Passing the Bar: Weather Up Tribeca
Getting ready to review Weather Up Tribeca, the Manhattan spawn of Prospect Heights cocktail haven Weather Up, I figured I should do a bit of research on the bar’s menu—and their operating hours, as your reviewer does have other things to get done once in a while. I hit the web, but I was out of luck; Weather Up Tribeca doesn’t have a website. Well, no matter, I thought, I’ll just call. Again I struck out—the bar doesn’t have a phone.
Given that, it wasn’t much of a surprise that I had to walk past the signless storefront three times and then ask the hostess before I was sure I was in the right place. While eschewing modern technology like telephones is consistent with the mission of Weather Up, which specializes in serving classically mixed vintage (and vintage-style) cocktails cooled with ice created in a $6,000 machine, it does make getting there something of a pain.
Once you do find your way, you’ll be greeted by four or five pieces of taxidermy, some with hooves and some with wings, looming over the front section. The walls change from brick to wood to white tile as you walk from the front door, past the main bar and seating, toward the second bar and prep area in the back of the relatively small space ("Can it really ever get busy enough here for two bars?" I wondered). The atmosphere was subdued when I arrived, just after 6, with patrons at shiny red leather banquettes supping on caviar and oysters by candlelight as Dean Martin played on the stereo.
Proprietress and namesake Kathryn Weatherup’s Brooklyn location, which opened in 2008, is famous for its expertly made liquor confections, drinks that seem descended from some mid-century Platonic Cocktail Heaven. Likewise, Tyler Kord, the Svengali behind the food at both Weather Up locations, is famous for his eclectic taste.
So, why did Weather Up Tribeca leave me so cold? Let’s start with the cocktails. While there’s no denying that the drinks are well mixed, I feel that is rather a low bar to hold such a pricey glass of liquor to. I ordered a Quaker ($14), a mix of rye, cognac, house-made grenadine and lemon juice that arrived in a vintage Champagne glass. It was full-flavored, lightly sweet and bloomed nicely in my mouth after I sipped it. My companion was feeling daring and ordered the Keep Calm and Carry On ($14), less a drink than a dare to the bartender. The customer picks a liquor and lets the bartender invent a drink. She picked whiskey and was delivered a drink not too different from an unusually strong Manhattan, garnished with the same chunk of orange peel that floated in every other drink within sight. Hardly a unique drinking experience. While there was nothing strictly wrong with either of them, they were uninspiring, and felt like drinks any mildly committed lush would make himself at home.
The food at Weather Up is easier to find fault with. We ordered the broccoli rillettes ($10) and potato chips ($5). The chips, served with a modified 1,000 Island Dressing, were the unqualified winner. They were crunchy, perfectly salted and a real pleasure to eat. The same cannot be said of the rillettes. The dish was served on a platter with several small carafes containing puréed broccoli, crème fraish, radishes and peekytoe crab to be smeared on the six triangles of almost-burnt toast that accompanied them. Put them all together—good luck with that after a drink or two—and the result tastes something like yogurt on a cracker.
The real culinary draw here is supposedly the caviar ($18-$200) and oysters (served a number of ways at various prices), which I admittedly did not have. Perhaps that is where the genius lies on the menu, but I had already been lost.
While the crowd might have been subdued when we arrived, things picked up around 8. All the tables were full, and the narrow spaces between them were rapidly filling with an increasingly douchey clientele. The second bar I couldn’t believe existed was humming, tossing out hundreds of dollars worth of caviar and oysters to the kind of people who might be dropping hundreds of dollars on basic cocktails and nibbles on a Tuesday. It’s not exactly my scene, but, hey, the sets were great.
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Weather Up Tribeca
159 Duane St. (betw. Hudson St. & West Broadway), no phone.