#23 – SIXTH STREET at PDT

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

While most of the dishes on this list have been really good, Time Out has let me down. I mostly agree with the food writers’ choices, but their journalism skills could use some work. If you’re going to publish an article about 100 dishes “you’ve gotta try” and encourage readers to eat their way through all 100 in a Twitter promotion and the like, then you should make sure all those list items are still available. You’d think, right?

When I saw the Sixth Street cocktail was not listed on the menu at PDT, I didn’t worry too much. I just assumed it was one of those secret off-the-menu items. When I asked our waitress about it, she told us it was no longer available. If they still had the ingredients to make it (which included guava juice, kaffir lime cordial, and curry powder), they would have happily. But, alas, she informed us, this was a summer cocktail and the menu changes with the seasons.

The thing that really gets me about this is that Time Out’s 100 Best issue was released in October. That was way after the summer, which leads me to believe that the cocktail wasn’t even on the menu when the 100 dishes were unveiled. A similar thing happened a week after the release of the issue with the Halloween Sandwich at No. 7 Sub Shop and I learned it hadn’t been available since 2010. WTF??

I wasn’t nearly as angry as I would have been last year, since I’m not quite as invested in the journey this time around. But it still irked me. When I finally settled down, I ordered the intense For Peat’s Sake. I really enjoyed this cocktail, but the others at my table described it as reminding them of mouthwash. It certainly had that dramatic green hue, but I thought the peaty smokiness of the Ardbeg Scotch played off the herbal Green Chartreuse and the bitter anise-like Pernod nicely, with a surprising finish from earthy celery juice. It was my kind of drink.

The other highlight was the Butternut Bambino, which is certainly a fall drink (and ironically may not be on the menu by the time I get around to posting this review). It was a not too creamy concoction of butternut squash purée, egg white, tumeric, and sweet Galliano. It was nicely balanced with a bite from Elijah Craig bourbon only at the finish and it was spicy and sweet without being overwhelming. Like a much more tolerable and pleasant egg nog.

We still found some winners at PDT, even though the reason we came here ended up being pointless. I wonder what else down the road I will discover is no longer available. I’m frustrated with Time Out, but that can only last for so long since they bring me to exciting and delicious places like PDT.

Would PDT’s Sixth Street make my Top 100 of the year? I guess we’ll never know, unless they bring the drink back for next season. But I found two winners during the winter and they both earn an 8 out of 10 in my book. Time Out, however, might be awarded much less for their lack of research.