There’s a beautiful new bird in town, and you can hear its song calling to you from inside Corvino Supper Club. She is saying “come as you are, all are welcome.”
Songbird is a bird of a different feather. The casual new bar has opened in the formerly formal Tasting Room space inside Corvino Supper Club. After seven years in the Crossroads, the James Beard Nominated chef Michael Corvino and his wife and partner, Christina, were ready to create a cozy spot where people can drop in with no reservations and enjoy a couple of drinks and a few fun bites with friends.
There are 12 specialty cocktails and four no-or-low alcohol drinks on the Songbird menu. They’re organized on the menu under titles like “earth” for savory drinks, “fire” for strong ones, “air” for fizzy ones, and “water” for low ABV drinks. Guests can also order any drink from the Supper Club menu and have it delivered to Songbird, or you can ask the bartender to whip up something special that isn’t on the menu.
As for snacks, the kitchen is having much fun with the Songbird menu while still being true to the food for which Corvino is known, with price points between $6-$14. Guests will find sweet-and-spicy bar nuts, pickled eggs with preserved lemon and trout roe, hash browns with tomato cheese sauce, and chicken-fried snails. You can also add prime rib beef to a raclette and a gruyere grilled cheese sandwich for an upcharge. For dessert, choose between a caramel chocolate bar, peach sorbet, or a warm chocolate chip cookie. The famous Corvino burger is also making an appearance on the menu.
The room feels distinctively different, even though the layout hasn’t changed. The chef’s counter is now the cocktail bar with plush leather seats, and the four-top tables and chairs have been replaced with beautiful peacock-blue banquettes, alongside two-tops that can easily be pushed together for larger groups. There’s colorful new artwork on the walls, candles on the tables, and sexy new lighting that give the whole place a lounge-y vibe.
All the Songbird cocktails have names from real songs submitted by the staff. Dusk and Summer is a song by Dashboard Confessional that describes letting your guard down to experience love. It’s also a creamy coconut-forward cocktail made with mezcal that’s a bestseller.
“I absolutely love coconut, it’s one of my favorite flavors and scents. I start most days with coconut in my smoothie or on my oatmeal. I love it with dark chocolate and nuts,” says Christina Corvino. “However, I tend to steer away from tropical drinks that are sweet, as they feel unbalanced to me. This takes a strong, smoky mezcal and wraps it in creaminess, and then adds another dimension with nuttiness and spices. It became a guest favorite within the first month we were open.”
This is a grown-up coconut cocktail, with the mezcal adding smokiness, and the turmeric and bitters adding complexity. It is also a beautiful color, so Christina suggests using a clear glass, and don’t forget the mint sprig for the aromatics.
Dusk and Summer
- 2 ounces Madre Mezcal Espadín
- 1 ounce coconut milk
- .5 ounce Velvet Falernum
- .5 ounce lime juice
- .25 ounce orgeat syrup
- .25 ounce agave nectar
- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- 6 drops saline solution (1 part salt, 4 parts water)
- 1 pinch tumeric
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker tin, fill with ice, and shake vigorously. Double strain into tall clear Collins glass packed with pebble ice. Garnish with mint sprig and enjoy.