2nd Floor Bar & Essen

A door on East 75th Street marked with a small neon sign leads up a flight of stairs to this bar, run by the family behind 2nd Avenue Deli one floor down. Low ceilings and antique light fixtures give the room the feel of a 1920s private club, though the mood stays unpretentious. The kitchen sends up deli-inspired small plates (gefilte croquettes, pastrami burgers, pigs in a blanket seasoned like an everything bagel) next to cocktails that mix absinthe with Japanese whisky.