Bar of the Week: The Summit Bar

Start spreading the news, The Summit is giving Avenue C some much-needed cocktail love. Greg Seider and Hamid Rashidzada, who between them have resumes that boast Minetta Tavern, Mercer Kitchen and Esperanto, are out to do Rat Pack-types and their hangers on proud. Seider's drink list lets you choose from classics ($9) like the French 75 and Vesper, or "alchemist" cocktails ($12), that show off his background as a private chef. The generously poured Gov'ner, an exercise in Seider's practice of layering flavors to wake up the palate, combines Yamakazi 12-year whisky, toasted cardamom infused agave, Japanese yuzu, and fresh orange juice, and is served with a 2x2 inch ice cube designed to melt and meld just so with your drink. While the decor doesn't scream "Vegas, baby!," Sinatra and co. would be pleased by the Summit's more refined sensibilities: velour banquette seating, crystal chandeliers, and flocked wallpaper with a dewy sheen. The long granite bar is divvied up into three parts, the middle of which is standing room only for the bartenders' mix and mingle show. An enclosed, heated patio is in the works, but only employees will have access to the hot tub (seriously!). But once Seider figures out exactly how to mixologize edible Ecuadorian roses and a martini with grilled cheese notes, you too will be able to partake, in spite of those vagabond shoes of yours.

The Summit Bar
133 Ave. C
No phone

Photo via nymag.com