What It’s Like To Spend Christmas Eve In A New York Restaurant (Instead Of At Home)
Black Manhattans: Bourbon (they used Bulleit), Averna, Angostura
The primary difference between a regular Manhattan and a Black Manhattan is the Averna in place of Sweet Vermouth. It gives the drink a darker color and a richer, more herbal taste. We arrived promptly at 8:30 for our reservation and were instructed to wait at the bar until our table was ready. Since we planned to get a bottle of wine later, we both ordered one of the suggested cocktails from the chalkboard, and commenced waiting. At this point, spirits in the restaurant were high and the entire place was bustling. Later, the hostess came back to let us know a couple was lingering at the larger counter space across the bar, did we want to wait? Since it was bar seating either way, we opted to just begin eating where we were already seated.