Bar Snacks
A deep dive into drinking food at some of New York City's top restaurants
It's time that bar snacks got a little zhuzhing up. No longer will just any salt-laden carbohydrate serve as alcohol's companion. With technical skill in their arsenal, chefs can go all-in on approachable, craveable snacks. We asked three chefs to tell us how they have reimagined classic bar snacks, and more importantly, what they like to drink alongside their bite.
Chef Jerald Head of Mắm
“In Vietnamese it is called ‘Bò Một Nắng,’ which directly translates to English as ‘Beef One Heat.’ We decided to add this to our menu, because it's known in the central highlands of Vietnam where we have family, specifically where the ethnic minority gather the ants that this dish is served with. It's not commonly found throughout Vietnam. We think it's an excellent dish to showcase the vast repertoire of Vietnamese gastronomy. Typically, a leaner cut of meat, such as an eye round, is used. I thought we could make it a bit more sexy by using a ‘steakier’ cut, such as a skirt steak.”
Suggested Pairing: “Beer with Ice!”
Chef Ed Szymanski of Lord's
“We think the Scotch egg is the perfect bar snack—salty, crunchy, satisfying, but not too large—and it’s quintessentially British, which helps set the tone for our guests. Ours differs from the traditional one in that we use spiced lamb for the sausage instead of pork. It’s an homage to what some consider to be the original Scotch egg, the nargisi kofta.”
Suggested Pairing: “Our Fig Leaf Martini, but I have a soft spot for a pint of Guinness with one too.”
Chef Jassimran Singh of Crown Shy
“We wanted to have some cheesy snack on the menu, like a gougère, but they often don’t stay crispy. When we fried the batter, it turned out to be the thing we were looking for, but not completely there yet. We adjusted the batter a little bit and piped it through a churro maker to get the crispy edges. To add cheese flavor, we stuffed the churro with a Gruyère cheese sauce, and dusted it with Gruyère cheese powder.”
Suggested Pairing: “Champagne!”
