Who

Noted mixologist Petraske is the proprietor of Milk & Honey, the perennially fashionable Eldridge Street bar that only admits guests by referral or appointment.

Backstory

Petraske studied under legendary Rainbow Room bartender Dale DeGroff and worked at East Village bar Von before going out on his own with Milk & Honey in 2000. The bar immediately gained attention for its finicky rules—on display in the bathroom—which included prohibitions against star-fucking, shouting, and play-fighting, and its reservations-only policy, which was complicated by the fact that the venue didn't have a listed phone number. Why would anyone suffer through these hassles? For Milk & Honey's deliciously old-school, carefully-mixed cocktails, and of course so they can advertise that they're sufficiently cool and savvy to have gotten in.

Petraske later opened an outpost of Milk & Honey in London as well as three other spots in the city—Company Bar on Essex and Grand, Little Branch in the West Village, and Mercury Dime in the East Village. He also offers up his bar knowledge to other club and restaurant owners—for the right price, of course. He created the cocktail menu at David Rabin's Meatpacking District hotspot Double Seven.

Personal

Petraske, who's been referred to in the press as "eccentric," "reclusive," "inimitable," and "mythical," lives on Jones Street in the West Village.