SHIG and I go to a new place. Then I write about it.

Sceney trendsters that we are, yesterday Super Hot Irish Girlfriend and I hit up Michael Mina's new Clock Bar in the St. Francis. It was neither sceney nor trendy. The drinks, however, were pretty good.

I started with a Star Daisy, which is Beefeater gin, Calvados (a brandy distilled from apple cider - no, I didn't know either), lime and grenadine. Sounds pretty good, right? I should have been tipped off by the name, but when it arrived, served up in a martini glass, you can guess what it looked like.

Great. I'm the only man in the place with a pink drink. Anyway, despite the appearance, it was really good. SHIG had the Hemingway daiquiri (rum, maraschino, grapefruit, lime, and grapefruit bitters) which, amazingly, looked manly next to my drink. I didn't think all that much of hers. The bittters threw me off, I think.

I also had an Aviation - Plymouth gin, maraschino, lemon, and creme de violette, which was also very good.

The place itself feels like a hotel bar which, I guess, makes sense, since it is a hotel bar. Looked like mostly tourist clientele. The service was outstanding, and I'm not just saying that because our waitress was a 5'10" blonde girl who looked like a model. Really, she was very attentive and good.

I can't see making a special trip there, but if you're around Union Square and you don't feel like having a conventioneer from St. Louis throw up on you at the Gold Dust, I guess it would a good alternative. Thank you very much.