New York - September 01, 2004

For Whom the Bar Opens

East Side Company Bar

Another shiny new bar lies hidden behind a metal gate, highball glasses at the ready. Elusive owners tell stories of liquor-license snafus, private parties, and investors with cold feet. This week? Something about an air-conditioning malfunction.

Translation: Blah, blah, blah.

If we didn’t know better, we’d suspect that owners Sasha Petraske and Carlos Santamaria were just trying to keep us out of their new joint. (Heck, it wouldn’t be the first time.)

But the East Side Company Bar is a descendant of venerable speakeasy Milk & Honey, and we know how to crack such secrets: sneak in. We found the same ambience (near-perfect cocktails, dark wood, faded red leather, pressed-tin), Malbecs on the menu, and cozy booths for two.

They’ve even got a sign outside and a listed number.

Now if only they’d stop making up stories and let us in.

East Side Company Bar, 49 Essex Street, at Grand Street (212-614-7408, but it’s just gonna ring and ring and ring).