VODKA WITH YOUR LATKE
It’s kosher to nosh — and get sloshed — at the 2nd Ave Deli’s new upstairs lounge
THE area between First and Second avenues that is my Upper East Side stomping ground is rich with globe-spanning cafes, from Austrian to Cambodian, with some party-time booze pits as well.
But missing until now was a cozy kosher cocktail klatch. We never knew how much we needed one until Jeremy and Josh Lebewohl launched 2nd Floor in November, on top of their 2nd Ave Deli, which is illogically on First Avenue at 75th Street.
Sexy 2nd Floor is made for grown-up noshing and drinking in a neighborhood full of loud saloons where “happy hour” seems to run 24/7. Unlike the harshly lit and noisy deli below it, the 100-seat boîte breathes romance and unforced nostalgia.
Wall sconces cast a warm glow onto pleated leather booths, dark brown wood and a tin ceiling meant to evoke the Lower East Side of a century ago.
The menu, by executive chef David Teyf, boasts what our waitress called “more upscale versions” of what’s offered downstairs; the food at both is kosher.
Most 2nd Floor dishes are tapas-size and all but one are under $20, with many less than $15. Crispy pastrami belly with a baconlike texture is wrapped around deviled eggs, while perfectly fried croquettes of gefilte fish accompanied by
beets and horseradish suggest a Passover seder in miniature.
Franks in a blanket ($12) are another low-cost tummy filler; the little beef franks come wrapped in crisp matzos made from the seeds of everything bagels.
Teyf was born in Minsk, Belarus, so you’d expect him to have a handle on things like veal pelmeni. He nudges it slightly upmarket by offering the dish “two ways”: high-end style, with the traditional boiled dumplings in consomme poured over them; or simply pan-fried. Another choice not to miss is the meat board — just $18 for a “small” serving of lusciously moist smoked pastrami, corned beef, pickled tongue, hard salami and chopped liver.
2nd Floor’s mixology is just as welcome. Beverage director Jason Jeffords III crafted a lineup of $14 cocktails that rival the best at any price. Some ingredients, such as celery soda and slivovitz, reference New York Jewish culture directly, others, such as apple brandy, less so — but they all taste terrific.
Unlike the weaker drinks at some fancy new overpriced places, cocktail makers here aren’t afraid to pour on the alcohol: The results are strong even when they’re sweet. One of the best, “City of Gold,” blends Guyanese rum, slivovitz, sherry, peach, cane sugar and lime in an elixir perfectly balanced between tart and sweet.
What does “Cohen Heist” mean? “Once upon a time, there were two brothers named Cohen who were big robbers,” one of the bar team gamely explained. The tall, prettily composed tropical elixir stole my heart from the first sip through an elegant metal straw.
While a lot of places falsely claim to “bring downtown uptown,” 2nd Floor truly pulls it off. The entrance is a little hard to find. A dark door on East 75th Street, beyond the brightly lit deli, leads to a dim staircase that made me feel as if we were far south of 14th Street.
But the crowd was all Upper East Side — a neighborhood that needed a spot like this for a long time.