Easy Eight

The lockout laws are making headlines again. Spin from both sides of the debate has punters thinking Sydney is a dystopian, Escape from New York no-man's-land where anyone who orders organic wine by the glass can expect a king hit to the gulliver. But, you know what? New bars are still opening and sections of the city are still awesome.

While park protests and letters to parliament are all well and good, the best way to support Sydney nightlife is to get out there and spend money at joints keeping the dream alive. Joint's like Easy Eight.

You can find the American diner-styled bar in the laneway off Clarence Street that's also home to Baxter Inn and The Barber Shop. It opened in early February and is the second venue from the Mojo Record Bar owners, still selling vinyl and Vesper martinis a block over. It's a swell little 60-seater with plush booths, a white-tiled bar and low-hanging lights. Full marks to the soundtrack of toe-tapping blues, Motown and Merseyside beats from a time when John and Paul were still talking.

It almost dips its toe into faux dive-bar territory but stops short thanks to happy-to-help staff, squeaky clean surfaces and a cocktail featuring Hundreds and Thousands. It's called a Fairy Bread Fizz, it's $18 and also contains vodka, lemon, egg white and (more) sugar. I don't order it because there are women in the room and I'm trying to look like a respectable adult in front of them.

I fancy my chances and blood sugar better with The Ultima ($18), a champagne coupe of tequila, lemon juice, yellow Chartreuse and Maraschino liqueur.

It's a ripper twist on The Last Word that's balanced, fresh and sharp. However, when a tall glass of Fernet-Branca and Coke is $10 I'm happy to stick to the elixir all night, and it becomes the first pre-mixed drink on tap I've ever ordered two of.

Another first-time experience happens when I order smoked beef -brisket from a small bar and it doesn't have the texture of a 19th-century naval ration.

American barbecue can be upsetting when it comes from a place not solely committed to cooking the stuff, but this 12-hour brisket from chef Jack Bathurst (add that one to the list of names I wish were mine) is a soft and fatty beast tasting of Texan prairies and city-slicker daydreams.

Ask for pinch of house-made chicken salt to sprinkle on top and it's Hi-Yo, Silver to flavour country.

Yeah, that's right. House-made chicken salt. Bathurst bakes fat-trimmed chook skin and grinds the shards up with standard salt. It's scattered over a cup of spindly house-cut fries ($9) but also welcome on split Yamba prawns ($18) splashed with "Jamaican" vinegar (sherry vinegar infused with garlic and chilli) and a log of sweet and juicy char-grilled corn with pecans and silky lime butter ($6). It's not the kind of thing safe to have lying around the house.  

Easy Eight is a welcome addition to a CBD small bar scene that's always a pleasure to mosey around for a rum here and a beer there. After a few more Motown hits, I leave the place happy and stop in at Baxter's for a whisky before meeting mates at Golden Century and kicking on to Karaoke World for Sapporo and Sonny and Cher.

Sure, lockout laws aren't the greatest thing to happen to city nightlife but, at the end of the day, Sydney, you're still a lot of fun.

THE LOW-DOWN
Go for… cocktails, chicken salt and New York vibes.
Stay for… the tight playlist.
Drink… Fernet and Coke.
And… a lunch service is planned for later in the year.