Tailor?

[Kat]

Coming to NYC again in November for a weekend. Last November we really enjoyed dinner and drinks at Tailor. I'd like to return again this time for drinks and food at the downstairs bar (still thinking of the butterscotch pork belly). Is it still as good? Any changes?

[Kat]

If Tailor is a no go, can someone suggest somewhere else to go? We're staying in Soho and would like to keep it downtown. On past trips, besides Tailor we liked Freeman's and Double Crown (atmosphere and drinks were better than the food there, however). Where else has innovative cocktails AND good food? Thanks!

[kathryn]

That pairing can be quite challenging to find as most restaurants don't have a serious cocktail program. And many of the serious cocktail bars don't have any food at all (Milk & Honey, Flatiron Lounge).

Some of the cocktail bars do have good-to-very good food, though. PDT has deep fried hot dogs and waffle fries, etc. from Crif Dogs next door. Death & Co has good bites but it's not mindblowing. Ditto for Mayahuel, Employees Only, and Pegu Club.

I might try out the new cocktail program at Momofuku Ssam Bar, the bartenders are from PDT. Another option is Yerba Buena which has a bar run by someone who is ex-Pegu and is also a full restaurant. Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park also have good food and decent cocktails, but the focus is a bit more on the food there, in my opinion. But those are both a bit further uptown.

[Kat]

Thanks! I had a great meal at Ssam back in April and would love to go back, so that sounds good. I did not get to Pegu Club last year, so that is on my list for this year. Will check out the other suggetions as well.

[planetjess]

You can add in dessert at Milk Bar--that should help add a dash of the quirk you're missing from Tailor...

[kobetobiko]

If you want innovatiive food, you can always go to WD-50, either the whole meal or just the desserts.

Corton is also worth a trip, but the atmosphere isn't as causal as Tailor or WD 50.

[brooklyndigest]

The dining room is closed right now to fine tune the menu: http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/07...
Hope this helps!

[Kat]

Thank you. I'll keep my eye on this. I recall that when we dined there on a Sat night last November, there were not more than 4 or 5 other tables in the restaurant that were taken. It was fairly empty and I was surprised, since the food was so good.