The Drift

Chris Young and Taylor Dow, the crew behind Williamsburg favorite the Commodore, have a knack for opening bars that are fun and well-executed — just silly enough to never be too serious. They brought that to Bushwick with El Cortez, where you can make a meal out of taco salad and piña coladas, and with the Drift to the Greenpoint border. If El Cortez is Commodore on spring break in Mexico, then the Drift feels like what would happen if you moved it to Asheville or the Ozarks. It’s appropriately cozy, with taxidermied animals, wood walls that wouldn’t be out of place in a ski lodge, leather booths, and a couple of arcade games. Drinks will be familiar to anyone who’s had four too many amaretto-topped Commodores and include the Creamsicle-like Orange Julio (worth it for the name alone), the tiki classic Hurricane, and the aptly named Boat Drink. Young’s kitchen accomplice (and noted Checkers fan) Stephen Tanner isn’t handling the menu this go around, so they tapped a friend of his from Alabama. She’s serving very tender Low Country boiled peanuts for cracking open while you drink your beer, a creamy smoked Vidalia onion dip straight out of your parents’ ’80s cocktail party, and a solid “Hangry Man” sandwich made with chopped ribs and South Carolina mustard sauce. There’s also banana pudding and, of course, a chicken sandwich, this time not fried but smoked and served with Alabama white sauce, the state’s traditional, mayo-based chicken condiment.