Yin-Yang on the Bowery; Good Drinks and Yummy Eats Too

A A A Comments By Danial Adkison Tuesday, May 3 2005

photo: Tamara Rosenblum

Not a pub in the Dublin sense of the word

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Cooper 35 Asian Pub
35 Cooper Square
212-375-9195

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Workaholics that we are, Voice word jockeys hardly get a chance to glance out the window at our neighborhood. So imagine our surprise when we noticed the demise of a certain long-lived cetaceous establishment across the street, replaced by something called Asian Pub. Drinkers (did I say workaholics?) that we are, we went to investigate. The typeface on the place's awning suggests Ireland—but fonts can be so deceiving. Any notion of Dublin disappeared when peppery edamame arrived gratis with our first round of drinks. The Funny Honey ($4) came in a Jacuzzi-size goblet and tasted like a rum-and-vanilla Slurpee drizzled with honey. A bubble tea straw complemented the gargantuan portion ("This isn't a straw; it's a pipeline!"). The Lycheetini (vodka and lychee, $4) tasted as bitter as the early-spring winds that forced us to abandon our garden table. The mojito ($4), on the other hand, achieved cold fusion in a glass with an almost perfect balance of sweetness and fresh mint. When a second round left us teetering near girl-drink drunkenness, we gorged on tasty, cilantro-laden spicy mussels ($6) and crispy calamari tempura ($4). The place cleared out by 9:30 p.m., leaving us alone beneath a Chinese dragon, wondering how long we'll have until our new neighbor gets too packed for us just to pop in.

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