DISH OF THE WEEK: Banana Justino at EXISTING CONDITIONS

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

I think it’s interesting that the new cocktail bar Existing Conditions is known for cocktails made from experimental, scientific techniques like clarifying, fat washing, and acid-adjusting yet the one cocktail I’m writing about might be the simplest of them all.

Dave Arnold used to run Booker & Dax before it succumbed to New York small business issues. And that was one of the more exciting cutting-edge cocktail bars in the country. So it was very exciting to see what he’d do with Existing Conditions.

I’ve been here twice now and I’m impressed with how spacious and welcoming the space is. The menu is also a lot of fun to read through and it’s agonizing to decide what to order. The first time I got more experimental and tried the OG Celery which is a fresh herbal cocktail made from freezing herbs (celery and parsley) with liquid nitrogen and then muddling them into a powder.

It’s quite a show with smoke and a busy bartender. The cocktail I tried the second time took the bartender less than thirty seconds to make. And it consisted of two simple ingredients. Rum and bananas.

I guess there is a bit more work that goes into making this amazing elixir beforehand including centrifuging the banana with a special enzyme that breaks down pectin. Don’t know much about all that, but I know the Banana Justino is pretty spectacular.

It’s a crazy thing to say but whatever they do to this makes both the banana and the rum more pronounced and almost more alive than usual. Somehow a creaminess is hinted at with the combination of the ingredients and with a squeeze of lime it’s dangerously easy to sip.

Turns out a variation of this cocktail has been around for a while in Dave Arnold’s cookbook and other bars. I guess when something is as simply perfect as this, why mess (too much) with it? Price: $15