Community Board 3 does not know whether a determination was made by the SLA about this house of worship when the previous applicant was considered for a full on-premises liquor license but believes that a full on-premises liquor should not now be approved within the proximity of this location to a longstanding house of worship in this community...
[T]he second-floor walk-up is made to look like a saloon from the Wild West meets a burlesque bar. The resulting effect is an environment that comes off a bit tacky, but with some damn good plant-based smoky dishes that are just as delicious and convincing as when made with real meat. The offerings which span "ribs," pulled "pork," and burnt ends (made from alternatives like seitan and mushrooms) are prepared with traditional BBQ techniques: brining, marinating, smoke-infusion and roasting.
[Chef Amira] Gharib — who spent the last six months at chef Daniel Boulud Upper West Side Mediterranean fixture Boulud Sud, and before that two years at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s lauded Matador Room in Miami — prepares bites like crispy cauliflower hot wings and queso chorizo dip to pair beside longtime New York bar vet Sother Teague’s bourbon and rye-soaked libations.
“I tried to keep my [barbecue] methods as traditional as possible,” says Gharib, who says that she’s conjuring flavors of the American South with a low temperature smoker, a stove top cooker, and a cold smoker. Her menu is built from a balance between vegetables and protein replacements made from soy or gluten, and enriched with house-made, plant-based takes on staple Southern ingredients like heavy cream, buttermilk, and sour cream — each made from a soy milk base.
He says he wants to avoid “fake meat” products like seitan — instead honing in on vegetable dishes with barbecue flavors.
DeRossi brought on chef Amira Gharib to helm the kitchen. She’s spent time in fine-dining kitchens like Daniel Boulud’s Boulud Sud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Matador Room in Miami.
At Honeybee’s, drinks will center almost exclusively on whiskey, specifically rye and bourbon, a first for the cocktail bar owner. All-American craft beers will also be served, he says.
A Japanese sushi counter with 16 seats and minimalist design will occupy one part of the space, offering a vegan omakase menu and a sake list. The price for the omakase has not been set yet.
On the other side of a dividing glass wall, there will be Chinese dim sum cart service in a 36-seat, flashier space with neon lights and red decor. Vegan small plates are on the menu in the dim sum portion. There will also be beer, wine, and no-abv cocktails.
“For the few weeks after the election, I couldn’t get out of bed,” he said. “It was all I could do to read the news.”
So, to snap himself out of it, he did what he does best: open a bar.
“One-hundred percent of the profits are going to organizations that are either being defunded by the current administration or need money to fight the current administration, like Planned Parenthood and the A.C.L.U.,” he said.
The space features two bars, one of which will host a rotating lineup of the city's best bar talent, who will choose a cause of their choice to which that evening's bar sales will be donated. The list of signed on talent is impressive, including Best American Bartender of the Year for 2015 Ivy Mix of Leyenda, Jim Meehan of PDT, Joaquin Simo from Pouring Ribbons and Alton "Good Eats" Brown himself. Each will create specialty cocktails for their shifts.
At the other bar, guests are given a wooden token with each beverage purchased, which they'll drop into jars bearing the names of different charitable organizations. The donation groups will rotate on a day-to-day basis. The dollar amount from the tokens in each jar will be calculated, the total of which will be donated to said charity by Coup.
DeRossi feels strongly about the environmental impact of meat and restaurants, as well as the impact to animals, he says. Taking animal products out of his businesses is his way of helping. "If we're going to do something to help this planet, it needs to start," DeRossi tells Eater. "It needs to be me not just preaching, but me just doing it. I'm in the position to do it."
