If you’re like me, a bar that serves desserts is pretty much your dream spot. And so you’d probably await the opening of dessert bar Butter & Scotch with bated breath. And when it finally opened, you’d do your best to check in from time to time on its top-notch roster of desserts, cocktails, guest chef dinners, and … Tiki Tuesdays.
That’s right, it looks like tiki’s a trend that’s here to stay, with several venerable bars resplendent with tiki drinks and tiki nights. If you’re like me, you admire Ravi DeRossi’s bars (especially Amor y Amargo) but the idea of a $15-and-up tiki menu makes you die a little on the inside. (Nope, Mother of Pearl, no plans to visit until I get a pretty substantial salary upgrade, and maybe not even then.) Luckily, while some cocktail prices are ludicrous, I’ve found that there’s also been a resurgence of affordable options. Like Butter & Scotch, whose tiki offerings weigh in at an appealing $8-10 or so.
Since the morning chill reminds you that summer’s not going to last forever, you’d better get your frozen drinks in while you can. (You’ve gotta concede you’ve been known to enjoy a frozen drink or two, after you finally learned to check your snobbery at the door.) So you’d best start out with with the Ariel’s Song, a concoction of numerous rums, Frangelico, triple sec, lime, and (it gets you every time) house-made orgeat. Served in a serious tiki mug, topped with orange, lime, and cherry, Ariel’s Song lets you breathe in summer for a few extra beats.
And since it’s an impromptu Tuesday vacation, you might want to follow it up with a Hemingway daiquiri, which you may have noticed is the perfect classic drink: rum, maraschino, grapefruit, and lime play perfectly together, with no need for extra gimmicks. Though Butter & Scotch’s version might not be quite as good as the one at the Daq Shaq (located in the Owney’s Rum’s distillery up in the nebulous border of East Williamsburg/Bushwick) it’s pretty damn good, plus you can get it with a perfect triple chocolate brownie, served melting with chocolate chips. (And did I mention it costs a staggeringly reasonable $8?)
If you’re like me you’ll be pretty damn happy at the bar at Butter & Scotch. Especially if you’re finishing up the last few pages of Delancey, whose author Molly Wizenberg may have inspired you to get back into food writing (and pizza eating) again, and if the photographer sitting next to you at the bar tells you just how delicious Delancey’s pizza is. And if you, like me, take the bus (I guess you probably don’t, but that’s a rant for another post) you’ll be delighted to step out of the bar, promptly nab a B48 to Prospect Park, and be home in about 20 minutes. It’s a good life, friends.
Butter & Scotch, 818 Franklin Avenue, Crown Heights
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