“Before we got it, a Dominican family was running prostitutes and coke out of here,” owner John Reusing says. “We got rid of the coke.
The 9 Weirdest Drinks at MLB Stadiums in 2016 (Playboy.com)
You can do better than a $12 cup of Blue Moon at the ballpark. The concessions at MLB stadiums are getting more creative, diverse and kind of strange, and we’re not just talking about the food.
How Accusations of Misogyny Are Tearing the Tight-Knit Bar World Apart (Playboy.com)
Employees Only cocktail bar sparked a controversy within the industry that has played out publicly on social media.
City in a Glass: Kansas City, Missouri (PasteMagazine.com)
Conflating Kansas City, Missouri, with Kansas City, Kansas, is punishable by law. Not really, of course, but this 320-square-mile metropolitan area straddles the border between the two states and each city boasts a proud, distinct identity. On this city drinks tour, we’re going to introduce you to three only-in-KCMO cocktails, show you where to find them and even how to replicate them at home.
Bars We Love: Union Larder, San Francisco (Playboy.com)
Most bars are set up for drinkers to cement themselves to the stools and settle in for night-long boozing sessions. Not so at Union Larder, an unusual, Spanish-style wine bar in San Francisco that’s designed for speed.
Bars We Love: Clover Club, Brooklyn (Playboy.com)
When Julie Reiner opened Clover Club in Brooklyn in 2008, some people alleged that she was personally trying to gentrify Kings County.
City in a Glass: Charleston (PasteMagazine.com)
Charleston, South Carolina, is a drinking city for proper adults. Here, urban drinking societies are a thing and cocktail hour is a long-held social tradition. On this city drinks tour, we’re going to introduce you to three classic cocktails made with a Charleston twist, show you where to find them and even how to replicate them at home.
Where Are All of the Weed Cocktails? (Playboy.com)
Call me Alyson. For some months now—never mind how long precisely—I had heard rumors of cocktails that provided a next level of altering. Tales proliferated of the existence of unmarked, rarely seen bottles hidden beneath bars and off-menu drinks that were available to only the trustworthy. In pursuit of this white whale I’ve visited bars across the country, whispering my inquiry to bartenders over late-night drinks, Facebook-messaging the most open-minded bar owners I knew and cold-calling contacts of contacts within the industry: “Can you serve me a cannabis cocktail?”
Bars We Love: Backbar, Somerville, Massachusetts (Playboy.com)
Finding Backbar in Somerville, Massachusetts, is a bit of a going-through-the-closet-and-getting-to-Narnia experience. Boston’s T doesn’t reach this part of town, and the bar’s doorway is not well marked. Ask for directions on the street and you’ll be pointed down an alleyway in search of a tiny orange door.
Bars We Love: Tough Luck Club, Tucson (Playboy.com)
According to the sign behind the bar at Tough Luck Club, if you ain’t partying, you’re loitering. That’s why you’ll spot just as many people pounding Jägermeister shots in this underground Tucson, Arizona, bar as people sipping on Jäger-Aperol highballs. The bar somehow has the feel of both a dive and a speakeasy.
City in a Glass: Portland, Oregon (PasteMagazine.com)
Portland, Oregon, is right up there with San Francisco, New York, New Orleans and Chicago on the list of best cocktail cities in America. But Portland—in contrast to those other cities—doesn’t have a long, classic cocktail history to draw on. Instead, the city’s bartenders focus on moving the conversation forward. On this city drinks tour, we’re going to introduce you to Portland bartenders’ modern takes on three “classic” cocktails, show you where to find them and even how to replicate them at home.
Bars We Love: Pinewood Social, Nashville (Playboy.com)
Americans usually spend their days going from home to work to home to work to home…you get the idea. There’s not a lot of in-between. To break up that monotony, establishments are embracing the idea of becoming “the third space”—the space where people can come to do lots of different things in one location.
Bars We Love: Edmund’s Oast, Charleston (Playboy.com)
Why just be a good beer bar or a good cocktail bar or a good wine bar when you can be great at all three? That’s the motto at Edmund’s Oast brew pub in Charleston, South Carolina.
City in a Glass: Detroit (PasteMagazine.com)
The buzzword surrounding Detroit is “rebuilding.” The city is still living in the shadow of its 2013 bankruptcy, but new high-rise condo buildings and public art spaces are attracting a population of young, creative talent downtown. One industry that has piggybacked off of this revitalization has been the bar scene; craft cocktails only entered the lexicon here about three years ago.
Bars We Love: Wassail, New York City (Playboy.com)
Depending on whom you ask, cider is either the next wine or the next beer. But really, it’s the next…cider. “Cider is something that is very old, but very new too,” says Jennifer Lim, owner of Wassail cider bar in New York City’s Lower East Side.
Chef's Corner: Paul Kahan on Chicago, Big Chef Egos and Donald Trump (Playboy.com)
Playboy talked to chef Paul Kahan about why he’s keeping his restaurants in Chicago (for now), why he’s suddenly so excited about vegetables, and the crises restaurateurs are really facing. Hint: It doesn’t have anything to do with tipping.
17 Green Drinks for St. Patrick's Day That Actually Taste Good (Playboy.com)
This St. Patrick’s Day, upgrade your green beer to a green drink that isn’t dripping with food coloring. These 17 verdant cocktails, made by bartenders from across the country, feature ingredients such as Green Chartreuse, vegetable juice and matcha to give them an all-natural, leafy glow. And they taste pretty darn good, too. Sláinte
9 Essential Food and Drink Stops in Austin During SXSW (Playboy.com)
In Austin you can throw a breakfast taco in any direction and hit a decent place to eat or drink. But if your only exposure to the city’s dining scene is when you parachute into town for South By Southwest, you should be aiming for higher than decent. Here’s our cheat sheet for nine of Austin’s notable openings, new expansions and essential institutions to get you through the week.
City in a Glass: Denver (PasteMagazine.com)
People in Denver seem to have that whole balance thing down. They’re equally known for their outdoorsy nature as they are for their love of craft beers. Here, you can stumble into a yoga class at a winery or join a running club at a brewery.
Bars We Love: Ice Plant Bar, St. Augustine, Florida (Playboy.com)
Selling craft cocktails in cities known for their historical sites is not an easy task. Small-town social studies teachers—your target demographic—are usually hesitant to order a drink made with Malört. But saloons such as the Ice Plant Bar in St. Augustine, Florida, are proving that if you embrace and celebrate your area’s history, you can become a stop that’s just as essential as the local fort.