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They say you can learn a lot from a child: how to love unconditionally or change a diaper or invest in a bunch of stocks that'll catapult Eddie Murphy to the top of his financial firm, if he can only learn to invest in her love, as well. Now learning you how to classily drink, thanks to someone else's kid: The Tar Pit.

Opening a week from tomorrow, The Tar Pit's an intimate, ivory-toned '30s/'40s-style cocktail-and-small-plates bar, glammed up with dangling chandeliers and art-deco booth partitions, all from the Campanile guy, who decided to get into the cocktail biz after learning about mixology from his daughter, who's obsessed with drinking in NYC, something her dad's managed to parlay into a good thing. Bartenders hail from vaunted local spots like the Edison and equally reputable East Coast drinkeries like Milk & Honey, and go through a rigorous 3-week "bartender boot camp" in order to properly put together schmancy libations like "The Old Cuban" (aged rum mojito w/ Angostura bitters, topped w/ Champagne) the "Flame of Love" (invented for Dean Martin; bay leaf-infused vodka w/ fino sherry, and a flaming corkscrew orange peel), and the shaken, orange bitters and lemon-twist topped, 1/2 gin, 1/2 vermouth "Fiddy-Fiddy," which apparently has given up on that bottle full of bub, mama. Food's all shareable small-plates, with pairings recommended for each by the staff; options include pickled deviled eggs w/ Smithfield ham, a seared pave of salmon, and duck sliders w/ orange gastrique, but not Mighty Duck sliders, 'cause Emilio Estevez has atrocious table manners.

In the future, the owner is planning to use his small stage for mellow entertainment (pianists, etc) but nothing with percussion -- 'cause if there's one thing you've learned from a child, it's that playing the drums isn't a real skill.

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