A Liquid Lunch at the 21 Club
28/03/2015 § 1 Comment
In honor of the upcoming final (!) season of AMC’s Mad Men, a select group of New York restaurants — the sort of joints that Madison Avenue ad men probably would have favored — featured special lunch menus last week. Priced at $19.69 — the year of the final season — patrons could treat themselves to the hallowed “liquid lunch” or opt for a prix fixe menu. It wasn’t something I was prepared to miss, so I corralled a compatriot and made my way directly to the 21 Club.
The 21 Club, formerly a prohibition-era speakeasy, has been in operation since the 1920s and has occupied its current, jockey-decorated location since 1929. Since its inception 21 has been a favored spot of presidents, celebrities, socialites, politicians, and titans of industry. A four-story townhouse with multiple private rooms, its famed secret wine cellar has housed the private collections of folks like Ernest Hemingway, John F. Kennedy, and Frank Sinatra. Today, 21 retains a sense of old-fashioned formality that has become somewhat unique – gentlemen are required to wear jackets to gain entrance to the dining room, servers are dressed in tuxedos. The Bar Room, where we lunched, sports a ceiling decorated with antique toys, suspended in air.
If you know me at all, you already know I went for the cocktails: Manhattans made with Canadian Club, while my dining partner opted for gin martinis. Feeling very Roger Sterling and Don Draper, we also ordered for a dozen oysters, and a fabulous, mid-century time was had by all.
21 Club
21 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
Quite Continental 
Looks like a good time! I’m just catching up on season 7!
xo
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