The 50 Best Bars in North America 2023 List is Now Out - AFAR
"For the second year in a row, a bar in New York City’s Lower East Side has won the top honor in the annual North America’s 50 Best Bars ranking, an offshoot of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. This year’s winning bar, Double Chicken Please, originally began as a pop-up in 2017, before moving into a permanent brick-and-mortar space in 2020, located on Allen Street just off of Delancey. Helmed by co-founders GN Chan and Faye Chen, it appeared on last year’s inaugural North America list at No. 17 (and No. 6 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, which made its inaugural debut in fall 2009). Double Chicken Please is actually two bar concepts in one: The Front Room and The Back Room. Each space offers a different ambiance—the Front Room is fast-paced, first-come, first-served with an industrial interior design and a hip-hop playlist. In contrast, the Back Room is by reservation only and features lounge music and cozy, mid-century decor. The drink program for each venue is designed to match their unique vibe. In the Front Room, all drinks are served on-tap, and the selection is designed based on classic cocktails with a seasonal twist (like an Aperol spritz with passion fruit). For the Back Room, Chan tells AFAR, “We believe nothing tastes better than nostalgia. For The Back Room drink menu, we apply ‘hacking design’ to deconstruct a dish and extract the flavors to rebuild all the flavor components into a liquid format.” Some of the current Back Room cocktails include one inspired by Japanese cold noodle (made with Bacardi Superior, pineapple, cucumber, coconut, lime, and sesame oil), Waldorf salad (consisting of Dewar’s 15-year, Laphroaig 10-year, apple, celery, ginger ale, and walnut bitters), and cold pizza (with ingredients that include Don Fulano Blanco, Parmigiano Reggiano, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey, and egg whites)." - Bailey Berg
