Some Like It Hot

April 29, 2009 4:06 pm

With bathing suit season around the corner and temperatures rising, now is the time to multi-task fitness and nutrition, because nothing follows a good workout better than refreshing fruit, veggies and perhaps when the mood strikes, a nice cocktail.

On Tuesday, temps soared extra high for late April and Manhattan was one hot, concrete jungle. With only half an hour to get to the Upper East Side, Mona and I hurried down to the subway only melt as we waited over twenty minutes and still no local in train in sight. Rushing back above ground to hail a taxi was equally unsuccessful—too many New Yorkers avoiding the subway heat had already taken up occupancy in the air conditioned yellow cabs. Don't even get me started on the 3rd Avenue bus! So, we ended up walking quickly from one avenue to another, trying to beat the clock and managing to get a mini-workout en route and a little too sweaty in the process.

Over heated and transportation hiccupped, but at least we made it to our meeting with Jodi Greebel without fainting. Author of Little Black Apron: A Single Girl's Guide to Cooking with Style and Grace, Jodi was ready for teach us her tips, tricks and techniques for balancing out our diets with delicious nutritional value. The race uptown had left us both famished and sticky, so the fresh spring salads Jodi prepared hit the spot. The chopped veggie salad was full of crisp cucumbers, tomatoes and bright yellow peppers, all of which got an extra punch of flavor and antioxidants from the lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette. Next up, a healthy fruit salad with plums, strawberries, banana, mango and mint that deliciously captured summer. Now that we had both our daily dose of exercise in and healthy helping of fruits and veggies, it was time for a cocktail.

I headed over to Daniel to meet a friend from MSNBC and pay a visit to Xavier Herit, one of the masters of mixology. Vodka infused with raspberries and lychees started us off, bringing alive the sweetness of the fruits encased within the strong presence of the vodka. After turning cocktail hour into a show by lighting a lemon peel on fire, Xavier proceeded to educate us on the increasingly popular underground bar scene emerging in Manhattan. Moonlighting as a house DJ at Apotheke, a hip cocktail bar serving up "prescriptions" in frosted martini glasses, keeps Xavier in the loop regarding all the hottest new drinks and where to drink them.

As mixology makes its comeback, so are underground bars where the focus is properly poured drinks and a retro vibe. PDT, short for Please Don't Tell, is one of New York's newest underground bar scenes where the cocktails are fresh and the atmosphere unique. Patrons enter through a phone booth into the bar at PDT where they have a varying selection of classic drinks and comforting bar food, which just happen to go hand in hand. 675 Bar, an equally new and unique bar, will open to a few select patrons this weekend. I will be there on Friday getting a taste of drinks like the "Mr. Rufus," a gin and absinthe combo named in honor of the bar's life sized porcelain horse housed in the corner with a lampshade hat. 675 Bar proves to be a booze filled spectacle worth checking out.

So the only times I will be going underground this summer, will be for some cocktails—not the subway, as a slightly intoxicated buzz is the only heat I can handle.

Divya Gugnani

Daniel
60 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
212-288-0033

Apotheke
9 Doyers Street
off Pell St and Bowery
New York, NY 10013
212-406-0400

PDT — Please Don't Call
113 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
212-614-0386

675 Bar
675 Hudson Street
at 13th Street
New York, NY 10014
212-699-2416