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Inside Mayahuel, the East Village's Dark New Tequila Cocktail Den
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 27, 2009
Modified Apr 27, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 27, 2009
Modified Apr 27, 2009
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Undeterred by their Kafkaesque struggles with the local community board over the stellar cocktail lounge Death & Co., two of that bar's owners have boldly branched out with a second establishment on the very same street. Named Mayahuel after the Aztec goddess of fertility, this cozy, bi-level temple to tequila and mezcal is unofficially open now. The menu by cocktail craftsman Phil Ward consists of almost two dozen mezcal and tequila cocktails ($13 each), plus a few beer cocktails, some punch, and sangria.
There's also a small plates menu (see below), featuring empanadas, plantains, tamales, and some very spicy popcorn. It's a sexy-looking place, but a recent visit convinced us that downstairs is the place to be—on Saturday night the second level lounge was a bit stuffy and cacophonous, with too many fratastic tools blathering about how they discovered Mayahuel through a trendy lifestyle newsletter. Instead, secure a seat at one of the intimate little downstairs booths or gather around the bar to let Ward's passion for mezcal work its magic. Below, a look at the food menu and what goes into two of his cocktails.
Mayahuel // 304 East 6th Street // "Soft open" now, with an official opening May 1st. 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly.
Beef empanada, picante verde
Tacitos:
Barbacoa (slow braised pork)
Camaron (spiced shrimp)
Cabrrito (baby lamb)
Served w salsa verde and pico de gallo
Tamales de raja y queso: sweet corn tamales with roasted poblano peppers and cotija cheese
* Shrimp and Chorizo
* Pallomas de maiz: Popped corn with chili, lime and cotija cheese
* Queso fondante con chorizo: fondue of cheese with chorizo sausage
* Tortillas; crisp corn with guacamole, salsa verde, smoked tomato
* Ceviche de chillo - snapper cevice marinated with agave and lime
Cocktails
(All measurements in ounces unless otherwise specified)
Watermelon sugar
2 (1x1) cubes of watermelon
.5 sugarcane syrup
.75 lime
.5 los amantes joven mescal
1.5 heradura silver
*Shake and serve up in a coupe rimmed w salt, sugar and cayenne
The Git Ur Lapsang Souchong
.5 madhava amber agave nectar
.75 lime
2 blanco tequila infused w lapsong tea
2 dash agustora bitters
*Shake (not with ice), pour over crushed ice, top w jarritos tamarind soda, garnish w limewheel
Tagged
best
cocktail
death co.
east village
mayahuel
new
nyc
photos
tequila
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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