FOOD: Holiday Cocktail Lounge [NYC]

Sometimes it's difficult to keep track on all of the changes going on in this crazy city of ours.  And perhaps you have been to the Holiday Cocktail Lounge before it was shut down in 2012.  But it seems that it almost doesn't matter either way, because after having just reopened this year, not a whole lot has seemed to change--which in my opinion, is a great thing.

It seems to me that one of New York's great problems is the constant need to find something better.  There's always a new restaurant to try, or bar to go to, or music to be heard--but sometimes I think wouldn't it be nice if you could walk down the street without seeing another one of your favorite places closing only to open something you never wanted in the first place.
The Holiday Cocktail Lounge is proof that it can be done.  You can keep the soul of a place without changing the entire feel.  And you can make improvements that really do only make something better than it was before.  And for a place where Allen Ginsberg and W. H. Auden once presided, that is a really good thing.
With the help of Michael Neff, who helped open Ward III and the Rum House, and his brother Danny Neff, who has worked at The Bar Room and Extra Fancy, Holiday Cocktail Lounge has an impressive menu of cocktails to choose from.  And while much of the exterior and decor remains the same, the cocktails are what will really set you off here.  And in what feels like the center of the cocktail bar world, this is definitely a great place for an awesome drink and casual atmosphere.
Holiday Cocktail Lounge
75 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10003