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The era of foodie martinis seemingly continues: In a vodka-splashed town that already boasts Caesar salad martinis (at Shy Shy), garlic bread-inspired tipples (at San Sabino), pepperoncini-zipped quaffs (at Bad Roman) and a dill-infused Sour Cream & Onion creation (at Corner Store), we now have a 'tini inspired by your favorite pizza topping, pepperoni.
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Yes, beginning on Thursday, May 22, Stretch Pizza (331 Park Ave S) will debut a Pepperoni Martini made with the restaurant's own bespoke spirit Enzo Empirical, as well as fennel liqueur and hot date syrup—giving the cocktail classic pizza-y tasting notes of fennel and pepperoni spice—and, of course, a garnish of zesty pepperoni slices. The savory sipper will set you back $18 a pop, joining a creative drink program that also includes an on-tap spritz (made with Mommenpop Blood Orange, Stellare aperitivo and orangecello).
It's actually not the first time that Stretch Pizza—which is a collaboration between molecular gastronomy great Wylie Dufresne (formerly of wd~50 and Du's Donuts) and Breads Bakery founder Gadi Peleg—has experimented with pepperoni in cocktail form: the Flatiron District restaurant has previously served a Pepperoni Bloody Mary (vodka infused with the spicy, savory warmth of pepperoni and garnished with slices of the titular salami) alongside its Everything Bagel and Shakshuka-inspired pizzas during brunchtime.
Given the madcap culinary bonafides of its chef (Dufresne famously pushed the boundaries of fine-dining cuisine, frying Hollandaise cubes for eggs Benedict, using xanthan gum with konjac flour to make faux foie gras, and cooking shrimp and grits where the crustacean itself was ground into coarse, corn-like kernels), a pepperoni martini isn't that far-fetched of a cocktail order.
And seeing as how both vodka martinis and pepperoni pizzas are deliciously vital to New York culture, we're frankly surprised that we didn't think of the pepped-up pairing first!