Last time I hid from New York City rain in NARO, the fine-dining Korean restaurant owned by Ellia Park and Junghyun Park, the bar was dimly lit, so I snuck into it to eat a few dishes from the a-la-carte menu. The bar at NARO, which is primarily a prix-fixe restaurant, offers a casual version of the words that Park has created in his other NYC restaurants, Atoboy, Atomix, and others.
The menu includes the Woosoo Cooler, a refreshing green tea-based drink that pairs well with both savory and sweet dishes (like the Pop Rocks popsicle, which is a must-order). Woohoo Cooler is a refreshing drink made from green tea. It pairs well with both savory and sweet dishes.
It’s no surprise that I chose the Woosoo Cooler as someone who believes that tea can bring floral, fruity, or earthy notes to mixed drinks. In my home, I often add a little gin to iced Darjeeling or mezcal to a delicate cup of Jasmine to give it smoky notes. This Highball combines matcha and milled green or black tea into a visually appealing nightcap. The Woosoo Cooler is a drink that uses hydrangeas, which have hints of floral, to balance out the earthier notes in barley. The bartenders added Wild Mountain Green Tea to the glass for some enthusiasm. It has a surprising nutty taste and is a great sparkling tea. Jhonel Faelnar, the beverage director at the hotel, told me that it was the most popular nonalcoholic item.
The nonalcoholic beverage menu at NARO includes a tangy shrub made with yuzu and prickly pears that I will order next time I want to enjoy razor clams. Unified Ferments also offers a variety of oolong tea-based drinks. These complex, bubbly creations are a cross between Kombucha and sparkling wine. It can take hours to prepare a nonalcoholic beverage program. Faelnar says that even the simplest of daily juices take time to prepare. This is an underrated aspect of bar programs. “But new methods are emerging, and NA spirit producers will be stepping up to meet this demand. We should see more nonalcoholic drinks popping up in the city and especially at NARO.”
I love a good cocktail, but even more so, I enjoy learning how to create a balanced and booze-free one. NARO’s Nonalcoholic Drinks is a list that I will be working my way through, with lots of orders for rice cakes.
