A new cocktail bar is making the claim that it’s okay to cry, or as SZA sings, “Call Me Miss Crybaby.” Crybaby brings Alpine wines, cocktails, and food to the Lower East Side at 153 Bowery, at Broome Street, when it is scheduled to open in the spring.
Crybaby’s core inspiration is the Alps — the mountain range spanning several European countries, with notable winemaking regions like France’s Jura and Savoie, as well as cheeses and cozy, hearty foods. The bar comes from co-owners Jeffrey Rogers (founder of Seattle bars like Jupiter), Amber Strickland, and sommelier Cameron Philip (former Coqodaq sommelier and Cote manager).
The trio shares a love for apres-ski foods and culture — and also all resonate with the cheeky name. “We’re all crybabies,” Strickland says. “Everybody in the city is a crybaby in every positive and negative way, in every way one could exude emotions.”
“What if we actually got to build something meaningful and special,” Philip says, “where we all belonged and had a place and didn’t get gaslit every day about the things that we’re passionate or frustrated by?”
Rogers and Strickland were already deep in the bar’s development when they tapped Philip to come on board. “[He brings an] incredibly fresh perspective and added such depth that was never gonna be part of the project,” Rogers tells Eater.
Philip’s main realm is the Alpine-heavy wine. “These really rich, incredible regions,” he says, “fascinating, beautiful, delicious, and they have every kind of wine that you would ever want to have.”
A corner of Crybaby. Crybaby/Official
Cocktails make use of gins, vodkas, vin jaune, and absinthe — Philip notes that the latter, “the darling of so many bar programs,” was created in Jura.
There’s a curated Chartreuse section, and cocktails also make use of the herbal liqueur (i.e., a frozen Naked & Famous). Philip says he’s a longtime Chartreuse collector and amassed rare bottles from France and the states. He also had the global director and head distiller for Chartreuse from France at the bar. “They were deeply excited about what we’re doing and wanted to make sure we’re stocked and have consistent stock,” he says.
For Crybaby’s food, the team brought in chef Jay Rodriguez of pop-up dinner series Hera, The Alpine thread continues with dessert-course cheeses; a savory Comté cheesecake topped with caramelized Madeira onions; duck confit atop pillowy polenta and thick king trumpet mushrooms; a French dip with a teacup of au jus; and oysters dressed with a a spruce and lovage mignonette and Chartreuse vegetal.
Desserts include cheeses (naturally); house-made marshmallow with genepi, stone pine, and absinthe; Jell-O shots made with a five-year-old chestnut oak Madeira, bourbon, and vermouth di Torino; and a classic Swiss chocolate mousse.
The 1,200-square-foot space with 70 seats features “really deep, sodden, rich tones that feel delectable, melty, sexy, elegant, that’s also just rich and really enlivened,” Strikland says. “We want to have a reverence here,” Strickland says, with French, historical, and ancient references, as commentary on humanity and human emotions.” There are busts throughout the space, tapered handles, marble-topped tables and bar, silver-tinned ceiling, deep green banquettes, and blush pink walls and seats. One bathroom features a wall with Renaissance-style flying cupids and doves on the walls (along with a sign noting that patrons are welcome to cry in the restroom and that employees should use the walk-in).
When Crybaby opens, its hours will be from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.