Bartender Andrew Shiffer pours a drink for a customer at Verve in Somerville.
DRINKING JERSEY: HOW WE DID IT
Five weeks, 60 bars, thousands of miles, a gazillion recommendations and comments, and one hangover: The N.J.'s best bars showdown was an undertaking the likes of which will never be seen again. Which is probably a good thing, because I'm not sure I'd survive round two.
From a list of 1,500-plus recommended bars, I devised a poll of 300 bars -- 50 each in six categories (neighborhood bars, dive bars, craft beer bars, sports bars, hotel/restaurant bars and wine/whiskey/martini bars). More than 170,000 people voted online at nj.com, and the top five vote-getters in each category, plus 30 bars of my choosing, made our list of 60 semifinalists.
Those 60 bars, with all 21 counties represented, were visited in 20 days. I selected 10 finalists, which I visited in one week, and then chose one grand prize winner -- a near impossible task.
The profiles presented here are a combination of reader favorites and my personal picks, bars of all shapes, sizes and styles scattered across the state. You'll never go thirsty -- or hungry -- again.
— P.G.
WHERE WE VISITED
• Wine, whiskey and martini bars
AH, THE COCKTAIL. It's been de rigueur at parties since ... well, forever. Those fellows of "Mad Men" and the gals of "Sex and the City" were always raising a glass at swanky gatherings. One doesn't have attend a soiree to sip something a little sophisticated, however, and we visited several places where mixologists are dazzling their customers with delightful concoctions as we made our way to 60 bars from north to south. There were stops at neighborhood bars, sports bars, hotel bars, craft beer bars, dive bars and more. In the fourth part of our series, we present the top wine, whiskey and martini bars.
THE BEST
Verve | 18 E. Main St., Somerville | (908) 707-8655 | vervestyle.com
If you haven't been to Somerville in recent years, you may not recognize it. The Somerset County seat has undergone a complete Main Street makeover, with new restaurants, shops and residences. Verve is the town's nerve center, the place in which judges, prosecutors and just plain folk gather for cocktails from bartender/showman Bryan Mack, who's easy to spot; just look for the tall guy with the outsized white glasses. The perfect nightcap? His Mack's Irish cream, which is surpassingly smooth. Or ask for a Pedro Genovese, a drink created for our best-bars visit, made with tequila, vanilla syrup, Neshaminy Creek Trauger pilsner, fresh lemon juice and a Malbec. One of the state's coolest hangouts is the upstairs red-lit lounge, open only on weekends, where movies often play on a screen.
BEST OF THE REST
Annata Wine Bar | 216 Bellevue Ave., Hammonton | (877) 7-ANNATA, (609) 704-9797 | annatawinebar.com
New Jersey's blueberry capital as a food/drink destination? Hammonton has become just that in recent years. There's Marcello's, Bruni's Pizzeria, the annual Red, White and Blueberry Festival, Tomasello Winery and Annata, a wine bar/restaurant in -- ready for this? -- a former auto parts store. Jackie Dolan and her brothers, Matt and Phillip Brunozzi, are the owners. "There wasn't anything like this here,'' Dolan says of the 7-year-old business. "Old World Tuscany meets Main Street USA'' is the slogan, and there are 150-plus carefully chosen vintages in all price levels. And don't just drink -- eat! I really liked the gnocchi, and the braciole is Italian grandmother-worthy.
Le Malt | 1021 St. Georges Ave., Colonia | (732) 510-7700 | lemalt.com
An upscale cocktail lounge with VIP rooms -- in a strip mall? It sounds unlikely, and yet so Jersey. This one-of-a-kind bar attracts a well-heeled crowd; you'll feel out of place in jeans. Drinks are made table-side, and mixologist Richard Tandoc is a spirits showman, concocting one delicious, dazzling-looking drink after another. Owner Saurabh Abrol, who also owns the Wine Chateau next door, visited bars as far away as Scotland and Dubai before creating the whiskey-centric Le Malt. I tried a half-dozen drinks here; my favorite was the VIP Cosmo (Belvedere vodka, Cointreau noir, cranberry juice, fresh lime) and the mojito (prosecco, Hennessey cognac and mint leaves). The menu features "sophisticated'' tapas; I highly recommend the lamb lollipops.
Pluckemin Inn | Route 206, Pluckemin | (908) 658-9292 | pluckemininn.com
What does a $25,000 bottle of wine look like? Get on wine manager Brian Hider's good side and maybe he'll show you the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 1929 burgundy purchased from the Doris Duke estate in his three-story-high wine cellar. The Pluckemin Inn has 45,000 bottles of wine on hand; it's the second largest wine collection in the state. Believe it or not, this was once a grungy biker bar; the old inn was torn down in 2003 and transformed into a cozy, colonial-style restaurant/bar. "There are people who come in and drink $500 (to) $1,000 bottles, and several in one night,'' Hider explains. "It happens more than you think.'' But there are many reasonably priced glass and bottles, too.
The Stewed Cow | 400 Adams St., Hoboken | (201) 706-8589 | thestewedcow.com
Bourbon -- which is made only in the United States -- is big and the whiskey lover will be wowed at this cozy bar well off Washington Avenue, Hoboken's main drag. There are 100-plus American whiskeys, from the affordable to the astronomical. A 2-ounce pour of cult whiskey Pappy Van Winkle 15-year Reserve will set you back two hundred bills. I tried a taste; it's impossibly smooth, dizzyingly delicious, borderline dangerous. Don't like whiskey? There are about 20 draft taps. When I was there, the owners were talking up their food. The menu includes the Roadkill Platter (brisket, bacon, scrambled eggs and biscuit, with spicy sausage gravy), or the Infamous Brunch, with choice of entree, plus two brunch cocktails, muffin and pastry basket and "sumpthin' from the house for the table.'' All for just $20.
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