THE PRODUCT OF A NEARLY LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP, SAMA STREET COMBINES OWNERS’ PASSION FOR PAN-ASIAN FOOD AND DRINK… OFTEN IN A SINGLE GLASS

BY TIA KIM

Anyone who has thrilled to a carrot cake shot, Peppermint Patty martini, or grilled pineapple margarita knows full well the power of combining cocktails and fare in a single vessel. Their mixing practitioners are often referred to as “bar chefs,” and certainly ever since the first headachy cowboy dropped a raw egg into his beer this concept has sustained, though advanced appreciably in complexity. A new-century pioneer was Puerto Vallarta’s Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa’s head of food and beverage, Luis Perez, and his chocolate blue cheese cocktail.

Sama Street owners and childhood friends, Rishi Rajpal and Avi Singh, enlisted their head bartender, David Muhs, to try something new in that edible/drinkable category: a liquid spin on classic Asian dishes. With a section of the Greenpoint eatery’s cocktail menu entitled “Soups and Savories,” Muhs conjures various favors and experiences of pan-Asian dining, in cocktails like the Bollywood Superstar (rye, amaro, pomegranate, garam masala, pineapple, and lemon), Same Same But Different (blanco tequila, dill aquavit, tumeric, coconut, mint, and fish sauce), and Tokyo Sunrise (tequila, melon, apple, lemon, calpico, and shiso [the last two a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink and an annual herb, respectively]).

It’s part of an overall mission of, as the Sama Street site explains, “bringing [Rajpal and Singh’s] passion for the food and drink they love to the tables of Brooklyn a lighter take on a flavor rich culture.”

Chef Derik Alfaro presents a range of largely small and shareable plates that encompass favors of Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, India, Korea, and Laos. Some of our favorites are Loatian Sausage (aromatic lemongrass and herb pork sausage with charred tomato and puffy a chili relish) and Prawn Patia, which is served with black mustard seeds, curry leaves, and spicy garlic masala. A big plate standout is the Fried Chicken, a full Cornish hen served with fried shallots, chilies, and gochujang sauce. Saturday and Sunday brunch is a blast, too, not least because of our preferred hangover antidote of late, the Hidden Dragon, a toxin-busting combination of Campari, bourbon, lychee, vermouth, coffee, long pepper, and chili.

Sama Street
988 Manhattan Avenue / 929.276.3140
samastreet.com