PDT

PDT stands for Please Don't Tell. It is a speakeasy hidden away on St. Marks Place. You have to get in by going into a hidden phone booth with a secret door. Generally reservations are required, but if you get there early enough and you're a small party (e.g. 2) you can generally get a seat at the bar.

Really the place is all about the cocktails which run from $12 to $22 and are created by a mixologist. The food on the other hand is served on paper plates $6 for a hot dog and $3 for tater tots or waffle-cut fries. I guess you can see where their priorities are. The place is next door to Crif-Dogs, a hot-dogs-only restaurant (which contains the secret entrance) and which also provides the food, through a secret pass-through window at the back of the bar.

Sitting at the bar is the best place to be as far as I'm concerned because the process of making each cocktail is fairly elaborate. I've been to PDT two or three times and my favorite cocktail is the Bacon-Infused Old Fashioned. It has a great taste and is nice to sip.

The hot dogs aren't anything plain either - there is a specialty hot dog called the Chang Dog (named in honor of the chef David Chang - whose restaurants I have yet to go to, though they are about a block away). It is a deep-fried hot dog wrapped in bacon and smothered with Chang’s own Momofuku Ssäm Bar red kimchee purée. I was a little afraid of that though I hear it is amazing. I went for the everything bagel hot dog which has cream cheese and the everything bagel seasoning mix. Very good. And I'd say it went well with my twice-as-expensive cocktail.

The atmosphere is really cool, dark and manly, with wood paneling and mounted animals on the walls, and dark red leather booths. I think it only seats about 20 people and they don't allow anyone to stand around the bar. All together it comes together well. I feel a little embarrassed going into the phone booth, kind of like a tourist, even though I'm 'in on the secret' but I'll definitely bring people back to PDT, and keep it at the top of my list for special occasions.