After recessionary years of hanging our puffy coats on the backs of chairs (and inevitably seeing them trampled by wait staff), new places like The Chase, Café Boulud and Drake One Fifty graciously check them at the door.
Come summer, we want our slushies jacked with Barbancourt and Havana Club 7 (Rhum Corner), JD and Coke (Home of the Brave), sake and salted plum (Noodle Bar) and Tromba tequila (Rock Lobster).
The greasy pleasure of puffed beef tendon (THR & Co.) and crisp shards of chicken skin (Carbon Bar) is no longer just for nose-to-tail fascists.
For too long, extreme din was the mark of a hot place. It’s another story at Actinolite, Edulis and Geraldine, where they break all the rules by keeping the stereo level down, the mood calm and the conversation audible.
We love the retro theatricality of tableside assembly. They carve your chicken in front of you at Edulis, use liquid nitrogen to whip ice cream at Origin North and pour you a finger of one of 30 Canadian whiskies at Daishō.
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