There was hardly a lovelier place to be on Wednesday evening than Gallow Green atop the McKittrick Hotel, home of the uniquely immersive theatrical thrill that is Sleep No More (SNM). Despite it's dark name and the disorienting elevator ride typical of the SNM experience, the sun was shining brightly on the beautiful lush rooftop. I was happy that I finally had occasion to wear a fancy sundress and my wide-brimmed straw hat. And, I was thirsty for one of the famed punches or cocktails curated by David Wondrich.
Our waitress arrived with a sullen "Hi," sounding like a teenager greeting old relatives at some boring family holiday or other. (Later I surmised that she was probably dreading the first order of flaming punch.) She told us they were not serving two out of eight items on the menu because they were out of ingredients.
The three of us looked at each other and simultaneously wondered how, in the great metropolis of New York, you can possibly be "out" of ingredients that do not seem to require travel to a foreign country for acquisition. In anticipation of delicious libations, we let it go.
We opted for the Gallow Green punch--the mixing of which was a theatrical delight worthy of a bar associated with the McKittrick. It was a layered choreography of absinthe (set aflame), armagnac, lemon shrub, and mineral water topped with lemon slices and chilled with giant ice cubes.
The punch was refreshing with a forward and delicious anisette flavor that persisted even as the ice melted. The bowl was enough for five to enjoy without feeling underly or overly tipsy.
Having had our fill of punch, we moved on to the cocktail menu. That, my friends, is where our evening at Gallow Green really went awry. Trader Vicky and friend R ordered the Blonde in Peril, a vodka-based drink with a float of port. It was beautiful, but not particularly grand.
LP and I ordered the Third Degree with Tanqueray gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters and a dash of absinthe. It was, by consensus of five, undrinkable. It was abrasive, weirdly salty, unbalanced, and too close too room temperature.
Dear David Wondrich--If ever you happen to be reading this post--by a random, not well known blogger without a professional gastronomic background--please note, the execution of what I'm sure are superbly well-crafted cocktails needs some serious oversight (as does the management of liquor supplies) if all your concoctions are to make it to the table at Gallow Green as you intended.
We felt quite assaulted by that mishap of a drink. Looking at the ingredients we couldn't figure out how it tasted as it did. Our waitress handled the situation with grace, however, and we moved on to alternative cocktails. LP defaulted to a Manhattan--her test of any bar's mixology mettle. It was solidly mediocre. I fared better with the Damned Spot, a mix of smoky whisky, lime, ginger beer and bitters.
The two final insults of the evening were an inaccurate check and a switch in music that changed our lovely garden-like scene into a more crowded rooftop bar with unfortunate tunes.
So, where did we land between neat punch and disappointment? Well, every place has its growing pains. I might try it again during the 2013 rooftop season after they've had a chance to work out the issues. (Though I must say the dance-like assembly of punch was quite delightful.)
(If you want to try it out, you should know that reservations are needed and require a $20 advance payment per person that will be applied to your bill.)
Our waitress arrived with a sullen "Hi," sounding like a teenager greeting old relatives at some boring family holiday or other. (Later I surmised that she was probably dreading the first order of flaming punch.) She told us they were not serving two out of eight items on the menu because they were out of ingredients.
We opted for the Gallow Green punch--the mixing of which was a theatrical delight worthy of a bar associated with the McKittrick. It was a layered choreography of absinthe (set aflame), armagnac, lemon shrub, and mineral water topped with lemon slices and chilled with giant ice cubes.
The punch was refreshing with a forward and delicious anisette flavor that persisted even as the ice melted. The bowl was enough for five to enjoy without feeling underly or overly tipsy.
Having had our fill of punch, we moved on to the cocktail menu. That, my friends, is where our evening at Gallow Green really went awry. Trader Vicky and friend R ordered the Blonde in Peril, a vodka-based drink with a float of port. It was beautiful, but not particularly grand.
LP and I ordered the Third Degree with Tanqueray gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters and a dash of absinthe. It was, by consensus of five, undrinkable. It was abrasive, weirdly salty, unbalanced, and too close too room temperature.
Dear David Wondrich--If ever you happen to be reading this post--by a random, not well known blogger without a professional gastronomic background--please note, the execution of what I'm sure are superbly well-crafted cocktails needs some serious oversight (as does the management of liquor supplies) if all your concoctions are to make it to the table at Gallow Green as you intended.
We felt quite assaulted by that mishap of a drink. Looking at the ingredients we couldn't figure out how it tasted as it did. Our waitress handled the situation with grace, however, and we moved on to alternative cocktails. LP defaulted to a Manhattan--her test of any bar's mixology mettle. It was solidly mediocre. I fared better with the Damned Spot, a mix of smoky whisky, lime, ginger beer and bitters.
The two final insults of the evening were an inaccurate check and a switch in music that changed our lovely garden-like scene into a more crowded rooftop bar with unfortunate tunes.
So, where did we land between neat punch and disappointment? Well, every place has its growing pains. I might try it again during the 2013 rooftop season after they've had a chance to work out the issues. (Though I must say the dance-like assembly of punch was quite delightful.)
(If you want to try it out, you should know that reservations are needed and require a $20 advance payment per person that will be applied to your bill.)
Great pics! And flaming punches are always great...it's too bad that the individual cocktails didn't live up to the wonderful punch.
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