Crain's New York - February 25, 2013 - (Page 30)

Continued from Page 29 because most are located inside quintessential New York hotels, benefiting from tourist traffic and executives looking for an elegant spot for a business cocktail. Here, we list a sampling of classic midtown Manhattan bars. King Cole Bar (at the St. Regis New York) 2 E. 55th St., between Fifth and Madison avenues Signature cocktail: Bloody Mary (vodka, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, tomato juice); $20 What makes it classic: Gary Merjian, director of catering/food and beverage at the St. Regis, insists that the Bloody Mary was “invented in our hotel.” Some have put its origins elsewhere. But as Mr. Merjian tells it, the libation was created in 1934 by bartender Fernand Petiot, who had mixed a tomato-juice-and-vodka cocktail in Paris. Mr. Petiot made his way to the St. Regis. When a patron requested the drink he had enjoyed from Mr. Petiot in Paris, the bartender took the opportunity to spice the original mixture. The moniker “Bloody Mary” was considered too crass for St. Regis’ clientele, so it was called the Red Snapper, until the original name came back. There is also a Maxfield Parrish painting behind the bar, Old King Cole, which patrons can gaze at as they enjoy an array of bar-provided snacks. The painting was originally commissioned by Mr. Parrish’s friend Nicholas Biddle for John Jacob Astor IV, original owner of the St. Regis, who placed it in his Knickerbocker Hotel. What keeps it relevant: Mr. Merjian pointed out that native New Yorkers and business travelers return, many for an eggs Benedict and Bloody Mary brunch on Sundays. “Some customers come back so often that as soon as they show up at the bar, the drink is ready to go,” he said. The Algonquin lobby (at the Algonquin Hotel) 59 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues Signature cocktail: The Algonquin (rye,pineapple juice,dry vermouth); $22 What makes it classic:The hotel is the former meeting place of the Round Table literary group—which included notables Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Alexander Woollcott—from 1919 through 1932. Their table was actually rectangular. The group drew its name from the Knights of the Round Table in the legend of King Arthur, so called because they sat at a round table to make it clear that everyone in the group was equally respected. The venue’s Algonquin cock- ‘21’ Club 21 W. 52nd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues Signature cocktail: Southside (Tan- queray, muddled mint, fresh lemon juice, splash of soda); $15 What makes it classic: ‘21’ Club is a former speakeasy that opened during a raucous New Year’s party to ring in 1930. Owners Jack Kriendler and Charlie Berns were being evicted from their previous speakeasy, the Puncheon Grotto, at 42 W 49th St. On New Year’s Eve, they threw a big party there and gave each guest a pickax and a bottle of champagne. At midnight, the group picked up everything, even the iron gates, carried it three blocks north, and opened ‘21’ to celebrate the New Year. When the Great Depression set in, the owners issued “Jack and Charlie’s scrips,” certificates given so that patrons could still come in and have a drink. What keeps it relevant: In the 1980s, ‘21’ featured in its lobby the latest status symbol for the jet-set crowd: Bloomberg terminals. Financiers could check up-to-the minute financial data while sipping a Southside.The club is so closely associated as a place to make money that scenes from the film Wall Street were shot there. “It’s been said that more deals are done at ‘21’ than in the boardroom,” said Marketing Manager Avery McClanahan. With The Great Gatsby film due in May, ‘21’ plans to feature ginbased cocktails, because F. Scott Fitzgerald was a big gin drinker. But don’t expect anything too wild: “Our guests aren’t looking for the craziest mixology,” said Ms. McClanahan.“They don’t want dry ice smoking out of their cocktails.” Madison Club Lounge (at the Roosevelt Hotel) 45 E. 45th St., between Madison and Vanderbilt avenues cocktail: The Manhattan 46 (Maker’s Mark 46, sweet vermouth and Maraschino cherries); $14 What makes it classic: The Roosevelt Hotel opened in 1924, and the famed Guy Lombardo and Signature 30 | Crain’s New York Business | February 25, 2013 his orchestra performed their first show at the Roosevelt Grill in 1929. It was there that he first broadcast what would become a New Year’s Eve tradition: “Auld Lang Syne” played to millions of radio listeners and, eventually, TV viewers. What keeps it relevant: The staff has used its vintage vibe to the bar’s benefit. After Mad Men character Don Draper announced during one episode that he was at the Roosevelt, the hotel began featuring Mad Men season-premiere parties with drinks like the Dapper Don (Canadian Club whiskey, muddled orange, cherry, sugar, a dash of bitters and club soda). It didn’t matter that the lobby bar that actor Jon Hamm was in did not exist at the time.The Madison Lounge did not arrive on the scene until 1997. Two E Bar/Lounge (at the Pierre hotel) 2 E. 61st St., between Fifth and Madison avenues Signature cocktail: The GinGin (Hendrick’s gin, cucumber and mint puree, simple syrup, Canton ginger liqueur, topped off with ginger ale);$16 What makes it classic: The Pierre has been around since 1930, and though it went coop in 1959, it maintains an array of guest rooms. The hotel’s founders felt it important to offer the atmosphere of a private club or residence instead of that of a transient hotel. What keeps it relevant: The Two E Bar/Lounge, which exists in a space that used to be an office, is a modern bar in a vintage building, and it frequently updates the drink menu. The venue’s bartenders often go to farmers’ markets to create drinks around specific ingredients, which is how their Fig and Beam drink (vodka, fig and Jim Beam) was born. “We look at the best sellers from our seasonal menus, and those become contenders for the signature menu,” said Manager Ryan Drushel. Bemelmans Bar (at the Carlyle Hotel) 35 E. 76th St., at Madison Avenue Signature cocktail: Martini (gin, vermouth, topped with an olive); $21 What makes it classic: The bar blends old-world sophistication with a sense of play.Visitors are surrounded by whimsical wallpaper designed by Madeline children’s books author Ludwig Bemelmans, who exchanged his work for a year and a half of room and board for his family. The atmosphere fosters intimacy without making patrons feel they need to whisper. What keeps it relevant: Bono, Cyndi Lauper and Mariah Carey have performed impromptu at the black Steinway baby grand located a few feet into the room, while visiting for a drink. “I think people like that old-school vibe because so many places are trying to be modern and new and hip,” said Jennifer Cooke, area director of public relations. Ⅲ newscom Cocktails tail,a sweet,tart concoction,is popular enough to have remained on the menu for 95 years. What keeps it relevant: The hotel’s literary history saves it from having to constantly reinvent itself. However, that hasn’t inured the bar from reupholstering from time to time. In 2012, the Algonquin underwent a renovation focusing on a new color palette of browns,reds and golds. “We are wise enough to know that people like to try new and different things,” said General Manager Gary Budge. Mr. Budge is well aware of the venue’s appeal to New Yorkers and visitors alike. Its familiarity in the popular imagination can make it feel like an extension of one’s own home. “We call the lobby ‘New York City’s living room,’ ” he said. SOURCE LUNCH: HANK RATNER by Aaron Elstein Garden CEO jabs new crosstown rival H ank Ratner has been chief executive of Madison Square Garden Co. since its spinoff from Cablevision in 2010. Over that time, his big job has been supervising the $980 million renovation of “the world’s most famous arena.” The three-year project is expected to be completed this summer. How’s the renovation coming along? I’m glad to say we’re at the back end, and so far, so good. This was a topto-bottom brand-new build inside the arena, and we’re very pleased with it, and so are people who have seen it. The building is better, the seats are better,the sightlines are better, and yet we’ve managed to keep the feel of the Garden. Do you have any concerns about competition from the Barclays Center? Barclays Center is a good thing. There are arenas all over the area—in Newark, the Izod Center [in East Rutherford, N.J.], Nassau County and now Brooklyn. Our biggest issue is there’s only 365 days in the year and we cannot book everything that we’d like to book. So there’s a need for other venues. Barclays isn’t going to be a niche competitor, though. They have basketball, concerts and soon hockey. It looks a lot like the Garden. I don’t really know about the deal they signed. What I can say is that deals [between teams and TV networks] continue to validate the value of live sports. As there become more ways to distribute content, the value of live professional sports events continues to go up. They’re the way marketers know they can reach audiences in real time. At some point, won’t customers look at their cable bills and decide they’re not going to pay for sports programming? I don’t know.There are a lot of entertainment options nowadays, but the audiences for sports just get larger on TV, on new media and at live games. There’s no sign yet that the market has reached its limit. Ticket prices for sporting events have increased a lot in recent years, so are you surprised by how much people will spend for entertainment? WHERE THEY DINED NICK & STEF’S STEAKHOUSE Next to Madison Square Garden at 9 Penn Plaza www.patinagroup .com/ (212) 563-4444 AMBIENCE: Steakhouse with TVs at the bar showing the previous night’s Knicks game. WHAT THEY ATE: Ⅲ Chopped salad, crab cocktail, a side of sweet potato fries, sparkling water Ⅲ Crab cake, lobster roll, two Diet Cokes Ⅲ Beignets with ice cream (complimentary and largely untouched) Tab: $88.66, including tip I don’t think anybody sees it that way. I’m surprised that you would frame the question that way unless you were just trying to be provocative. The Garden is the Garden,and it’s been here since 1879. It sits on top of the busiest transportation hub in New York. It’s where people and performers go for big shows. Where else are you going to have the “12-12-12” show? The fight of the century? It happens here; it always has and always will. We hope Barclays is successful. There’s room for successful secondary plays around the marketplace. What effect will the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new $8 billion TV deal with Time Warner Cable have on New York? We’re in virtual sellout situations for our games, so what the market is telling us is that we’re pricing things right. Why did MSG recently buy the Los Angeles Forum? The L.A. Forum is a lot like Madison Square Garden. It was built at the same time by the same architect and it was home to iconic events—the Lakers, concerts. Performers miss the Forum terribly, and the Staples Center has three sports teams in its building, so they have a problem fitting in concerts. We will renovate the building, and it’ll be beautiful.It’s a wonderful opportunity for us and a foothold in Southern California. A New York Post columnist recently called the Garden “the Kremlin on 32nd and Seventh,” saying that as a workplace its air is “steamed with suspicion and fear.” You read that stuff from certain people in the sports pages, you don’t see it anywhere else. I’ve been here 25 years and think this a wonderful place to work. There are a lot of people here who have had long careers, 25 or 50 years long. The people who stay,the longevity we have is very important to us. We value and cherish our employees. Ⅲ INSIDE TIP: Hank Ratner likes his sweet potato fries “crisp, well-done, petrified.” http://www.patinagroup.com http://www.patinagroup.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York - February 25, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REPORT: DIGITAL NY
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
REAL ESTATE DEALS
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York - February 25, 2013