"21 Club" news and stories

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

Back when I was first learning to make drinks, bartenders weren't overwhelmed with a gazillion competitions to prove their skills. Everywhere you turn now, some liquor brand is sponsoring a cocktail competition. As a result, bartenders and mixologists feel the pressure to expand their resumes with accolades and titles.

Last year, B&B celebrated its 70th Anniversary with a Master Mixologist Showcase. I realized I had judged several competitions, but never actually been in one, so I thought this experience would be good to humble an old dog like me. My drink didn't come in first place, but in the words of my British pals "my chat was on fire." What's the use of a bartender if she can't entertain you and make a decent drink at the same time?

The competition took place in New York's historic 21 Club where bartenders first served up a mixture of equal parts brandy and the herbal liqueur known as Bénédictine in the 1930s. Eventually this drink became so popular, Bénédictine decided to start bottling their liqueur with brandy themselves -- in 1937. I named my cocktail after the abbey where the liqueur was born in Normandy, France.

• Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the man who rid New York of indoor smoke and transfats has now turned his regulatory gaze to sodium.
• The Bacon Explosion hits the big time, with a feature about its meteoric internet rise.
• After 79 years, the iconic 21 Club finally gets rid of its necktie requirement.
• Frank Bruni reviews Cabrito and find it's doing many good things to Mexican street food.
• The Minimalist makes a spice and wine marinated steak.
• Take a page from Eli Zabar's page and reinvent your leftovers, making them better than they ever were!
• Half winery, half music venue, City Winery is doing something wholly new for NYC.
• French, low-gluten flour makes wonderful pastries.

With the all the scurrying around that preceded Christmas, I missed the obit for Jerry Berns, the longtime host and co-owner of New York City's famed 21 Club. Berns, who welcomed presidents and celebrities, until he sold the onetime speakeasy in 1985 for $21 million died at the age of 99.

The number 21 figures not only in the club's address (21 W. 52 St.), but it also happens to be the date that the affable Berns passed away, December 21, 2006, to be exact.

Known as Mr. Jerry, Berns was associated with 21 for 50 years. During that tenure he warmly welcomed everyone who walked through the doors from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart to more ordinary folks. Berns also served as a trustee of the Culinary Institute of America. Thanks to his efforts to spur the directors to move the CIA to Hyde Park, N.Y., he was one of the first people to be named to its Hall of Fame.

Incidentally the number plays another eerie role in the restaurant's history. Pete Kriendler, the other co-owner also died on December 21, five years earlier in 2001. As far as I can tell the number 21 has nothing to do with the number of chutes and levers that helped the club avoid detection by the police during its heyday as a speakeasy.

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