Ninth Ward

A “destination store” is one that inspires shoppers to make a special trip there, either because of specialized merchandise or deep discounts, but also arising in the city right now are destination bars – though they get the term for a different reason. If your summer vacation plans don’t include a trip to Polynesia, you can always hit up one of the many rum bars gaining a foothold in the city, like Painkiller. Or just stop by Mayahuel or Cienfuegos in lieu of that jaunt to Mexico or Cuba.

Ninth Ward is the latest bar that aspires to take us away, this time to New Orleans, though once you arrive, you may think you boarded the wrong plane. As far as the controversial name goes, “Ninth Ward” is really not the same as “Ground Zero.” This New Orleans neighborhood has a rich history of jazz and Creole culture that came about way before Hurricane Katrina. (Watch Treme for the full story.) But the similarities between the actual Ninth Ward and this new bar end at the name and the cocktail list.

There’s Sazerac on the cocktail menu, required knowledge for every bartender in New Orleans, and blessedly, they have Abita on tap here. (There is no food menu yet.) But the decor is a style that could be called “standard exotic,” if Home Depot ever sells a kit for this. Though the backlit shutters could hark from the set of A Streetcar Named Desire, the rustic beams, dark interior, faux lanterns and antique knickknacks behind wire-paneled cabinets look a lot like the interior of Macao Trading Co. or Mayahuel. Since most of us have never went to Macao in the 1940s, however, it’s easier to believe that things actually looked like that in this Portuguese province of China. But like many New Yorkers, I have been to New Orleans, and bars in the Ninth Ward look more like the beat-up Chicken Box in Yankee Nantucket than this swanky, dark cocktail lounge. In fact, the main problem is that the Ninth Ward is way too nice. If it had about thirty more years of wear and tear, sagging steps, Saints memorabilia, Mardi Gras beads and a kick-ass horn player performing for a $10 cover, it would be much more authentic.

And yet, if you don’t need the fantasy of going to Louisiana, Ninth Ward is a fine bar to hang out in for a drink or two. It’s true that the wait staff is a little out of it – our server could not even answer the question “What wines do you have by the glass?” But it’s nice to crawl into this dark den out of the blazing heat and put back an Abita or two while bluesy Stones and Sly Johnson play on the stereo, and the back garden, with its cast-iron fountain that actually does look like it came from New Orleans, is a hidden gem.

A “destination bar”? Ninth Ward may not inspire you to make a special trip there, but it’s an OK place to go when you want to get away…somewhere.

Ninth Ward
180 Second Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets
212-979-9273
ninthwardnyc.com