Bourbon & Business: Maysville NYC

As a follow up to my new series, “Ladies (& Gents) Wining & Dining Series” dedicated to the best lunch, dinner and drink spots for doing business while enjoying the best cuisine that New York City, Los Angeles and other top cities across the country offer, dear readers, meet Maysville NYC (17 West 26th Street), one of the newest hot spots just due west in the Gramercy area offering soul food and finely crafted bourbon and whiskeys (some of the more rare varieties you can get as the owner has even stocked the bar with some of his home collection).

For lunch I chose the Chilled Pemaquid Oysters on the half shell (note: they only serve East Coast oysters, so if you’re a fan of West Coast oysters like me, just keep that in mind) and the Crispy Grits with country ham and bourbon aioli.  You can also enjoy a range of salads, their famous “Chicken Under a Brick” with carrot, bacon and pickled onion or even the squash soup (seasonal) to sip on to combat the cold.

To finish, they offer a scoop of ice cream if you’re leaning towards dessert, or instead, a liquid option – a 1 oz. taste of Evan Williams White Label bourbon – why not?

Chilled Pemaquid Oysters on the half shell; Crispy Grits

Summary: Maysville is a great option if you’re looking for a sit down lunch without a long wait. While I went with a female friend and business connect, if you’re taking the male clientele out, they’ll most likely appreciate it even more given the stock of fine bourbons and whiskeys (especially if they’re Southern given the appeal of the soul food themed menu).  The restaurant is a bit small, so I recommend a reservation, but if you look around especially during a lunch meeting, you’ll see lots of other like-minded business meetings happening.  They also have free wifi so if you need to hole up to get some work done while waiting on your party or after they leave (like I did), you can cozy up to the bar with an espresso (or finely crafted cocktail of your choice).

 

Easter Brunch

One of the many beautiful things about New York is the spring and soaking in the sun outside over a Sunday brunch. Today was the perfect day for taking advantage of this which I did via Easter brunch Ukranian style at Veselka at 144 2nd Avenue (www.veselka.com).

Veselka is marketed as “Ukranian soul food in the heart of the East Village” and soul food is certainly appropriate as I opted for the poached eggs atop a bed of cheese grits with green onion … super tasty.

The sweet potato fries also make a great combination on the side:

And brunch wouldn’t be complete without a great libation. My recommendation is the prosecco mimosa:

Fun Easter fact: Did you know the tradition of the Easter egg known as pysanky in Ukranian, has its roots in Ukraine? According to Wikipedia, the “eggs were drawn on with wax to create a pattern; then, the dye was applied to give the eggs their pleasant colours… after the entire egg was dyed, the wax was removed leaving only the colorful pattern.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine)

I guess brunch Ukranian style was apropos today!