Alder NYC

 

My lucky day!  I'd just arrived in NY for work and from the taxi window I spied 157 2nd Ave.  When I searched the address online, I found Alder -- Wylie Dufresne's newest venture, just one week new.

 

 I walked over to Alder just before opening to wait on line.  People passing by smirked at the small crowd of us shivering in the cold wind.  Little did they know what awaited inside.  

For starters, it may look like a typically stocked bar.... 

but the cocktails are far from typical.  I imbibed the 'Love Oolong Time' -- tequila, 5-spice, grapefruit and oolong  -- made in-house and put on tap.  Refreshment perfection.

 

To start off, each diner receives a little dish of freshly pickled jardiniere veggies to tuck into and/or enjoy as an accompaniment throughout the meal.

My first taste of the eve was the Ceasar Nigiri:  romaine, egg yolk, parm

 

 Then came....

Chicken Liver Toast:  cornbread, grapefruit marmalade, chicken skin.  Stunning!

On the enthusiastic recommendation of the bartender, I ordered the Rye Pasta:  shaved pastrami 

aka, a bad*ass pastrami on rye, Italian style.

 

 For the insatiable sweet tooth in me.....

Root Beer Pudding:  whipped cream, crushed cashews and root beer candies

In sum, it was a delectable meal replete with the kind of creativity I would expect from one of Wylie's eateries. Here, it's just more down home.  And the vibe is decidedly simple and stylish, with nostalgic nods to the past.

To commemorate the experience, rubber bands replace matches in a bowl at the door.  I s'pose you could wear 'em on your wrist, but I plan to put it round my water bottle the way it's done at Alder.  That way it'll serve as a souvenir and remind me of the fun evening I spent enjoying the thrill of some old favorites, entirely reinvented.