The Savored Blog

We’ve all been there; it’s Thursday night, you’re looking to unwind after a long day and a nice post-work drink excursion fits the bill.  However, with cocktail lists popping up everywhere that include ingredients that range from exotic to downright bizarre, finding a simple libation to quench your thirst can be quite the endeavor these days.  Here to take the hassle and guess work out of your order are the folks at The Vinatta Project.  With bespoke cocktails fashioned by simply saying “savory,” “gin,” or even “cucumber,” you’re just a few descriptive words away from cocktail nirvana.

Perusing the array of ingredients assembled in the bar’s mixology station, it’s quite apparent that the stylish barkeeps know what they’re doing; one taste of your drink will confirm just that.  My initial cocktail was a gin-based twist on the classic martini with jumbo stuffed olives and a splash of liquid smoke.  An easily sippable (and potent) drink, it accompanied me to a seat in the posh leather booth where a delicious meal would soon unfold.  A basket of fresh bread and an aggressive family-style order later, I ventured on to a tequila-based jalapeno infusion with watermelon juice and a touch of agave.

As plate after mouth-watering plate arrived at the table, we first road-mapped the offerings before us then began our well-varied culinary adventure.  The Tuna Two-Way dish paired wonton crisps with spicy tuna as well as an avocado puree; across the plate, a fresh piece of sashimi was complemented by a soy broth.  A plate of ribs satisfied the carnal hankering for BBQ and duck-fat fries were a carnivorous take on pommes frites (not to mention, a table favorite). The heirloom tomato and rocket salad dialed back the richness with clean, crisp flavors – necessary before digging in to the skillet of cheesy stone grits awaiting us.  Also necessary?  A final bespoke cocktail, hand crafted to perfection to cap off a fuss-free evening I’d be happy to repeat on the regular.

As with most things in New York, bringing up the topic of Gin in a group of drinkers will get you a cacophony of opinions. Whether the piney smell of Gin recalls the elegant martini lunch you had last week or that fuzzy party in college, Gin is a tempting and often potent alcohol that has begun to draw attention from distillers across the country in the last few years.  I seized the opportunity to delve into the history and complexity of this liquor at the tropical themed cocktail hot spot Lani Kai last Sunday.

My evening indulging in the Savored Signatures Gin Tasting at Lani Kai precluded all knowledge I now have of Gin’s complexities.  I, like many of my generation, know Tanqueray only from its guest appearances in hip hop videos.  To a newbie, the plethora of tastes and smells of different distillations and spices came as a pleasant surprise. Gin’s proliferating transformations were abridged in Lani Kai’s spacious upstairs bar area by the charming Simon Ford, and accompanied by a spread of tastings and beautiful cocktails.

The small plates that appeared from the behind the bar throughout the tasting were worth the trip alone.  Sawako Okochi, the new chef at Lani Kai, expanded their menu of American cuisine dishes with her decidedly Polynesian flair. The elegance of the food complimented the clean Gin cocktails, playing on the spices of the different distillations like coriander and bitter orange.

The tropical oasis Lani Kai is a great escape from the holiday craze hitting Soho. Stop in to warm your belly with a Gin Cocktail, like their French 75, or their elegant Martini, stirred, not shaken, of course.

Let’s face it, we all know one of the biggest reasons we leave our apartments on these dreary winter days is for a cocktail or two. And what better way to wash down a delicious meal with a creative cocktail, designed by an expert mixologist? These Savored spots combine our two greatest loves – alcohol-infused libations and taste-bud pleasing fare – and we can’t get enough.

Betel

It’d be safe bet to arrive early to dinner at this West Village oasis. Good looking bartenders, a long list of delectable cocktails and a chic vibe make Betel‘s bar one of our favorites in New York City.

Yerba Buena Perry

Designed by the renowned Welly Lai, Perry St’s Yerba Buena Perry is home to a beautiful bar with a bustling, energetic scene. This vibrant spot boasts a menu of creative homemade cocktails, sure to take the edge off.

Pranna

This sleek space located in the Flatiron district is home to a striking bar with a sophisticated atmosphere. A drink or two at this elegant bar is the perfect way to prepare for a mouthwatering meal of South Pacific cuisine at Pranna.

Chinatown Brasserie

With an urban, trendy feel enhanced by red coloring and dark wooden furniture, NoHo’s Chinatown Brasserie is the perfect place to nibble on dim sum and try unique beverages with friends.

It’s been an exciting few months here at Savored with our re-brand from VillageVines, our expansion to 10 markets, the debuts of our partnerships with Zagat and OpenTable, and countless other incremental tweaks aimed at providing both our consumer and restaurant customers with the best experience possible.

That said, today we’re pleased to announce some of our most exciting news yet: the launch of Savored Signatures, a new vertical through which our partner restaurants and other acclaimed names can market and sell uniquely-crafted experiences. Signatures made its debut to New York members via email earlier today, and the program will expand to our other nine markets over the course of the coming weeks.

Why am I excited about this new program? As always, I will dissect my sentiments from two different lenses: that of our restaurants and that of our consumers.

• Restaurants: The extension of Savored dining offers to special experiences is designed to equip our restaurants with a new marketing platform for showcasing specialties and talents that live in house. With Signatures, Savored will grow from a demand management solution to a “one-stop shop” for restaurants, enabling them to promote both reservation availability and special events to Savored’s highly qualified customer base. Throughout our evolution as a company, our number one goal has been to establish ourselves as a cost-effective high-impact marketing partner for our restaurants; our remnant “$10 for 30% off” reservations were a great start to this model and will always remain the core tenet of our business, but this new ability to service restaurant’s various ad hoc marketing needs makes today a game-changing moment for us.

• Consumers: As you probably could have guessed, our consumers love to dine out (61% of you eat at reservation-taking restaurants six or more times per month!), but they also love expanding their horizons – especially if those horizons relate to eating and drinking. Our Signatures program offers an array of opportunities that I’m confident will resonate well with you all; experiences unveiled at today’s launch include an opportunity to have Michelin-winning chef John Fraser of New York’s Dovetail prepare a five-course meal in your private home, a six-course “Japanese Oktoberfest” dinner at BONDST, a top-shelf private open bar for 10 people at Chinatown Brasserie, and an interactive mixology lab at Yerba Buena.

We’ll be rolling out new offers each week and to thank our loyal Savored customers, first access to new Signatures will be given to Savored members with reservation histories – so get busy dining today to make sure you’re first in the know!

(Friends in other cities, check back soon for offers close to home – we can’t wait for Signatures to go national!)