Backroom

The Backroom

The third bar in my speakeasy chain of lucky events was about XX walking from the Garfunkel’s. After Jason, the bartedner of Garfunkel’s drew the map for me and gave me few additional informations, I knew exactly where to go…

Or at least I thought so. Damn he was right. Finding this baar is not easy AT ALL. If You will ever be in the same situation and in the same street, look for the least good-looking possibility, where the bar could be and You will most likely find the entrance. That’s how i got in after all. I was in a correct place, but I went I’ve returned to the main street once, because I felt like I am trespassing somewhere, where I shouldn’t be. Honestly, if the music wouldn’t be so lound inside the bar, it would be even more difficult to get in.The music gave it away a bit. But stil, just to get here is one hell of an experience.

The You will get in and in front of You, there will be a pretty spacy, beautiful bar with cloth on the walls wood everywhere, bartenders dressed in a stylish clothes and in an upper floor divided by few  wooden stairs from the bottom level, You will find a fire place with few additional seats. Everything is situated to red and warm orange color, which perfectly matches with the light coming from the fireplace and the old-school light providing rather dimmed yellow light to the whole interior. All together creates a very cosy and very pleasant warm atmospehre, that would be hard to leave.

The lights could be even more dimmed, however there was a lesson of jazz dance going on right now. How stylish is that!

We are not here for the lesson though. We are here to find out, wether it is a good speakeasy bar or not. If it is actually worth the way, or not.

Look. If You want to have a speak easy cocktail bar, You want to do it for 2 different reasons. One of them is the possibility to have a natural selection of guests. The other one is not making any noise. For both of these reasons it is a LAW to offer nothing less, than superior cocktails. And, surprisingly – here it lies the problem of Backroom bar.

Fine, serving cocktails into the tea cups? Yeah fine, it is nice detail, to fit even the glassware to the prohibitional era, but before focusing on these small details, You should figure out, what You will actually pour into these tea cups. Before going any deeper, let me remind You my quote: ,,Never underestimate the power of detail.’’ I am sure, even it is sad to admit it, that most of the people visiting this bar will take a look at the cup more, than at the cocktail itself. I can imagine a scenario, where a guy or a girl as a guest gets the drink, lifts the tea cup and wonders towards to the bartender: ,,A tea cup?’’ And the bartender replies the story, that to be hidden and less suspicious in prohibitional era, the drinks were served in a cup of tea…’’ And then the guest goes like : ,,Woooooow, that is super cool!’’ And with a smile on the face comes back to their seat, not knowing anything about preparation. So in this example, my quote would be used in a wrong way…

Now back to the preparation. Stirring or shaking cocktails was done very, very poorly but both of the bartenders. Both of them were showing very little hospitality and after shaking the classic (regular) ‘’poor ice cubes’’, they have never changed the ice in the cup for a new one or even strained the cocktail fom the shaker to the ice. Pour all ingredients together without any measuring, short lazy shake open the shaker and pour everything out of it right into your glass. Cut the straw in ½  and jam it right in there. Napkin and off You go. No garnish, no talk. For god’s sake – not even a smile.

And one more thing to mention, about the preparation. All the techniques, those bartenders were using, didn’t quite make sense to me. For example some cocktails containing more ingredients with different densities were made by straight way and some ‘’easier’’ ones were made in shaker. I am also almost 100% sure, that the cocktail prepared for me in a straight way, another guest got stirred. I am not entirely sure though, so I ask You NOT to take is as fact and as a negative point. However I still feel responsible enough to mention it here, so You can take it in consideration, if You will decide to go to this bar.

For me was time to go back to my hotel. It was very late and the walk will be long. And tomorrow it will be even longer as we will be getting back to the same area of Backroom. Because very famous cocktail bar Attaboy is just few minutes of walking from here. Today I do not have time anymore, but there is no way, that I will leave New York without visiting Attaboy.