Special Edition: Celebrating 2 Years of LAST CALL!
And It's SLURPEE DAY at 7-Eleven!
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7/11: Celebrating 2 Years of LAST CALL
LAST CALL is back from a weeklong Fourth of July “vacation” (if you count me hiding out in my hot and sticky air-conditioner-less apartment on a never-ending—by my own fault—book deadline a vacation) and our return today on 7/11 also marks the 2-year anniversary of the launch of LAST CALL! (And to my new air conditioner arriving today!)
Coincidentally, it’s also Slurpee Day! Beat this unbearable heat with a visit to any 7-Eleven convenience store today to receive a free small Slurpee. This year’s featured flavor is MTN Dew Freedom Fusion, a frosty lemonade and peach Slupree (though the offer is good for any available flavor). And 7-Eleven has collaborated with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to feature an exclusive Slurpee cup adorned with artwork by 7-year-old Nolan, who at age 3 was diagnosed with retinoblastoma cancer. 7-Eleven will be collecting donations at all of their locations to help support the health network.
It means so much to have you among the thousands of readers who support and engage with my writing here at LAST CALL. A special shout-out to all the DAY ONE subscribers, especially to all of the paid subscribers—from the dozens of Founding Members to the hundreds of monthly and yearly paid subscribers—who help underwrite my work with their financial support. You’re truly benefactors and allow me to continue my work here day to day. I’m grateful for every reader and subscriber who joins each and every day. You’ve all helped make LAST CALL a certified Substack “Bestseller” and one of the Top Food and Drink publications on the platform.
The mission statement for LAST CALL promises “regular dispatches on bars and bar culture, drinks and spirits, restaurants and regional foodways, popular culture, (and sometimes cats),” and hopefully I’ve continued to deliver on that pledge with the many engaging, informative, and entertaining articles, personal essays, stories, interviews, recipes, and special features.
In the past year I’ve written and shared first looks and previews of new cocktail menus and bar openings, chronicled my five-week Wednesday Residency at Dante, interviewed James Beard Award-winning cookbook authors along with exclusive recipe excerpts, revealed the origin story of my lifelong aversion to onions, covered countless guest bartender appearances and pop-ups, and wrote about my love of Italian drinking culture with recipes and features on Bar Basso’s signature Sbagliato glass, Negroni variations, a “farm to fire” Sicilian-inspired dinner, my new favorite low-ABV summer aperitivo, a lesser-known Italian cocktail still waiting to take flight, and so much more.
In addition to Dive Bar Jukebox, this past year also featured the launch of two new paid subscriber exclusives: The Lowdown (an expanded edition of what I’ve been eating, drinking, writing, watching, and reading) and City Guides (a curated lineup of my personal picks for eating and drinking in New York City and beyond), in addition to special holiday-themed programming and an expanded series of Holiday Gift Guides.
This next year promises the continuation of these popular features along with even more original content, including essays, interviews, and collaborations.
And LAST CALL will be the first place to learn details about my next book, Drinking Italian: The Spirited Traditions, Rituals, and Recipes of Italy's Drinking Culture, currently scheduled for an October 2025 publication from Ten Speed Press—from behind-the-scenes stories, photographs, updates, previews, recipe excerpts, pre-order information, obtaining signed copies, and events.
Writing is a solitary and often lonely pursuit. On paper, all these visits to bars and restaurants for tastings and interviews seem pretty cool (and they are), but the churn of researching/writing/publishing/promoting (repeat) is an ongoing cycle and can take its toll. That’s why engagement from readers is always welcome and helps me feel like I’m in less than a vacuum.
I’m often approached by readers when I’m out and about in the wild (I’m easy to spot with the red hair), whether I’m hanging out a favorite bar, standing on line at the grocery store, or on a constitutional along the Brooklyn waterfront. Recently I was waiting for the bus and from the window of a passing car the front passenger (who looked like Nathan Fielder, but that’s the case with a whole subset of Brooklyn men) shouted out: “BTP! Love your work, man!” Most people will want to talk about a specific book of mine but more and more folks bring up this very Substack, and share that they’re a subscriber. So if you see me, say hello. I’m a very nice guy.
And in each of these dispatches, there’s always icons to “Like” or “Comment” on the post. I realize it’s a lot to ask to even keep up with reading these frequent dispatches, but your engagement, feedback, and comments are always helpful and most welcome, and helps foster the community of readers here at LAST CALL.
The other day I received this DM from a reader and brand-new LAST CALL subscriber from Europe.
“Hi, Brad. This is a quick thank you message from a long time follower and reader. I love your writing. Not because it's about spirits and cocktails (which I love), not because of the bitters and drinks recipes (which are fantastic), but because it is thoughtful, precise, erudite and kind. Your eulogy for Benito Nonino was fantastic. And your article about how most cocktail bars' design excludes plus-size guests struck a chord with me. I wanted to drop you a line right after reading it, without really being able to formulate what I wanted to say. Now I know, it's a simple thank you. This is a brave and generous piece of writing. I hope it helps correct some of the wrongs in bar layout and furniture design. I also think it helped a lot of people faced with the same situation. Please, keep writing and sharing. I hope our paths cross maybe one day when you're in London or Paris.” —Yves
When you sit at a desk by yourself, living in your own mind day after day, struggling to transform tangled thoughts and ideas into creative and engaging sentences strung together, an unexpected missive like this means so much, and helps me know that what I’m doing matters to at least one reader out there in the world.