How to Score a Seat at PDT Now that It's the World's Best Bar

For anyone who missed the wall-to-wall coverage of last week’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, Jim Meehan and his excellent East Village bar PDT won big. Jim Meehan: American Bartender of the Year. PDT: World’s Best Cocktail Bar. I’m not surprised; F&W called out PDT as one of the world’s top bars in our May issue's Go List, and Meehan was Deputy Editor of our fantastic book, Cocktails 2009—and has been for the last three years. Meehan, who I adore, is already working on Cocktails 2010—but we guard those details the way J.K. Rowling did her Harry Potter sequels. Even though it might get harder than ever to snag a barstool at PDT, Meehan has some advice:

*At 6 p.m., you can almost always walk in without a reservation.
*There aren't a lot of midnight reservations—another good time to walk in.
*If the bar is full, have a drink nearby—Death + Co, home to another fantastic F&W Cocktail alum, Joaquin Simo, just extended their hours so there’s less velvet rope action than before—and PDT will call you when space opens up, generally within an hour.
*Don’t get too hopeful if your party is more than eight. In fact, pick another place.