Get On Board With The Portrait Bar’s New Long Island-Inspired Summer Menu and LIRR Themed Libations
By Julie Sagoskin
Let your taste buds take a tantalizing trip without having to leave Manhattan when you visit The Portrait Bar, located right inside The Fifth Avenue Hotel, at 1 West 28th Street. Bar Director Darryl Chan has poured his creativity into the bar’s first ever Long Island Rail Road Summer menu as part of a “liquid ode” to summer destinations familiar to and enjoyed by many New Yorkers.
The taste of the season can now be savored in every sip, along every stop of the way – literally. Each of these five innovative cocktails is named after a different LIRR branch, evoking summer nostalgia. On the culinary side, Chef Andrew has curated a menu of fresh seafood dishes, each incorporating ingredients sourced from Long Island.
Summer lovers will be able to experience these LIRR themed libations and complementing summer supplements menu through September 21st. To complete the authentic experience, the menu’s design is inspired by tri-folded Long Island Rail Road train schedules of yore, complete with fictional time tables, a harried commuter and a retro-styled advertisement featuring a bearded ship captain, a lobster and an anchor – now that’s something we can get on board with!
Chef Carmellini, was thrilled to be able to put his personal twist into every palate pleasing dish.
“Long Island is my second home and an incomparable haven where I relax, unwind and celebrate my second passion, making music,” he said.
He has especially enjoyed offering seasonal seashore delicacies that describes as “light yet satisfying.”
“Our dishes evoke the experience of sitting dockside or on the beach, savoring the vibe, the flavors and perhaps a stunning sunset. Many of our guests head out east on the weekends, and we are giving them a little sensory head start.”
Chan, who grew up on Long Beach, where the LIRR was part of his everyday life, is just savoring the opportunity to highlight his homegrown roots.
“We had a great time developing these tasty cocktails that range from the crushable and refreshing to the more spirit-forward,” he said.
This veteran bartender is also “proud” to have been able to incorporate artisanal spirits and craft beer from Long Island into their cocktails.
His innovative and whimsical cocktails include the Long Beach Branch, Babylon Branch, Oyster Bay Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch, and Montauk Branch, each refreshingly reminiscent of summer breezes out East:
Long Beach Branch – A refreshing Beer Shandy with Barrier Brewing IPA, Planteray Pineapple Rum, pineapple juice, fresh watermelon juice, Velvet Falernum and tepache pineapple spice, garnished with a watermelon slice, $22
Babylon Branch – A Long Island Iced Tea that “matured” into a Manhattan, with Pine Barrens Single Malt Whisky, Appleton Estate Rum, Patrón Reposado Tequila, Pine Barrens Aged Gin, Grand Marnier, Rockey’s Botanical Liqueur and Ransom Sweet Vermouth, crowned with a Dr. Pepper “cherry,” $22
Oyster Bay Branch – A complex and multilayered Gin & Tonic with Fear City Botanical Gin, Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal and Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic, garnished with micro flowers, juniper berries, salty fingers and a lemon spiral, $22
Ronkonkoma Branch – A salute to the Aviation, with LIV Nautical Gin, Elysian Fields Lavender Gin, crème de violette liqueur, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, lemon oleosaccharum, topped with tonic water, $22
Montauk Branch – A Mint Julep variation with Pine Barrens Cherrywood Smoked Single Malt Whisky and Matchbook Daytrip Strawberry Amaro, garnished with a bouquet of fresh mint leaves, $22
Meanwhile, Chef Andrew Carmellini’s new dishes, under the heading of “Captain AC’s Seafood Parlor,” salute Long Island ingredients in seashore favorites that include the Peconic Gold Oysters on the Half Shell, Fluke Ceviche “Hog Neck Bay Style,” featuring Avocado, Chilies, Watermelon, and Tortilla Chips, and of course, no summer menu would be complete with his Classic Lobster Roll, made with Tarragon Aioli, and Celery.
This unique seasonal experience is made even better by the globally inspired Portrait Bar itself, a space which resembles a library setting that will make you feel like you are in one of London’s finest hotel bars. It is here where Chan regularly ignites sensory memories with his wide-ranging flavors and ingredients in each carefully curated cocktail. The bar’s design also draws inspiration from the decadence of Italian villas, and includes 50 diverse portraits.
The Portrait Bar is part of the famed NoHo Hospitality group, the brainchild of partners Andrew Carmellini, Josh Pickard, and Luke Ostrom, which now features a national portfolio of restaurants and culinary services at hotels, live music venues, and sports arenas across New York City, Detroit, Baltimore, and Nashville. Their spaces have received numerous accolades over the years, most notably with two awards from the James Beard Foundation.
The Portrait Bar’s hours of operation are Sunday to Thursday, 5pm to 12am, and Friday to Saturday, 5pm to 1am.
theportraitbar.com @
