I wouldn’t say I have a formal bucket list, but I wouldn’t say I don’t either. Sure, I want to sip wine in Spain and eat cheese in the France and many other dreamy desires. Along with these dreams, believe it or not, having a Bloody Mary at the St. Regis Hotel in NYC has also been on my bucket list for some time now. This is somewhat comical because I live about 40 minutes away from the St. Regis hotel – no bucket list item that is within 40 minutes of accomplishing should still be on anybody’s bucket list!
I am pleased to report I can now cross that item off! When a business meeting brought Brett and I across the street from the St. Regis, I seized the moment. Our meeting finished up around 4:30 on a Thursday- perfect timing for visiting the location that claimed have invented the Bloody Mary in 1934. The fun fact about this cocktail at the St. Regis is that they call it a ‘Red Snapper’ stating that in the 1930’s, Bloody Mary was considered a vulgar name for the drink.
We cozied up at two seats at the bar and didn’t even look at a cocktail menu. “Two Bloody Mary’s, please,” we ordered without reservation. The bartender didn’t blink and eye and served them up. We toasted, took some photos and discussed the flavor profile. It offered very simple seasoning, but we liked it well enough. It certainly wasn’t what I would describe as ‘craveable,’ but it was solid enough and I was happy to be sipping on this beverage at it’s claimed birthplace and I was glad Brett was there to enjoy it with me.
This is when I start laughing out loud when I tell this story to friends. We finished up and asked for the check. OK, let’s take a moment and remember that yes, we were in New York City. Yes, we were in Midtown West- a highly affluent area in NYC. And yes, we were at the ‘birthplace’ of the Bloody Mary which happens to be at a very, very high end hotel. Now, would you care to take a guess at how much we paid for two Bloody Mary’s on this particular occasion? There is no way you guessed correctly. The right answer is $58.00 plus tax and tip, bringing our grand total to 68.00. For two cocktails. Yep. That happened.
Ok so as ridiculous as this story is, I’m okay with it. I didn’t go out of my way to get there and in the long run, it’s probably the cheapest ‘bucket list’ item a person can have (I’m certain that trip to the French countryside will cost more than $68 bucks.) Plus, I get to say I’ve done it. Now with all that said, I can guarantee you this- I will not be sipping on a ‘Red Snapper’ at the St. Regis again- or at least not anytime soon!
