personality, likely none more than that of
the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago. Located
under Michigan Avenue near the offices
of the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun
Times, Billy “Goat” Sianis opened the
famed sports bar in 1937.
He garnered national attention several
times: first in 1945 when he and his
goat were kicked out of Wrigley Field
during game four of the World Series,
and then again as the inspiration for the
“Saturday Night Live” Olympia Cafe
sketch (“Cheezborger, Cheezborger,
Cheezborger. No Coke. Pepsi.”). It’s said
Sianis’ personality filled every square inch
of the place, so much so that journalist
Mike Royko declared Sianis the “Greatest
Innkeeper in Chicago.”
Observes Robertiello, “You won’t hear
as many customers ordering Cheezborger
and Coke to get the crowd to yell ‘No
Coke, Pepsi,’ but you’re guaranteed a
great time knocking back a few brewskis
and rubbing shoulders with all sorts of
Windy Citizens.”
Comfy & Classy
According to Yurki Kato, CNN personality
and publisher of Cocktail Times.com, the
Brandy Library in Manhattan’s Tribeca
neighborhood is a place Nick and Nora
Charles would have loved. “It’s a very
classy bar. The menu lists more than 120
cocktails prepared with in-house syrups
and infusions and the backbar looks like a
whiskey and brandy museum exhibit.”
The aptly named bar stocks more than
1,000 bottles, many of which are rare
and unavailable elsewhere. The Brandy
Library even has a spirit sommelier to
help guests choose the most appropriate
selections. The dark wood interior, overstuffed chairs, low tables and low jazz
soundscape combine to create a cozy yet
elegant space.
For Ryan Thomas Magarian, master
mixologist and creator of Aviation Gin,
New York’s subterranean Little Branch
represents the pinnacle of small, intimate
cocktail lounges. He contends the owners — Joseph Schwartz and Sasha Pe-
traske — have provided the total cocktail
bar experience.
“Little Branch has an alluring, lively
escapist vibe with a fantastic Cuban
band, central areas for socializing and
private nooks for fleeting whispers.
They’re unsurpassed in the use of
fresh, high-quality ingredients, preparing cocktails with precision and serving
them with grace and hospitality. It’s a
world-class bar.”
Whether impeccably classy or nicked,
worn and weathered, our favorite haunts
offer us more than just refuge and cold
beer, and they reflect the soul of this
business. They exist without pretense
and accept us as we are. That we can
shoot some pool and drink what we
choose is a bonus. NCB
Robert Plotkin is a judge at the San Francisco World
Spirits Competition and has recently authored his 16th
book, Secrets Revealed of America’s Greatest Cocktails.
He can be reached at www.BarMedia.com or by e-mail at
robert@barmedia.com.
