DISH OF THE WEEK: My Old Piano at AMOR Y AMARGO

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

For New Year’s Eve last night, one of our stops had to be at my favorite little East Village bar (and my favorite in the city) Amor y Amargo. It means love and bitters and that’s just what this cozy bar offers up.

I’ve mentioned before on this site that I prefer my cocktails dark, slightly bitter, and strong. This place gets it right every single time. In fact, I have so much trust in the bar and its cocktails that I surrendered all power. Every single drink on the menu sounded interesting and appealing and I literally could not decide. So I asked the bartender to surprise me with any of their House Cocktails. That’s sometimes a recipe for disaster. Not at Amor y Amargo.

I ended up with a potent drink called My Old Piano, which was dark, smoky, savory, and slightly spicy. It tasted unlike any cocktail I had ever sipped before. Starting with rye, the drink opened up with a hint of smoke from Mezcal, but that rounded out into an exotic spiciness. It was delicate and toasty like cumin. Those flavors came from the addition of an unusual liqueur called Kummel, infused with cumin, caraway seed, and fennel. Then it finished on a sweet note from Carpano Antica (sweet vermouth) and apple bitters.

What a strange, balanced, pleasant experience. And it was a perfect way to ring in the New Year!