Hangover 2012: survival tips from LushLife and Gwyneth Paltrow

So we all know what we are gonna get up to this Saturday night. Booze, disposable hats, sparkly dresses, more booze, making out at midnight, drunk dials and inevitable bad decisions. Yep, it's New Year's Eve already. Shocking isn't it?
Well we here at Lush Life hope you have a better New Year's Eve than that awful movie New Year's Eve, and an even better New Year's Day.

January 1st should be named National Hangover Day, because no matter how responsible we try to be, we all are guilty have having one (or 3) too many glasses of Cristalino! Oh yeah, so classy that we pop the Cris(talino).

Enter the hangover:

My hangover cure is usually a smoothie from Jamba Juice, gatorade, water with Emergen-C, Advil, a Law & Order marathon, and eventually some pizza when I think my stomach is ready for it.

But I came across Gwyneth Paltrow's Hangover Remedies on Goop.com which include doctor explanations and a few cool other suggestions than just your regular aspirin and hide-under-the-covers method.  SWEET! A vitamin drink called Mercy sounds like it works miracles and Gwennie seems to be a big fan of Alka-Seltzer. Check out the link above for the whole low-down how Mrs Coldplay possibly plans to cure her hangover. :)

Happy 2012!! Drink responisbly and clean up after yourself if you puke.

much love,
from Lush Life

Extreme...Dinner?

Now if you read this blog you are well aware of the concept of "Extreme brunch" - all you can drink, bottomless drinks.

Well, LushLife just found out about something that trumps that: Extreme DINNER. Mercadito (in West and East Village NYC) as an open bar package per person for dinner starting at only $30!!

Bottomless drinks with some of the most delicious, upscale tacos in town?

Si, ahora!!

Even the Carolinas have Lushes

Sorry for the long hiatus fellow lushes, but I have been out and about drinking-in all that the world has to offer, and I have stumbled across some serious gems in the most unexpected places.  Introducing The Umstead Hotel and Spa.

Sit down in the art-gallery-style lighting, cozy up to the corporate locals and drink down a martini or 5. The Cucumber Lime and Basil Honey martinis are so refreshing and perfectly balanced, that before you know it, 5 or 6 have slipped down your throat and that random guy in the button down is starting to look really good.  So you stumble on out past the Murano glass sculptures and modern furnishings to the front door, assuming that with such luxe surroundings you must be at the hottest downtown hotel bar.

"TAXI!!" 
But wait, bleary-eyed from that 7th beverage, you look around and realize that all you see are trees not cabs and lights. Crickets not honking horns and drunken party-goers. With all this city-hopping, bar-crawling and smack-talking, it is incredibly easy to get confused and forget where you are.

"What? Where am I? Holy shit! I am in Cary, North Carolina?! How did I end up here?" 
Well, Lush, you ask yourself that way too often. Maybe you should cut back on the booze, but until then, it doesn't matter how you got there, just that it was a great place to be.

So if you find yourself in the Raleigh-Durham area and in need of a seriously amazing cocktail and some big city luxury, get your ass over to Herons at the The Umstead. Just remember, get a designated driver or limo since you can't stumble home (unless you booked a hotel room there. Just sayin'....)

The Brunch that Cuervo Built

Sorry Lushes, I know I have been on a bit of a hiatus, but I haven't found anything worth you shaking your hangovers off for in a while....Until now!

Hecho en DUMBO  on Bowery is now offering bottomless brunch Saturday and Sundays until August 21st. The mexican fare and mimosas are old news, but the bottomless tequila makes this deal a Lush Life pick!! Not sure if brunch body shots are frowned upon, but I have a feeling one of my Lushes will find out soon enough.
It is $45 normally but  the Urban Daddy discount offer can score you all the tequila you can manage without puking or groping someone for $25.
Get your asses there now, amigos.

How the West was Won...with Jagerbombs as a weapon of choice

Lobby fountain of Andaluz

Last week this lush headed out west to New Mexico for a Southwestern adventure that was a prefect mix of good food, great drink and and even better view. I hit the ground in Albuquerque and check into the sexiest little historic hotel called Hotel Andaluz that is home to the best rooftop lounge with a firepit, Ibiza. Ok this pic does NOT do it justice. Low lighting, cobalt stained class, fires, and amazing cheap cocktails.
 Several cocktails at this hip little place and it's time to walk down to Anodyne Pool Hall where cheap shots, pool tables, and hipsters reign supreme. Across the way is an Irish spot called

Maloney's Pub that reportedly has the hottest hot wings on earth. Beware: they will melt your face off.

For fabulous margaritas and even better southwestern food (New Mexican roasted Green Chile!!) hit up El Pinto in ABQ or sample one of the 100 kinds of fabulous margaritas an hour north at 

Maria's of Santa Fe. Extra points at El Pinto for the fact that there are pics on the wall of celebrity guests, my fave being Motely Crue.

Ojo Caliente in Taos County

After all that boozing you'll need some R&R and there is no place better for that than the Ojo Caliente Hot Springs. Natural healing hot springs, mud baths, lithium water and a wine bar. Pure bliss!! 

After being one with my desert-loving spirit and more relaxed than I had been in decades, it's time to ruin all of that zen with a trip out further west to Los Angeles. I got up to my usual tricks involving as many Jagerbombs as we could handle at the Rainbow, Saddle Ranch and Brass Monkey.  (Check the LA tab for a guide to my Sunset haunts)

While I was out there I did finally hear that the Extreme Brunch trend has made it out there. Here are a few all-you-can-drink brunch options in West Hollywood: 

XIV (aka Fourteen)

Olives at The Grafton Hotel

Overland Cafe only $5 for bottomless mimosas! 

Saddle Ranch

After one week on the west coast I know remember why I loved it out there. Tequila and hotness!
Can't wait for my next trip!

xoxo

New Dorp City...The Staten Island Pub Crawl

Once upon a gorgeous Saturday 7 Lushes living The Life took to the Ferry on a mission to sample some of the finest booze halls and Italian grub spots Staten Island has to offer. Here is what I found on NYC's 5th borough: 

Once you get on the Staten Island Ferry, grab yourself a Miller Lite tall boy, a sack of warm chocolate chip cookies and a SI Railroad schedule. Get on the SIR St. George train and off you go. 

Tottenville stop: Cucina de Napoli (7324 Amboy Road)

Not sure where to start with this place but one of our fellow diners, proclaimed that this Italian restaurant experience was like "Christmas and my birthday all wrapped in bacon!". That's pretty damn good, people! This old school, neighborhood place felt like I went back in time or at least back to the midwest, where you can find red-vest-clad/silver-haired crooners doing Sinatra covers and comedy over that perfect plate of chicken parm.  Good food, tufted bar stools, old-fashioned cocktails and people that feel like your awesome Italian relatives named Frankie or Marge. At one point I remarked that the only thing this place was missing was an awesome-but-cheesy faux painting on the wall of an outdoor scene. At that point the wall fresco of an "Tuscan Terrace" was pointed out to me in the next room. Perfection. 

Now that we have "laid a base", time to drink. Next stop....

Talk o' the town 

Bay Terrace stop: Talk Of The Town Pub (24 Giffords Ln) 

A down home dive with $3 drafts, erotic photo hunt, and an amazing jukebox filled with as much Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozzy, and Guns 'n' Roses you can handle. Quite possibly my Staten Island equivalent of heaven. I could have been here all night but we had a seasoned pub crawler who kept us always on target to get the train in time! 2 beers and off we go...

Are you sure you can't change the name to Night Moves?

New Dorp stop: Night Gallery (corner of New Dorp Ln and New Dorp Plaza, No joke.) 

This is the New Dorp, same as the Old Dorp. Actually, I have no idea if there ever was an Old Dorp, but what I do know is that I love the sound of it almost as much as I love our next dive that I repeatedly mislabeled "Night Moves". We found cheap shots, were mistaken for townies, accused of being "that guy who slept with her sister" and read the framed obit for their beloved regular, "Lumpy." RIP Lumpy. RIP. 

Dongan Hills stop: Lee's Tavern (60 Hancock St) 

Much to my dismay, this stop was not in fact called "Dokken Hills" like I had hoped but we did find something that rocked almost as much right off the train. Amazing thin-crust pizza, cheap beer pitchers and a wine list that touts a Pinot Noir with "penetrating aromas of forest undergrowth." OK so Lush Life doesn't endorse that last part, but we can tell you that the rest is awesome! 

Oh no, the train is coming. Time to run if we are ever going to make the 1am ferry back...until next time SI. 

New Yorkers say "Thank You" with beer not flowers...

So today I stumbled across the greatest/weirdest gift delivery NYC has to offer (as for as I know). It is called Thanks, Bro because guys and badasses don't like to "say it with flowers" I guess. Instead you can send your friend a thank you care package of your choice of beef jerky and a six-pack beer. There are not many options but if you really want to say thanks you can get the the best buffalo jerky delivered in a Yankees hat paired with premium imported beer like Guinness or Sapporo OR my personal fave the "Fuck You, Bro" which is a sixer of Natty Light and Slim Jims in a plastic bag.  There is also a "Your a sissy, Bro" care package that has turkey jerky, non-alcoholic beer and a sappy thank you card fro Duane Reade.
I know this is targeted towards guys, but I must say that I woudn't mind getting one of these. I mean what woman wouldn't want meat and booze? (ok except vegetarians and people in AA, but if you are in AA you should NOT be reading this blog. )

Move over 1800-flowers....

How to do the Left Coast right!

Hey party people! I am taking a break from my lush life this Friday evening to recover from a fabulous long weekend with my ol' college crew and brutal red-eye flight. I did LA, SF and the I-5 drive in between but this time I was determined to get out of my routine and hit up some new spots. (For my usual West Hollywood game plan, go to the LA tab)

Ok in all fairness I did hit a few of my favorite haunts in WeHo, mainly because I had to sample some of my favorite grub before returning to NYC: The Rainbow's Chicken Soup, In n Out Burger (animal style!), and the BEST hot wings ever at Barney's Beanery. (oh for a guide to the secret ways of ordering at In n Out click here )

Always the down side to LA is the distance between bars but there are ones out there worth the trip/fun enough to be a destination. Thanks to my friends I got out to Echo Park for the first time in ages and to a great divey-gem called Short Stop.  With dark brown-paneled atmosphere, pool table, Pac-man, beer signs, photo booth and $2 PBR, you have everything you need for a cheap, fun night out with a hipster twist. Ok, almost everything - plaid shirt not included. I wish I was feeling more in the dancing mood since the DJ was spinning all the hits and the dance floor was slammin' all the way to 2am!

So another down side to being in Cali is how early everything closes but for those in the know, head to a  Knights Inn in KoreaTown and look to the left.  Don't say I never did anything for ya... 

Until next time, lushes.
Go to the SF tab to see my brand new entries on the Bay Area.

xoxo

Lush Life in Londontown

Hello my lovely fellow lushes! I am back from my birthday trip over to England and as usual it was an amazing parade of old friends and new drinks. I know that in the "Best Bars" section of this blog I have already professed my love for the mixologists at the exclusive Met Bar, but it's time to do it again. As much as I love the "lush life" so to speak, I rarely ever find myself sipping posh, complex cocktails anywhere else but London. NYC has a number of cocktail lounges but their drinks usually fail due to snobbery, pre-made mixes, and bizarre concoctions just for shock value's sake (Hey, bacon/elderflower/pepper infused everything, I am looking at you).

If you are in London and are lucky enough to find yourself on one of those fabled red bar stools, do not hesitate to put your full faith in my pals, the extremely fun and talented barmen: Lee and Lewis. I am so glad they are still there so that someone still knows how to make my beloved sweet and spicy "Rudealicious" that is no longer on the menu. I think I should start a lobbying effort to get it back on the menu as the "Renelicious." ;)  There is a whole new menu and everything is fabulous The Third Date(a refreshing smooth tequila drink) and the Vanilla Smash were the hits amongst my crew Saturday night when I gathered my ecclectic crew at the Met to pre-party before heading over to Shoreditch to see former-Met mixer Des at his new spot, Callooh Callay. 

LOVED his new place of work and he is still working the same magic as always. I laughed a bit that London's answer to NYC's Lower East Side also has a Rivington Street and the at-capacity crowds to match! We fought the crowds, carved out our own domain by the window and said hello to the coolest guy in the East with a shaker in his hand, Des. I settled on in to my Violette Streak , jammed to the finest in danceable indie rock and chatted with my crew that ranged from rockers to writers. A Violette Streal FYI is "A slug of Tapatio blanco tequila silenced with an attack of Creme de Violette, Dubonnet, lemon wedges and ginger ale."  Heavenly. Sadly this being England, places close way too early. 


We rounded out the weekend with a chill booze "tutorial" with Lewis when the Met was empty on a sunday late night. He opened my eyes to raisin-infused Johnnie Walker Black. I want to wish him all the luck in an upcoming Bacardi competition where his "Supper Club" drink is in the running. The concept is based off an elegant fruit and cheese board and it's a sweet dessert drink. It's got fig, froth and it's very own stencil. Fab! 

The last night out in the city I resurrected my love for Camden, that has over the years, gotten a lot more lame and commercial than when I first fell for it in 1999. I went to Proud,  the converted horse hospital that now is a music venue, art gallery, bar with the horse stalls redone as private drinking rooms. There was a Ramones cover band, lots of art about The Clash, cheap drinks and fun rocker types who introduced us to one of the few late-license places in London down the road. We were ready to get our party on until 3am, so Bartok here we come! It was a small bar with a nice red decor, great mash up DJ, cool crowd and a bit of dancing. Definitely check it out when you are looking for a place to meet some fun people past normal closing time.

So consider this my addendum to the "London" Section that is ever-evolving like the other pages. I can't wait to go back and check out the places I missed!

To all my friends in England, much love from NYC! One day I will show you how it's done here.
xoxo

PS: If you ever find yourself being a Lush in Leeds, go to Hyde Park and Mojo. Hyde Park is for when you want to grab a pint and relive your days at University and Mojo is for when you want to get serious about rock, shots, and a slow gin fizz.