The Moscow Mule, whose 4-2-1 mixture of ginger beer, vodka and lime juice arrives in a cold copper mug, lends a different type of glamour to its partakers than to those who choose from the martini list. It's more rustic -- and less expensive -- than other specialty cocktails, but drinking it in a chic venue such as City Tavern provides a dichotomy of upscale and down-home that you won't get at, say, McCoy's (where the mules taste a little like incense). The fact that City Tavern is located in the rehabbed Freight House works even further in its favor; the timber ceilings and hardwood floors are elegant reminders of Kansas City's history and add to the sense of I-worked-damned-hard-to-enjoy-this-drink. If Laura Ingalls Wilder had moved to New York, we think this is what she would have ordered.
