Now that New York City has reached 90° with nearly 50% humidity, a young man’s thoughts turn to tropical cocktails such as the Mai Tai. But for those, one requires a proper receptacle, and I’ve found the cheapest place to get Tiki mugs is Bowery Restaurant Supply. Lately, in fact, I buy most of my cheap and sturdy kitchen equipment there, namely utensils, pots, pans, bowls and boards.
I’m not talking about Bowery Kitchen which, despite its name, is located in Chelsea. That place has its draw, too, with deals on certain generics (cookie sheets leap to mind). But it skews toward brand-name equipment and supplies for the typically higher-grade clientèle of Chelsea Market.
Bowery Restaurant Supply, on the other hand, is located just off the Bowery, steps from the J/M subway station and the Bowery Ballroom, as storied as it is grubby.
You can glean at least three facts from this receipt: I planned ahead for my dog days with a Tiki mug-run in snowy February. Stuff is incredibly cheap at Bowery Restaurant by New York standards (and possibly the standards of other locales)—$2.50 each for the mugs! A heavy pint glass (now acting as my primary cocktail shaker) for $2.25! Really cheap plastic squeeze-bottles, perfect for dressings, syrups and condiments!
And they’re super oldschool: they have a cash box, not a register, and a gnarled Asian man handwrites your receipt. I am happy that fame, in the form of Mark Bittman’s prominent ode to them three years back, has not seemed to have affected their thrifty, low-key style.