Booker and Dax (CLOSED)

The far-out experiments of the wizardly Dave Arnold, French Culinary Institute's director of culinary technology, have long informed the work of boundary-pushing bartenders and chefs like Don Lee and Wylie Dufresne. At this tech-forward cocktail joint, housed in the former Momofuku Milk Bar space next to Ssäm Bar, Arnold's boozy tinkerings get a room of their own. Here, glasses are chilled with a pour of liquid nitrogen and winter warmers are scorched with a Red Hot Poker, a rod with a built-in 1,500-degree heater created by Arnold himself. Sip one of those hot concoctions, like the Friend of the Devil (Campari, sweet vermouth, rye, Pernod, bitters) or French Colombian (Pernod, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon). Arnold also showcases new techniques for creating fizzy drinks, like the Gin and Juice, made with Tanqueray gin and grapefruit juice that is clarified (a process that removes the solids) in a centrifuge and then carbonated in a CO2-pressurized cocktail shaker. Stay grounded with Momo-style snacks, like the signature pork buns, Cheeto-like ham puffs and french fries.