Last night was a busy one in the restaurant world. Uptown Salumeria Rosi celebrated its first birthday; near Gramercy Park, the Maialino crew gave it a go on opening night; and elsewhere in the Danny Meyer empire, Eleven Madison Park toasted its 11th year in service.

The latter bash was an elegant one, as we’ve come to expect from the Meyer contingent. Read more »

Joaquin Simo with Charlotte Voisey of Hendricks gin (Photo: Daniel Krieger)

Why was Joaquin Simo so smiley at last week’s Tales of the Cocktail? It wasn’t the liquid lightning pulsing through his veins. Simo tells us that after more than two years of battling the State Liquor Authority, his East Village tipular temple Death & Company has finally nailed down its liquor license. Read more »

A sampling of bitters. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

Cocktail bitters, unsung heroes of the libation world, got their props yesterday at Julie Reiner’s Clover Club in Brooklyn. Artisanal drink jockeys like Jim Meehan and Don Lee (PDT), Alex Day and Joaquin Simo (Death & Company) and even the honorable king of cocktails, Dale DeGroff, were on hand for an educational immersion into this macerated realm. Read more »

The Brooklyn cocktail at Weatherup

There’s just no end to drinking Brooklyn’s health these days. TONY’s recent feature article on the new wealth of cocktails named after New York neighborhoods mentions the Little Italy, the Greenpoint, the Brooklyn Heights, the Red Hook and the Slope—all descendants of the age-old Manhattan and Brooklyn cocktails. But that’s just half of the story. Before going to print, we already knew of a Cobble Hill and a Bensonhurst cocktail (which you can learn more about after the jump). Since the piece was published, signature libations for Carroll Gardens and Bushwick have come out of the woodwork. Continue reading for recipes and lore. Read more »