Bloody Damn Good

by Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng
October 22, 2009

Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng

Double Crown
316 Bowery
@ Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012
212-254-0350

Trattoria Cinque
363 Greenwich St
(Franklin & Harrison Sts)
New York, NY 10013
212-965-0555

It’s no secret that I’m a Bloody Mary Girl. Still I’m usually disappointed by selections of this ubiquitous cocktail in Manhattan restaurants. Recently, however, I happened upon Double Crown’s DIY Bloody Mary ($10), and it has become my favorite in town.

Try to go to Double Crown on a Saturday when General Manager Tamer Hamawi is around. He’ll take you, one ingredient at a time, through a full bar filled with all the ingredients for a classic Bloody plus a wealth of more exotic condiments. Inspired by the restaurant’s British colonial theme, they include piccalilli, Chinese black vinegar, fish sauce and ginger. I like mine with lots of finely chopped jalapeños, piccalilli and dressed with a cucumber stick for balance. Tamer likes to garnish his with a “guindila chili skewered with a cherry tomato!” There’s lots of room for self expression.

After the Double Crown, my search for a good Bloody landed me with a twist on the classic, the Bloody Caesar ($12), a yellow heirloom tomato version, at the newly-opened Trattoria Cinque. While there are five versions of the Bloody here, the Caesar, refreshing and lighter than the classic, really stands out. With a sweetness from the yellow tomatoes and a spicy punch at the end, it’s quite unexpected.

The search continues, but these two stand out from the standard!