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March 25, 2022 • Schneps Media
TVG
‘Lullaby’ of the LES
New bar serves up mix of cocktails, music and generations
BY BOB KRASNER
A senior citizen and two
twenty-somethings walk
into a bar like they own
the place, because they do! Lullaby,
the newest addition to the
roster of hip watering holes in
the Lower East Side is a great example
of what happens when like
minded partners don’t just bridge
the generation gap, they barely
acknowledge its existence.
Harrison Snow and Jake Hodas
(they’re the younger ones) and
Brother Cleve conceived the idea
about a year and a half ago and the
result is a lovely, and lively, basement
spot on Rivington Street
that aims to provide world class
cocktails at a reasonable price.
Snow met Cleve (who presumably
has a last name, but won’t
admit to it) in Boston when he
worked under him at the Paris
Creperie, where Cleve had created
a very extensive cocktail menu.
Cleve, whose resume includes
being a member of the rocking
Del Fuegos and possibly the best
of the exotica revival bands, Combustible
Edison, has a long history
of research into cocktails. He’s
still a working session musician,
DJ, record producer and composer,
and is in the process of consulting
on yet another major bar
scheduled to open in a few years
in Boston.
Hodas and Snow met in Boston
as well, but both ended up in
Brooklyn, eventually unemployed
due to the pandemic. Snow, who
has “a deep passion” for creating
drinks, began a side hustle selling
bottled cocktails to friends,
creating menus of the available
drinks and labelling the bottles
that went out.
Hodas liked to hang out Snow,
imbibing and reminiscing about
their favorite bars. Eventually it
began to dawn on them that they
could have their own bar — “After
all,” said Hodas, “why not us?”
Snow immediately realized that
they had to get Cleve involved.
“He’s the godfather of the Boston
cocktail movement!” Snow
exclaims. “Everyone in Boston
reveres him.”
FOOD, DRINK & NIGHTLIFE
It was a perfect choice. “We
make awesome drinks when we
collaborate,” he adds.
That awesomeness is on display
in the drink menu, which
features hints at the makeup of
the drink but not necessarily
the ingredients.
Take “The Mezcal Drink,” one
of the best sellers, which is described
as “pink-refreshing- botanical
peach.” It’s a phrase that
doesn’t quite prepare you for the
actual list of ingredients: Fidencio
Clasico mezcal, Kina L’Aero d’Or,
Campari, Giffard Crème de Peche
liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, lime
juice, saline solution and a basil
leaf garnish.
“The Whiskey Drink ” actually
contains mascarpone cheese and
“The Dole Whip” is their version
of a kid’s drink sold in Disney
theme parks.
“I’d been hallucinating about
that one for years,” Cleve reveals.
“I knew it would make an amazing
cocktail, but it was tougher
than I thought.”
On opening night, customers
enthusiastically gave their approval
to the concoctions made by the
ace bartenders Snow and Brian
Miller, formerly of Death & Co.
Evan Finney, who lives nearby,
stopped in to check it out and proclaimed
that “the drinks are phenomenal.
The best I’ve had in a
long time, for a reasonable price.”
Topping out at $15, the cocktails
include the very popular
$10 “House Punch,” which East
Village artist Delphine LeGoff
described as “very refreshing
— weird, but in a good way.
It was kind of like a little slap
in your teeth.”
Besides the mixology, Lullaby
strives for a ambience that recalls
days gone by.
Hodas, who is responsible for
the creative direction and marketing
of the place, explained
that, “I enjoy a quality drink, but
that’s not how I pick the bars I
hang out in.”
“People are always talking
about places from10-15 years ago
that are gone. This was an opportunity
to reclaim something of
New York City that’s been lost,”
he added.
Lullaby’s design is a collaboration
between the partners
and local artists, with a special
added ingredient. “My father is
a professional boatbuilder,” says
Snow. “He and I built most of the
place ourselves.”
Adding to the ambience is
Brother Cleve’s musical taste,
which, he admits, “tends towards
the obscure.” First night patrons
got a taste as Cleve did the DJ
honors with 7” 45-albums. He
will be designing playlists for the
future, which will presumably include
some of the gems he spun on
opening night.
The range runs from Brazilian
Funk to Japanese 80’s pop from
Tatsuro Wamashita to the Latin
sound of Ralph Weeks to something
we actually recognized, the
Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach.”
Cleve is optimistic for the joint’s
future because, he says, “there’s a
lot more awareness now of cocktail
culture. People are ready for
it, they want it and we are giving
it to them.”
Lullaby, at 151 Rivington St.,
is open 7 days a week. For more
information, visit lullabybar.
com and follow @LullabyNYC
on Instagram.
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
L-R Harrison Snow, Brother
Cleve, Jake Hodas at Lullaby
Brian Miller works hard for the money