Gogobot is an innovative planning tool that tailors recommendations for places to stay, eat and play to your specific tastes. It also allows you to share your great experiences with people who have the same interests as you; people in your “tribes.”
Gogobot’s GoGo This Week feature empowers you to discover and take advantage of great events, openings and exhibits throughout the city each week. Visit the website or download the app for more GoGo This Week upcoming events.
Here are some exciting events and sites to check out in downtown New York this week, courtesy of Gogobot:
1. Lit Crawl
Check website for complete list of venues Saturday, Oct. 1 at 6pm
Get lit at the Pen American Lit Crawl! In addition to readings and booze, attendees can enjoy intellectually-stimulating games like Literary Pictionary and Nerd Jeopardy. Other activities include raffles, prizes, Flash Portrait Drawing, Tarot Card Readings, photo booths, and more! FREE
Guac NYC is a new restaurant that offers 11 different varieties of guacamole (Exotic Mango, Fried Golden Bacon and Roasted Sweet Corn) and an equally impressive selection of tequilas to wash them down. It’s safe to say that we will be spending a lot of time here.
3. Steampunk Frankenstein
The Players Theater (Greenwich Village) Through Sunday, Nov. 13 (Check site for performance times)
Get a head start on Halloween with this steampunk version of the gothic horror classic by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is performed with a live chamber ensemble and features a score by Michael Sgouros. Tickets start at $42.
Photo: Jonathan McPhail
4. Munich on the River 24-20 FDR Drive Service Road East (Stuyvesant Town) Thursday, Sept. 29-Sunday, Oct. 2 (Check website for times)
Festive, boozy and authentic, this Oktoberfest brings Munich riverside. Zum Schneider, the original Bavarian Bierhaus, sets up a tent that among other things comes with an Oompah band, live music from Mösl Franzi & the JaJaJa’s, Wiesn-Hendl & Haxn (Oktoberfest roast chicken & pork shank) and lots of beers on tap, including the exclusive Andechs Festbier. With staff dressed in Dirndl and Lederhosen and fluent in German, this Oktoberfest is as authentic as it gets! Tickets start at $25.
5. Tequila vs Mezcal School
The Study at Astor Center (East Village) Monday, Sept. 26 from 6:30-8:30pm
Though we love tequila and mezcal, we’d hard pressed to tell you the difference between the two. The Agave Smackdown: Tequila vs Mezcal is comparative taste tasting class that will familiarize us with “the history, production methods, and flavor profiles of tequila and mezcal…” Tickets $79.
If you know of great events happening in your neck of the woods that might be a fit for a future GoGo This Week column, please send details about the event to events@gogobot.com.
One of the most popular spirits around the world, tequila is distilled from the blue agave plant. To be a little more specific, agave is a member of the lily family and there are approximately 136 types of agave in Mexico. While Mexican law requires that all tequilas contain at least 51% agave, the spirits of Blue Nectar Tequila are made with 100% blue agave.
Founded in October 2011, Blue Nectar has accomplished plenty in its first five years. The brand — as founded by a father and son — has four varieties of tequila available: Blue Nectar Silver, Blue Nectar Reposado Extra Blend, Blue Nectar Reposado Special Craft, and Blue Nectar Añejo Founder’s Blend. Honors for Blue Nectar include a 95 point score from Tasting Panel Magazine, four stars from the Spirits Journal, a Gold Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and a winning entry at Mexico’s Envase Y Embalaje Estelar contest.
While tequila is generally associated with Mexico, Blue Nectar has ties to our city. For starters, Nikhil Bahadur — the company’s Chief Operating Officer — attended Columbia Business School. Blue Nectar can currently be found in over 400 locations within our metropolitan area. Nikhil spoke to Downtown about the past, present and future of Blue Nectar. The acclaimed maker of spirits can be followed on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, in addition to keeping up a great website at www.bluenectartequila.com.
When did you first get serious about tequila?
Nikhil Bahadur: My first distillery visit was an amazing experience but it was the subsequent visits that strengthened my relationship with agave spirits. Spending countless weeks at the distillery with our Master Blender and the teams that both harvest the agaves and purposefully transform it into tequila allowed me to understand the spirit in a deeper way. Hearing their stories and being a part of the physical process was extremely powerful.
Was there a particular event that inspired you to leave behind the financial world and get into spirits?
NB: I’ve always wanted to feed the entrepreneurial spirit in me. A few years before we launched Blue Nectar, my father and I started gifting each other bottles of tequila for our birthdays. That ritual is what led us to meet both tequila and spirits industry folks who helped us build Blue Nectar.
Tequila used to be thought of as something that people do shots of, as opposed to sipping or enjoying it as a primary cocktail. When do you think Tequila changed in the eyes of the public?
NB: Premium 100% agave tequilas really didn’t take hold in the U.S. until the mid-1980s. It wasn’t until the early 2000s, however, that an increasing base of bartenders and consumers started to become knowledgeable about tequila and started sipping it or mixing it in more unique cocktails. We educate our fans to sip and savor it and we showcase it in quality cocktails because that really allows the consumer to taste the inherent complexity and differences in our juice.
What do you feel makes you brand different to others?
NB: Our partners in Mexico started off as agave farmers and then built a distillery. The agaves we use are grown on their fields surrounding the distillery, in the valley of Amatitán, so there is a true concept of terroir. Blue Nectar is well-known for how we blend our aged tequilas, something that is not common in the agave spirits world. We’re also serious about being genuine and transparent. We post our production process and details directly on our website. Most brands are either silent on this or purport that their methods are better than others, which is really disingenuous. Good tequilas have great people behind them but at the end of the day, it really comes down to an individual’s taste.
Fernando Real Meza, BN Bahadur & Nikhil Bahadur
Do you have a favorite Blue Nectar Tequila?
NB: I love all our expressions — they are earthy and agave forward. Our Silver is dry and crisp with a minerality common for valley tequilas. It serves as a great base for cocktails. Both our Reposados and our Añejo are all very well-balanced. The agave isn’t overpowered by the oak.
What is your drink of choice?
NB: I’d say it’s the drink I didn’t have yesterday. I enjoy trying new things and being creative. My friend Yoichi from The Ship on Lafayette created a riff on the classic Negroni that we call “Chipilo,” named after a town in Mexico founded by Italian immigrants. It’s definitely one I go to often.
Where in New York City can people find Blue Nectar Tequila?
NB: We’re in over 400 bars, restaurants, hotels and liquor stores across the New York metropolitan area. Brooklyn Wine Exchange, Union Square Wines & Spirits, Chelsea Wine Vault and Flatiron Wines & Spirits are just a few. The best thing you can do if you don’t see Blue Nectar is to ask for it at your neighborhood bar or liquor store. We certainly appreciate the support.
What was the first bar in New York to carry Blue Nectar Tequila?
NB: One of our earliest supporters was Toloache on Thompson. They’ve got a great team and really put together a fantastic drinking and dining experience for their guests.
Tequila is generally thought of as best on the West Coast if not just Mexico entirely. Is it challenging to be presenting yourself as a Tequila conceptualized in New York?
NB: To the contrary. There is an amazing agave spirits community here in New York that is very knowledgeable and supports great producers and bartenders. The spirit is made in Mexico but there is some deep love for tequila here in New York City.
What’s ahead for Blue Nectar Tequila? More varieties? Partnering with other brands?
NB: We have a few exciting projects in the works. Our most recent is our Bespoke Blend program where liquor stores, bars and restaurants can blend their own unique variety of our Reposado Extra Blend. It’s been a great success and allows some of our biggest supporters to truly connect with the brand.
Is there an accomplishment for your brand that you’re most proud of?
NB: I’m really proud of the critical reception of our juice. Our Reposado Extra Blend was rated best Reposado Tequila by F. Paul Pacult’s Ultimate Spirits Challenge the last three years. Our Silver was a finalist the last two.
When you’re not busy with Blue Nectar Tequila, how do you like to spend your free time?
NB: I need more hobbies. Everyone always says family, friends and travel, and I love those things too, but I’ve been wanting to build something — furniture or something mechanical. Maybe learn to fly a plane?
As someone that went to school here in New York at Columbia Business School, do you have a favorite restaurant that you can recommend to our readers?
NB: My MBA may lend me some credibility in clichéd management phrases but probably not restaurants. My wife and I usually end up at Jake’s Handcrafted or Piccoli Trattoria, which are neighborhood spots with exceptional food.
Finally, Nikhil, any last words for the kids?
NB: Wait, are you planning on killing me? Can I sip on some Blue Nectar first? (laughs)
Are you a fan of tequila? What about authentic Texas-style Mexican food? And are you free and local on Jul. 24? If the answers to those questions are yes, yes and yes, then you will probably want to be spending your Sunday at Avenida Cantina on Avenue B. One of the local establishments that will be celebrating National Tequila Day, Avenida Cantina will be offering flights and other specials for the occasion.
In advance of the event, Avenida Cantina owner Josh Gent caught up with Downtown about his very fine establishment. Josh — a native New Yorker — opened up Avenida Cantina with three Texans: Allison Baxley, Dustin Baxley, and Christen Hagan. Practically its own establishment, Avenida Cantina has a downstairs space known as The Mockingbird Bar, which one can easily describe as a tequila speakeasy. Avenida Cantina also has a sister restaurant in Double Wide Bar & Southern Kitchen, as located on East 12th Street.
For more information on Avenida Cantina, click on over to www.avenidacantina.com. The establishment also maintains a presence on Twitter and Instagram. Josh himself, a musician outside of his Avenida Cantina-related work, is on Twitter as @ElGant.
Any idea where the idea for National Tequila Day came from?
Josh Gent: The holiday gives people a chance to explore and celebrate a great spirit that sometimes gets a bad rep. Many people do not realize there are many different types that taste slightly different –- not just like the classic shot. On National Tequila Day, people can enjoy the spirit in its refreshing, natural element. For us, everyday should be National Tequila Day!
Lately we’re seeing a big shift in folks choosing to drink tequila over other spirits. Tequila used to have a stigma, that having a few shots can cause you to act wild. I think over the years, people have learned to experience tequila in a more discerning way, enjoying the nuances and depth of each different kind. Enjoying a silver or reposado appeals to people looking for a smooth, easy-drinking liquor. And the barrel-aged smokiness of some of the anejos and mezcals is pleasing to someone who’s accustomed to a scotch or bourbon.
As one of the largest tequila-focused restaurants in Manhattan, we’ve seen patrons move to tequila from whiskey as their new drink of choice every day! Overall, there is a rise in tequila sales as people want a cleaner spirit than the brown liquors they drank in the past. At Avenida Cantina, we revel in introducing our guests to the world of tequilas and teaching them to find their favorite brands.
What does Avenida Cantina have in store for National Tequila Day?
We will have our awesome Margaritas on special as well. We only use fresh-squeezed lime juice, Cointreau and agave for our Margaritas. In addition, we have fresh fruit purées for all of our frozens…Jalepeno Cucumber, Strawberry, Mango, Pineapple, Peach Habenero, and my current favorite, Blueberry…
Or there are always our delicious tequila-focused cocktails at The Mockingbird: Mexican Martini, Mezcal Mule, Jalapeño Basil Martini…Need I go on?
Avenida Cantina – Photo by Oleg March
No, that’s alright. Any other promotions or events coming up we should know about?
JG: We always have specials at our restaurant! 2 for one cans of beer for lunch, Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday ($2 tacos), Wing Wednesday (we smoke our own wings in-house), half-priced specialty cocktails on Thursday, and a two-hour all you can drink during brunch for $18.36! (Texan year of independence)
How would you describe Avenida Cantina to someone who hasn’t yet been there?
JG: Avenida Cantina will feel a lot like home with recipes passed through generations — authentic, down home and unpretentious — and an 80’s San Antonio vibe. Casual, fun, Tex-Mex….lots of queso and awesome things to pour it on.
What’s your favorite item on the menu there?
JG: Most — including myself — love the fried stuffed avocado best. We split an avocado, fry it lightly, fill it with salsa verde chicken or beef picadillo, then drizzle it with white queso and top it with pico de gallo. It is an impressive sight!
On your menu there’s an appetizer called Big Al’s Special. Who is Big Al?
JG: Big Al is actually Allison Baxley, who is actually rather small. She is one of my partners at Avenida. She’s from Rockport, Texas and her favorite version of queso comes with breakfast sausage mixed in. It’s one of her families’ recipes — it is AWESOME.
Avenida Cantina’s menu
The Mockingbird is underneath Avenida Cantina. Do they share the same menu? How do the two spots compare?
JG: The Mockingbird is a tequila speakeasy located directly downstairs. It serves as more of a cocktail bar and event space. We do a limited menu downstairs for those that want something to snack on until 10:00 PM daily; the restaurant stops serving at 12:30 AM during the week and at 3:00 AM on the weekends. We have a special list of cocktails down there and a great nighttime vibe. We have a lot to live up to since it was once an iconic venue in the early 90s called Save The Robots.
There’s of course a Tex-Mex influence to your cuisine there, so what brought you to New York?
JG: I am from New York and my partners — including my girlfriend — are all from Texas. I am a die-hard fan of Tex Mex and I wanted to bring it here along with a casual atmosphere indicative of most Tex Mex places in Texas. New Yorkers are known for making everything pretentious, and I really wanted to steer it in the opposite direction. Good margaritas and tacos, enchiladas or burritos, and listening to anything from classic rock and old-school hip-hop, to new wave and reggae.
Prior to owning Avenida Cantina, had you owned a restaurant before?
JG: I’ve been involved in a number of bars and restaurants in New York on a managerial or investor level for the past 12 years, but this is my first baby. Our owner Christen Hagan also owns Double Wide up the street on 12th [Street] and Avenue A.
How did the decision come about to have your restaurant downtown? Do you live around there?
JG: After hanging out in the Lower East Side for the past 20 years and having our sister bar 10 blocks away — Double Wide Bar & Southern Kitchen — it was a no brainer. The energy is unlike anywhere else in New York City down in the underbelly of the East Village.
Josh Gent / El Gant
When not busy with Avenida Cantina, how do you like to spend your free time?
JG: What’s free time? (laughs) I also make music for a living. We have incorporated that tremendously with the vibe and lifestyle of our brand.
Other than Avenida Cantina, do you have another favorite restaurant?
JG: My favorite restaurant is right around the corner from Avenida — Supper on 2nd Street. Kat the bartender is the best, and the veal meatballs are dream-worthy.
Finally, any last words for the kids?
JG: It’s been a dream of mine to smoke brisket for 12 hours on a hot summer day in New York City, put it into a taco, and feed everyone that lines up for it. Ecstatic to see it coming true!
The average 1800 Tequila drinker is strong, tough, and has a story to tell. It’s no wonder, then, that the super-premium tequila company partnered with Ray Liotta and Michael K. Williams for their newest web series “Enough Said Episodes.” The clips, which were shot downtown, feature the actors talking about their struggles with success and personal triumphs. Each actor brings his own personal stye to the vid; wise-guy Ray Liotta talks about his rise in the entertainment industry, while Williams takes us back to his neighborhood in Flatbush for a trip around the block.
Do you live in Lower Manhattan and enjoy Mexican but constantly feel like you’re settling for mediocre food and take-out orders? For Mexican lovers that still want the upscale dining feel you are in luck! “Top Chef” Season 7 runner-up Angelo Sosa has opened a branch of his popular tequila-centric spot in Tribeca, and they have absolutely anything your heart may desire.
Welcome to Añejo Tribeca! With a menu that includes over 100 different types of tequila, it is no surprise that they were voted best Margarita in New York. In addition they have tequila flights so you can sample some of their many different distillations of tequila, beer, wines and cocktails as well! Their food menu also does not disappoint and they have plentiful options of delicious appetizers, main dishes, sides and of course, desserts.
Añejo Tribeca also ages barrels of tequila in a vault space below the restaurant. On the one year anniversary of its opening, the barrel-aged products will be served to customers to celebrate. Don’t wait until the one year anniversary to check it out and head over to 301 Church St to satisfy those cravings.
See you there!
-Lauren Price
Upstairs Dining Room. Photo: Courtesy of Añejo
Voted Best Margarita in NYC. Photo: Courtesy of Añejo
Photography by Tony Shi
