📍The Tusk Bar, New York City

I was working out of a WeWork in NoMad and had a flight to catch at Newark later that night. I wanted a pre-flight early dinner at around 4:30 or so. I had this place on my list for a while, and luckily, they fit my geographical and time constraints perfectly. I had my luggage with me at WeWork, so I took it with me when I walked over. It's in the Evelyn Hotel; you walk into the lobby and go all the way to the back. It's an absolutely beautiful space. There's a gorgeous horseshoe-shaped bar right in the center. The lighting in the bar area is focused behind the bottles, both in the center and on the back wall, which creates this feeling of attraction. Otherwise, it's dimly lit inside, especially at the tables that flank the bar on all sides. I took a seat at the bar. Most of the tables were empty, but about a third of the bar stools were occupied. The two bartenders were furiously mixing up drinks. One of them looked over at me as I sat down and brought me a menu. It's my kind of menu: burgers and martinis.

At the bottom of the cocktail menu is a section of mini martinis with an oyster. As a fan of drink and bite combos, I had to get this. They had a couple of different kinds, but I got the one called "Old English" that used gin in the martini and dressed the East Coast oyster with a cucumber and black pepper mignonette. It's a classic gin martini served in a very cold mini glass. It's a simple briney East Coast oyster that acts as a refreshing complement to the mini martini. The whole thing is like a little treat; I'm into it.

I ordered a full-size martini right with it called the Oceanside Vesper. It's made with ISCO Seaflow Gin, Ketel One Vodka, Lillet, Nori, and Sea Fennel. It was served in a frozen glass. Overall, it has these crisp, briny citrus notes running through it. Maybe it would have paired better with the oyster.

I ordered the Angus Cheeseburger. The name makes it sound so simple when a lot is going on here. The burger itself is pretty simple with a brioche bun, Angus beef, mayo or aioli, butter lettuce, and some raw onion. Then it comes with a toothpick stuck through the burger spearing two pork-stuffed fried olives on the way in. Even a simple burger can have a hook.