Hi friends, Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting our first-ever OTH community event with 00 Wines, a fantastic Willamette Valley winery with partners in Burgundy and Champagne (and the winner of VinePair’s Winery of the Year). A crowd of our closest friends gathered at Bar Mercer to toast 00’s new champagne, a delicious collaboration with Champagne Paul Launois. We can’t wait to get more OTH parties on the books—if you’re a brand interested in partnering with us, get in touch at info@oth.media.
With the holidays fast approaching, we asked James Beard Award-winning author and longtime New Yorker Brad Thomas Parsons (who writes the delightful bar-culture weekly Last Call here on Substack) to take us on a seasonal cocktail crawl across the city. If you’re local or flying in for an NYC visit, BTP has assembled his can’t-miss list of the eight best places to book a bar stool for a drink and holiday toast.
Before we get to Brad’s picks, a few quick things:
1. Staying on the theme of celebrations—I noticed Quince is now selling caviar, and the price is certainly enticing (just $125 for 100g of Caspian osetra).
2. Over on Lafayette—the old Atla space has been revamped as Bar Cosme, and it opens today (you can grab a res here). Congrats to the Cosme team.
3. I drove by Ondine, the new John Fraser spot at 63 Bedford—and saw they’re about to pull the paper off the windows and show the West Village what’s happening. I’m looking forward to trying it out and will report back.
4. I’m always editing/updating what I consider to be the perfect dinner party playlist—here’s what’s currently in the rotation ⬇️:
5. Finally, happy 10th birthday to Eddy Buckingham and Jeff Lam and their restaurant, Chinese Tuxedo—they shared a great video on Instagram about how it all came to be.
See you next week. —John
When it comes to Christmas in New York City, I’ve been known to lean into the season’s more melancholy notes: aka, a Charlie Brown-style sentimentality tucked behind the shadows of twinkling lights and shiny decorations.
While I’ll watch the classics, I prefer movies that aren’t necessarily about celebrating Christmas, but ones that happen to take place during the holiday season (Die Hard is the eternal Lady-or-the-Tiger debate). And especially films that take place in New York City.
Consider Michael and Kay in The Godfather: smiling and laughing as they balance a stack of wrapped presents while the snow falls in front of Best & Co. on Fifth Avenue. It’s a private moment of joy before learning of the assassination attempt on Michael’s father. There’s also the one I watch every Christmas Eve: the 1975 thriller Three Days of the Condor (yes, it’s a Christmas movie). Beyond the falling snow, holiday decorations, and a Salvation Army Santa, a sense of wistfulness runs through the film that can feel especially poignant this time of year. It’s a reminder that there’s something beautiful about the traditions we partake in together and also alone: moments like lining up alongside neighbors and strangers alike at bakeries, butcher shops, and fishmongers, or a round (or two) at your local haunt, where a friendly face is almost always waiting.
From an elegant hotel lobby bar to the grungiest well-worn dive, nothing brings people in this big city together quite like a beloved bar. While the tourist trap/Miracle pop-ups with over-the-top decorations might deliver on-demand festivity, they rarely feel lived-in (and are better known for their overpriced drinks). Instead, I prefer to seek out seasoned spots where I know I’ll feel like a regular—even if it’s my first time.
“I prefer to seek out seasoned spots where I know I’ll feel like a regular—even if it’s my first time.” —Brad Thomas Parsons
This holiday season, here are the eight places you’ll likely find me—drink in hand—basking in that particularly magical glow of Christmas in the City. And, if you see me, say hello—the next round’s on me.
Gramercy Tavern
One of my non-negotiable solo dates in the countdown to Christmas is a holiday lunch at Gramercy Tavern. I sit at the bar on the lively tavern side of the restaurant and take in the tableau of artfully arranged flowers, evergreen boughs, and bountiful bowls of persimmons, pomegranates, cranberries, and clementines. It’s a welcome respite from the holiday hustle just outside those oversized windows.
It’s also when the bar’s tart and refreshing Cranberry Daiquiri makes its return to the cocktail list. It’s a shaken affair, made with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, lime juice, and a house-made cranberry syrup, garnished with poached cranberries. It’s my ideal drink to kick off a long, leisurely lunch (my order includes some mix of duck liver mousse, bacon-and-cheddar biscuits, roasted oysters, or the soup-and-sandwich combo). I always end things with a creamy chocolate pudding cake and a frothy Amaro Braulio Shakerato.
