Chica & The Don
Two of the six signature cocktails at Chica & The Don are clarified with milk. One is the gin and sake Chica, the other the mezcal and green chartreuse Ivory. A third washes Hennessy Nixta through buttered popcorn.1 The kitchen behind them is Latin American, at 24 East 21st Street.3
Why go
Milk clarification is the reason to look twice at this bar. You curdle the drink with milk. The curds take the murk with them. You strain until the pour is clear and soft. The bar's own note on that build, gin and sake with lychee and orange blossom water, is delicate, elegant and silky.1 The Popstar runs the other trick, a fat wash. Buttered popcorn goes into Hennessy Nixta. The fat freezes out, the bar strains it off, and the corn flavor stays behind.1
The food is a Latin American tapas list. Elote ribs under tajin and kewpie mayo run $17. A tuna taco with gochujang sesame mayo and chili crisp runs $24.2 I have found no review of any of it by a New York critic.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Chica, which is the clearest statement of what the bar can do.1
- Order: the Don after it, bourbon and Brugal anejo with mamajuana, vanilla and a tamarind pineapple syrup.1
- Order: the garlic and saffron shrimp, $23, which comes in saffron butter with white wine and lemon and tostones to push it around with.2
- Avoid: ordering the tapas as though they were bar snacks. They run $17 to $24 a plate.2
Good to know
- Where: 24 East 21st Street, one door, no siblings.3
- The house line: the owners describe the room as
Born from a real-life love story,
which is the level of detail they publish about themselves.3
Verdict
listed — Sit at the bar and drink first. The kitchen can wait for a second visit.