My time here is slowly coming to an end. Here’s the penultimate food and drinks review.
Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s Delicatessen
Katz’s Delicatessen is one of the go to places in New York City and even if you haven’t been here, you have most likely heard about it – when you’re a fellow foodie anyway. It is a kosher delicatessen restaurant on the Lower East Side, which was opened in 1888. While initially it was mainly popular within the Jewish and immigrant communities of lower Manhattan, its popularity soared over time and probably climaxed (pun intended) when the famous orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally” was filmed here.
I arrived at lunch time and there was already a small, orderly queue on the outside. On the inside, however, it seemed pure chaos. Naturally I expected the place to be busy but the sheer amount of people was a bit unsettling. I stood in line for well over 20 minutes, ordered my pastrami on rye and a Dr. Brown’s Soda and found a seat somewhere. The pastrami itself was tender and moist and the mustard packed a punch but the bread unfortunately fell apart very quickly, which made it a bit messy to eat. My favourite part of the meal were definitely the pickles (one sour, one not sour) which worked well to counterbalance the extreme salt levels of the sandwich. All in all, I liked it but I found the atmosphere in there so uncomfortable that I wouldn’t go back. I don’t know whether this is simply a post pandemic sentiment but that was definitely the least comfortable experience here in New York.
6/10
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream
I find burgers overrated and the same goes for ice cream. My favourite kind of ice cream is generally the free one that is generously distributed in my office when temperatures hit 25+ degrees celsius in summer. But Morgenstern’s was recommended by the R&D chef at Atomix and I happened to walk past it on a particularly sunny day, so I popped in. At $8.50 for two scoops of ice cream, the place really had to deliver – and to my surprise it did. I like unusual flavours and the choice between the likes of vietnamese rum, olive oil eggplant and sour cream canned peaches made it hard for me to decide. In the end, I went with toasted rice yuzu swirl and tahini and grape jelly topped with sesame caramel. Everything was absolutely delicious. The tahini ice cream had a nice saltiness while the toasted rice and yuzu was tart and refreshing. My personal favourite was the sesame caramel which was a tiny bit nutty and even a tad bitter, which I appreciated.
By the way, sesame caramel is a big thing here. Mark my word, it’s the new salted caramel.
10/10
Cocktails at Angel’s Share
For nearly 30 years, the Japanese style cocktail bar Angel’s Share has been located in the East Village. The small bar with seats for only about 10 people contributed massively to jumpstart New York’s craft cocktail scene challenging the 90’s Cosmopolitan craze and bringing back old school drinks with a twist. I always wanted to go there but heard that it was unfortunately closing before I arrived in New York. Luckily, the bar’s owners decided to organize a pop-up in a speakeasy style space in midtown’s Hotel Eventi.
The small room, which you enter via an unmarked door in the hotel’s actual bar, offers space for about 20 people and works on a walk-in policy only, so I went there early to get a spot. Can’t deny that I felt like I was part of a secret society when I simply walked across the busy hotel bar, which blasted its Spotify lounge playlist, and entered that hidden passageway into a more refined bar, that nobody really knew about.
One glance at the menu was enough to know, that I’d be here for a while. Every single cocktail sounded so interesting and intriguing that I had to try several. I went with Blue Bells first (Lapsang tea-infused 12yo Dalmore, 12yo Bowmore, blueberry, umami bitters, Paychaud’s bitters) which was a refreshing take on an Old Fashioned. After that, I got the Flirtibird (Barley shochu Mizu no Mai, shiso, yuzu juice, agave nectar, plum salt rim). This was clearly one of the best cocktails I’ve had in my life. The chilled stoneware cup with the fruity salt rim massively contributed to that. I don’t know exactly what kind of salt they used, but it was not your typically Margarita salt. It was very subtly salty and would prickle on the lips like sherbet. Up next, I had the Milestones (Suntory Toki, Hoji royal milk tea, pandan, grapefruit, lemon). The ingredients in this one were nice and balanced. I expected something milky but to my surprise was served a transparent drink. My guess is they used clarified milk tea and grapefruit juice. (Trendsetters, take note: Besides sesame caramel, clarified cocktail ingredients are also a big thing here.) Also a very good cocktail but couldn’t live up to the other two.
All in all, I loved everything about this bar – except for the fact that they didn’t offer bar seating maybe. And yes, I also loved that when I got chatting to other cocktail lovers here, I could play the “Have you heard about the secret Angel’s Share pop up in Midtown?” card.
Tip: Should you go to New York and find the Angel’s Share pop up finished, then try Martiny’s. Several different people recommended this place to me and it is owned by former Angel’s Share manager and head bartender Takuma Watanabe.
10/10
Hot Dog at Papaya King
So, here’s another Bourdain recommendation: Papaya King on the Upper East Side. In his New York episode of “The Layover”, Anthony Bourdain describes it as a hidden gem in an area without proper food culture and as the golden standard of the hot dog. I am not a hot dog expert finding it nearly as overrated as burgers and ice cream, but have to say that I really liked it as well. According to a sign on the wall, they have them custom made to a secret recipe specifically developed for Papaya King. Their classic hot dog is topped with mustard, sauerkraut and caramelized onions.
Papaya King’s secret to success, however, is not only the sausage. The hot dog is traditionally served with Papaya Drink. The drink is not to be confused with papaya juice. Its a bit more milky and artificial but in a good way (God, have I become American?). Have to say, the combination really does work. The sweet, creamy drink goes well with the hot dog. I guess a more established yet similar combination are burgers and milkshakes. Works as well, right?
If you go, make sure to go to the original one on the Upper East Side. There’s several hot dog and papaya copycats and they all claim that they’re Bourdain’s favourite. But I watched back the Layover episode and compared screenshots. It’s definitely Papaya King.
8/10
Cocktails at Overstory
When I asked people for cocktail recommendations, two bars would repeatedly come up: Manhatta and Overstory. They are actually just around the corner from each other and both of them are located on the 60+ floor. The decision, which one to go to, was made a bit easier for me as Manhatta was fully booked for the month but I could get a spot at Overstory.
Overstory (No. 34 on the 50 Best Bars List) is on the 63rd floor and the barkeepers claimed that it was only slightly lower than Manhatta (“a matter of inches”), making it the second highest rooftop bar in NYC. What makes the small bar (guessing about 20 seats) so special is that it offers a 360 degree view of Manhattan – something you otherwise only get for $45 a ticket at touristy observations decks. Unfortunately, when I visited it was rainy and windy but I still ventured outside for a bit to enjoy the views and to take a few photos. I can only imagine how lovely it is here in summer.
For my first cocktail, I chose their crowd pleaser, the Terroir Old Fashioned. It’s a modern take on the classic cocktail featuring tequila instead of bourbon/rye, palo santo and salt. I loved the spirit-forward cocktail and I particularly liked how they worked in sweetness and salt: the ice cube was topped by a piece of honeycomb which was sprinkled with a tiny bit of flaky sea salt. Over time the honeycomb would melt into the cocktail and the salt kept it from getting too sweet. I also tried their green tea Martini, an Old Fashioned variation with black pear and the aptly named “In the Clouds”, a combination of whisky, earl grey, vodka, champagne and clarified milk. Told you, clarification is a thing here!
My wallet clearly suffered from a giant hangover after this experience with cocktails being $24 each but I don’t regret anything.
10/10
Mezze at Shukette
If I’m bankrupt after this holiday, then I clearly blame the Atomix staff. Shukette is yet another recommendation from the doomed must-visit restaurants list they gave me when I dined there. Since it’s right around the corner from my place I simply had to make a reservation.
Shukette offers oriental food that is mainly meant to shared. Unfortunately, I was on my own so I had to limit my order to a few dishes. I got their bestseller flat bread which came straight out the oven and which was topped by a very generous drizzle of olive oil and potted garlic. Along with that, I ordered labneh, a greek style yoghurt that came with roasted grapes, pistachios and a generous drizzle of olive oil. To add a bit of freshness, I also went with the apple and fennel salad, topped with zhough (a levantine herb pesto) and – you guessed it – a generous drizzle of olive oil.
I really liked the food but I guess the experience is so much better when you share the food tapas style and get to try many different things. It’s not really a single diner kind of place.
Oh, just realized that that apple and fennel salad was probably the only healthy thing I ate this month. But hey, every good holiday should come with a case of scurvy.
(no rating for reasons mentioned above)
Couch Potato Chronicles 