Sunday, December 5th, 2010—Bar 329

Day 329—Saturday, December 4th, 2010
Craft
Live, from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Craft Restaurant and the ready for prime beef player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and gentlemen...Craft!

Okay, last Thursday I met the head bartender at Craft restaurant and he invited me to bring the bar crawl by. Since it's only about three blocks from where I live, I thought it would be a handy place to spend Cheeseburger Saturday Night. Goddamn, it's getting cold out here.

I had no idea that Panty and Mini Dog were in jail, but I agree, free them immediately!

And here we are, I told you it was close by.

These two lovely ladies greeted me at the door. From left: Reine and Rosa. They pointed me in the direction of the bar.

Which is right here. Wow, it's crowded for 6pm on a Saturday night, but I spy one empty seat.

And here's Sean, on the other side of the bar tonight!

Fabricio is the other bartender on duty for this evening.

Karen and Mike were seated next to me. They were in town for the weekend from Boston.

There's tables opposite the bar to dine at.

A giant Christmas tree stands in the dining room, but I'm walking into bars not dining rooms, so let me get back to my environment.

Aaahhh, that's more like it!

A shot of the lit up bottles behind the bar.

Sean's a master mixologist, so I told him to pick the cocktails for the evening.

The first one is called "The Firefly" because it involves...FIRE!

I believe this is an orange peel Sean is grilling.

Sean adds some finishing touches to the drink.

And Karen took a picture of me drinking it. Delicious and loaded with booze!

And Sean wastes no time in starting drink number two.

This one's called, "The Venetian." I'm not sure why it's called that, maybe because if you drink too many you'll get blind drunk? (Rimshot.) (Sorry about that, I just couldn't help myself.)

These drinks are all Sean's inventions by the way.

And here it is, "The Venetian." It tastes even better than it looks.

Mike and Karen have left and these two ladies have taken their spot at the bar. Let's say hi to them.

Hello! It's Rebecca and Patty. Rebecca is looking for an apartment in Manhattan and it turns out her friend Patty lives about two blocks from me. Howdy, neighbor!

For my dinner drink, Sean suggested this beer. Who am I to say no? Bring it on!

The beer was great. It had a smoky taste to it and I told Sean it was kind of like drinking a cook-out.

Speaking of cook-outs, dinner is served! I know it's Cheeseburger Saturday Night, but sadly there's not a cheeseburger on the menu. Happily though, there is beef short ribs. I also got an order of gnocchi. They were both delicious and this shitty photo doesn't do the food justice. I need Clacky back to take the food shots!

Burp!

But dinner isn't over yet, Sean brought me some ice-cream on the house!

As well as this chocolate and mini tarts. Looks like I'll be waddling home.

And Sean sets to work on one more drink for the road, a "Ramos Gin Fizz."

Shake...

Shake...

Shake!

The well-shook drink is poured into a tall glass.

And Sean serves it up.

And it's...delicious! Thanks to Sean for making the night a great one on the old bar crawl! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Since I’m a bar reviewer and not a restaurant reviewer I thought it would be unfair for me to review Craft. Plus it’s a good excuse to slack on this Sunday afternoon, so here’s a review of Craft by Adam Platt from New York Magazine. The place is a critics pick by New York magazine and they rate it four stars. After having eaten there, I wholeheartedly agree!

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Tom Colicchio is a fanatic for the integrity of fresh ingredients and simplicity in cooking, and this much-discussed, much-imitated restaurant is the extreme, almost priestly expression of his views. You may not like the conceit of building your meal one spare ingredient at a time (many food aristocrats actively hate it), but there’s no denying the quality of Colicchio’s sweet day-boat scallops or bluefoot mushrooms lovingly foraged in the piney forests of Oregon. Craft gets four stars for its huge influence on the way restaurant meals are conceived, presented, and eaten in this new Greenmarket era, and also for Jennifer McCoy’s impeccable desserts—toffee-steamed pudding bombed with fresh-made rum-raisin ice cream—which are the best in town.  — Adam Platt

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Craft
43 E. 19th St. (Near Park Ave. South)
212-780-0880

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Okay, Al mentioned Warren Zevon in a comment, so what better excuse to throw up a Warren Zevon song? This song has one of my favorite Warren Zevon lines in it: "And if California slides into the ocean, like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, until I pay my bill." Genius!