Serious Eats

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• Bronx Eats: Tasty, Pocket Sized Gorditas in Mott Haven
• Taste Test: Pepperidge Farms vs. Arnold/Oroweat Hot Dog Buns
• 6 Classic Summer Pie Recipes to Have in Your Repertoire
• What We're Eating: NYC Food Finds We've Loved of Late
• Snapshots from India: Vegetarian Eats in Delhi
• Paulie Gee on Belief, Baltimore, and Being Your Own Boss (Part 1)
• All the Ramen at Ippudo's New Midtown Location
• Chocoholic: Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine
• Deep Fried Chicago: Cheesie's Pub & Grub
• Ask a Bartender: What's Your Favorite Memory from Tales of the Cocktail?
• Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers
• First Look: Early Summer Dessert Menu at Le Cirque, New York
• Video: Making (and Messing up) Homemade Tofu
• Los Angeles: The Burger Mess at Village Tavern
• Where to Eat Near Times Square (Our Updated Guide)

Bronx Eats: Tasty, Pocket Sized Gorditas in Mott Haven Posted: 17 Jul 2013 07:59 AM PDT From Serious Eats: New York [Photograph: Chris Crowley] It's becoming clearer with every jaunt around these streets that Mott Haven is a—if not the—hub of serious Mexican food in the Bronx. You have the city's most delicious carnitas, the Bronx's best tamales and a seriously savory consome de chivo, a fine panaderia, what is likely the city's only Oaxacan restaurant, a rare antojito, and more. Now we can add the pocket-sized gorditas sold by the window of San Pedro Ay'tec--so new it's still unlisted—on Willis Avenue, just past 138th Street. The antojitos are for the most part nothing to seek out; though you are blessed with the benefit of freshly made tortillas and masa boats, the cook does not go the extra mile. Her gorditas ($2), however, are a perfectly constructed exception. Smaller and rounder than many I've encountered, such as the flat ones peddled at the nearby La Morada, her gorditas are stuffed with the lettuce, onion, cheese, salsa, and crumbly, homemade chicharrones. What separates this gordita from the pack is how well balanced the filling is. It doesn't spill out all over your shirt, nor does it skimp or overload you with the fatty, deep fried pork belly. And it does so in a small, tight package. These are gorditas that are ideal for snacking, especially in summer heat when you don't want or need too much of anything deep fried. The masa cake itself is crisp and redolent of corn, yielding easily to your bite. A couple bites are necessary before you reach the porky payload, but boy is it worth it: crunchy and salty, the pork melts in your mouth but is far from greasy. These won't contend for title of best in the city, but they're ones we'd be more than happy to return for in a pinch. About the author: Chris Crowley is the author of the Bronx Eats and Anatomy of A Smorgasburg Pop Up columns. Follow him on Twitter, if you'd like. In person, your best bet is the window seat at Neerob, or waiting in line at the Lechonera La Piranha trailer.

Taste Test: Pepperidge Farms vs. Arnold/Oroweat Hot Dog Buns Posted: 17 Jul 2013 12:38 PM PDT [Photograph: Robyn Lee] The Winner: Arnold/Oroweat! "What did you do at work today, dear?" asked my wife via email last night. I couldn't quite bring myself to say, "I cut up hot dog buns into little pieces then asked people to squish them, pull them, taste them, and mark the results on paper without talking to each other, all with a side of little chopped up hot dogs. But they were good all-beef natural casing hot dogs so the whole thing was legit and my job is not unserious in the least, why are you email-staring at me like that?" See, in the past, we've published taste test results for all-beef hot dogs and our favorite natural casing pork and beef hot dogs from Michigan, but we've never really addressed their partner in crime, the hot dog bun. Today we rectify that oversight by pitting the two biggest, baddest hot dog bun bakeries in the world against each other in a head-to-head, one-on-one cage match. Only one bun can emerge victorious.* *Unless it's a tie, which it wasn't. The Contenders [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] In the red corner we had Pepperidge Farms classic side-split hot dog buns. The top-split version were born in Connecticut in 1926 and have since become a New England classic, the natural choice for toasting in butter and piling with lobster salad. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] But in the blue corner, we've got the newcomer: Arnold (known on the West Coast as Oroweat), the Connecticut Kid, hails from the same home state as Pepperidge Farms, but is a good decade-and-a-half younger, with a brighter complexion, softer texture, and sunnier personality. Who would reign supreme? Could old age be dethroned by youth? Do we want the stalwart 87-year-old standby, or the fresh-faced 71-year-old kid? We headed into the Official Serious Eats Tasting Laboratory* to find out. *Which doubles as our office on most days. The Criteria We tasted the hot dog buns gently warmed and side-by-side in a blind taste test, with griddled natural casing Boar's Head all-beef franks to serve as an accompaniment. Tasters were asked to comment on flavor and texture, as well as rate the buns for overall satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10. What we were looking for were buns that were substantial enough that they wouldn't squish their way into doughy Wonderbread oblivion, but not so tough that they bite through your hot dog for you before your teeth can even begin to make a dent—sweet, pillowy, soft, and buttery. A hot dog should slip into its bun like a baby fits into a cradle: snug and comfy-like. Each bun was tasted on its own before being tasted with the addition of a tiny hot dog nubbin*. *Wouldn't life be more interesting if more things came with tiny hot dog nubbins? The Results We divided the battle into three separate rounds to determine a winner. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Round 1: Texture Hot dog buns should be soft and giving so that they don't interfere with the snappy bite of a good dog. Both buns passed on this count. One taster described the Arnold bun as "squishy, fluffy, forms into dense doughy ball with the addition of saliva, which I like," while the Pepperidge Farms buns were "not as squishy. Soft, but spongy, retain[s] bready texture when chewed." Some tasters did find the Arnold buns to be a bit too soft ("Kind of becomes gummy"), but most enjoyed its tenderness ("soft, mushy texture, but in a good way!") Winner: Arnold takes it by a bun's length. Round 2: Flavor According to the comments, folks feel that hot dog buns need to be sweet and rich tasting, not too much like "real" bread, with just the right amount of browned flavor in the crust. There was a clear difference between the brands in terms of color and crust flavor. Arnold's buns were more "uniform in flavor" and "sweeter" both inside and out, while Pepperidge Farms had a "darker" and "dryer" crust with a bit more toasty flavor. Some tasters found this to be a distraction, saying the Pepperidge Farms "tastes too much like real wheat," and that it "tastes healthier than I want it to." Once the actual hot dogs were eaten in tandem with the bread, most flavor differences disappeared, prompting one unnamed taster to comment, "They both taste good with meat. I can't taste their flavor difference cos my nose sucks." She followed it up with this diagram. We take the anonymity of our tasters seriously, so I will not divulge who it was*. [Doodle: Robyn Lee] *It was Robyn. All that said, most tasters preferred the slightly darker flavor of the Pepperidge Farms. Winner: Pepperidge Farms! Final Round: Overall Preference This is what it all comes down to. Do the flavor and texture work together to complement a hot dog in exactly the way it should? For this section, we asked tasters to evaluate the buns on a scale of 1 to 10 and tallied up the results. Neither bun scored poorly, and most tasters mentioned in their comments that both buns were tasty and did the job they set out to do. The differences really came down to just a hair, but in the end, Arnold/Oroweat took it with a final score of 7.2/10 to Pepperidge Farms' very respectable 6.9/10. The Winner: Arnold/Oroweat! Do you have a favorite local or national brand of hot dog bun we should keep our eyes out for? Let us know! Our Tasting Methodology: All taste tests are conducted completely blind and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample 1 first, while taster B will taste sample 6 first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria that vary from sample to sample. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible. Brands are not revealed until after results are tallied.

6 Classic Summer Pie Recipes to Have in Your Repertoire Posted: 16 Jul 2013 01:58 PM PDT From Sweets [Photographs: Lauren Weisenthal] There's really only one dessert I want to eat in the summer and I have to admit it's not ice cream—it's fruit pie. Fruit pies are genius. You take beautiful ripe summer fruit, which is often almost candy-sweet on its own, and bake it with a little extra sugar until it tastes like itself, but deeper, sweeter, and more concentrated in flavor. As if that's not enough, you package it in a flaky, buttery pie crust. And ok, the ice cream is great too, just put it on top. There are 6 summer pies that I see as indispensable to a good summer. Read about them below. Blueberry Pie My favorite pie and personal signifier of summer. Apart from the fact that they're delicious, the beauty of blueberry pies is that there is no coring or chopping needed; just wash and dry the fruit, toss it with some sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar, and pour it into the pie crust. Get the Recipe: Classic Blueberry Pie » Mixed Berry Pie (Made with Fresh Berries) The truth about summer fruit is that you never know what crop is going to be the best from year to year. That's where the mixed berry pie comes in and why it's a staple in my house. Blackberries tasting extra good? Let them lead the way, with blueberries, raspberries (and tayberries, marionberries, olallieberries...) making up the rest of the mix. Get the Recipe: Mixed Berry Pie » Peach Pie To make the perfect peach pie, be sure to buy peaches at the peak of ripeness; the skin should easily bruise with the lightest amount of pressure. And while white peaches are great for eating out of hand, stick with yellow peaches for pie; they have a better balance of sweetness and acidity. Get the Recipe: Peach Pie » Sweet Cherry Pie While sweet red cherries are in season, making a classic cherry pie is a must-do activity. The most common varieties in the US are Rainier and Bing, but any sweet cherry can be used for making this pie. Just keep this tip in mind: choose cherries with a firm texture and shiny skin and avoid any that are bruised or decaying—those can lead to spoilage in the rest of your bag. Get the Recipe: Sweet Cherry Pie» Sour Cherry Pie Sour cherries are difficult to find, especially outside a farmers' market, and you can't eat them raw, but man, do they make an awesome pie. Sour cherries are delicate so plan to use them right away or freeze them. Also skip the cherry pitter—a pairing knife will do a better job of keeping the cherries in tact. Get the Recipe: Sour Cherry Pie Peach and Plum Pie You hardly see plain old plum pie but that doesn't mean that this late summer fruit should be overlooked. Simply pair them with another stone fruit like peaches (though ripe nectarines would work too) to give the pie some added sweetness. Get the Recipe: Peach and Plum Pie » About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

What We're Eating: NYC Food Finds We've Loved of Late Posted: 16 Jul 2013 08:58 PM PDT From Serious Eats: New York VIEW SLIDESHOW: What We're Eating: NYC Food Finds We've Loved of Late [Photographs: Max Falkowitz, unless otherwise noted] Try as we might, we don't get to writing about everything we've eaten in this great city. Or maybe we have written about a dish, but it's so good we can't stop thinking about it. You know when you tell your friend that they just have to go to a restaurant and try something? That's this post. So here's What We're Eating, a look at some of the food we've loved of late. See it all in the slideshow above, then tell us: what dish won't get our of your head?

Snapshots from India: Vegetarian Eats in Delhi Posted: 17 Jul 2013 11:25 AM PDT VIEW SLIDESHOW: Snapshots from India: Vegetarian Eats in Delhi [Photographs: Chitra Agrawal] More on India Vegetarian Eats in Bangalore Video: A Day in India, in 3 Minutes Beyond Curry Recipe Archives Although my mother hails from Bangalore in South India, my father is from North India, and many of my relatives from that side of the family reside in Delhi. On our annual trips to India, I am spoiled silly with home cooking and the many restaurants and snack stalls the vast city has to offer. Delhi has a rich history as India's capital, dating back centuries. The cuisine that is distinct to this region was developed during the Mughal Empire in the 1500s. The foods are strongly influenced by Persian cuisine and characterized by familiar dishes found in Indian restaurants all over the world like lassi, naan, chana masala, naan, and biryani. Many of these rich traditions are maintained in eateries throughout Delhi today. You may walk down an avenue and be offered a piping hot sweet jalebi dripping with hot sugar syrup, or be enticed by the intoxicating aroma of curries cooking in a back alley dhaba. Wherever you turn in this bustling city, there is a feast for your senses and your belly. Click through the slideshow to see a sampling of some of my favorite vegetarian eats in Delhi, from the hole-in-the-wall chaat walla to delectable Indian pickles you can smuggle back home. About the author: Chitra Agrawal specializes in Indian vegetarian cooking and travels to different parts of India every year. You can find more of her writing and recipes at The ABCD's of Cooking and keep in touch with her on Twitter.

Paulie Gee on Belief, Baltimore, and Being Your Own Boss (Part 1) Posted: 17 Jul 2013 11:02 AM PDT From Slice [Photograph: Jessica Leibowitz] If you've found your way over to Slice, there's a good chance you've heard of Paulie Gee; if you've ever considered opening up your own pizzeria, it's a virtual certainty. In less than six years, Paulie Giannone made the leap from corporate lifer to backyard pizzaiolo to bona fide pizza superstar. His pizzeria in Greenpoint is critically acclaimed (especially here on Slice) and wildly successful. Most recently, he's partnered with Pizzablogger to open up a branch in Baltimore. In short, he's a man worth listening to on the subject of pie. Paulie's done plenty of interviews about his rise, and he's even answered questions directly from Slicers, but he's rarely as candid as he was when he opened up to us about his amazing journey. There's a lot of pizza talk to be sure. So much, in fact, that we'll be running our interview in segments. So keep an eye out for part two next week; in the meantime, here's Paulie on the joys of opening a restaurant, the importance of hiring locally, and why he thinks more people ought to open their own business. So Paulie Gee's Hampden seems to be days away from opening. Eh. Not days. Has anything changed since you gave the lowdown to Adam six months ago? Are you still doing two ovens? Yeah, everything's the same. It won't be long at all, there's not that much to do. The ovens are on the high seas. Everything's bought and paid for. As frustrating as delay is, the great thing is that it seems to have built up a really good level of anticipation and curiosity. So hopefully that'll help. Editor's note: Strike that, the ovens have arrived! [Photograph: Francesca Ferrara] Going way back, I know you made the rounds to a bunch of shops before you opened Paulie Gee's. Was there one person or one piece of advice that really stands out in hindsight? I guess the person who instilled more belief in me than anyone was Mark Iacono. He was a 30-something construction guy with absolutely no formal training who opened up a place and literally overnight became the most popular pizzeria in NYC (Lucali's). I sought Mark's advice and I continue to do so to this day. He was really generous and encouraging. One thing he said that I remember to this day was, "It's not a foot traffic business," and I certainly proved that in Greenpoint. But I got so much good advice from so many people. Tom Grim from Nomad Pizza, I always remember him saying, "It's just pizza." He's right. It's just pizza. You've been in business for a little over three years now. Is running a pizzeria pretty much what you expected it to be like? It's really beyond my wildest dreams. I remember people telling me how tough the restaurant business is, and it took me two years to realize, "Hey, people used to tell me the restaurant business was tough." To me it's not because I'm just doing what I love, you know what I mean? I'm not doing it for the money—I mean I'm doing it for the money, but I'm not doin' it for the money. I'm here to feed people, entertain them, and that just comes naturally. My whole life I worked for somebody else and now I have no boss and I couldn't be happier about that. I consciously didn't take on a partner and I just love being the decision maker. I don't have to second guess whatever I do or answer to anybody. My investors are friends and family and whatever I do is fine with them. But I never thought I would get the accolades that I have. I would've just been happy to open up and keep the place going, and it's gone far beyond that. And I can't believe people wait as long as they do to eat my pizza. I never imagined that. On a busy night the wait's up to two hours. And people are willing to wait, that's the thing. So I couldn't have imagined any of this. I did imagine myself being the one to make the pizza all the time. Thank God I was able to get out and not do that because then I think it would have seemed like work. [Photograph: Adam Kuban] You're definitely the most famous civilian to go pro. I imagine people come up to you all the time and say, "I want to do this, too." What do you think made you successful? My personality was suited for talking with customers. And I love to cook so I enjoyed that part. But I don't think everyone can just go out and talk to people in a restaurant. The reason I did this is because I had to make a life for myself. I also had a freight train coming at me and that made me push harder. I was just talking to someone recently who's really into pizza and he said he always wanted to do something but he was waiting until it wasn't that much of a risk, or until he could at least afford it. Well, you really work your hardest when you can't afford the risk and you gotta make it happen. And that was it for me. I had to make this happen. It wasn't just a hobby. What was that freight train? Debt. And I had to do something with my life that I enjoyed. Being where I was, I spent a lot of money, my family was very happy, we had a nice home to live in, but I wanted to feel good about what I was doing. If ever I was to go to a high school reunion, I wanted to feel really good when I went back. Not that I'm goin', I didn't finish high school anyway, but I always wanted to do something that made me feel like I maximized my potential. Finally, I put myself in the position where, you know, I just had to step out and walk through that wall of fear and make things happen. Another thing that was a big motivator for me was Glengarry Glen Ross. Have you seen it? Oh yeah, I love it. I've seen it about eight times. You remember the Jack Lemmon character? Of course. Shelley Levene. I deathly feared being that character. I tell people all the time...I masqueraded as a computer geek. I'm not making that up. I grinded it out, but I was competing with people who had a natural talent and thirst for the tech world. I didn't. It's just the career I chose. I thought that eventually I could end up scrambling around for money, sitting in some office trying to sell somebody the leads like Shelley. So that propelled me. The other thing that was a motivator for me was my children. They have within them what I have within me, so I had to show them what I had within me had great possibility. I can't tell them to do something with their life without me doing something with mine. The Triumphant Return of Moe Cheeks. [Photograph: Adam Kuban] It's funny you bring up a movie character because I know you're a pretty big TV guy. What's a hidden gem someone could find on Netflix? You know, I love Enlightened on HBO. Everyone knows about Portlandia. I love The Americans and Magic City. That just started up again. There's just so much out there now, my guys in the kitchen were talking about Breaking Bad and as we're talking I was thinking I should try watching it again. Are you serious? Yes, you have to! We'll see what happens. There's only so much time in the day. The stuff that I love to watch has to do with me. I love Enlightened because I'm not in that world anymore and it makes me feel so good to know that I did something to get out of the mess that I was in. There's also a movie that's been on cable I can't stop watching, The Company Men. It makes me feel so good. Thank God I had the balls to go do something like this. A lot of people know they should but they don't for whatever reason, they're not in the position to make it happen, but it makes me feel so good that I was able to figure it out and push my way through. The most important thing about this whole pizza experience is that it has nothing to do with pizza It's standing up on your own two feet and not being afraid to make something happen for yourself. Pizza gave me courage because I knew it was simple. I didn't have to have a pastry chef or a sous chef or this and that. It emboldened me to find a way to be self-sufficient. Don't choose a career just because it's going to be lucrative. I tell people all the time, when you're working for someone else, you're working for someone else's dreams. There are exceptions to that, I'm not going to say that about a teacher. Yeah, you're working for the Board of Ed, but you're really working for the satisfaction of broadening minds. If you're a doctor or a nurse and you care for people, it's a noble vocation. But me? I worked for ATT and Lucent, and what the heck was I doing? I was making it easier for them to bill customers. I was trading my time for money. I wasn't getting self-satisfaction out of it. I thought I was—"Oh, I got a promotion." Big deal. But with this restaurant, I created something that's an extension of me. People ask me if I'm going to open up another place. They say, "You could make a lot of money in Manhattan." Well, no. I am one with this place. Without me it would just be an asset to generate revenue. Look at my Yelp reviews, it blows my mind how many talk about how the owner came up to them. I had no idea it was so important to people. So why would I open up another place? It's not going to be the same. I knew that there were limitations to what I set out, and I accepted that. At the same time...there's Paulie Gee's Hampden. I did want to make it grow, but I learned you help yourself by helping other people. I met Chris Bianco. We drank together on an empty stomach, me, my son, and him, so I don't remember every ounce of wisdom, but he validated a lot of things I did already which made me feel great. But the other thing was, after I thanked him profusely for spending time with me and answering my questions he said, "Paulie, don't thank me, just pay it forward." I always remember that and I've been keeping up my end of the bargain. It's been impossible for me to turn down anyone's request for advice. Now, when people come and ask me about stuff I tell them. I was in Fornino the other day, talking to him and wishing him luck on his new place here in Greenpoint, and we got to talking about dough recipes and this and that, and it's like...everything's a big secret. Lou T and Adam Kuban are working here on Sundays during the day, and I've got this kid Jimmy Coponi coming in to hang out in the kitchen. I told him about Adam and Lou and he got all excited and, you know, people are like, "don't let him see anything." But you know what? You can't hide that stuff. I have the recipe written down on a piece of paper for my dough. If somebody wants it, I'm not here all day. Somebody could take it, make a copy of it, whatever. You can't do that. I play around and talk about my secretly sourced tomatoes, but it's not about that. It's more than just being able to make a good pizza, so I help people. I encourage them, if they wanna do something—like with me, like with Kelly—that's great. If not, so be it. Be sure to catch part two of our interview next week! Related Reading Greenpoint, Brooklyn: Paulie Gee's An Evening with Paulie Gee, Pizza Madman Paulie Gee to Open Pizzeria in Baltimore About the author: Lance Roberts is a writer in Los Angeles.

All the Ramen at Ippudo's New Midtown Location Posted: 17 Jul 2013 08:50 AM PDT From Serious Eats: New York [Photographs: Jamie Feldmar] At this point, anyone who's paid a nanosecond of attention to the ramen scene in New York knows all about Ippudo, the East Village Japanese export famed for its incredibly rich Tonkotsu-style ramen and incredibly long wait times. Ippudo came in a close second in our ramen taste test a few years ago, and diners have been waiting for the chain to open its second NYC outpost, in Midtown West, for over two years. After a string of delays, Ippudo II is now officially open on West 51st Street, with a slightly more streamlined menu than the offerings downtown. We stopped by the soft open for lunch last week to see how the Midtown branch stacks up. Fist things first: the Midtown space has slightly fewer seats than the East Village location, but it's split into two stories, with one ramen counter on each level, plus a more traditional dining room on the ground floor. The menu has three ramens that each share a name with a downtown equivalent, but the broth in Midtown has been slightly tweaked to include mushrooms during its two-day cooking process, which is designed to result in a rounded flavor. All noodles and broths for both restaurants are being made in a shiny new factory in the basement of the Midtown branch. The lunch menu only has a handful of appetizers, none of which looked exciting enough to try, though the dinner menu has a much wider selection, including several items that aren't available downtown. Midtown plans to expand their ramen selection in coming months, but in the meantime, we took it upon ourselves to sample all three of the ramens currently on the menu. Shiromaru Hakata Classic ($14) This is a traditional tonkotsu version with thin, straight noodles—the kind of classic, straightforward bowl that originated in Fukuoka, the southern Japanese region where Ippudo began. The broth was milky, porky, and unctuous—perhaps slightly too unctuous, in fact, as a thin layer of fat seemed to have congealed on top during the bowl's journey from pot to table, which is more a sign of slow service than poor-quality broth (to be fair, it was the restaurant's first week of service). The broth itself was clean and pure-tasting, and the noodles retained a pleasantly bouncy texture. Toppings included thin, floppy slices of too-lean pork loin chasu, too-thick sticks of menma, sesame kikurage mushrooms, fresh scallions, and shredded pickled ginger to slice through the fat. Rich and soothing, yes, but has a few kinks to work out overall. Karaka-men ($14) This Ippudo invention takes the classic tonkotsu broth and thin noodles and tops it with a pungent blend of hot spices and fragrant garlic oil (another minor difference between the locations: downtown's intensely strong garlic oil is nearly black, while Midtown's is milder and golden in hue). Toppings include thick-cut pork belly chashu, which we found more appetizing than the loin, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, and scallions. This bowl tasted abrasive and unbalanced—the combination of the bright red chili paste with the cabbage ended up making the whole bowl taste vaguely of kimchee (no offense to kimchee, it just wasn't what we thought we were getting into here). Although it wasn't terribly spicy, the heat did have an unfortunate effect of making the broth seem less rich, when it reality it packs just as many calories (or more likely, more) as the Hakata Classic. Akamaru Modern ($14) The third time was the charm for us, with another Ippudo invention the restaurant claims is their most popular offering. Billing itself as a bolder, more modern translation of the original pork broth, the Akamaru strikes a perfect balance between the mild Hakata Classic and the overly aggressive Karaka-men. It has the same tonkotsu broth and noodles as the others, plus a scoop of red "Umami Dama" miso paste that melts into the broth and dovetails neatly with the amber garlic oil. Together, the miso and garlic create a sweet-hot bass note across the whole thing that had us slurping out of our bowls. Toppings include the pork belly chashu, cabbage, kikurage mushrooms, and scallions. I'm curious to see how the Midtown Ippudo grows over the next few months. In our experience, Ippudo's appetizers aren't stellar, but some of their expanded dinner offerings do look intriguing. And there's of course the possibility that the Midtown location will eventually develop its own distinct ramen (or at least a few) that are totally separate from the downtown offerings. Here's to hoping we get double the pleasure. The pork-centric pleasure. About the author: Jamie Feldmar is a noodle aficionado, barbecue lover, and the managing editor of Serious Eats. You can follow her on Twitter at @jfeldmar.

Chocoholic: Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine Posted: 16 Jul 2013 10:55 AM PDT From Sweets [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti] Last week I set my chopsticks aside and packed my backpack for a four week European adventure. First stop: Italy. I could not wait to drown myself in everything Italian, including as much gelato as I could spoon down. Before I left I was inspired to throw together an Italian themed dessert. It had to be something simple and not too involved because it was sweltering hot out. What immediately sprung to mind was Spumoni: an Italian ice treat that was popular at my favorite pop up summer Italian ice shops on Long Island. So what's spumoni you ask? Spumoni is a layered mix of ice cream in three flavors: chocolate, pistachio, and maraschino cherry. Kind of like the Neopolitan ice cream mix of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate that your grandmother would buy. (Us kids always got scolded for digging out the chocolate, didn't we?). This is one of the simplest desserts to make at home. It's simply a layered ice cream terrine, so no cooking or baking is involved. Start by assembling your favorite chocolate and pistachio ice creams and let them soften just until malleable. The cherry layer is the only one you have to fuss with. For mine, I mixed plain vanilla ice cream with chopped maraschino cherries, crunchy almonds, cherry brandy (Kirsch), and a few dabs of pink food coloring. (Confession: I dabbed a few specks of green coloring into the pistachio). Then freeze the terrine until firm, unmold, and slice. The flavors complement each other, and, for those of us who remember, the colorful slabs of spumoni will transport you right back into that game Candyland. So is spumoni authentic Italian? Well after traveling around Italy for a week, I've yet to see it in any gelato shop or restaurant, so the answer on my end will be probably not. But either way, the flavor combination is delicious, and the layered flag-like colors of this terrine makes a fun, colorful treat that's a step up from your typical bowl of ice cream. Get the Recipe Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine » About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), and available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell's, The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and Let Them Eat Cake columns on Serious Eats. Follow Yvonne on Twitter as she explores Singapore. Get the Recipe!

Deep Fried Chicago: Cheesie's Pub & Grub Posted: 10 Jul 2013 09:48 AM PDT From Chicago [Photograph: Joe Roy] As should be immediately apparent by the name, everything at Cheesie's Pub & Grub revolves around cheese, specifically the melty variety. No complaints on my end: few of my food cravings resonate as deeply as that one (I'd subsist on mac and cheese exclusively except for that nagging goal of mine to avoid heavy breathed waddling). Further, when Cheesie's isn't griddling the majority of its menu, it's dropping the rest in hot oil. Melted cheese, a hot griddle, and fried food? Now I'm blushing. Long, long, ago, before being battered and fried, the Cheese Curds ($5.00) may have been actual curds. Or they could've been chunks of string cheese or cubes of cheddar. Thing is, it's hard to tell either way under the thick, impenetrable breading, which stifles even the slightest squeak. Based on appearances alone, the Fried Pickles ($5.00) are glorious. The panko breading is crisp yet understated, allowing plenty of green to peak through the edges. Unfortunately, the pickles themselves drop the ball. They taste as though they were blotted before being fried, leaving them void of juicy dill flavor. The Fried Mac & Cheese Bites ($5.00), though, are where it's at. Slightly misshapen in that homemade sort of way, the breading created a hard shell that gave crackly way to a creamy, chewy center. Any lack of salt in the mac and cheese itself is easily blotted away in the included ranch dipping sauce. Would you believe a cheddar, mozzarella, bacon, fried chicken tenders, hot sauce, and BBQ sauce grilled cheese could be balanced? The Tenderizer ($8.50) is. The thick and chewy bread deftly holds the ingredients in place (with a lot of help from the melty cheese, of course), while the tenders themselves retain plenty of crunch—no small feat, to be sure. This sandwich has alcohol soaking potential in spades. Cheesie's has a sandwich of the month, and the Gladys ($8.95) features fried chicken, bacon, provolone, smoked gouda, and honey dijon, all pressed between a Belgian Waffle. Though it reads like a dare, this sandwich remains balanced as well, and if you're judicious with the dipping side of maple syrup, hypoglycemia will be kept well at bay. When I ordered, the guy at the counter described the involved cooking process behind the grilled cheeses: cheese and filling topped bread is broiled quickly under a salamander before being closed, buttered on both sides, and griddled crisp. That's a fair amount of work for a Lakeview based grilled cheese shop. More than anything, I think what I like about this place is the noticeable amount of effort being put into each dish. You can see and taste it. Various appetizer missteps aside, flattery will get you everywhere, Cheesie's. Cheesie's Pub & Grub 958 W Belmont Avenue Chicago, IL 60657 (map) 773-388-1574 cheesieschicago.com

Ask a Bartender: What's Your Favorite Memory from Tales of the Cocktail? Posted: 11 Jul 2013 05:03 PM PDT From Drinks VIEW SLIDESHOW: Ask a Bartender: What's Your Favorite Memory from Tales of the Cocktail? Tales of the Cocktail kicks off this week in New Orleans—it's a 5-day convention bringing together thousands of bartenders, liquor brands, spirits writers, and drinkophiles of all sorts. With hundreds of events every year, there are a lot of highlights. We asked 8 bartenders about their favorite memories from Tales of the Cocktail. Here's what they had to say. Are you going to Tales this year?

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers Posted: 17 Jul 2013 08:44 AM PDT A seriously flavorful chicken burger [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti] There was a time in my life when Saturday night out centered around cheap beer and even cheaper all-you-can-eat spicy buffalo chicken wings. The very piquant, but mostly hell burning red hot sauce was, and still is, a masochist's dream. I plowed through platefuls, the hotter the better. I was also a mess with greasy sauce all over my hands (thank god for Wet Naps and friends who don't care how you look). For these chicken burgers, I wanted to duplicate the same intense hot sauce flavor of chicken wings. After some trial and error, I realized that simply shaking in a few drops of hot sauce into ground chicken wasn't going to cut it. The burgers were dry. Now, I know that most folks who choose chicken burgers do it to reap a leaner dish, but to make these super tasty...well, I'll just say it: these burgers are all about in-your-face flavor, not about saving a few calories. The first step towards moisture was to mix in a panade (a mixture of fresh bread crumbs and milk). To simulate the buttery hot sauce flavor and add juiciness, I stirred a few tablespoons of melted butter into the panade mixture, along with a moderate helping of hot sauce. To cook the burgers, I originally planned on firing up an outdoor grill. But after losing a few of the tender burgers through the grates, I decided that the best way to keep 'em together was to simply toss them into a cast iron skillet or indoor grill pan. For an extra fiery hot burger, I brushed the tops with more hot sauce before I took them out of the pan. And a spicy buffalo chicken burger would not be the same without the requisite blue cheese and celery. The thick blue cheese and chopped celery dressing is spooned on top; the perfect topping to cool off those burning lips. About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), and available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell's, The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and Let Them Eat Cake columns on Serious Eats. Follow Yvonne on Twitter as she explores Singapore. Get the Recipe!

First Look: Early Summer Dessert Menu at Le Cirque, New York Posted: 17 Jul 2013 08:08 AM PDT From Sweets VIEW SLIDESHOW: First Look: Early Summer Dessert Menu at Le Cirque, New York [Photographs: Niko Triantafillou] Jeffrey Wurtz landed the Executive Pastry Chef job at New York's iconic Le Cirque in September 2012. Over the past ten months, he's put his mark on both their "classic" and "signature" dessert menus. The desserts on the classic menu feature time-tested plates like the soufflé, Napoleon, and stove cake (which was created by Jacques Torres during his tenure as Le Cirque pastry chef). On the signature menu, the chef really has license to be creative and try new things. What goes into revamping these two menus for summer? Wurtz sat down and spoke with us about his creative process. Wurtz's philosophy is that the desserts should "taste good first and foremost and then if they are appealing to the eye or interesting in other ways, even better." He is unapologetic about working with flavor profiles and ingredients that he is familiar with, even if they aren't new. For example, the classic combination of cherries and pistachios. Because he knows the intricacies of these two ingredients so well, he can derive all the textures and flavors he's looking for in a dish. And more often than not, for Wurtz, that also means making desserts using classic French techniques. Cherry Pistachio dessert He will only use a modern plating technique if it "makes sense" and is an easy fit, but doesn't like to force things. When I noted that the arlette was probably the most visually stunning of his desserts he said, "The raspberry arlette is straight-up old school French! I like that it looks so clean and simple, but it takes time [to plate]. There are chefs out there that are so intelligent, creative and imaginative. I am much more deliberate in my process. I like apricots and I like almonds. If I make an apricot soufflé, I think almond ice cream would pair well with it. So I try it and work on it until it tastes and looks good." About his freedom to create new desserts at Le Cirque, Wurtz explains that "The Maccioni brothers are very supportive [rather than full-time critics] of what we do in the pastry department." He noted that's not always the case in the restaurant world. Jeffrey Wurtz holding one of his chocolate creations. For example, when he was working for Alain Ducasse at Essex House, the tastings for new additions to the menu were very serious affairs. "Mr. Ducasse would stand in complete silence [waiting for his desserts] and stare straight ahead and provide no immediate feedback." He and Sandro Micheli, Wurtz's executive pastry chef at the time and currently Executive Pastry Chef at Daniel, would spend the entire session trying to read whether Ducasse was enjoying their creations. "Nothing was more intense than those tastings!". He contrasted that with his interview and tasting at Le Cirque, where there was arguably more at stake—the Executive Pastry Chef position at a New York institution. He says it was still formal but the Maccioni brothers sat for the entire process and provided constant feedback and were generally very warm. "Their personalities are just naturally friendly and gregarious so the whole process was much less stressful." Wurtz says both experiences were valuable and allowed him to grow as a pastry chef. After describing the process of creating the desserts on his new summer menu, Wurtz was anxious for me to actually try them, including a bold new flavor of a classic souffle. And though these menu items are referred to as "classics", there's nothing boring or staid about them. Wurtz's apricot souffle with apricot liqueur-soaked lady fingers and roasted apricots is decidedly non-tradtional. View the slideshow to learn more about that dish and the other latest desserts at Le Cirque. Le Cirque One Beacon Court 151 E 58th St, New York, NY 10022 (map) (212) 644-0202 About the author: Native New Yorker Niko Triantafillou is the founder of DessertBuzz.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @DessertBuzz.

Video: Making (and Messing up) Homemade Tofu Posted: 17 Jul 2013 06:26 AM PDT We shared some our favorite moments from our culinary tour of China here on Serious Eats a couple months back. One of the biggest takeaways was how good fresh tofu can be; inspired by the grassy flavors and silken texture, we embarked on making our own. Prior to the video, I made tofu 3 times, only to completely mess it up during the filming process. In true Perennial Plate style, we give you the making of tofu (warts and all). Please try this at home; you can get the full recipe here. For more videos and recipes visit www.theperennialplate.com

Los Angeles: The Burger Mess at Village Tavern Posted: 16 Jul 2013 12:19 PM PDT From A Hamburger Today [Photographs: Damon Gambuto] Village Tavern 3218 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039 (map); 818-961-6331; atwatervillagetavern.com Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: A messy, overcooked burger that is best when avoided Want Fries with That? Nope; while not as bad as the burger, these aren't worth your time or money Price: Burger (w/fries) $12 This isn't going to be pretty. I know I can seem grumpy when it comes to my burger reviews, but it's worth restating: I'm always rooting for the burger to be great. I don't take any special pleasure in writing a negative review. In fact, I almost dread the activity. I'm not so interested in reliving the unpleasantness word by word. Further, I'm none too please to be disparaging someone's hard work. That said, when the burger and, in this case, the overall burger experience is as negative as my recent dinner at The Village Tavern, I am duty bound to share my honest opinion. Perhaps it'll be the beacon that keeps your Sunday night dinner ship from crashing into the rocky shore. The Village Tavern is the newest member of the gentrifying strip of Glendale Boulevard in what has been deemed one of Los Angeles' hippest, emerging neighborhoods: Atwater Village. It's worth noting that I'm old enough to not really know what qualifies as hip or emergent, but I do know my way around a burger and live nearby, so this new watering hole seemed like a good place to set my sights for a Sunday meal. Apparently old doesn't always mean wise. The kitchen at this by-the-numbers, order-at-the-bar establishment is run by the folks behind the food truck Stop, Guac n Roll! Owner Marcel Farrokhi describes the flavors as Mexican barbecue. You can check out the menu for his food truck here. The menu for Village Tavern is also available online, but seems to bear little resemblance to what you'll actually find on their paper menu on any given night. The burger available the night that I went in was named with some sort of avocado pun, though it matters almost not at all because the whole affair is better forgotten. Alas, re-membering burgers is what we do here, so away we go. The patty (according to my server) was approximately six ounces of Angus chuck. It's delivered daily, which is nice, but the butcher of record is a bit of a mystery (more on that in a bit). The nice crust on this patty gave me hope that my medium rare order would make this a perfectly contrasted patty. Alas, when I split the thing open all I found was gray sadness. In fact, it was so overcooked that I sent it back. The server was lovely about it and completely contrite, so I thought this an honest mistake. Yeah, not so much. When the recooked version of my burger arrived it was cooked to exactly the same temperature. This time I informed the server that the kitchen should be aware that they aren't timing things out properly and accepted this one as my meal. The meat had little juice or flavor, but really, that's only the start of what was wrong with this burger. An overcooked patty can be saved by the addition of fat, seasoning, or even a great bun. None were able to do the trick on this one. The "avocado fries" (breaded and fried avocado slices) slapped on top were a slimy mess. The aioli couldn't stand up to the bready bun—a bun that looked look like it lost a fight with a bag of bird seed. Even the slaw (of which I'm usually a strong supporter) was a misfire. I was almost taken aback by just how bland this burger tasted considering all of the various toppings and flavors that were thrown at it. The fries weren't any help. While it would be unfair to these overcooked spuds to say they were as uninspired as the burger, they certainly weren't stand outs. This messy burger experience could have been written off to a new kitchen finding its way, but that explanation went out the window when the owner, Marcel, decided to come over and explain to me why his burger was overcooked. I didn't have my recorder on so I'm paraphrasing, but it went something like this: Sorry your burger was cooked well done. You see, I am experimenting with different butchers and I don't trust the meat to cook it medium rare so that's why your burger was overcooked. Come back in a few weeks and try the burger again. Holy guacamole! or some other ridiculous Lauraceae-related pun. There are so many things wrong with that explanation for my bad burger that I don't know where to begin. How about here: don't experiment on me. Don't say sorry for overcooking my burger, then do it again, say sorry again, then—after my meal—tell me you meant to do it all along. Ok, I could go on with the negativity, but even I'm tired of my whining. I'll leave it at this: the burger at Village Tavern was a mess that, I imagine, could be cleaned up; I just won't be back to find out. About the author: Damon is one of our roving burger reporters and food writers. When he's not eating more than is warranted or healthful (and then writing about it) he can be found writing and producing for television and film. You can contact him at seriouslydamon@gmail.com. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!

Where to Eat Near Times Square (Our Updated Guide) Posted: 17 Jul 2013 11:57 AM PDT From Serious Eats: New York Two years ago we shared our picks for where to eat near Times Square, the focal point of New York's tourist economy and home to many a chain mega-restaurant. But amid the mammoth TGI Friday's and Guy Fieri's 500-seat restaurant, you'll find plenty of quality places for a quick bite, a casual lunch, or a full sit-down meal. Here's our updated guide, omitting restaurants that have since closed and adding a wealth of new finds. Want them all on a map? Hit one up at the bottom of the post. Street Food: Carts and Trucks Chicken Anda Kati Roll at Desi Truck [Photograph: Robyn Lee] Desi Food Truck: We recommend the Haleem (a meat stew) and the Chicken Anda Kati Roll. Biryani Cart: A streetside cart serving awesome kati rolls, as well as other Indian rice-based dishes. Kwik Meal: A chicken- and lamb-over-rice cart from a former chef at the Russian Tea Room; anything with lamb is a great bet. Kim's Aunt Kitchen Cart: Lots of food for a truly low price; the fried fish sandwiches are where it's at. Burgers, Sandwiches, and Other Quick Bites Parmigiano and Egg Sandwich at Piccolo Café. [Photograph: Ashley Muir Bruhn] Piccolo Café: A great choice for solid sandwiches with an Italian spin. For breakfast, we love "the WORKS" egg sandwich. Creative Juice : While this juice bar from Danny Meyer is actually located inside the midtown Equinox gym, it's not just for gym go-ers. The light to-go food and fresh juices make it an ideal option for a healthy, energizing lunch. Margon: A Cuban diner that does fantastic Cuban sandwiches. Schnipper's Quality Kitchen: Like fast food burgers, but much better. Mooncake Foods: This Asian-fusion spot serves creative sandwiches and is very vegetarian-friendly. Amy's Bread: A New York institution, and a great bet for breads, sandwiches, cakes, cookies, and more. Don't skip the carrot cake. A waffle with fig jam, bacon, and ricotta at Caffé Bene. [Photograph: Krista Garcia] Caffé Bene: Try the cooked-to-order waffles at this South Korean import, a stylish alternative for weary travelers that need their coffee chain fix but are sick of Starbucks. Olympic Pita: Another great falafel spot, with a self-serve salad bar. Xi'an Famous Foods: The newest location of a growing Chinese noodle empire that does the best food from the city of Xi'an in New York. The slippery, spicy hand-pulled noodles are like no other. Shake Shack: Our favorite New York burger mini-chain has a Times Square location. Turco Mediterranean Grill: A speedy kebab spot and casual sit-down serving up filling and reasonably priced Turkish food. Shorty's: A Philly-style sandwich shop for a tasty roast pork sandwich. Kati Roll Company: Great for crisp, flatbread-encased kati rolls, India's answer to gyros and laffas. "The Figgy" sandwich at Culture Espresso Bar. [Photograph: Carey Jones] Culture Espresso Bar: A coffee shop with tasty, well-balanced sandwiches. Go Go Curry: Tasty Japanese curry in huge portions. BonChon: Ultra-crisp Korean-style fried chicken. You'll have to wait for it as it's fried to order, but the wait is worth it. Maoz Falafel: Yep, it's a chain, but it's another of our favorite falafel sandwiches around. The salad bar is the big draw. Café Cello: A Spanish-American steam table joint known for its roast pork. At $6.95, their Cuban is a steal for the neighborhood. The famous sour cream and apple pie at Little Pie Co. Little Pie Co.: Great pies and desserts; we recommend the sour cream apple pie. City Sandwich: With crusty bread and unique sandwich fillings, they're quite a few steps up from your usual sandwich shop. Hing Won: While the Chinese-inspired bahn mi at this hole-in-the-wall noodle shop aren't the best we've ever had, they make a perfectly suitable choice for a Times Square/Rockefeller Center lunch on the go. Le Pain Quotidien: A French café-style chain that's a reliable bet for a croissant, cappuccino, or open-faced sandwich. Empanada Mama: A Colombian-inspired shop offering an impressive array of both wheat and corn empanadas, either baked or fried, in flavors ranging from traditional to outlandish, like caramel and cheese. The best thing about it: it's open 24/7. Comfortable Sit-Down The Szechuan pork dumpling with roasted chili soy at Szechuan Gourmet. [Photograph: Kathryn Yu] Szechuan Gourmet: This cult favorite is one of the best places of its kind in the city. Nothing fancy—just authentic, often dangerously spicy, Sichuan fare. Qi Bangkok Eatery: With a menu split into "Classic Thai" and "Authentic Bites," this flashy restaurant is likely to please both amateur and adventurous Thai food eaters. Pongsri Thai: No frills, tried-and-true Thai that's surprisingly kid-friendly. Marseille: French-Moroccan food we can get behind. The Steakhouse Burger at HB Burger [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] HB Burger: The juicy Pat la Frieda burger at this Heartland brewery offshoot is one of the best burgers in the neighborhood. Totto Ramen:You'll have to wait your turn to belly up to the bar at this narrow ramen spot, whose fresh-made noodles and rich Paitan chicken broth have put in the running for finest ramen in the city. Tabata Noodle: If you don't have the time or patience to wait an hour or so at Totto Ramen, Tabata Noodle is our second pick for a ramen fix nearby. Try the eponymous Tabata ramen with chicken and coconut milk. Gazala Place: This casual BYOB has two locations in New York, serving the food of the Druse, a Gnostic Islamic sect spread over Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Try the burekas, the mixed meat platters, and the paper-thin pita. Toloache: This lively, friendly upscale Mexican restaurant is an equally good bet for a pre-matinee brunch or a pre-show dinner. Note that it gets loud come evenings. The Montanara at Don Antonio by Starita [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Don Antonio By Starita: Some of our favorite pizza in New York, for its crisp, greaseless fried Montanara, incredibly fresh mozzarella, and a great menu with few weak spots. Pure Thai Cookhouse: With a bold and authentic variety of Thai street food-style bites, this rustic noodle shack is a real standout in a neighborhood rife with decent Thai places. An added plus: nothing on the menu costs more than 12 bucks. Soba Nippon: The noodles at this classy soba spot are made with buckwheat grown at the restaurant's very own farm in Canada. Pam Real Thai: A generally reliable Thai spot, if not an exceptional one. Sake Bar Hagi: An underground izakaya with a wide range of Japanese pub-style grub and, as the name would suggest, an extensive sake list. Danji: We love this sliver of a restaurant with a Michelin star and a selection of exquisite modern Korean small plates. Given its diminutive size and no-reservations policy, you may have to wait, but it's worth it for Bulgogi filet mignon sliders alone. Pricey To Blow-Out Tuna Tartare with Belgian Endives at Le Bernardin Lounge [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Le Bernadin: Although the prices here are sky-high, the atmosphere and quality of the food are well worth every penny. Of course, it's widely revered as one of the best restaurants in the city, so either book well in advance (think one month) or try your luck at the slightlymore casual lounge, where you can order small bites that add up to a great meal. Keen's Steakhouse: One of New York's iconic steakhouses, best known for their massive mutton chop. The burger and hash are great stuff, too. Sushi Zen: Exquisite sushi from Toshio Suzuki—who trained "Iron Chef" Morimoto, and claims to have invented the California Roll. Bars & Lounges The first step of the "Stay Up Late" Cocktail at Lantern's Keep. [Photograph: Alice Gao] Lantern's Keep: Some of your best bets for drinking in this neighborhood are hotel bars. We're big fans of the old-school cocktail menu at this intimate watering hole inside the Iroquois Hotel. The Rum House This dark and stylish revamped piano bar harkens back to the New York City of yore but gives it a modern polish. A civilized respite from the bustle of Times Square. Réunion Surf Bar: Sure, the retro-tiki-surf thing is kitschy, but this underground bar does it in a pretty classy way. In the summer months, the drinks and the AC are equally strong. The Pony Bar: With an extensive selection of $6 American craft beers and an unfussy vibe, Pony Bar is a favorite haunt of the locals. 44 at the Royalton: Large, swanky, and dimly-lit (some say to a fault), this 1940's-inspired lounge inside the Royalton Hotel is the place to go if atmosphere is what you seek in your drinking environment. More "Where to Eat Near..." Visiting NYC? Where to Eat in New York, The Best Restaurants And More » Where to Eat a Pre- or Post-Theater Dinner in NYC » Where To Eat Near: Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center » Where To Eat Near: Penn Station» Baseball Season: Where to Eat Near Yankee Stadium and Citi Field » Where To Eat Near the Museum of Natural History » Visiting NYC? Where to Eat (and Avoid) in Little Italy and Chinatown »

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