Week of April 30 - May 6, 2009

Philip Ward pours a Watermelon Sugar at Mayahuel

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin

Mayahuel
Death & Company co-owner Ravi DeRossi and mixologist Philip Ward are behind this cocktail bar devoted to tequila, mescal and Mexican eats. The tiled bar serves tipples like the Watermelon Sugar (watermelon, sugarcane syrup, lime, mescal and tequila). Upstairs, a 20-foot-wide stained-glass chandelier lords over a dining area offering tapas-size dishes such as a baby lamb taquito. 304 E 6th St between First and Second Aves (no phone yet)

The Pony Bar
Self-described beer geeks and Lansdowne Road owners have opened this craft-beer bar in Hell’s Kitchen. Twenty draft lines plus two casks pump 14-ounce pints from a rotating selection of American brews, all priced at $5. What you don’t drink there, take home in a sixty-four-ounce growler. 637 Tenth Ave at 45th St (212-586-2707)

Tandem
If one thing isn’t missing from sisters Jane and Cathy Virga’s bar, it’s a personal touch: Nearly everything here was handmade or salvaged. Beers are served in ceramic vessels Jane turned on a potter’s wheel, and she also created the tiles that adorn the walls and tabletops. Potables continue the trend—the Dark and Stormy is made with house-brewed ginger beer. 236 Troutman St between Knickerbocker and Wilson Aves, Bushwick, Brooklyn (718-386-2369)

Compiled by Daniel Gritzer

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