Sam Ross of Milk and Honey and Little Branch
Thu Jul 14 2011
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Jason Littrell of Death & Company
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Greg Seider of the Summit Bar
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Brad Farran of Clover Club
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Karin Stanley of Little Branch and Dutch Kills
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Sam Ross of Milk and Honey and Little Branch
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Meaghan Dorman of Raines Law Room and Lantern's Keep
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Jeff Bell of PDT
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Frank Cisneros of Dram and the Drink
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Steve Schneider of Employees Only and Macao Trading Co.
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Kenta Goto of Pegu Club
Know your bartender
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Photograph: Dale May
Sam Ross
Sam Ross
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Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Sam Ross at Milk and Honey
Sam Ross at Milk and Honey
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Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Sam Ross at Milk and Honey
Sam Ross at Milk and Honey
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Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Penicillin at Milk and Honey
Penicillin at Milk and Honey
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Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Milk and Honey
Milk and Honey
The talent: Sam Ross
Where to find him: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at Milk and Honey (134 Eldridge St between Broome and Delancey Sts; mlkhny.com); Thursdays at Little Branch (20 Seventh Ave South at Leroy St, 212-929-4360).
Why you'll dig him: You might expect the staff to be brown-bitter-and-stirred formalists at Milk and Honey—the birthplace of New York's neospeakeasy trend, where gentility is a house rule. But then you haven't met Sam Ross. The last man on earth with the swagger to pull off a mullet, Ross has been a friendly, puckish face behind that bar for six years. That he's a pleasure to talk to is particularly important here—every order comes not from a menu, but from a conversation. In a few months, Ross will be an even bigger presence in this space: He and his "nonsexual life partner," coworker Michael McIlroy, have plans to lay claim to it when Milk and Honey moves uptown. They'll install windows and a glass door, and will (brace yourselves) trash the reservations-only policy. The name of their venture, which is backed by Sasha Petraske: Attaboy.
He says: When it comes to modern techniques and wacky ingredients, Ross is reluctant: "You shouldn't have to think about why something is good. We drink to relax, to bond and for the social aspect of it. I don't think you need to confuse people too much."
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