Bar Culaccino

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, which opened in the late summer of 2014, pairs ease with elegance as a welcome addition to 51st Street. “We live in a very fast-paced world. ” In midtown Manhattan, these words resonate. But spoken by Aldo Sohm, seated at a table in his eponymous wine bar, they seem incongruous. “The idea is basically that when you walk in here, you walk into my living room. To me, it’s always important that you be in a place where you feel comfortable. ”Sohm continues his role as wine director at Le Bernardin, the four-star restaurant located across the 6½ Avenue pedestrian plaza. At the wine bar, however, he and Le Bernardin’s co-owners, Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert, have created a setting distinct from the formal restaurants in Manhattan, in its simplicity and lack of pretense. To be clear, it shares the elegance and attention to quality of its neighbors. But upon entering, an open arrangement of sofas beckons patrons to sit down. Sohm has noticed guests who arrived separately conversing across tables - sometimes even discussing their choice in wine. And wine is the focus at Aldo Sohm. Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin’s acclaimed chef, oversees the food menu; so, whether wine accompanies lunch, dinner, or a snack, it promises to impress. Guests can order bites to complement a glass of wine, like a grilled foie gras “lollipop” or a warm skewer of baby beets. Shareables include a whole baked cauliflower and a plate of Murray’s cheese with a Maison Kayser baguette. Sohm emphasizes the flexibility of the experience. If not in the lounge area, there are tall square tables for seating. The thick oak “sommelier table” incorporated into the bar seats guests on both sides, ensuring that no one is excluded from conversation. Sohm chose these arrangements intentionally. The wine bar endeavors to be unpretentious, relaxing and fun. Evoking this sensation, the architectural firm Bentel & Bentel incorporated clean lines and bold color in designing the interior. Sohm and his co-owners deliberated considerably in choosing the art in their “living room. ” Ample shelves extend to the double height ceiling, featuring artifacts meaningful to Sohm. Having grown up in Austria, Sohm points out, “I like things very very clean, very European. I like colors on top of it. ” A stack of Interior Design magazines becomes a design object itself as a cube of rainbow spines. The curves of miniature Panton S-chairs, each a different color, mirror the charred wood molds of the delicately hand-blown Zalto glasses in which each wine is served. Sohm is the brand ambassador for Zalto, an Austrian-based glassware manufacturer. To learn more about the varied wine offerings, visitors can reserve the tasting room. Aerial photographs of wine growing regions flank the eight-person table, allowing the sommelier to incorporate a visual element and story of provenance to the tasting. Sohm - once designated the “Best World Sommelier” by the Worldwide Sommelier Association - maintains humility despite his accomplishments. He wants the wine bar to be just as down to earth; an antidote to a demanding day, it exudes precision and sophistication.

The building that houses Flute Bar & Lounge was once home to a speakeasy called Club Intime, run by the notorious chorus girl Texas Guinan. Today, Flute's owners pay homage to their predecessors with 1920's music and drinks served in mugs, as was the custom during Prohibition. The underground champagne bar has no windows and dim lighting, and its seating - plush sofas and ottomans clustered around low tables - give it a far more intimate feel than a traditional lounge. With countless brands from which to choose, champagne may be the focus, but Flute also serves a wide variety of cocktails - many of which feature champagne - and small accompanying food plates. Texas Guinan once called the speakeasy business an "essential and basic industry. " Though her Club Intime was shut down after only six months in business, she would certainly be heartened that its spirit lives on in Flute today - especially on the last Saturday of each month when Wit's End celebrates jazz music and dancing with an assortment of talent.

Named after a gangster-turned-reformist, a Robin Hood-like figure who redistributed wealth from the rich to the poor, Tanner Smith’s Bar espouses the message that even those most seemingly set in their ways, as the old-school Irish, can reform. And Tanner Smith’s is certainly far from the stereotypical old-school Irish bars that saturate the city streets. The upper floor of Tanner Smith’s is light and laid back, serving mostly craft beers. There is a mix of wooden structures, shiny surfaces, and weathered brick walls. Downstairs, Winona bar, named after a former nightclub under the same ownership, is an entirely different venue with a separate sound system and dimmer lighting. A mix of whim and history, the accents throughout the bar play on an Alice-and-Wonderland-meets-prohibition aesthetic with cute teacups, an intriguing gin bathtub structure, old New York maps, mounted farm animal heads, and alcoholic paraphernalia like whiskey barrels protruding from the wall. The drinks, too, are spectacular, from classic mixes to standard beer brands to unique specialty drinks, and everything in-between. Guests can order them any way they want to without pretension - a Bud Light at the cocktail bar goes unquestioned. And the food menu, featuring a craze-inducing battered-and-fried eggplant chip with a honey drizzle, is more than sufficient on its own. Any eggplant-averted soul will discover a newfound appreciation for the underrated veggie in these crispy bites. But it is not the decorations, inventive drinks, nor impressive layout of this grand Midtown West speakeasy that make Tanner Smith’s a happening spot. While all of these factors, primed and cohesive, greatly compliment the magnificence of the bar, its finest attribute are the dynamic people who work here, committed to making each night a special one. The bar consultant to Tanner Smith’s, Kevin, started out collecting glasses for a nightclub in Ireland at the ripe age of thirteen, and has never left the bar scene. He ventured to America to promote a whiskey brand, Glendalough, which has since taken off. Kevin had also been to every New York City bar we threw at him, so when he told us why this spot stood out, we listened. “We are an entertainment-based bar, ” he explained, “I serve booze - that is literally living the dream. I give people a fun night. ” Sitting bar side on a Thursday afternoon-turned-evening as the space gradually filled up, these words rang more and more true for the fellow Manhattan Sideways members and me. This bar is not about being high-end, but about fun, about “lighting things on fire. ” Literally. Watching Kevin smoke a barrel-aged stevedore cocktail by using a “smoking gun” filled with bourbon-soaked oak chips was a mesmerizing sight. The effect took out some of the drink’s sweetness, and the longer the smoking goes on, the bitterer the drink becomes. The key lime pie martini I tried - citrus vodka mixed with lemon syrup, lemon preserve, and passion fruit, and topped with a smoked meringue - was superb, but the contagious vibes Kevin and the rest of the playful staff gave off made it memorable. “If you want a great drink, you can have a great drink, ” Kevin shared with me, “but, in addition to the alcoholic beverages, this is a place where all the employees are always happy. ”There is no doubt that Tanner Smith's is helping to redefine the city’s standards of bar service, and, therefore, no small wonder that they already have regulars after only being open for a few short months.

The intimate space of red lamps, candles and beautiful music is easy to miss, as the Russian Vodka Room is somewhat hidden behind darkened windows. Luckily, my attention was piqued by the faint sounds of a piano floating out of the bar and onto the street. Walking in, I immediately noticed the huge glass vats of vodka with handfuls of fruit floating in them. This, the bar's manager informed me, is the restaurant's specialty: house-brewed, naturally infused Russian vodka. The flavors include cherry, raspberry, and apricot. In addition, 100 varieties of bottled vodka clamor for prominence behind the bar. The Russian Vodka Room also boasts a relatively diverse menu, with food "straight out of babushka's kitchen. "

Guy Vaknin and his wife Tali opened Beyond Sushi in July of 2012 with the goal of producing healthy, beautiful and earth-conscious food. After learning of the depletion of fish in our oceans – not to mention the health benefits of a meatless diet – Guy set out to be the “first to pioneer the fish-less sushi movement. ” He views “sushi as a vessel that carries the perfect amount of flavor to just grab it in one bite. ” He also praises sushi for its consistency, which gives him room to play around in creating interesting and perfect balances of vegetable's flavors and colors. When describing his extensive background in the restaurant industry, Guy told us, “I had a dream to cook since I was young. I’ve always loved food. ” He grew up on a Kibbutz in Israel - and came to New York after serving in the Israeli army - to help out in his father’s restaurant. He went on to work at numerous other restaurants in New York doing every possible position, and after a brief dalliance with computer engineering, returned to the food world by studying at the Institute of Culinary Education. Fresh out of culinary school, Guy became the executive chef at his father’s kosher catering company. When a request for a sushi station popped up, and knowing that meat and fish are restricted in some areas of the Jewish world, he decided he wanted to create something “cool and innovative - and not fish. ” It took two years to develop his vegetarian sushi, but after selling out at the Vegetarian Food Festival two years in a row, Guy decided to open a business on 14th street. Within three months - working solely with the help of his sushi chef - the growing popularity of his beautiful, healthy, and delicious food quickly enabled him to expand into the thriving company that Beyond Sushi is today. One of Guy’s main goals is to balance sustainability and accessibility to encourage people to choose the healthy option of Beyond Sushi, and the passion that sustains this goal is his creativity. Even now that he has grown Beyond Sushi into a consistently expanding company, Guy still spends around fifty percent of his time cooking, and loves adding new dishes to his menu. He thinks of his business expansion in terms of community impact and wants to be “as big as possible. "

Everything at Norma Kamali's eponymous store feels distinctive, from the layout to the designs of the clothes. In the years since the designer opened her first shop on 53rd street in 1968, she has carved out a style all her own. Her flagship store's aesthetic is striking - white walls, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and fluorescent lighting that feels intentional and welcoming. Racks are placed at different locations throughout the store, showcasing Norma's three core collections - Activewear, Swimwear, and Kamali Kulture. The first includes Norma's iconic sweatsuits, which revolutionized women's activewear when the line appeared in 1984. The Swimwear collection prominently features the Bill Mio bathing suit, a rucked, old Hollywood-esque one-piece. Finally, the Kamali Kulture line was created so that a wider variety of women could enjoy Norma's signature designs; every item in the line is under one hundred dollars. The store also features sunglasses, including Norma's signature cat-eye shades. While being given a personal tour by Marissa, a representative of the Norma Kamali Brand, we learned that Norma's flagship location houses the Wellness Cafe, where women are invited to take a break from their shopping, sit down, and help themselves to some green tea and popcorn - sprinkled with Norma's own line of olive oil. On display is a "curation of products Norma loves, " including health snacks, supplements and weights. Marissa went on to explain that Norma frequently hosts events at the cafe featuring members of the medical community as well as tarot readers. "We invite people with a range of backgrounds and expertise, " said Marissa. Norma has achieved significant recognition in the fashion world and beyond, but many people who come into the store are merely drawn in by the display window. Customers stop by "whether they know that it's Norma Kamali or they're just curious, " Marissa told us. Though Norma's collections are featured in most major department stores, including her Fifth Avenue neighbors, this location on West 56th is the only one devoted exclusively to her. Because of their "small but mighty" status, Norma is able to keep a hand in everything that goes on at her boutique and wellness cafe: she styles the display window and chooses what clothing is showcased. Her virtual presence is strong as well: she narrates her own website, providing the stories behind various pieces of clothing. Towards the end of our time spent here, an exhilarating moment occurred when we had the pleasure of catching a glimpse of the grand lady, herself.