Dispatch from a three hour tour

Wherein my cousin Nick from Australia, visiting NYC for a less than a week, hits the ground running while I nearly hit the ground...

Our starting point: The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District. Nice room, floor-to-ceiling window with view of the Highline.

Stop #1: Hogs and Heifers. A fine contrast, in all its biker glory, to the overwhelming hipsterdom of The Standard and its denizens. Me: a Yuengling. Nick: a Red Bull and diet Coke.

Stop #2: Old Homestead Steakhouse. We don't dine here, as we've got Friday set aside for Peter Luger's, but I figure cocktails here would provide a nice view of the old school dining room (although it looks like it's been done up since I was last there) and another kind of contrast. Me: a Hendricks gin and tonic. Nick: sparkling water.

Stop #3: The Jane Hotel. Nick stayed here the last time he was in town but did not have a pleasant experience, finding the room small and moldy smelling. He did find the hotel's bar, the Ballroom, worth returning to, although when we arrived there were only 4 or 5 people there, roughly 296 people less than when he last visited. In any case, it was quiet enough to have a chat about our relatives over a drink. Me: The Raj - gin (Plymouth?), St. Germain, and something; not as flavorful as I'd anticipated. Nick: a virgin cocktail, mostly minty.

Stop #4: The Spotted Pig.The much ballyhooed gastropub, this counts as one of Nick's favorite spots; in his words, it's like a British pub without any English people in it. We're there on a slow night and saunter right on in for dinner on the ground floor, seated next to a group of heavily bearded white men wearing glasses who all look alike and who talk about the food in Portland, Oregon (yay, Portland!). Me: the "It's Complicated" cocktail (ugh, I really had to say that when I ordered it) - Plymouth gin, cucumber, tonic, fresh squeezed lime juice, fresh cracked pepper and a dash of olive juice. The verdict: excellent. Refreshing, and the bite of the pepper makes me think this would be a good replacement for a Bloody Mary at a Sunday brunch. Nick: ...a sparkling water??? To eat:

• Radish salad with parmesan and basil - hefty helping, quite tasty; we agree that the parmesan makes the salad. I did not detect any basil.
• Pot of pickles. That's pretty accurate. So so. Considering that NYC is going thru a pickling renaissance, which causes one of my friends to roll his eyes every time he sees artisanal pickles, these are underwhelming and make me think longingly and lovingly of the one glorious pickled onion I had in a cocktail in North Adams, Massachusetts (which will be the subject of another post).
• Me: milk braised pork with some kinda green, slightly bitter vegetable. Good, reminded me of a dish I'd have in a Chinese restaurant, but too salty for my taste. Could have used more bitter veg or maybe something vinegary or spicy to cut the unctuousness; would the chef have been aghast if I'd doused this with Tabasco?
• Nick: roasted halibut with summer squash. Quite tasty. Good crunch on the fish. (Remind me to tell you of the halibut steak anecdote later.)
• Me: wedge of lemon dredged in sugar with a dash of bitters. My go-to hiccup cure, 100% effective and very tasty.
• Caramel ice cream with a shot of espresso. Freaking delicious. I wish I could have this every day, but reducing the amount of ice cream to a tablespoonful to chase the espresso. Lovely. Thumbs up also to the French press coffee.

Stop #5: Employees Only. It's hitting midnight, and I can tell this is my last stop. Me: Campari and soda. Nick: &^%~)*?@! sparkling water or an item in that category. Now he tells me that he's been staying away from drinking in order to, in my words, reduce caloric intake. Hmm. You think I'd have noticed earlier. Well, I was kinda preoccupied in ranking my cocktails and making sure I kept track of where we were and what we had. Anyhow, the bar is well occupied though not uncomfortably crowded; it's not quite the place I'd normally hang out at (where would I hang out at? if I had my druthers, the Pegu Club, Rye House, Beer Table, The Brandy Library) but one of the benefits of going out with my cousin is to try new stuff.

I'll have to check with Nick to see how he wrapped up the evening and make sure that he adds some contributions to the blog while he's here. Considering that I got home at 1, woke up at 3 wondering who had poured a bottle of gin on me, and then fully woke up at 5:30 and started writing this blog, I'm doing pretty well. More to follow...