Perhaps you’ve avoided restaurants and social interactions for lo, these many months. “Social” is a concept you’ve almost forgotten and the only “mingling” you’re doing is mint leaves with bourbon. You don’t even care the correct word is “muddle.” Yeah. It’s that bad.
Patience… a vaccination is coming and soon you’ll be able to enjoy life again! But - woah - not so fast, cowboy. You may need to freshen up the parts of your personalities that were once endearing. You may need to re-learn how to be… what’s the word again? “Social.” Exactly.
Hudson Malone just happened to mosey into town the moment we needed to dip our toes into the warm waters of non-family members. It’s sliced with partitions and safety distancing, for everyone’s protection, but that can’t stop it from being warm and convivial and the place to be once you feel comfortable extricating yourself from your home. It’s sort of an upscale Saloon-meets-Sardi’s, were Sardi’s an homage to the hey-day of Hollywood glamor and not Broadway.
The first thing HM offers are walls lined with iconic images and other ephemera. Don’t know what to say to your dining companion? Refer to the wall for a conversation-starter! How about “Why is Sophia Lauren staring at Jayne Mansfield’s dress?” “OMG, I think I know who posed for the woman in the martini glass!” Everyone enjoys a bit of blithe commentary!
Second, owner Doug Quinn was anointed “The bartender’s bartender” by Frank Bruni in the New York Times in 2010 (which is worth a read). So the bar is fabulous and the cocktails wonderful. Kick-start your out-pouring of charm with a manhattan or two because they’re really good. Or, honestly, wait for Doug to make his was to your table to chat. “Come in to my home,” Dougs says, “and I’ll give you the Hudson Malone experience.” Just… he has a photographic memory, so make a good impression.
Last, place your order. You’ve refreshed your personality with insightful queries and delightful conversation, so now it’s time to eat.
Now, Doug spent years standing beside, and learning from, Michelin masters. He learned to “knock off” some of their five-star dishes and re-make them with an HM sensibility. For instance, he transformed Le Bernardin’s delicate slips of fish into a heartier, more “approachable” special for his own menu. His excellent tuna tartare is inspired by Alfred Portale of Gotham. His steak au poivre is re-imagined from the tables of Raul’s in SoNo, and a bacon board with waffles stems from David Burke’s clothesline bacon.
Actually, this “last” part is the whole point: luxuriating in the cozy neighborliness of a home-away-from-home in which the meal options are better and more diverse than the options in your freezer. You don’t have to do the dishes, shake the drinks, or throw more logs into the strategically placed fireplaces.
And enjoy the fact you weren’t the one opening a restaurant during a pandemic. Because, uch, what a PAIN.
[Features]
Dining
Though known for its excellent steak and fish (HM Westport is an outpost of his popular NYC Hudson Malone), its menu also includes decked-out onion rings, house-made burrata, a tuna tartare with scallions from his own garden, and an “impossible” burger.
The incredible “tomahawk” steak and charred romaine salad.
Quinn’s Laws and Saloon Etiquette
Evidently waving at a bartender is rude. Whoops. Doug is finicky about manners (note to my kids: See? I’m not alone in this) and quick to impart life lessons (Failure Creates Success, A Tab is a Privilege, Not a Right). His rules are readily available all over HM, so no need to bring your dog-eared copy of Miss Manners.
Memorabilia
Everything from the Paul Newman portrait to the hay-bale hooks was collected, and continues to be, Doug himself.
Bow Ties
Images of bow ties abound. They’re Doug’s signature look, a throwback to his busy bartending days. According to Frank Bruni, “…it’s his thing, plus a bow tie never flies up, flaps around or otherwise slows him down.” Hmm… that might be a good law for him, “Whatever is slowing you down, get rid of it.”