Peels: A Taste of Americana On The Bowery
We're being extremely creative but also American; it's open your cupboard and see what you can do.
More often than not, cocktail bars and restaurants in New York City want patrons to enter their establishment and be transported to a time and place that is completely different than their own. It could be in Far East Asia, the southern most tip of South America, an itty-bitty blip in Australia, or anywhere in-between. And for us New Yorkers, this change of scenery is welcomed and admired. Peels, a recent addition to the Bowery, is taking a slightly different approach to the idea of bringing the customer to a different place. While their neighbors are bringing you to another country, Peels is simply sitting you down, giving you some comforting American food and bright, seasonal cocktails, and saying, "here you are."
Walking into Peels is like walking into a cozy, country farm house. The heavy use of white wood, the sweet and savory smells gently wafting from the kitchen, and of course the large amount of American spirits taking over the back bar. Unlike most restaurants as of late, the food and cocktail menus are beasts of their own nature; while they can complement each other and be a driving force for one another, they aren't necessarily meant to be paired for each course. This aspect alone is just one of the many ways that Peels is setting itself apart in the New York bar scene, rather than combining the food and drinks into one category, each is to be admired and appreciated in its own way.
Yana Volfson, head bartender at Peels, has designed the cocktail program to be a true representation of what America really has to offer; quality spirits and ingredients that when combined thoughtfully and creatively, can make for incredible drinks. The focus of both the cuisine and the cocktails is southern-meets-California-kitchen cuisine, which as Volfson explains, is the use of comfort foods and seasonal ingredients, as well as sourcing local.
The concepts for the cocktail program are a mixture of using mostly American products such as bourbon and rye (although the bar does have Russian vodka, London gin, Caribbean rum, etc), and the incorporation of seasonality through things such as produce. Currently, Volfson's cocktail menu is highlighting the use of shrubs in her cocktails, rather than emphasizing one cocktail specifically.
"Shrubs are something that are a constitute of America. It's a way in which bartenders in the United States preserve, and using different vinegars to preserve, whether it's fruit from the summer or with a vinegar in it of itself as the acid in the cocktail. It's fun, and it makes for something that tastes extremely healthy."
The cocktail program at Peels, while definitely diverse, is in no way attempting to shut the uninformed people out. The cocktails are cleverly crafted without getting too intense, which is how every cocktail bar should be."
"Our cocktail program isn't pretentious, it's straight forward. We're not trying to scare off the customer with something esoteric. We're being extremely creative but also American; it's open your cupboard and see what you can do."
