Sub Astor bar in São Paulo: market-fresh mixology by Márcio Silva

Mixologist Márcio Silva walks almost every day to a nearby fruit stand to buy the fruits and herbs that he’ll use that evening at Sub Astor, São Paulo’s hottest speakeasy-style bar (i.e. no sign on the door, just like in the U.S. Prohibition Era). “Everything is made to order, we don’t prepare any of our fruit purées until the minute the client orders the drink”, he says. Silva mashes granny smith apples in a mortar with lemon and syrup, then shakes it up with gin and Cointreau and strains to make the “Apple White Lady ». A similarly fresh purée, made by pounding pears, grapes and basil leaves, is the basis for the « Gipsy Martini », which gets its kick from Poire and vodka, and is garnished with edible flowers and spiced with a dash of cinammon syrup. Nostalgics have a soft spot for the caju amigo, a classic made with cashew fruit – both fresh and in a compote – topped with ice, sugar and a large helping of vodka.

Sub Astor: Rua Delfina, 163, São Paulo, Brazil, tel. 55-11 3815-1364

More Sub Astor on this blog:
Photos of the small-plate goodies served at Sub Astor, São Paulo's first speakeasy bar

New York party French Tuesdays premieres in São Paulo September 15

What started off as a get-together of French expats in New York over the last few years grew to become French Tuesdays, a full-fledged company with CEO and all. And what is it, exactly? Parties frequented mostly by French expats, where the champagne flows freely. Simple as that, except that they close it off to non-members.

French Tuesdays have expanded to Miami, L.A., San Francisco and - go figure! - even Paris. And now the next city to welcome the Tuesday night party is São Paulo. The DJ, appropriately enough, is called Jean Michel and will fly in from NY especially for the event. Don't just show up, though: the party has its own set of rules. Here's the fine print:

"French Tuesdays Members only can register on the guest list and get free access to the event with their guests.

Registration to our events has to be done online, using a personal login and password.
Photo ID is required at the door and the name on the guest list has to match the one on the ID to be granted free access.
Complimentary access is granted only when registered on the guest list before the closure time. Members who are not registered on the guest list but want to attend the event will have to pay a cover fee at the door.

Members
Members can register with guests to all the events taking place in their city. The number of guests varies with the capacity of the venue and can be restricted at our discretion.

Web Members
Web Members can register to 2 events per year and cannot invite guests. In case of no-show, registration rights cannot be recredited. The total number of web members is limited to 20 per event. First come, first served!

Non-members
If you are not a member, you can attend our events if invited by a Member. Ask them to add your full name to their guest list. Members only can register names on the guest list.
Access of non-registered guests may be granted against a cover fee.
According to the attendance number, we will do our best to accommodate non-members, but access can never be guaranteed. We will always give priority to the members when a capacity problem arises."

French Tuesdays São Paulo: 3P4, Rua Bandeira Paulista, 676, Itaim

More São Paulo nightlife:

• Dry, São Paulo's best bar, and Pink Elephant club
• Daslu's heiress launches party brand 284 At Night
  

Marina de la Riva sings at Baretto, the coolest bar in São Paulo

If you're in town this April, go to the show. If you're not in town, go to Baretto anyways. I'll keep it short and sweet: best manhattans made by best barman in town. The name? Célio. This is a very grown-up bar with live music and elegant patrons. Love it.

São Paulo’s Baixo Augusta district is booming, and the New York Times is on it, thanks to Seth Kugel

Ever since New York journalist Seth Kugel moved to São Paulo, a few months ago, the already excellent coverage by The New York Times of the city went up yet another notch. Yesterday’s NYT has a story by Seth that is very hot.

Only now are Brazilian publications waking up to what’s happening in the so-called Baixo Augusta – a once-seedy part of Augusta street and surrounding blocks which is seeing boom times – yet The New York Times is already on it. Nice. Seth’s piece maps it all out.

As Seth points out, “The default night life areas in São Paulo’s southwest zone — Itaim Bibi, for the clean-cut moneyed crowd and Vila Madalena, where a (slightly) more bohemian set mobs the open-air bars — are still going strong. But a revival is under way closer to the city center, and more specifically, the “bad” side of Avenida Paulista, the active artery that separates downtown from upscale neighborhoods in the city’s southwest zone.That’s especially true along Rua Augusta and the two parallel avenues that flank it, Rua Bela Cintra and Rua Frei Caneca — an area that is increasingly being referred to as Baixo Augusta.”

As usual, the piece comes with an interactive map and gorgeous photography by Lalo de Almeida.


Spot on, Seth!

I went recently to Z Carniceria, one of the places Seth mentions, and loved the look of it. As the name suggests, it occupies and old butcher's. In renovating it, the owners uncovered old tiled walls and hooks where the meat used to hang from, which they've kept. The result is a bit spooky/Hannibal Lecter-like, but decidedly cool. Here are some pictures:

Z Carniceria
Rua Augusta, 934, tel. 55-11-2936-0934

Other places mentioned in The New York Times's piece on the Baixo Augusta:

Astronete Rua Matias Aires, 183-B; 55-11-3151-4568

¡Exquisito!: Rua Bela Cintra, 532; 55-11-3151-4530

Geni: Rua Bela Cintra, 539; tel. 55-11-3129-9952

Mestiço Rua Fernando de Albuquerque, 277; tel. 55-11-3256-3165

Vegas Rua Augusta, 765; tel. 55-11-3231-3705;

Volt Rua Haddock Lobo, 40; tel. 55-11-2936-4041

A Loca Rua Frei Caneca, 916; tel. 55-11-3159-8889

O Pedaço de Pizza Rua Augusta, 1463; tel. 55-11-3285-2117

Sonique Rua Bela Cintra, 461; 55-11-2628-8707

Dry, Pink Elephant and Dry: the hottest bars in São Paulo

Each time a big nightclub opens in São Paulo, there's a rush to go check it out and a flurry of parties that get people talking. Currently, that place is the new outpost of New York's Pink Elephant (pictured above). Posh, pricey, frequented by the glittery, glam São Paulo youth.


Another hot spot is the Bar Secreto, clearly inpired by the secretive speakeasy-type bars that have been popping up all over New York. Small and clubby, it's the place to go if you're over 25 and like to party hard. This Saturday they're throwing a pre-Carnival bash.

Speaking of partying hard, the coolest bar in São Paulo where often the night ends at dawn is Dry, in the Jardins district. Tiny, cultish and very off-the-beaten-path, Dry is the sort of cliquey place where everyone seems to know everyone else. Fun - very fun - if you're made to feel part of the crowd.





Bar Secreto: Rua Álvaro Anes, 97, tel. 3063-4206
Dry: Al. Padre João Manuel, 700, tel. 3729-6653
Pink Elephant: Rua Gumercindo Saraiva, 289 (Dacon), tel. 3818-0806