The Dr. Funk cocktail
The guys behind Employees Only have opened up a new spot in Tribeca, and it’s another ode to a time and place long gone by. Employees Only is a handsome Prohibition era hideaway (a place I grudgingly admit is a great bar with surprisingly good food.) Macao Trading Co is worthy of a movie set, provided that movie takes place in Macao during its time as a Portuguese colony. The interior is not unlike Spice Market, Buddakhan, Buddha Bar or Indochine, as in, hot Asian eatery. It’s dramatic, beautiful and busy. David Waltuck, chef-owner at Chanterelle, designed the menu with Chinese and Portuguese dishes, with certain dishes (such as sea bass) being offered both styles. More pics after the break.
Crispy Sea Bass, Chinese style
Vegetable Curry
We had truffle mushrooms croquetas, sea scallop and snowpea potstickers, a crispy whole seabass and curried noodles. All of it was excellent.
For dessert there was fried milk with fruit and chocolate torte. The fried milk was really interesting- like warm ricotta with a crispy cinnamon exterior. Not sure how they do it, though.
Fried Milk with Citrus
Fantastic Chocolate Torte
The cocktails are also great,each containing about 1700 ingredients, often muddled or strained or shaken, involving various liquors you’ve never heard of.
Overall, a fun spot to hit up now, the food flavorful and interesting, the cocktails delicious and the atmosphere dark and sexy. So dark and sexy, in fact, that my pictures all came out blurry.
Macao Trading Co. 311 Church, nr Walker. Brooklyn, NY
