When Natalie Czech suggested taking her roommate Sanam Skelly to her new favorite bar, the ’70s-themed Golden Cadillac, on a recent Saturday night, Skelly was skeptical.
“When you think of the ’70s, it’s not exactly the most beautiful thing in the world,” the 28-year-old Carroll Gardens resident says. “You think of brown shag carpeting.”
But when the pair sidles up to the long bar in the East Village, they’re met by an array of classy brown and orange finishes, and a staff of handsome bartenders in vests and bow ties. As the roomies peruse the menu from swivel-backed chairs, Jimi Hendrix and ELO blast from the speakers.
“I like the way they’ve done it in here, and the music is nice,” Skelly says as she sips her third cocktail, a Lava Flow (a daiquiri with strawberry purée). “And there’s porn in the bathroom.”
The “porn” she’s referring to are Playboy magazines from 1977 that cover the restroom walls (for the record, there’s no actual nudity, but there is an appearance by Barbra Streisand). The mags are indicative of the Golden Cadillac’s embrace of the sexy ’70s. Sure, the decade often gets a bad rap, but with the right touch, it’s instantly as much fun as the neon-streaked ’80s and as classy as the “Mad Men”- esque ’60s. This bar might also be the best spot in town to visit after watching the new ’70s-licious film “American Hustle.”
“The ’70s [had] a sense of people getting together,” explains Greg Boehm, 44, one of the partners behind the bar, who, unlike most of his younger patrons, actually lived through the decade. “I remember going to lots of parties; there was always music, lots of deviled eggs. The fondue we put on the [menu] because it’s great to share.”
The month-old Golden Cadillac bucks the current mixology trend of complex libations with an encyclopedia of ingredients. Instead, the drinks here are simple, if slightly campy: the Disco Daiquiri, a sour-flavored drink that comes with a disco-ball ornament; the warm Buttery Nipple, made with a butter-infused whiskey; the classic piña colada, served with a paper umbrella; and the bar’s namesake cocktail, the Galliano-imbued Golden Cadillac.
“There are plenty of places that make complicated drinks, not as many that make fun drinks,” Boehm says.
And drinkers seem to be embracing that back-in-time lightheartedness.
The bar owners “didn’t go toward the trends, they stuck to the vision,” says patron Briana Stanley, 30, who lives in the East Village. They “don’t hold a grudge against [serving a] Cosmo just because ‘Sex and the City’ did it.”
Boehm sourced the menu directly from the decade, giving chef Miguel Trinidad his parents’ leather-bound collection of 1977 Gourmet magazines as inspiration.
But instead of lukewarm casseroles and Jell-O molds, Trinidad modernized: The deep-fried Monte Cristo sandwiches are made with duck, ham and maple syrup; the fondue is manchego with potato knishes for dipping; and even the simple deviled eggs and Steak Diane got a tasty makeover.
With a ’70s soundtrack low enough to encourage conversation, a crowd began to file in on a recent Saturday night by 8. East Village resident Phineas Ellis, 24, caught up with his old friend Caroline Taylor, 25, who was visiting from West Hollywood. They’d been chatting, sipping and snacking since the bar opened at 5. And Ellis already had his ’70s lingo down.
“You go into certain bars and they’re so hip and really trying to keep up with each other,” Ellis says. “Coming in here and hearing ‘Fortunate Son’ and old music — I’m really digging it.”