What better way to round out the end of 2011 than by hand-picking the top 50 bars from around the country? While the Food & Wine editors were busy tasting and selecting cocktails for the 50 Best Bars in America feature, I was busy curating my end of the project and producing shoots. I had the chance to personally photograph New York-based joints Eleven Madison Park, located at 11 Madison Ave., and Pegu Club, located on West Houston Street in the heart of Soho.
Pegu Club.
Visiting a bar while it is closed — and during the day — is strange. The interiors are quiet and tidy, and bathed in sunlight, which is not how I am familiar with being greeted by any New York City bar. At both venues I met with the head bartender who accommodated every request, especially Leo from Eleven Madison Park who ensured I personally tasted his whiskey concoction at our 10 a.m. shoot.
Table for Two, Pegu Club.
House Speciality.
I am extremely grateful for the amazing opportunities I have been blessed with at Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure (and all of the sweet perks, like tasting cocktails, that come along with the gig), but I accepted a new position at Condé Nast and will be leaving my post at American Express Publishing. I agreed to an offer from the print photo department at Self Magazine to be their photo assistant, where I will be producing more shoots for the book and will be handling less web content. It’s a bittersweet time to be moving on, but I know this change is best for my career goals and I look forward to collaborating with a new team. But don’t worry just yet, I have a few more web exclusives from both Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure in the works that will hit the Internet before I depart to Self soon.
Eleven Madison Park.
Cheers to a healthy & happy 2012!
