collins" came from). If you've got all the basics covered for your home bar and you need to flush it out with some high end exotics, this is a great place to do so.
Bonus: They do NOT sell Nuvo. [ http://www.theawl... ]
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-9333
Rockin' Raw - CLOSED
Categories:
Gluten-Free,
Live/Raw Food
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North Side
Most of the food I saw on other diners' plates looked fantastic. I think my order for the "crabcake" sandwich was misguided. I'm not particularly wild about vegan food that tries to be meat-eater food, and wish the descriptions were more accurate than creative. The crabcake was tasty enough, but it was tiny and sat like lead in my stomach. Bulking it up with some fresh vegetables would've been a nice touch both for texture and so that it didn't feel like I sucked down a bunch of ball bearings. The "potato" soup that I got as a side was much the same. Really fatty and high protein, no doubt, and again, felt like a lead weight. It was tasty, but this was not a meal that left me feeling energetic.
My dining companion's "pizza" and salad looked f'ing fantastic, though. I'd order that in a heartbeat if I go back.
The waitress gave us a starter of "bread" (GF seed bread) and "cheese," which was the best non-cheese I've ever had. It's spicy and nutty and if you like aged gouda, you might like it, even if you're one of those cranky omnivore cheese fetishist types.
Service was sweet, but a bit flakey. I get that way when I don't consume enough carbs to think straight. That might be a coincidence, it might not be. Have an apple and think about it.
Cute space. Great music. Unrushed service. If I want raw food, I'm more likely to hit the farmer's market and chop stuff up at home, but if I'm trying to hang out and have a nice dinner with a friend who's Celiac or doing a "cleanse," then I'll be back.
It's not the best place to see bands (punishingly loud even with earplugs, vocals usually lost in the mix) but still, a lot of fun bands play there anyway. And it's cool if the vocals are lost under the guitars, I know all the words anyway.
The complimentary pizzas with drinks is a good strategy not to have the audience puking in and around the bar (Death By Audio, take note.) and it tastes a lot better than the ones at The Charleston.
Staff are nice and pretty efficient. They had run out of bitters the last time I was there, which I hope is a rare occurence, but it's not the end of the world if I have to drink beer instead of a Manhattan.
Brooklyn, NY 11237
(281) 827-1800
The Narrows
Category:
Bars
Neighborhoods: East Williamsburg, Bushwick
The cocktail menu didn't seem "extensive" to me--perhaps they changed it recently? There were more beers than cocktails listed, despite my being seated near a wholly respectable selection of spirits, amarros and liqueurs. I tried their Fernet Branca concoction from the menu, and it was a bit flat. Something sour would've punched it up a bit, balanced out the earthy bitters. The drink didn't improve on Fernet itself, all the complexity in the glass was clearly a heavy lean on the bitter. My second cocktail was another off the menu, with lemon and a cava float. This was considerably more evolved than the Fernet vehicle. A bit too sour for my personal liking, but the ingredients were playing well.
There's nothing else like Narrows around the area, so it's filling a niche. If you're in the neighborhood, you could definitely do worse than an evening here. And they have a good scotch selection, so if you like your spirits unmixed and you want to hang out with a bartender playing FEAR and The Dirtbombs at the bar (and I do!) then step right up.
Warning to those living beyond their means:
No credit cards. Cash only. There is an ATM inside.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(347) 889-7435
luv tea
Categories:
Coffee & Tea,
Cafes
Neighborhood: Clinton Hill
I was still a little tweaked out from the massive iced coffee I bought here seven working hours later. That doesn't happen often. I definitely got my money's worth on the caffeine.
My only wish is for a location in my neighborhood.
Brooklyn, NY 11226
Death By Audio
Category:
Music Venues
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - South Side
I've never been one for the word "hipster," which I find generally dismissive and hypocritical for superficial reasons (when there are so many personal ones to be easily found), but... Hipsters can't hold their booze or drugs. No fewer than three people near me at a recent show spewed on or in front of the stage, and that doesn't take into account the guy (perilously close) behind me having what seemed to be an earnest conversation with one of the pukers-to-be on the merits of pissing into his PBR can so he didn't lose his spot near the stage.
Love the venue. Love the music. I never want to be in a biohazardous splash zone again.
*Fortunately, only my boots, which were licked clean by some dog tied to a rail outside a coffeeshop the next morning.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 398-6662
Cornelius
Categories:
American (New),
Pubs,
Gastropubs
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights
Flights of whiskies for $11. Great beers on tap. $1 oysters, or even better oysters for about $1.50-$2/ea. Their fries are cooked to a crisp. I rarely touch french fries, and I couldn't stay away from them.
The space is beautiful. The crowd is friendly. Really friendly--after we sang happy birthday to our guest of honor, a woman at a nearby table belted out Happy Birthday To Ya and completely bested us.
If Cornelius was a faster commute from my current place, I'd be over there sucking down oysters for lunch right now.
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-5967
King Glassware Company
Category:
Appliances
Neighborhoods: Little Italy, Lower East Side
I'd come here after a disappointing search that spanned the length of Bowery's kitchen supply shops. In a recent move, the bag of little plastic joints that hold together my industrial shop shelves got lost. I was desperate to find a spot that could sell me those parts so that I could get my space set up that day. Mr Magred had them in stock!
He sent his son down to the basement to get them for me. We talked about how his family had owned the business since the depression era, with his father and grandfather running it before him. Spurred on by a tall display of Libbey glassware (which you're familiar with if you drink in most establishments that serve decent cocktails), we talked about the ridiculous changes in bar culture and the horrorshow that is an 11oz martini glass*. (*Your drink will be swill [because bars don't do 11oz pours of top shelf gin & vermouth (but if you're drinking 11oz cocktails, it's probably vodka and HFCS loaded chocolate sauce, n'est ce pas?)] and it will be warm swill by the time you finish it, and by the way, you're either an alcoholic or well on your way. Please don't vomit on my shoes when you finish yelling "WOOOO!")
But I digress.
I got the relatively obscure little plastic parts that I needed with no hassle, from an entertaining & affable gentleman, while supporting a business that has been alive in NYC long enough to be part of what makes NYC great. And now I'm writing a Yelp review because I hope you'll go to the Magred family too and keep this place alive as the Bowery gentrification wipes out all the family owned joints, all the places that don't look like terrariums for stockbrokers and all the places that don't offer safe haven for tourists and bulimic choco-tini drinkers.
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"I'm tired of being offered things to eat that are not cake."
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Brooklyn, NY
Yelping SinceMarch 2008
Things I Loverats, rock'n'roll, craft cocktails
Find Me InBrooklyn, LES, East Village, debt.
My Blog Or Websitehttp://kateblack.com, http://twitter.com/the...
When I'm Not Yelping...I bind books.
My Second Favorite Websiteticketweb
The Last Great Book I Readgod Is Not Great. Christopher Hitchens.
My Favorite MovieCemetery Man. Blue Velvet. The Sentinel.
My Last Meal On EarthBill's Barbecue. Extra hot sauce.
Most Recent DiscoveryTTV photography.
Current CrushWesley Patrick Gonzalez. Nobunny.
Their rabbit pot pie is great comfort food. The oyster mushrooms are more of a standout in the dish than the rabbit.