Apotheke says the prescription

Still too much snow? I agree!

Have a drink, they say! OK but only if it’s the Deal Closer from Apotheke.

The place was formely an Opium Den and later a Chinese Opera House. Smack in the middle of Chinatown, with no signs on the door, it sits in this dark alley nicknamed Bloody Angle because of  the Chinese gang wars that happen then.

I took 2 friends: one from downtown NYC and one from France. You will never guess who felt like a tourist. The place was packed with Italians, French & Spaniards. Well there was one cute New Yorker with a very Basquiat hairdo in the crowd. Anyway, everyone was very Euro & sexy. Bartenders included.

I had them try the Deal Closer, my favorite cocktail. It’s made from Vodka-infused with local Chinatown aphrodisiacs, fresh mint, cucumber, lime and vanilla essence and… well just what the doctor Mixologist Albert Trummer recommends.

“We look at a bargoer almost as if he’s coming to a doctor’s office,” says Albert. “If you have a broken heart, champagne with an elixir of orange oils and rosemary helps solve the problem. For high blood pressure, I recommend bitters. And we have a special bourbon infused with lemon and thyme that helps with headaches and other pain.”

Living in NY, we all have something that needs to be cured… Hence the list of drinks is divided in Health & Beauty, Stress Relievers, Pain Killers, Aphrodisiacs, Stimulants, Pharmaceuticals, Euphoric Enhancers and Therapeutic Treatments. The last category is called House Remedies… only for those who dare!

Albert might have been talking about me when he said: “For people in a happy mood we have aphrodisiacs like absinthe from the south of France.”

Beats the snow, doesn’t it?