The Times has new details about Painkiller, the tiki bar that will replace the East Side Company Bar on Essex Street sometime “between the Ides of March and April Fool’s Day.” Co-owner Rochard Boccato says he hopes “to kick off a new era in tiki culture with the bar.” He told the Times, “We want to foster the inception of a New York tiki culture. We’re not taking you off the island of Manhattan onto the island of Oahu. We’re staying right here.” Sure there will be the requisite “thatch and some bamboo… but you should also expect some graffiti and some subway tiles and things that are more reminiscent of the Bowery circa 1978. We’re trying to do an amalgamation of that.” Drinks will be priced $15-$20 (not so painless).
Ben Leventhal sits down for a chat with Nate Appleman, who will be running the show at Pulino’s on the Bowery.
