Ethyl’s Alcohol & Food is quite the interesting experience for anyone who wants to have a blast from the past while dining on some delicious bar bites. Ethyl’s essentially brings you back to the 1970’s with its blaring soundtrack playing throughout the location and its wall which is plastered with photos, ads and more from the decade that brought us Fleetwood Mac, The Jackson 5 and more. Now, they have developed an awesome late night menu for you to enjoy until 4:00 AM. Yay!
Ethyl’s Alcohol & Food provides both a great interior and exterior seating area, the latter of which is perfect for the warm weather we are finally having. It is unlike a lot of the other locations in the Upper East Side (84th and 2nd Avenue, right off the Q line), in that the surrounding area known for its poise and somewhat tranquility gets thrown out the door in this environment.
Tuesday nights are big for them as its the only night to catch really awesome live music, consisting of rock and heavy metal to get down to. The food we were treated to was pretty awesome, given that a bar setting can sometimes provide some not so stellar options however they really went above and beyond to make sure we had a good time.
Co-owner and Executive Chef Paul Gerard (Belle Reve, Exchange Alley), whose show “Work The line” was executive produced by Anthony Bourdain and Tom Colicchio, designed a playful menu that stays on theme. What they are known for is their Fi-Dolla Burger, which is a simple burger with all the fixings for $5 bucks. You can add on other items including fried egg, guacamole, bacon or caramelized onion for a slightly higher price, but honestly, it doesn’t really need it. The burger rocks! It is juicy and comes at a perfect size that isn’t huge and is a great lunch, dinner or late night option.
For their starters, they have a couple of great bar bites to try that will get you in the mood for the burger and then some. Their Valentina Wings are perfectly cooked, with some crispy skin to sink your teeth into. My favorite of the night though was their Mozzarella French Toast, with a spicy maple tomato dip. I never though about French Toast in this way, and it has a great salty taste to it alone but gets elevated with just how yummy the dip really was.
Also on their menu is the Hot Chicken Bun, which rivals some of the best chicken sandwiches in the city with a crispy fried corn flake coating, cayenne pepper and pickle chips, topped with Go-Go sauce or the Disco Curds, fried cheese topped with rich brown gravy. If you are looking for nostalgia with some great eats, then this is the place to go to.
For more information on Ethyl’s Alcohol & Food, check out their official website.