Craftbar does drinks, too

When AC was in town for a quick 24-hour whirlwind visit, she and KS and I met at Craftbar for drinks. We stopped in just before 9PM, and we were able to get a table without any wait-- nice! KS and AC were especially looking forward to the cocktails due to the alcoholic success we had last time we were there.

This time, the cocktail situation was more mixed. KS went for the Rosemary Lavender, thinking it was the same thing she had last time, but it turned out not to be. The mixture of rosemary Damrak gin, lavender, and lemon was too gin-y, according to KS.

Looks kinda like Sprite

AC's cocktail was also just a tad disappointing. She chose the Sparkling Blueberry, with prosecco, blueberry, and lemon. She said it was just a bit too bitter-- sad!

Verrrrrry girly

My choice at first was a glass of Trebbiano/Greco Bianco/Malvasia blend. Our patient server poured me a taste, and honestly, it was kind of gross. It was really, really astringent, almost reminding me of rubbing alcohol in the in-yo-face booziness of it. So she kindly replaced it with a glass of Bandol Clairette/Ugni Blanc blend. This was more like it, refreshing and relatively light.

Goblet of wine

As we sipped our drinks, we snacked on their breadsticks. Given how hearty (and kind of greasy) these are, turns out they're good drinking food.

See the grease on the paper...

AC also ordered two cheeses: a Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill and a Cobb Hill Ascutney Mt. The Green Hill was Camembert-style and really creamy and delicious; the Ascutney Mt. was reminiscent of gruyere but had a more pronounced funk. There was also an interesting condiment, which was something like preserved lemon and mustard (but none of us could understand the runner's description of it). In retrospect, that mixture sounds gross, but it was pretty darn addictive eaten straight-up. Not that I'd do anything so uncouth and unsophisticated.

Minimalist cheese

And so it was. They let us linger for as long as we wanted, and we did. I like Craftbar, despite its occasional unevenness. It's got some good food, and now I can safely say it's a recommended spot for drinks and a bite as well.

Craftbar
900 Broadway, between 19th and 20th Streets
212-461-4300