New York City bars have caught the attention of Playboy. The magazine released this year’s top picks for Best Bars in America, and bars in the Big Apple comprise nearly half the top joints on the list.
Mace, on East Ninth Street, in the East Village, earns a nod for "most imaginative cocktail concept." Playboy says the bar wows "jaded drinkers" with "Nico de Soto's menu that evokes a spice shop." Try the black-mustard-seed-infused Suze mixed with banana liqueur and lemon juice, the mag says.
Dive bar lovers should flock to Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's Place in the city, which, according to Playboy, is "every bit as vibrant in its new incarnation as it was when it was Madonna's playground, except this time the drinks are better."
If you like oysters, stop by Grand Army on State Street in Brooklyn, which earned honors for "best cocktails in an oyster bar."
"This dark, dreamy oyster bar in idyllic Brooklyn also serves some of the city’s best new cocktails, courtesy of Damon Boelte," Playboy says. "Only a tipple like the boardwalk flyer (aged cachaça, Carpano Bianco, Giffard Banane du Brésil, fresh lime, mole bitters) could make a dozen briny bivalves even more transcendent."
Leyenda, across from the Clover Club on Smith Street in Brooklyn, was named Playboy's "best-Latin inspired bar" and Bar Goto on Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side earned recognition as the "best Japanese-inflected bar."
For a spin on tiki, try Mother of Pearl on Avenue A, where "Jane Danger’s menu captures the escapist mindset usually associated with thatched huts and mai tais via such refined creations as the sound of silver (rosemary, Gran Classico, velvet falernum, apple brandy, rye)," according to Playboy.
The Scene
And if you're into that "bar within a bar" motif, check out Slowly Shirley on West 10th Street in the city. Playboy lauds the bar for its fancy cocktails and 1940s art deco style.
