Drinks before Babbo, other cocktails, one dinner help
Hi everyone, got some good thoughts from you last year on cocktails before Lupa (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/836714; http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/840050). This time I got a pretty easy 10PM res at Babbo on the last Fri. of Jan. and would like a civilized cocktail before dinner. Will be coming from the Whitney earlier but closer to Babbo is better.
Staying with a friend in the Wall St. area and wondering if The Butterfly on W. Broadway is convenient and good. Read some stuff on Eater about it but don't see a web site or reviews. Compiled the list below and wonder which are best for a fun, not overly crowded or young scene (can always go back to Flatiron too). What do you think of Rye House? Is there a nicer cocktail place in the LES to combine with my annual stop at the fun Motor City bar?
And looking for one other mid priced ($16-26) vibrant dinner place in the Flatiron and below parts of town. Thanks.
Booker & Dax: 207 2nd Ave. bet. 12/13th
Evelyn Drinkery: 171 Ave C by 12th, evelynnyc.com/
Gin Place: 95 Ave. A @E. 6th,, ginpalaceny.com/;
Mother's Ruin: 18 Spring St. bet. Mott/Eliz, good food/bar
NoMad Library Bar: 1170 Broadway in hotel @28th,
Nougatine at Jean George: 1 Central Park West, jean-georges.com/; (would this be good for someone in a wheelchair?
Summit Bar: 133 Ave C bet. E8/9th, thesummitbar.net/;
The Third Man: 116 Ave. C @E. 8th, thethirdmannyc.com
The Wayland: 700 E. 9th St. @Ave C, thewaylandnyc.com/
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The Butterfly isn't open yet.
Rye House has gone pretty downhill as some of their bartending talent left.
For a nice cocktail place near the LES, try Experimental Cocktail Club. Make a
reservation.Babbo and Lupa aren't that far away from each other, so my previous recommendations of Pegu and Little Branch still stand. The immediate neighborhood around Babbo & Lupa isn't really a cocktail hot spot.
By the way, the new Milk & Honey location at 30 E 23rd St opens January 2nd. The former LES location is closed for renovations and will become Attaboy.
You could do a pretty serious cocktail crawl between the new Milk & Honey, EMP's bar, the NoMad, and the Breslin.
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Drinks first . . .
For cocktails before Babbo, Little Branch and Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar are both excellent and about a 5-10 minute walk from Babbo. The couple blocks around Babbo are primarily filled with undergrads chugging cheap beer, so I don't know if you'll be able to
As far as the other places, Gin Palace is a bit dungeon feeling. The drinks, other than the gin and tonic on tap (which is pretty bad), are solid and cheap for New York. The Nomad Bar is definitely a tier up in both price and quality. Haven't been to the others.
On the LES, I recommend stopping by the bar at WD-50 for unique cocktails.
As for food mid-priced food in Flatiron, I recommend you stop by one of the Eataly restaurants. The beer garden serves decent food and takes reservations, but there are lots of other options there too.
