NY speakeasy named ‘best bar in the world’

In a Matrix-like move, guests pick up the receiver and a hostess opens the back wall to let them in.

In a Matrix-like move, guests pick up the receiver and a hostess opens the back wall to let them in. To get to, what’s being called the best bar in the world, thirsty patrons first have to walk through a vintage phone booth from inside a hot dog joint before they can order the speakeasy’s signature drink: a bacon-infused bourbon sweetened with maple syrup.

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New York bar PDT -- short for Please Don’t Tell — topped Drinks International’s World’s 50 Best Bars list announced on November 4, a modified version of Restaurant magazine’s coveted World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards which can make chefs superstars overnight, and expand waiting lists by months, in mere days. The entrance to the elusive PDT is accessed through a phone booth within Crif Dogs, a hot dog eatery known for its deep-fried franks. In a Matrix-like move, guests pick up the receiver and a hostess opens the back wall to let them in, a secretive process that easily evokes the illicit ambiance of The Prohibition era.

Owner and mixologist Jim Meehan also boasts the title of American Bartender of the Year while his bar was likewise named the World’s Best Cocktail Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Awards in 2009. In addition to bacon-infused bourbon, another popular cocktail at PDT is buttered rum popcorn. Just last week, Meehan published a recipe book of his cocktail repertoire in The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender’s Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy. If hungry for some nosh, pair one of Meehan’s cocktails with one of the haute dogs on offer like the Chang Dog, a bacon-wrapped deep-fried Crif Dog topped with

kimchi.

The list was compiled by 100 top bar professionals, and votes were received from every continent. The list has bars from 16 countries and regions including France, Spain, Australia and the UK.