Jim Meehan isn't Danny Meyer. He isn't Milk & Honey owner Sasha Petraske. He insists he doesn't run a speakeasy and that he's not into gimmicks. PDT (short for "Please Don't Tell") has attracted locals and B&T kids alike for their mix of innovative cocktails served behind a "secret" phone booth in the middle of Crif Dogs in the East Village, which might as well just be a regular door at this point. And after four years their reservations are still always full, no small feat in a city with the attention span of a 4-year-old with ADD. Jim spoke with us about the secret to keeping a business alive in New York, how his "modern speakeasy" fought the inevitable speakeasy backlash, and why PDT may be the Zooropa of the cocktail scene. more ›

Mari Vanna: The latest addition to New York's niche dining market this week comes to us all the way from Russia. Mari Vanna opened last Wednesday after a soft opening all through July, bringing authentic Russian cuisine and all the vodka you can stomach. Inspired by the mythical Mari Vanna (think Max Brenner, but with Borscht), the restaurant feels more like an immigrant kitchen, complete with tchotchke on the bookshelves and ottomans on the floor. And with the winter months approaching, Mari Vanna offers Russian classics like Blinis and Beef Stroganoff on homey yet extravagant china and linens, and gives you the opportunity to wash down that stew with over 70 types of vodka, including a couple dozen imported bottles from Russia. The emphasis, however, is on their in-house infused vodkas, with flavors like Oats & Honey and Dill & Garlic. No word yet on if those flavors are actually successful. 41 E 20th St; (212)-777-1955 more ›

Home bartenders have been busy riding out the recession with crafty survival tactics like tapping the full flavor potential of plastic jug vodka with essence of Skittles, for example, and it seems fitting that a new wave of cocktail books is now being unleashed on the public. The good news is that Food & Wine has just published Cocktails ’09, a soft-cover easy read that combines bar listings (NY is represented by spots like Apothéke, Employees Only, and newcomer Dutch Kills) with lots of make-at-home recipes including some compiled by the talented Jim Meehan of PDT. The bad news, as noted by the Wall Street Journal, is that there aren’t a lot of vodka-based drinks in the volume (down 50 some recipes from the ’05 edition). more ›

The new issue of all things meat, all the time magazine Meatpaper has just been published, and it’s called The Pig Issue. Features include a story on an obscure medical treatment for the ailment called furuncular myiasis that uses rendered bacon fat. The treatment is named— what else— Bacon Therapy. This newest Meatpaper is sort of like Prevention magazine, but with pig products instead of cardio tips. There’s also a profile on Tennessee ham maker Allan Benton, whose hams are considered the best by chefs like David Chang and the folks at PDT, who use his products to make a drink called the “Benton’s Old-Fashioned.” Craft chef Damon Wise is also a big fan of Benton’s bacon— visit his damonfrugalfridayeverydayexcepttuesdaywebsite.com to see what the Colicchio protégée is doing with the stuff this week. The new pork-themed Meatpaper also features a spread on pork-themed tattoos, including a photo from Brooklyn-based photographer Michael Harlan Turkell. For vegetarians there’s a comparison piece on vegan bacon. Issue #7 of Meatpaper is available at St. Marks Bookshop, Barnes & Noble locations, Project No. 8, and at The Brooklyn Kitchen. more ›

There’s a new kind of fungus you can buy on St. Mark’s Place: Sam Mason, chef of Tailor, is the latest NY chef to curate a corn dog selection at bar PDT; his features huitlacoche, a dank, truffle-tasting fungus a k a corn smut, a k a Mexican Truffle. At PDT, the elaborate hot dog menu (which overflows from the connected Crif Dogs) already includes a David Chang-styled kimchee hot dog and molecular sounding one designed by WD~50 chef Wylie Dufresne, served with fried mayonnaise and tomato molasses. The huitlacoche corn dog debuts this weekend, and is also available on Tailor’s bar menu for $10. more ›

The Daily News talked to some bartenders and alkies about today's significance. 35-year-old Daria Dennhardt from the Bronx said she can't wait to squeeze into The Back Room for the "classic cocktails," adding, "Thank God it's still legal." Can't you just smell it on her breath when you read that? As a side note, have fun tomorrow with this website that calculates the calories in how much you imbibed, then shows you the (shocking) the equivalent in food. [Via Grub Street] more ›

AMNY ruined elitist drinkers’ fun today by outing some “secret” watering holes around town. One of them, The Back Room, is no secret, just a pain to find for first-timers. The capacious bar is tucked away at 102 Norfolk Street two doors down from a "Lower East Side Toys" sign; pass through a gate and down some steps to a narrow alley that leads to an unmarked door. Or just look for the bouncer standing... more ›