The East Side Company Bar
My boy was in town, which gave me an excuse to hit up this "new" bar in the LES. It's called The East Side Company Bar, and it's owned by the same company as ultra-pretentious Milk & Honey.
TESCB is cool, because:
1) It's off the beaten path.
At least for now. Everyone knows that weird things start to happen once you cross Delancey towards downtown. Time and Space shift and bend. But if you're adventurous, it pays off because that area, what I like to call the "Lower-Lower East Side" has lots of gems, like this place, or this.
Extra bonus is that the bar is completely hidden, speakeasy style. It's simple wood plank exterior and lack of windows, hides it well among old storefronts.
2) It's cool inside.
The bar is long and narrow, like your mother's dick. It has low ceilings that have that retro, pressed-tin thing going on. There's lot's of dark wood, and nice, open comfortable booths. All is lit by candlelight. There is a potentially scandalous looking DJ room in the back.
3) The drinks are great.
Like Milk and Honey, they boast a menu of specialty drinks, especially ones that use fresh fruit and ground ingredients. I had something called The Black Derby, which was whiskey, honey, grapefruit juice, and something else, maybe pineapple juice. It was served in a mini-martini sort of glass, and it was Goodtimes.
Best of all, it wasn't really crowded for a Saturday night. Maybe we hit it on an off night, but it was refreshing to be able to sit down. Oh yeah, it's on Essex just south of Grand. Use the Power of The Interweb or the links above for the exact address.