Rye House

With scads of positive reviews online, we skipped over to Rye House for brunch. Much to our surprise, the Flatiron venue was completely empty at 1:00pm on a Sunday. We set that aside and settled ourselves at the bar. An extraordinarily handsome bar keep poured me a Bloody Mary- which rather than defaulting on vodka, lists gin and tequila as options as well. The cocktail came smokey, rich and spiked with shaved horseradish.

Urban Daddy describes the venue as, "Your very own Pittsburgh," a quality which my steel town bred father can appreciate. A massive twenty-five foot communal table made from reclaimed Pennsylvania wood sits in the back room and the menu is spiked with goodies like pork belly empanadas and grilled pb&j. Also recommended is the Oregon Trail Punch- which isn't on the menu, but that same handsome bar keep was quite content to put together: chai infused Aviation gin, aquavit, grapefruit, lime, orange and bitters. If you're not a cocktail buff, there are twelve American craft brews on tap!


Image: Timeout New York