Cool Cocktails
Playboy picks Houston favorite as one of top 20 best new bars in America
Maybe Playboy really is starting to be all about the articles. The noted men's magazine is spiffing up its image with content that's less about the unclothed ladies and more about lifestyle. First up, its list of the 20 best new bars in America.
Not surprisingly, the much-lauded Washington Avenue bar Julep is on the list, along with spots for foodies, patio lovers and what appears to be America's new favorite thing, the tiki bar.
Playboy singles out Julep, the Southern-inspired cocktail bar from the Anvil team and bartender Alba Huerta, as the "best Southern-accented bar" and proclaims that "Alba Huerta's mission is to honor the South." The magazine adds:
"Since opening Julep, her menus have paid homage to Houston, the region’s rural roots and great port cities. This is captured in such thoughtfully crafted libations as the low country, which unites Carolina Gold rice cream with cachaça, lime, cinnamon and absinthe."
The only other Texas bar on the list is Dallas' cool, cavern-like Midnight Rambler, which is awarded "best subterranean bar."
It's not the first time Huerta and her bar have been honored. Earlier this year Bon Appetit magazine named Julep one of America's five best new cocktail bars. And Huerta took home. CultureMap’s Tastemaker Best Bartender Award last year.
See the entire list here.
