My assignment? To make my way to
the beach bars and find the best cocktail. It’s another tough
assignment but somebody’s got to it. Joining me will be my boss,
otherwise known as “B” for boss. He’ll be picking up the tab and his
bringing his wife, Judy and their two friends Joyce and Bob along for
the ride or in this case the walk.
We agree to meet at the east end bar first. That would be The Pier
House at the Waters Edge located at Beach and Pittsburgh avenues. I
get there a little early because I’m hungry and a night of sucking down
cocktails must begin with food. Jason is our bartender.
“Something to drink?”
Well, that’s a fair question considering I’m sitting at a bar. But, wait
a minute, I can’t have a cocktail with an appetizer. It’ll ruin the
taste test. I’m forced to order a glass of Lawson Ranch Cabernet out of
Monterey, California. Nice. Smooth bouquet not, too dry not too sweet. –
Yeah, like I know what I’m talking about. Anyway, I liked it. To go with
it, I ordered the Lollipop Lamb Chops made with port wine and a lavender
glaze and feta cheese.
B and Judy walk in just as they are serving the “appetizer.” Appetizer?
Folks - this with a small salad and you’ve got yourself a meal with room
for dessert. Very yummy. Really, yummy.
Meanwhile, we explain to Jason what we’re doing. It comes down to this
“What’s your best cocktail?”
 Without hesitation Jason serves B (‘cause I’m still working on the
cabernet and lamb chops) their Signature Martini made with Navan vanilla
cognac, Zyr vodka and a Hershey Kiss. Judy has opted to order a
Margarita at each stop and compare them. The Pier House Grand Gold
Margarita is made with Cuervo Gold Tequila and Grande Marnier.
Their opinions? On the Signature Martini, B says “Sweet but not overly.
A bit of an after taste on the vodka. Presentation: Flat but perfectly
chilled. I really want to finish it all but we have to move on.”
Of The Grand Gold Margarita, Judy says “Tastes almost like a dessert.
It’s strong and sweet and I can taste the difference between the Grande
Marnier and the usual thing. It was made to order not a pre-made
mix.”
Holy Mackerel! We’re so professional. I can’t wait for the next stop
which is Ballyhoo's, located inside
The Grand
Hotel at Beach and Philadelphia avenues. I’ve cleared my palette
and am ready to join the judging.
Our bartenders at Ballyhoo's are Denny and Janet. Since we’re only
sipping, (you’ve got to pace yourself, you know) The Boss and I share a
Foxy Lady. It’s sooo cute and comes with a little umbrella. The Foxy
Lady is made with rum, a banana something or other and tropical juices.
Bob and Joyce have joined us. Bob also orders a Foxy Lady. It’s a
consistency test you see. Oh, you didn’t know how clever we are did you?
Denny and Janet pass the test on consistency. I found the Foxy Lady to
be totally yummy and actually I had three sips. It is not, however, a
man’s drink, if you will. Both men found it to be too sweet. Yummy is
not what Bob and B are after when they order a drink. But don’t listen
to that girls – The Foxy Lady is the kind of drink you take poolside
with you. First of all, who would know your actually imbibing alcohol by
the look of it. Second of all, can I just say? MMMMmmmMMmmMmm.
 Judy’s Margarita? She found it to be a bit on the “thin” side.
Me? I’m listening to the band – Vintage – playing “In the Still of the
Night.” Maybe I could just hang around here and dance. Anybody up for
dancing? Where are they? Ooops. I think they’re already heading for the
next bar. Gotta go. Maybe next time, though. I notice there’s nothing
left in The Foxy Lady glass B and I were sharing. Listen to him. Too
sweet? He drank that baby right down. Man, I’m glad at least one of us
has a little self-discipline.
I run to catch up. Our next stop is The Promenade at the
Montreal Hotel
at Beach and Madison Avenues. Sara is our bartender and serves The Boss and me a Promenade Martini made with Pravda Vodka, Chambord and
pineapple juice. Judy ordered a Margarita and Joyce and Bob passed,
wanting to pace themselves.
Judy, who apparently knows her Margaritas, found hers to be a bit
“tinney tasting” possibly because of the grapefruity ingredient but she
was very impressed with Sara who asked her how she wanted the drink
made.
B found the Promenade Martini to be “surprisingly fruity” and the kind
of drink “that could sneak up on you.” I found The Promenade Martini “to
be yummy and sweet but not too sweet.” I love it. Hey! The glass is
empty. Oh that wasn’t me. That must be B again. He’d better pace himself
or he’ll never be able to hang in there.
And the five of us are off. We pass up Yesterday’s Heroes Ball Park
Café at the Atlas Inn
‘cause it’s a fun place to go especially for football and sporting
events. They have a gazillion television sets throughout the restaurant,
but we’re looking more for a fancy shmancy cocktail menu.
So, we continue our march to
The
 Pelican Club located on Beach Avenue at the top of the
Marquis de
Lafayette Hotel to visit with one of my favorite bartenders
Patty Behrens. Patty and her co-bartender Pat are at the helm. Things
are a lot busier up here than they were at the east end of town which is
traditionally quieter.
All of us have cocktail. Well, B and I are still sharing but everyone
else orders. Patty makes three
Pelican
Club Cosmopolitans made with Absolute Citron, Triple Sec, with a
splash of lime and cranberry juices.
Judy ordered? You guessed it - a Margarita. Patty asked her how she
wanted it and the result? “I actually wanted to drink this one! It’s the
best so far. Not so sweet as the first one.”
This is soooo good.
You know, a good Cosmo is hard to find. Bartenders tend to be a little
heavy handed with the cranberry juice. Whether it’s a Cosmo, a Margarita
or a generic Martini, a good cocktail has to have the right balance of
not making feel like you should have just grabbed the bottle and chugged
it down or that you should have just stuck your head into a bowl of
sugary syrup.
“Whas ‘at? We have to go? Why? Oh. More cocktails to try. Ok. Lesss go.
Hey where’s the rest of my, oops, our Cosmo? It’s all gone. Where’d it
go? You must have drank it all. I’m telling your wife when I see her. Oh
there she is. Why’s this elevator’s movin’?”
Next stop
Cabanas
where the Herb Moore Trio is kickin’ to a full house. Our totally cute
bartender is Shane Glackin and he makes B and me a Mango Martini. The
rest of the group chickened out and ran up to
Martini
Beach which is just upstairs from Cabanas. Seems it’s a little
too happenin’ down here for them. B tries to sneak away but I won’t let
him. This is what we came for and I’m not walking away empty handed.
Shane presents us with a lovely mango-looking Martini. I take a sip. Oh
my gawd.
 I’m in Love. “I love you Shane. Shane? Shane? Come back Shane.”
B takes a sip “a bit too fruity for me,” he says. Argh! I’m not even
listening to him.
“Whas ‘at you said? Do I want to finish this? Oh. Well. OK. All gone.
Ahhh. I don’t want to go. We’re having such a good time. Aren’t we
having a good time? See everybody at the bar thinks we’re having a good
time. They all want to order me another Mango Martini. Yeah, I guess we
could have a good time upstairs too.”
Martini
Beach. I consider this to be one of the most romantic cocktail bars
in town and the food ain’t bad either. The stairs can be a little tough
if you’ve had a few but a good drinker is always conscious of his or her
coordination skills and adapts accordingly.
“Hey!! Who put that extra step there?”
 Martini
Beach’s bar is packed. I mean packed. Three deep. And I see people I
know.
“Hey Bill Briggs. Yeah sure I’ll take your picture. And your friend?
Yeah sure. And your friend’s wife? Yeah sure. OK. I gotta go order a
drink now.”
Christina makes us a Blue Crush Martini made with peach vodka, blueberry
and pineapple juices and a kiss of blue.
I love it. It’s not too fruity
but I’m all about the fruit anyway.
Judy says her Margarita is ok.
 “Hey, I should have worn my glasses. That guy across the bar looks
familiar.”
“That’s your boyfriend,” says B.
“Your boyfriend? Hey he’s cute.”
“No. I’m married to Judy. That’s your boyfriend.”
“Ahhh. He’s cute. I think I’ll take a picture of him.”
Before I know it, we’re downstairs and in front of The Other Room,
right next door to Carney’s On The Beach. Our growing entourage
walks into The Other Room and it’s a bit dead. Like three people at the
bar, so, I figure we should go where it’s happenin’ – next door at
Carney’s which is the place you want to go if you’re looking for a date
or a good time.
Problem. The Gatekeepers want $5 a pop for a cover charge. It’s 11:30
p.m. and as I try to do the math in my very fuzzy head, even I can
figure out that $5 a person comes to a lot of money just to walk in
order a couple of cocktails, take a sip or two, and then leave and write
nice thongs, I mean things, about them. I explain what we’re doing and
the Gatekeepers suggest we go back to The Other Room.
My fuzzy head snaps. “I’m not going in there. There’s nobody in there.
We’ve been having such a nice time. I see dead people in there. We can’t
write a piece about dead people on a Saturday night. Lessss move on to
the Boiler Room.”
There's no arguing with me because the entourage is ready to move on
anyway.
Ahhh this is better. People. I see people having a good time and
listening to Frank Bey playing his sweet southern blues. The Boiler
Room is located on Perry Street inside
Congress Hall.
There is no question what we will order. Our bartender Cheryl Davies
knows too that the only drink is the “Cool Cape May,” which won a
contest recently for the best cocktail in Cape May, which by the way, B
helped judge. Judy, B and I take a sip. I’m not sure what happened to
the rest of the entourage, including my boyfriend. I’m sure they’re here
somewhere.
 Judy’s comments sum it up: “Does it come with a fire extinguisher?”
The Cool Cape May is a little different, definitely not sweet,
definitely not. And quite the kick.
We step outside into the cool night air and contemplate walking aalllll
the way down to the Rusty Nail at the west end of town, near
Broadway and the Beach. Nope. Can’t do it. Sorry guys. Next time we’ll
start there.
Epitaph. I did get home. My boyfriend found me walking around and threw
me in the back of the Volvo and got me home safe and sound.
B and Judy moved over to The Brown Room upstairs from the
Boiler Room. Judy still cannot make up her mind if the best
Margarita she had all night was the one at
The Pelican
Club or The Brown Room. This may necessitate another trek
to decide.
Also B and Judy report that around 1 a.m. The Other Room was a hoppin’.
A DJ as playing and people, loads of people were there. We’re glad to
hear it.
Now, for those looking for a more sedate atmosphere that may or may not
be beachfront property we have the following suggestions:
The Piano Bars
The Merion Inn on
Decatur. Good cocktails, intimate bar, and the esteemed pianist
George Mesterhazy to entertain.
The Virginia Hotel on Jackson Street. Teeny service bar but
great “living room” atmosphere to sit and sip and enjoy the piano tunes
of Steve Lamanna.
Aleathea’s on
Ocean Street and Beach Avenue, located inside The Inn of Cape May.
Lovely bar and you can hear the strains of the piano man Doug Williams
playing for the dinner crowd. Aleathea’s actually is beachfront but the
bar faces Ocean Street.
The Other Room. Ken McBride is on the piano from 9 p.m. Friday,
Saturday and Sunday nights. Although, we didn’t have the pleasure of
hearing him the night we were there. Yes, it is beachfront.
Quieter Comfy Places
(where the people make the music)
The King Eddy Room, Actually, it’s
the King Edward Room but if you call it that everyone will know you’re a
tourist. It’s located inside
The Chalfonte Hotel
on Howard Street.
The Brown Room, located inside
Congress Hall.
The
Mad Batter
Restaurant has a small but cozy bar
where they make a pretty mean Cosmopolitan and an added plus - it's SMOKE FREE!!Restaurant 1919, located across from The Lobster House at the
foot of the Cape May Bridge.
Oyster Bay Restaurant, on Lafayette Street, across the street
from the Acme Grocery Store.
Not So Quiet Places
The Jackson Mountain Café, at Jackson Street on the
Washington
Street Mall
The Ugly Mug, at Decatur on the Washington Street Mall
The Pilot House, at Decatur and Carpenter’s Lane
The C-View Tavern, at the corner of Washington Street and Texas
Avenue.
Off the Island – Bars/Restaurants
with a View
Harbor View Restaurant, located at 954 Ocean Drive in Lower
Township.
Harpoon Henry’s, located on Beach Drive in North Cape May (Great
sunsets) |
