Ginny's Supper Club

Ginny's Supper Club recently opened underneath Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant Red Rooster, a lively and very popular place in Harlem. It took a few tries to go there - it closed early and was hosting a private event another time. Third-time lucky was the charm, however, and it was worth the wait: entering the room felt like walking into an episode of Mad Men, and our table right down in front of a scorchingly good jazz band was straight out of Goodfellas. An early-60s feel is reinforced by comfortable, homey surroundings: patterned curtains, wood lattices in front of mirrored walls, leatherette banquettes and resin-beaded chandeliers.

The drink menu consists of six "classics" and six "signatures", though many of the classics have some interesting spins - the Sazerac uses the old recipe of rye and Cognac, for instance, and adds caraway. The "Powell", a peach- and pecan-infused bourbon and sloe gin sour, arrived in a beautiful small straight-sided goblet (with an accompanying flask, packed in ice, of the rest of the drink.) Both sections of the menu featured housemade infusions and were put together with a classicist's sensibility. A mezcal concoction with baked-apple bitters was smokey and refreshing, and a rhum-agricole take on a Jack Rose was made even more novel with a bit of sherry, making for a more satisfyingly complex cocktail than the classic original. Long may this joint jump.