the back room

Images via New York Magazine

Last week we stumbled into yet another very cool speakeasy on the Lower East Side. The Back Room has got to have the sketchiest entrance yet of all the speakeasies I've visited so far. You have to go down a flight of stairs from the street level into an ominous-looking alley. Let's put it this way: if you were brought here by someone you didn't know very well, your heart will probably hammer in your chest, in fear that you're in danger of getting whacked. But walk a few more meters and you'll see another flight of stairs and the false facade of a toy store. Climb up the stairs, push open the door with a peephole, and you'll find yourself in a whole other world.

I loved the lush interiors, with its mirrored bar, crystal chandeliers, velvet sofas and loveseats, copper ceilings, and paintings of nude nubiles. The cocktails, served in teacups prohibition era-style, were fantastic, as well. Our favorite was the Bee's Knees, which is a classic Prohibition cocktail. I don't recall the exact mix used at The Back Room but Bee's Knees is generally a mixture of gin, honey and lemon jazzed up at times with some lavander blossoms. It is delish! This would be an excellent date place—though guys, you might want to wait until the third date because if she's never been here and doesn't quite trust you yet, she just might knee you in the b*lls in fear that you're trying to kill her. Seriously.

I've heard that it can get crowded here on the weekends, but on a Thursday night it's quite calm without being totally dead. I found out later that there is another hidden bar within this hidden bar, accessed through a moving bookshelf and only for VIPs. I just might have to come back just to see just how difficult it is to sneak in there ...

The Back Room is located at 102 Norfolk Street between Rivington and Delancey, New York, NY.

Just what the doctor ordered

After a shiteous day at work, I had a pretty awesome Thursday night. I had a "date" with my friend Kathryn for dinner and drinks in Chinatown. We were craving some soup dumplings, and I was dying to try a bar tucked away in Chinatown's bowels so we had a pretty solid evening planned out.

I had some time to kill before dinner so I raided a grocery store in Chinatown for Filipino kitchen essentials like Datu Puti vinegar. I scored the jackpot when I discovered salted duck eggs, which I've been craving for the last 2 1/2 years that I've been in New York. Sounds strange, but have it with tomatoes cut into cubes ... YUM.

At 7:30, we sat down for dinner at Joe's Shanghai and devoured the delicious soup dumplings. Heavenly, just heavenly.

After dinner, we walked round the corner to Doyers Street and under the only clean awning that deceptively says "Gold Flower Restaurant" to discover our new favorite cocktail lounge: Apotheke. This former opium den is tucked into one of old Chinatown's deadliest, gang-infested streets. Obviously, it's a lot safer these days. To me, it's just a great place to continue on after having a great dinner at Joe's Shanghai. A lot of people are throwing fits over how this has ruined one of the last "authentically" New York neighborhoods, but give me a break. Can we please stop taking ourselves so freakin seriously?

Kathryn and I fell in love with this place the instant we walked in. It's a lot darker than the picture above, just reeking with sexiness. We could not get a table, but that turned out to be a good thing because we got to know the bartender, Esteban, pretty well.

Forgive me but I can't remember the actual names of the cocktails as I am a little buzzed. The most popular one is definitely this drink incorporating muddled starfruit and champagne, which I must have seen served up over 20 times. Kathryn and I had one each and enjoyed it immensely. Definitely a nice fresh cocktail to start off the night with. We also tried an amazing buttered rum, which you must order if only to see the spectacle of the preparation. Lots of fire and sparkles involved. Totally worth $15.

So that's the downside, by the way. Cocktails are $15 apiece, which is not cheap but hey no one's forcing you to go if you're on a budget right? (In any case, it all balances out if you start the night with an uber cheapo Chinatown dinner) If you can afford it though, the imaginative cocktails are worth it. Milk & Honey still serves up the best cocktails in my book, but since I have no way of obtaining that elusive ever-changing reservation number, I'll take Apotheke. If there's one thing you MUST NOT do, please please pleeeeeease do not go all the way there to order a vodka-cran. It's almost insulting. When I asked the highly skilled bartender if anyone orders vodka-crans, I meant it as a joke. But sure enough, 2 minutes later, someone DID order a vodka cran and I seriously almost spat out my ginger-lemongrass sour in laughter. Come on. It's like going to Katz's Deli and then asking for a grilled cheese sandwich.

Ok I am babbling so I need to end this post. But that's good evidence of how strong a few cocktails in this place are right?

Where: Apotheke is located at 9 Doyers St., New York between Bowery and Pell

Hide-and-Seek and Asian Tapas

It took way too long, but after 2 1/2 years of living in Manhattan, I finally stumbled into Kuma Inn. This hidden gem serves up Asian-style tapas, strongly infuenced by Chef King Phojanakong's Filipino-Thai heritage, and inflected with techniques learned under David Bouley and Daniel Boulud.

Getting to Kuma Inn is an experience in itself, as it is on the second floor of an obscure tenement on the Lower East Side. They've thankfully now placed a chalkboard outside with the restaurant name, but I got a little bit lost both times I went there, nevertheless.

Once you do find it, though, you are in for a treat. If you've made reservations, you should be seated promptly, with the host immediately asking if you brought any wine or beer that needs to be chilled. Yes, Kuma Inn is BYOB—a quality to swoon over in these times. There's a $5 corkage per bottle of wine that most are more than willing to cough up. The food is amazing. The Filipino dishes are on point. My friend Katherine and I daydream about the delicious pork belly lechon kawali ($10). The skin is left on and fried to a crisp, while the meat is incredibly tender and the slab of fat too tempting to discard. The serving is generous and the pork belly fat formidable, so you might want to order just one serving, no matter what your waitress says about serving sizes. Order some garlic fried rice with this and you'll be in pork heaven.

Another dish I loved here is consisted of pan roasted ocean scallops with bacon, kalamansi and sake. The scallops were so tender and meaty, and benefitted from the pairing with crisp bacon bits and water spinach. I could not have enough of the citrusy, buttery sauce it was swimming in. YUM.

There are also a number of specials every night (you'll be amazed when the waitress recites them, they're THAT many). Last night we tried the pork buns, which had strips of tender, flavorful meat nestled in that addictive soft white bread. We also tried a grilled fish dish, which reminded me of typical home-cooked tilapia or lapu-lapu that's a staple in Filipino households. There was also a beef brisket with bokchoy that bore some similarity to the Filipino dish nilaga.

This place is definitely a haven for Filipinos craving some comfort food, but I would also bring non-Filipino friends who are curious about my country's cuisine. The clientele here is very mixed, which makes it an easier intro to Filipino cuisine than the hard-core Filipino restaurants in the city. And anyway, who can resist "BYOB" these days?

Kuma Inn is located at 113 Ludlow Street, between Delancey and Rivington Streets. Tel. (212) 353-8866 for reservations.

Speakeasy

Spent last night having amazing cocktails at Milk & Honey, a downtown speakeasy (now members only) that is apparently next to impossible to get to unless you know someone with a membership. We're lucky enough to be friends with someone who has the key (literally) to this place. Apparently it's quite challenging to become a member. Here's hoping ...

If you can get in here though, it's soooo worth it. The experience is something else. The door is very nondescript, save for the street number and small M&H decals. You have to be buzzed in, and the only way you're getting buzzed in is if you have a reservation. But how can you make a reservation if the number keeps changing every few months? And so it goes. Basically, you can only get in there if the owner wants you in there.

Should you manage to get in though, you're in for a treat. They serve some amazing cocktails in this joint. There is no drink list (or vodka for that matter—vodka is so out these days, apparently—and god help you if you ask for Jaeger shot). You can tell the bartender what you feel like drinking (something fizzy, something to wake me up, something refreshing) or use our tactic last night, which was to say "Surprise me." They are quite skillfull mixologists, as they managed to make a firm non-scotch imbiber like myself enjoy 2 or 3 scotch based cocktails.

Some rules in this joint that I love. #1: No name-dropping or star-f*cking. My second favorite rule is that men are not allowed to talk to a woman they don't know unless the woman expresses interest. Not that I'm hot shit and men are coming in droves to pick me up. But having worked at a beergarden once, I've had to be on the receiving end of too many douchebag attempts to strike up a conversation that I really hate it now when guys try to chat me up in bars. So I would love to have a refuge like Milk & Honey where I know I can enjoy a cocktail in fratboy-free peace.

I don't know how to end this post. I can't really give contact info for the place because I don't know the number, and what's the use of giving the address if you can't just get in? Well if you know someone who's part of this place, give it a try cos it's quite an experience.

P.S. If this post makes no sense, I apologize, as I am still in the throes of the aftermath of too many "surprises" from last night.

Comfort Booze

It's been so cold in New York and it doesn't seem like there's much of a reprieve coming soon. One amazing way of coping with the bitter cold is by indulging in a nice hot toddy. The taste is really similar to the European gluhwein (especially the white wine-based ones). But the best part is that a hot toddy can actually help soothe a sore throat and is really comforting if you're down with a cold. It's also just really nice if you want a nice warm drink.

We had amazing hot toddies at Angel's Share, this cozy hidden bar by Village Yokocho. I love that place. It's very cozy and everyone is very well mannered. I apologize to the patrons and bartenders because I was quite tipsy and not on my best behavior the last time I was there. I took this picture with flash, and was given a gentle reminder by the bartender to please turn of the flash. Sorry! But hey, at least you get an idea of what their bartenders look like. They're all very well-groomed and chic Japanese men with a ridiculous talent for mixing cocktails. We ordered a seasonal drink called Twilight Glow ($13), which is really basically a hot toddy. Angel's Share's recipe consists of New York apple-flavored whisky, honey, hot water, ground ginger, cloves, a slice of lemon and a cinnamon stick. It's the perfect nightcap as you'll be wanting to crawl under your duvet after the last gulp.

If you'd like to try making your own hot toddy without parting ways with your duvet, here are some good recipes from Epicurious and Chow.com.

Hidden Gem

I was a tad unsettled the first time I walked into Sakagura two years ago. One evening, our friend Randy led us into a nondescript office building and down into a stairwell that led to a charming little Japanese restaurant. We sampled the sake (they serve over 200 kinds) and nibbled from a plate of cold soba, but nothing more. I remembered the place more for the Japanese toilet in the ladies room—you know those tricked out ones with a bidet that you can set to wash you with cold/warm/tepid water delived in a stream, as a rainshower blast, and whatnot.

Last week, on my last day at my former workplace, my dear co-workers took me to lunch at Sakagura. Midtown Manhattan, which was so foreign to me then, has become my stomping ground because of my work at the UN. I was pleasantly surprised at the experience. On my last visit, I took Sakagura to be a tad overpriced—I still feel that it is, for dinner at least. For lunch, there are wonderful dishes to be had at reasonable prices.

I was craving a warm dish because it was a snowy day. I picked the Ebiten Toji Don ($17), shrimp tempura topped with organic eggs served atop a bowl of rice. It's pretty much like katsudon but with shrimp tempura rather than breaded pork cutlets. It was fantastic.

My co-worker Vanessa, who is a regular at Sakagura, ordered her favorite: the Sake Ikura Don ($16), fillets of salmon sashimi and salmon roe steeped in sweet soy sauce served atop a bowl of sushi rice. The salmon was extremely fresh and the serving was very generous.

We were all careful to save room for dessert, which Vanessa had been raving about. Vanessa, who is Parisian, had been talking up the wonderful French desserts at Sakagura for ages so we were determined to try them. A chocolate soufflé and some green tea ice cream were ordered, but I believe my pick was the best: black sesame crème brulee with black sesame ice cream ($7). The nutty, toasted taste of the black sesame was so novel in the crème brulee and ice cream. The topping, which was like a sesame brittle, was absolutely yummy as well. I was tickled pink with the creativity and thoroughly enjoyed the harmonious tastes.

Thank you once again to the wonderful ladies at Codification for the treat! I hope we can do it again soon.

Sakagura is located at 211 East 43rd Street #B1, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.