By Therese Maher
The following statement never gets old: There’s a new bar in town. In this case, the town is Bushwick and the bar is Mazelle.
It has been open to the public for about three months and my impression, when I dropped by recently, was that it has hit the ground running.
It was a late Saturday afternoon and the bar was just starting to attract a crowd. On the corner of Wyckoff and Starr, Mazelle has plenty of foot-traffic and is right off the Jefferson stop. In fact, move their front door six feet to the right and they ARE the Jefferson stop. It’s a pretty sweet spot to set up camp. (And speaking of the word sweet, ask the barman to make you a Botanic Garden.)
On a hunch, I’d say owner Yury Maze knows good food. Like any good New York restaurateur, he brings you the taste of a distant land. Eastern European flavours inspire the menu at Mazelle. The cheese and charcuterie plate offers a selection of Russian and Ukrainian meats, and the kachipuri bread is hand made by an old man with the only oven of its kind outside of Georgia. So there you have it, a nod, apparently, to yesteryear baking.
Other offerings include handmade Siberian dumplings, spicy red wine shish kebabs and a pork belly sandwich with Gorgonzola and white grapes. I had the scotch eggs with paddlefish caviar, because I’m a big posho and that’s what I do: I eat caviar. It was awesome. I sat in the late afternoon light sipping artisan cocktails and nibbling on caviar and I forgot for a moment that I am possibly the poorest person I know. Which brings me nicely to my favourite part of any bar review… the happy hour. According to their most recent Facebook update, happy hour at Mazelle has been extended; from 11am till 8pm all drinks are $1 off. But if you’re keen for a real deal, chase a shot of Evan Williams with a Session Lager for six bucks.
The barstaff are lovely so don’t be shy. If you need a conversation starter, ask about the light fittings – Yury made them himself!
