Stasera · No. 003
Stasera No. 003 answers
Served . By Brotherly Burgers.
The apéritif
Bronx, as made at Old Waldorf-Astoria, Midtown
Build the Bronx, the old Waldorf-Astoria’s orange-juice classic, to Difford’s spec.
The recipe: 6 : 3 : 2 : 4
- London dry gin: 6 parts (40%)
- Sweet vermouth: 3 parts (20%)
- Dry vermouth: 2 parts (13%)
- Orange juice: 4 parts (27%)
Shaken with orange bitters, fine-strained, orange twist.
Difford’s spec. Waldorf bartender Johnny Solon claimed it and said he named it for the Bronx Zoo’s strange beasts. A 1901 paper credited his colleague J. E. O’Connor instead.
Sources: Difford’s Guide, Difford’s Guide (2)
1 · Order on arrival
At Joe’s Shanghai, the house tells you to order one thing the moment you sit down, or face a long wait. What?
- · Scallion pancakes
- ✓ Soup dumplings
- · Peking duck
- · Pork fried rice
Answer: Soup dumplings
Soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, made to order. The house says a proper one has at least 14 pleats. The first Joe’s opened in Flushing in 1994; Chinatown followed in 1995.
Sources: Joe’s Shanghai
2 · Little bread
The bialy, baked at Kossar’s since 1936, gets its name from a Yiddish phrase: ‘little bread from…’ where?
- · Kraków
- · Vilnius
- ✓ Białystok
- · Odessa
Answer: Białystok
Białystok, from “Bialystoker kuchen.” Former Times critic Mimi Sheraton, in “The Bialy Eaters,” called Kossar’s the source of the best bialys in the country.
Sources: Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys
3 · Before the candy
Before it became Economy Candy in 1937, the Lower East Side business was something else. What?
- ✓ Shoe and hat repair
- · Pickle stand
- · Kosher butcher
- · Newsstand
Answer: Shoe and hat repair
A shoe and hat repair shop. The candy pushcart outside outsold it during the Depression. In 2023 the city co-named a corner of Rivington and Essex for Morris “Moishe” Cohen.
Sources: Economy Candy
4 · Naples by hand
In 2017 UNESCO added a Naples craft to its list of intangible heritage. What is its practitioner called?
- · Pasticciere
- · Gelataio
- · Salumiere
- ✓ Pizzaiuolo
Answer: Pizzaiuolo
The pizzaiuolo, or pizza maker, whose art includes a rotating movement by the baker and a wood-fired oven. UNESCO counts about 3,000 working in Naples.
Sources: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
5 · Before Passover
Every spring, two weeks before Passover, the Pickle Guys set up outside on Essex Street to grind what?
- ✓ Horseradish
- · Coffee beans
- · Cabbage
- · Garlic
Answer: Horseradish
Fresh horseradish. The Pickle Guys call themselves the last pickle store on Essex Street, and their barrel pickles cure in salt brine for up to three months.
Sources: The Pickle Guys
6 · The founder’s trade
Ferrara has served Little Italy pastry and espresso since 1892. Its co-founder Antonio Ferrara made his name how?
- · Ship’s chef
- · Ice merchant
- ✓ Opera impresario
- · Barber
Answer: Opera impresario
As an opera impresario. The café gave opera fans espresso and scopa, a Neapolitan card game, after Verdi or Puccini. The family says Caruso especially loved the cookies and cakes.
Sources: Ferrara Bakery & Cafe, Wikipedia (pointer)
On the Burgerverse
Stasera serves one menu a day, the same for everyone, and publishes its answers here after midnight New York time, once the night's official results are final. Every answer cites its sources. All Stasera answers.