Speakeasy bars are bars that don’t have a sign and a bit of pain to get in for those who are not familiar with them. The famous Milk & Honey was my first introduction to speak easy bars. I had to research the hell out to find the phone number of the joint to make reservation, but having a drink made by Joseph Schwartz is so worth the trouble (apparently reservation procedures have changed at M&H).
PDT’s phone number was much easier to locate but getting through is another story. The phone line opens up at 3PM, and you can only make the same day reservation. Noticed that “line” is not plural because there’s no call waiting. You can risk showing up early and hoping that there’s a table open (no standing allowed) but being the planner I am, I noted to call them in my calendar, and when the time came I told my cousin to call as well, so we would have a better chance getting in. After ten minutes after 3, redialing for the millionth time, my cousin managed to get through. Thank God. What a girl needs to do to get her drinks on…
PDT is located in the “secret” room of Crif Dogs in the East Village. You must make a phone call in the booth, and once you are confirmed the wall/door opens up for you to enter PDT. I love it! It’s the perfect bar to hide away!
The bar is cozy; the perfect date place because it’s intimate, and they keep the music at a reasonable volume. I think it has ten tables or less..? They only have two big tables. We were a party of 7.
My choice of booze is very limited…so I passed on their drink list and told our waiter to have the mixologist to make me something with vodka and sweet. He came back with this…
I forgot what the drink was…it’s either a gin cosmo or a vodka old fashion… Note to self: write the drink’s name before sipping…My second drink was some vodka/pineapple concotion.
They also serve food from Crif Dogs. I had to order their tator tots.
The tots certainly helped soak in the alcohol…now are they really special? Honestly tots are tots to me but all the cheese and toppings made it more “special.” Now for their waffle fries w/ cheese dip? I prefer Chick-fil-A’s waffle fries.
Crif Dogs’ hot dog was not bad.
Bar rules are posted in the bathroom:
From what I remembered, Milk & Honey’s bar rules were more entertaining..
Although I enjoyed the atmosphere, I was disappointed with the drinks. At $15 a pop, I was hoping the mixologist would be more adverterous with my drinks. I was giving his time to shine and he failed! Our bill was over $200 (one person didn’t drank alcohol and a couple had beers). Drinks are not cheap here! Nevertheless, it was a neat experience.
Address: 113 St. Marks Place, NY, NY 10009
Phone: (212) 614-0386
