Smithereens Zine
Musings, happenings, and tasting notes from your favorite basement in NYC
It’s been almost two months since we first opened our doors to subterranean diners. Two months of slinging bowls of beans, pouring the briniest martinis the city has to offer, and capping it all off with one puckering donut after another. With the holidays just around the corner, we want to express our deep gratitude to all of you for coming in and spreading the word.
Moving into the new year, we want to share some updates and meanderings from our world in a newsletter that will hit your inbox monthly - but delightfully erratically - and feature not just the usual menu highlights and special events but also: what we’re loving, what we’re watching, listening to, thinking about. Expect movie recommendations good enough to keep you awake after your shift from Chef Nick Tamburo; scrawlings on wine and literature from Wine Director Nikita Malhotra; thoughts on sci-fi and Japanese pop and where to eat right now…
We’re happy you’re here.
Smithereens
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s in the city can be messy or spectacular. Sit down with us and you’re guaranteed to have a good time. We’ll be pouring wine pairings out of magnums and here’s what’s on offer:
*shh: you can also add on the pancake with 1 oz of caviar and really let it roll…
Bah Humbug
We are open for a rare Sunday service tomorrow, 12/22! But then we’ll be taking some time off for the holidays: we’re closed Monday, 12/23 - Thursday, 12/26, back at it Friday, 12/27.
In case you need us as much as Affleck needs his Dunkin, here’s a little story about one of our signature cocktails to ease the pain:
Finding Ben
At Smithereens, one of our special little highlights on the drink menu is a coffee cocktail named in honor of one of Cambridge’s native sons. I knew we needed some kind of espresso martini (being a true drink of the people) but some of the early ideas and experiments didn’t really spark the kind of joy we were hoping for.
Enter: Ben.
After being inundated with targeted ads for Dunkin (nee Donuts) that pair Mr. Affleck with Ice Spice in a pitch room meeting for the Ice Spice Munchkins® Drink, inspiration struck. At this point pumpkin spice lattes are a cultural staple here in the US, so it wasn’t exactly cutting-edge to lean in that direction for our house coffee drink, and other bars and restaurants have definitely featured admirable (or at least honorable) attempts to cocktail-ify the PSL.
But as I saw it, so much love and attention in the PSL flavor profile was skewed toward the titular spice itself. The pumpkin, when actually present and not merely an adjective for the spice blend, was never the real star, and that’s a damn shame.
And so – we leaned in the other direction. In lieu of pumpkin, we went with a similar gourd: honeynut squash. Peeled and juiced raw, it has a nutty, sweet, and earthy flavor with just a hint of starchiness. Some of that juice would be incorporated fresh, and some would be turned into a syrup to be used in a falernum.
You might be familiar with falernum by way of John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum: a ubiquitous tiki staple composed of ginger, lime zest, cloves, and almonds.
To keep things nut-free, the ‘squash falernum’ at Smithereens is made from toasted pumpkin seeds, ginger, and lime zest alone, and steeped for a day in a funky overproof Jamaican rum. The squash syrup is then combined with the infusion, creating a rich, nutty, aromatic cordial that brings a little tropical touch to this autumnal cocktail.
Smithereens doesn't offer coffee at the moment, and while cold brew could have been an option, the winning version incorporates Café Bustelo instant coffee powder — a childhood staple on my grandma's countertop. Using the powder in this way hydrates the coffee with the cocktail itself instead of adding excess water, keeping those flavors punchy.
But flavor-wise, something was still missing. So, like any normal person would do, I took Vermont maple syrup, diluted it with a little filtered water, and lacto-fermented it with some salt. Salted maple alone would be delicious, sure, but since fermentation is a passive process, simply allowing the cultures to develop these richer, malty, umami notes while in storage seemed like putting a bow on top.
And so it comes together: lacto-fermented maple syrup, Café Bustelo, honeynut squash juice, and the squash falernum, along with a crisp, nutty manzanilla sherry, a bourbon with just a hint of malted barley in its mash bill — and a measure of oat milk — shaken with dramatic passion and served on ice with a sneaky dusting of nutmeg on top.
It’s not an espresso martini, but it isn’t quite a pumpkin spice latte either. What would Ben think? Would he be honored? Would he blush?
Ben — can I call you Ben? If you’re reading this, I know you don’t drink these days. Should you ever stop by 414 E 9th Street, I’ll have a zero proof version of this drink waiting for you.
— Logan Rodriguez, Head Bartender
If You Need Some Tunes for NYE…
Check out this curated, tried-and-true playlist from Nick:
I made this playlist for a New Year’s Eve party a couple years ago. Over time, it has evolved a bit and become a staple here at Smithereens and we will most certainly be playing it to ring in the new year. Feel free to play this at your own party!
Things start off with some piano focused jazz while everyone gets settled in - they will mingle, they will take off their coats, they will grab a cocktail. From there things ramp up slowly with a bit of hard bop and frenetic horns. We have some well-known names, the jazz titans like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, then a couple folks from Japan, the drummer George Otsuka and Takao Uematsu.
The smooth, funky sounds of George Duke take us into the second phase of the playlist where things get a little more lively. Things really take off with some Earth, Wind & Fire and a Rick James rock block to get people moving. I hope by the time Evelyn “Champagne” King comes on, you and your guests are dancing on the table and popping champagne. Chaka Khan's "Like Sugar" comes on with its driving and addictive bassline, followed back to back by Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real" and Donna Summer's "Bad Girls".
Some other tracks I'd like to highlight: "Don't Go Lose it Baby" by South African musician Hugh Masekela, and in case you've forgotten the magic of Tamia's "So Into You" you will be reminded of it here.
— Nick Tamburo, Chef/Owner
Before You Go
Did you know Tues-Sat you can stream what we’re playing on the floor? Listen to Smithereens Radio here.
Catch Nick on one of our favorite podcasts, Andrew Talks to Chefs.
In January, Smithereens Zine will be going sci-fi: stay tuned for thoughts on Captain Picard’s vineyard, beloved holiday sci-fi films, and an off-menu cocktail…
Come see us soon!