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We can’t drop by our favorite restaurants and bars right now to linger over tiramisu or late-night cocktail (unless we're doing takeout, delivery meals or even to-go cocktails—though that's just not the same). As we're all doing our best at social distancing, there are plenty of IRL things about restaurants we miss: the warm service, friendly staff, dining in an actual dining room (not on our couches while we watch Love is Blind), and, of course, expertly-crafted meals.
But one of the things we love most about dining out is immersing ourselves in a restaurant's atmosphere—and that’s no knock towards our homes, it’s just obviously different! Perhaps you’ve followed our suggestion to support your local indie bookstore to get cookbooks for recipe inspiration or hit up one of the many grocery delivery services. Now, you’re putting together your best attempt at recreating something from the restaurants you love: chicken picatta? ramen? Hainanese chicken rice? However, the secret ingredient that you might be missing is the perfect playlist to set that tone. We know you can’t go out to your favorite spots in the near future but you can try to replicate the mood at home. And that's why we've put together a list of restaurants and bars’s playlists that they usually spin when doors are open, so you can pretend you’re right back in the swing of things, even when it's hard to feel that way.