On a Toot! New York Edition, 2026, Part 1

Birds Fly to the Stars, I Guess.

The bar at The Argyle.

Welcome to the latest edition of “On a Toot!,” a feature in which I try to remember some of the liquid highlights of the week, and other highlights in general. “On a Toot!”—which made its debut on March 10, 2023 (accept no imitations!)—will only run on Fridays and will only be available to paid subscribers. (Except this one time!) We hope you enjoy it.

“The bar is packed all day long with New York debutantes, brokers, Newport dowagers, bad women who walk good dogs on Park Avenue, chic divorcees and college boys on toots.”—Daily News, 1937, describing the scene at the Ritz Bar in Paris.

Well, here’s a twist. Actually two twists.

“On a Toot!,” our periodic, rollicking, drinking-tour feature, first debuted in March of 2023. Since then, it has been a column specifically reserved for paid subscribers of The Mix. (If you’re gonna pay, you deserve the choicest intel on watering holes and new cocktails!)

But lately, we’ve come to feel that free subscribers may not know what they are missing. So we are making today’s “On a Toot!”—part 1 of a 2 part column—a free post. Part 2 will run on Friday as a typical paid post.

So that’s the first twist. Here’s the other.

For the past three years, we’ve used “On a Toot!” partly as a way to showcase the drinking scenes in cities other than New York (except for the debut column, which took place in Gotham). Posts have been set in Boston, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Baltimore and Rochester.

But that was when we lived solely in New York. Now that we spend half our time in the Midwest, New York has become that other city where, when we visit, we try to cram in as many bar stops as possible.

And so, this two-part “On a Toot!” is dedicated to New York City! Here we go:

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A Manhattan at The York.

What do you do while waiting for a bar to open? Why, cool your heels at another bar, of course. Oddball, the new Alphabet City bar from partners LaTeisha Moore and Phil Reichenberger, opens precisely at the very adult hour of 6 p.m. So, having arrived early, I took my 5:45 p.m. self next door to The York, a sliver of a bar which has enjoyed, from what I can tell, a very low profile since opening in 2023. It’s got an exposed brick wall, a chalkboard listing drafts, a short wooden bar, ironic classy paintings on the wall, a bearded bartender—you know, the usual. I didn’t expect much. But sometimes the usual suits your needs. The York menu features a cocktail menu of classics, rather than originals, from oldies like the Old-Fashioned and Negroni to modern classics like the Paper Plane and Naked and Famous. I respect a craft cocktail bar that is content to just toe the line. There were also seasonal hot drinks and a food menu with an Oklahoma smash burger that made me wish I was staying longer. I limited myself to a fine rye Manhattan and made a mental note to return…

The Infinite Loop at Oddball. Behind it is the Blind Box Punch of the day.

Oddball is opposite of The York. It wears its ambition and innovation on its sleeve, though it is just as friendly. The drink categories include “Energetic,” “Easygoing” and “Explorative.” As a bar name, Oddball gives the owners a lot of leeway as to drink profiles. And so the Space Cadet is a “a battery rhubarb galette in Gin & Tonic form.” And the Infinite Loop is billed as “a Vesper Martini goes on vacation,” with sesame and hazelnut gin, guava, whey brandy and white aperitif. The latter came with a picturesque garnish: a circle of red guava gel affixed to the inside of the glass. I wanted to stay a little more grounded, so I went with the R & Daiquiri, a rotating Daiquiri special. (Clever name.) The Daiquiri of the day was made of lapsang tea, buddha’s-hand-citron-infused rum, raspberry jam, lime, simple syrup and tamari. We were happy to be served by Logan Rodriguez, the architect of much of the menu, whom we had last seen behind the bar at Smithereens. Our friends Jon and Gwen joined us halfway through our visit, so we ordered another round…

The Daiquiri service at Bar Kabawa.

Mary Kate had been after me to go to Bar Kabawa, the bar attached to the praised Paul Carmichael restaurant Kabawa, for months, and I had stubbornly refused. This was not because of any personal bias against the business, but because so many new bars open in New York these days that I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed. A man needs some time to himself, after all. Or maybe it was the address: Extra Place, a fake, glass-and-metal, half-street in the East Village that always makes me feel like I’ve been transported to a suburban mall. But on this chilly, December, post-Christmas bar crawl, we made Bar Kabawa our second stop (my third). After we left, I kicked myself for not coming earlier. It was one of those rare bar experiences where, the moment you leave, you immediately want to make plans to return…

The large format Planter’s Punch at Bar Kabawa.

Bar Kabawa is not large. We were super lucky to nab four stools near the small bar, thanks for head bartender Pepper Stashek, a pal to The Mix from her days at Grand Army in Brooklyn. She was actually featured in the very first post on The Mix! We’ve bonded over our shared Wisconsin heritage. She’s from Wausau. Wisconsinites make the best bartenders and drinkers. Bar Kabawa is a rum bar. It’s all about rum cocktails, mainly classics with a twist. I wanted to order every drink on the menu. But, first things first: a Daiquiri. I ordered the Floridita #3, which is made with Probitas Rum, grapefruit juice, and maraschino, and showered with shaved ice, Cuba-style. Shaved ice cocktails is easily my favorite current trend in the cocktail world. Mary Kate got the Kabawa Bay Leaf Daiquiri, which made the best-yet case for the culinary relevance of the bay leaf, after centuries of trying by the world’s chefs. We felt doubly fortunate to be there with friends, because that meant we could order the large-format Planter’s Punch, dispensed from a porron. It was as nectar from the Gods, perhaps the best Planter’s Punch I’ve tasted. I’m not sure how many servings one order was supposed to divvy up into, but were easily eked our two rounds for four people out of it, enough to slide us giddily out the door in the direction of our beds…

Some of the drinks and snacks at The Argyle. The Martini Tropicale is bottom left. The salt cod fritters are bottom right.

The evening before, we checked out The Argyle, a new bar tucked in the basement of the restaurant Markette, even though it meant venturing into “the teeth of inclement weather.” (That’s a quote from the 1951 film “Scrooge”; it was Dec. 26, after all.) Like Oddball and Bar Kabawa, this was another instance of encountering a familiar friendly face in a new setting. In this case, it was Chris Figueroa, who always was the soul of hospitality during his days at Crown Shy and Overstory. He is now Bar Director at The Argyle, the kind of plush lounge/club where the lighting’s as soft as the music is not. The drinks are rooted in fun, something communicated by names like Shore Thing (a clarified milk punch), Creamsicle Fizz (featuring orange cream soda and tequila) and Pinky Swear (a tequila drink which will satisfy your daily supplement of fruit: golden berry, pineapple, nectarine and lime). The extremely likable Martini Tropicale, made of palm gin, Sherry, Tokaji, mango and guava received approving nods. Our friend Martin, who ordered it and is not easily pleased, declared, “That’ll work.” There’s a Caribbean lilt to the food menu, which included the first salt cod fritters I’ve seen outside of Sunken Harbor Club (and just as good), peri peri tenders and a jerk rib sandwich…

Stars for Wine and Beautiful People; Birds for Cocktails and Beautiful Music.

In the classic film Moonstruck (Mary Kate’s favorite flick), Vincent Gardenia gives his mistress a cheap charm necklace shaped like birds and stars. “Birds fly to the stars, I guess,” he coos seductively. On a recent January evening, we took the opposite route, flying from a new wine bar called Stars to a new jazz club/cocktail bar called Birds. Stars is the latest venture from the talented team behind the restaurants Claud and Penny. Stars is only two short blocks from Claud and Penny, so one could see it as a kind of holding pen for people waiting to get into those restaurants. Except that Stars is even smaller than those restaurants. It has a total of 12 seats at its U-shaped bar, with some additional standing room, and is walk-ins only. So Stars is really its own destination. It’s a beautiful, amber-hued box filled with beautiful people, and I suspect it will remain that way for some time, the demand for access has been so immediate. Square foot for square foot, it’s probably the chicest watering hole in Manhattan right now. I was impressed with the house Martini at Penny, which was composed only of low-abv spirits, owing to Penny’s liquor license. So I was more than curious about the Tuxedo No. 2 on the list at Stars, which was otherwise made up of wine, sake, Sherry and beer. It was just as good. A base of shochu is infused with juniper and dried cherries, which is combined with dry vermouth, sake, cherry juice, orange bitters and anise extract. It is then spritzed with grapefruit essence and garnished with grapefruit and a Luxardo cherry. Mary Kate had a glass of Chasselas from Eyrie in Oregon and we shared some cute deviled eggs topped with star-shaped pomme souffles dusted with curry powder…

The Tuxedo at Stars.

We would have stayed for another round of drinks and people watching at Stars had the siren song of jazz not been drawing us from East Village to West. Birds was opened by the team behind Brooklyn’s Lighthouse and one of the owners of nearby Sip & Guzzle. Like Sip & Guzzle, it’s located on one of those tiny Village streets that stretch all of a block or two. The Village has a long history of fostering jazz. Yet nobody opens new jazz clubs anymore. The Blue Note, Village Vanguard and Smalls have all been there forever. So the arrival of Birds is a welcome bit of old-school news for the neighborhood. (Midnight Blue in Gramercy Park, by Takuma Watanabe and the Martiny’s team, is another example of a cocktail group bringing new jazz to the city.)…

The Scene: Hep Patrons at Birds.

Birds is about the same size at the Vanguard, with a bar to the left and some small tables to the right. The postage-stamp stage is in the back. The club has an elegantly bare-bones cocktail menu. It’s just a list of 20 known classics on a laminated piece of white paper. You can get them made with well liquor for $18, call liquor for $20 and premium booze for $23. We started with Martinis and went on to Rob Roys. Sip & Guzzle’s Steve Schneider was behind the bar, so we drank well. There may have been an inadvisable third round; I’m not quite sure. The music was first rate, a quartet headed by Dida Pelled, a flower-child singer with a voice poised somewhere between Rickie Lee Jones and Billie Holliday. The stylish audience sat attentively and, for a brief hour or so, a small cove of sexy sophistication returned to our land. If only more New York spaces vibed like Birds…

Cocktails Martini and Shrimp at Birds.

Part 2 of this New York “On a Toot!” will drop on Friday. That one will be for paid subscribers only. Free subscribers: I hope you’ve enjoyed this little journey through Gotham’s newest swanky saloons. If so, hit that button below!

Until, next time, Salute!

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On a Toot! New York 2026 Guide

The York, 186 Avenue B, (646) 998-4138.

Oddball, 188 Avenue B, www.oddballnyc.com.

Bar Kabawa, 12 Extra Pl, barkabawa.com.

The Argyle, 326 7th Ave., (212) 537-6564.

Stars, 139 E. 12th Street, www.stars-ny.com.

Birds, 64 Downing Street, birds-nyc.com.

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Bar Shot: Giuseppe Giusti Sweet Vermouth

It’s always a happy day at The Mix when a new brand of vermouth comes through the mails, be it dry, sweet or blanc. Rarely is that bottle as beautiful as the one sported by Giuseppe Giusti, an Italian brand that is only now making its American debut.

The vermouth is born from the legacy of Acetaia Giusti, the world’s oldest Balsamic Vinegar producer (est. 1605), based in Modena. It is aged in Giusti’s centuries-old balsamic barrels, some dating back over 200 years. The vermouth was developed in collaboration with Quaglia, the historic Piedmontese distillery known for producing vermouths and amari. The base is a blend of red and white Italian wines (including Lambrusco), infused with 19 botanicals (rosemary, thyme, marjoram, lavender, black pepper) and sweetened with Saba, a traditional cooked grape must.

It is highly perfumed on the nose, almost like potpourri—those 19 botanicals going to work—against a backdrop of lovely wine notes. The influence of the balsamic vinegar comes through on the palate, but not in an overwhelming way; just a hint of unctuousness. Otherwise, it’s a flood of red fruit, from dark ripe cherries to current and plums. This vermouth will make a very silky Manhattan. I recommend mixing it with rye to apply a little rough to the smooth.

You can buy Giuseppe Giusti Sweet Vermouth at all Eataly locations across the U.S. and select wine shops. It costs about $60 for a 750ml bottle.

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Odds and Ends…

I will be in residence at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, March 5-6, as part of the “Liquid Legends” series the resort launched in January with Dale DeGroff. I will play host in the Bellagio’s intimate, hidden cocktail bar, The Vault, where I will design a special menu of modern classic cocktails. Reservations are required, and The Vault has limited seating, so book now… Some cocktail bars these days are striving to keep cocktail prices down. Gus’ Sip & Dip in Chicago and El Camino in New York are two examples. But there’s an opposite trend where cocktail bars are featuring super-expensive drinks. I call them “splurge cocktails.” I wrote about the phenomenon in The Wall Street Journal last week. Featured in the story are The Bamboo Room in Chicago, the Starlite Lounge in San Francisco, and Shinji’s and Portrait Bar in New York. (My apologies to Ilis, which was originally in the article. That section was cut by my editor.) Thanks to my former editor at the WSJ, Beth Kracklauer, for assigning this story… Jay Reingold has been named the new bar manager at Clemente Bar in Manhattan. He previously worked as head bartender at the late, lamented NoMad Bar and was bar manager at The Modern… For one day only, Tuesday, Feb. 17, American Coney Island, the fabled hot dog stand in downtown Detroit, will bring back the Coney hot dog paczki, which is a frankfurter with chili, mustard and onions tucked inside the Polish donut in question… Effective March 1, a 1.5% tax will be imposed in Chicago on the privilege of purchasing or using “alcoholic beverages purchased in a sale at retail for consumption off the premises where such alcoholic beverages are sold.” The tax only applies to alcohol purchased in stores to be consumed elsewhere and does not affect drinks purchased at bars, restaurants, and venues. I’m glad I live in Wisconsin… Patrick Shanahan, the man behind Watts & Ward, Peregrine, and Capulet Cocktail Club, announced the opening of Rosebud Cocktail Lounge in Raleigh, NC. This mid-century cocktail den will feature the area’s firstlistening lounge cocktail and omakase housed in a 2,000 square-foot basement bar with 12 seats at the bar and 50 seats in the lounge. It is named for the enigmatic symbol in Orson Welles’ film Citizen Kane. Rosebud opens Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 103 East Martin Street in downtown Raleigh.