Speak Easy NYC

I've been in the city now for about two months, and I have eaten at some pretty amazing places. I have also explored the bar scene with some of my culinary school classmates, and they are equally as amazing. New York has a wide range of bars from dusty dive bars to classy speak easy establishments. Here are a few speak easy bars I've experienced and would definitely recommend:

1) Please Don't Tell: Located in the east village, Please Don't Tell (aka PDT) is a speak easy bar that is very hidden. You enter through the hotdog restaurant next door called Crif Dogs. Once you've had a dog or two, you can enter a small, vintage phone booth and pick up the phone. Someone will answer and if you're lucky (or have a reservation) the opposite side of the phone booth will open and you can enter PDT. It is a small bar with dim lighting and amazing drinks. This is one of my favorite bars in NYC, and it's about time I go back!

2) Mulberry Project: Mulberry Project is on Mulberry St in Little Italy and you would never recognize the bar if you're just walking by. The only way to identify it is a bright red door leading down to a basement. Once you enter though, it's a quaint speak easy bar. The waiter will ask you what flavor profiles you like and what liquor you prefer, and the bar tender whips you up a drink! The drinks are a little on the pricey side, but it's a fun speak easy bar to experience if you're into hidden bars in the city.

3) Fig 19: Fig 19 is another speak easy that is rather hidden. You enter through an art gallery in the lower east side. Then at the back of the gallery, you walk through a door and are transported to a speak easy bar. The drinks are unique and very delicious, and the environment is very chill. Behind PDT, I would have to place Fig 19 as one of my favorite bars in NYC.

Here are a couple other bars I've ventured to in the city with my foodie friends:

1) Home Sweet Home: Home Sweet Home is a basement bar right below Fig 19, and it really does feel like a bar back in Kentucky called Redmons. There's people crammed in every nook and cranny, loud live music and people dancing. This bar is a lot of fun if you're looking for a younger crowd and cheaper drinks. If you don't mind being pushed around, it's the perfect spot for a Friday night out on the town.

2) Isola Trattoria and Crudo Bar: Isola is located in SoHo at the Mondrian Hotel on Crosby. I first fell in love with this establishment when I stayed at the Mondrian last spring. Now I love to go back and get a cocktail and a little bite to eat. The bar is absolutely stunning. It looks like a greenhouse just plopped in the middle of the city. It's a perfect place if you're looking for great drinks and maybe even a celebrity sighting or two (I've seen Rita Ora and John Turturro).

3) Toad Hall: Toad Hall is located in SoHo only a few blocks from ICC, and it's the culinary school hangout. Every Friday after a long week of classes, students pack up their tool kits and knife bags and head over to Toads and get a cold beer and discuss their burnt croutons and underdone creme puffs. Toad Hall is very much a dive bar in that it's a small room with a few tables, one bar with liquor from years past, and a pool table shoved in the back. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely perfect for us "rough-around-the-edges" cooks.