Minetta Tavern

Much has been written about the resurrection of faded NYC institution Minetta Tavern (109 MacDougal Street), from puff pieces about the genius of Keith McNally to the accolades of various critics. But our question as we sat at the packed bar and watched the dining room fill at the ungodly hour of 5:30pm was, is it any good?

We'll reserve judgment on the menu since we just tried a few dishes - notably the excellent Berkshire pig trotter. The subject here is booze and in this area the results were mixed.

The hands down favorite was the Murray Sour, a delicious mix of Yamazaki 12 year whiskey, cardamomm-infused agave nectar, lemon & orange. A bit less successful was the oddly named Dodd Cocktail, Basil Hayden bourbon, La Fee Absinthe, peach bitters, lemon and egg white. It was good but one dimensional. Unfortunately, Ginger in the Rye, Michters rye, angostura bitters, La Fee absinthe, ginger beer and pressed limes, was merely a dark 'n' stormy knock-off overwhelmed by absinthe. Cocktails were a hefty $14.