It’s Alright To Stair

By Frank Sabatini Jr. / Photos by Brandon Matzek

Nine stories above 9th Avenue sits Level 9, the new bar perched atop Hotel Indigo in East Village. Get a head start on those calorie-burning resolutions by skipping the elevator and two- stepping your way up to this renovated venue (which just got a $500,000 remodel) for a Not Your Average Beer, a sparkling- Sangria-tasting mood fixer/elixir. The libation elevates nearly an ounce of Bacardi rum with muddled blackberries, honey water and Lindemans Framboise Raspberry Lambic Beer.

“Framboise is a fun beer that everyone started drinking, so we wanted to give it a renewed twist for the New Year,” says food and beverage director Curtis Crawford, who is also executive chef for Table 509, the ground floor restaurant nine flights below. “All combined, the drink is refreshing, not too strong and finishes smoothly.”

Served in lightweight stemware made from recycled-corn plastic, which respects the hotel’s sustainable building practices (Indigo flaunts LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council), Not Your Average
Beer will make you want to pull up a fire pit, kick up your feet and enjoy the view from up here. The walk back downstairs is a breeze.

Level 9
Hotel Indigo 509 9th Ave., East Village
619.727.4000, hotelinsd.com