Going Out

Photo Credit: Dan Watkins

By Nick Altschuller

A different kind of bubbly is gaining attention at the bar, as commitment to craft has found an unexpected application. Non-alcoholic, no less.

Once overlooked by the evangelists of local and homemade, sodas are now getting the scratch treatment. “We do everything in-house, as much as we can,” East by Northeast chef/owner Phillip Tang says. “To go out and buy cans of Coke or Sprite just seemed wrong.”

By steeping natural ingredients in simple syrup, Tang makes the base for flavors like ginger and mint oolong (all $5). Cilantro-lime soda is an herbal, effervescent pick-me-up, and a refreshing alternative to summer’s muddled or blended depressants.

Tang was inspired by a lemon-thyme soda he tried at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Perry St. in Manhattan. “Jean-Georges started playing around with the idea of fresh herbs in sodas at his namesake restaurant in the Trump Tower, and they’re served at his locations around the world now,” Chris Damskey explains. The Market chef de cuisine helps create flavors like sour orange, cherry-yuzu and ginger ($4), which requires two pounds of the root for one quart of syrup. “These aren’t things you can just go down to the corner and buy.”

Other establishments dabbling in fizz include Woodward and Myers + Chang, with flavors like passion spice, lychee and vanilla, and aloe and yuzu (all $5). Of course, while noble on their own, they can also serve as a superior mixer, like in Towne Stove and Spirits’ Baja Breeze ($10-$12) with Asian citrus soda, or Tang’s cilantro lime with Hendrick’s gin ($9).

“House-made is a big word right now,” he says. “When people see it, it kind of elevates their experience.”