It was my wife’s birthday and she had chanced upon the latest list of NYC restaurants awarded Michelin stars. She sent me the website of Dressler in an email and asked what I thought. Like a good spouse I said, “Whatever you want, you get.”

Our choice cocktails for the evening: Ingenue ( Crop Cucumber Vodka, Fresh Cucumber, St Germain, Lemon, Prosecco) on left, and Stackhouse (Kraken 5-Spiced Rum, Fresh Beet Juice, Lime, Habanero Shrub) on right.

Thank god. Dressler blew us away from start to finish, from the ambience of an old wood and steel bar, ornamented carved lightboxes, red leather cushions, and black leather booths. Happy hour started at 5:30. We were so there.

Kumumoto oysters

The relaxed and empty bar before six invited the novice to their specialty cocktails. We ordered our selections and were pleased with the fact that none of them were sweet but instead volunteered their flavor readily: cucumber for the Ingenue and beet for the Stackhouse. The Kumumoto oysters tasted like heaven, like urchin in a half-shell, their trademark smaller fluted shells cleaned nicely for one’s eager mouth. Kumumotos are considered the aristocrat of oysters and apparently have their own following. I want to know where to sign up. Continue reading →