“What is a listening bar and why are they everywhere?” So asks the title of a piece that ran at Eater a few days ago. Good question. One possible answer is summed up in the aspirational four-word motto of the newly opened Another Country: “Cocktails, Food, Records, Joy.”
Another Country is the latest venture by Mark Connell and Timothy Jenkins, longtime friends and hospitality industry veterans. They met at Botanica Bar (which Mark now owns) in 1996 and in the years following played key roles in founding and operating notable restaurants, bars, and nightlife destinations in both New York and L.A.
Located just west of Union Square (in the space previously occupied by Chat n’ Chew), Another Country aims to be greater than the sum of its parts. Special attention is paid to cocktails, but it doesn’t take ten minutes to get a drink. The selection of vinyl is curated with care, but guests won’t be asked to talk quietly. The food menu is inventive and well-executed (think fried peanuts, tinned fish, a radicchio Caesar, a mortadella sandwich). The interior design is snug while spacious, with a variety of tables and seating styles available in several sections and rooms.
There are eight cocktails on the opening menu. Signature drinks include the tropical (and cheekily named) “The Plural of Vinyl is Vinyl” — with mezcal, rum, calamansi, pineapple, and banana — and Rufus: rye, vanilla liqueur, Cynar, bitters. The beer selection is mostly local (Threes, Talea) alongside a small list of wines and ciders by the glass as well as spirit-free options.
Another Country, 10 E. 16th Street (bet. Fifth Ave. and Union Square West).
