Dirty Habit Awards

Dirty Habit Restaurant Review:

Bars and booze define Dirty Habit. There's a small bar at the entrance to the fifth floor venue in the Hotel Zelos, and a much longer bar that runs the length of the inner restaurant, with backlit, glass-shelved libraries of spirits as extensive and artful as you're likely to find. Seating for dinner is available inside and out --- the outdoor covered patio is a highlight. The vast cocktail list is classically printed and bound, but to sample individual spirits you'll need a second list, this one on a digital tablet; the rye category alone outdoes the total whiskey inventory at most places, and bourbon and Scotch come in dizzying ranges. The food menu of shareable small plates is shorter in scope. Thick-cut fries with harissa aïoli are optimal for spirits support. Squash flan is an intriguing soft play, exactly as one would expect from flan, and only lightly flavored from the squash. Some dishes are a bit erratic: sausage meatballs with cashews presented as an odd array of textures that didn't work, and deconstructed lamb steamed buns were simply difficult to eat. But drinkers won't mind the food's inconsistencies, and may not bother with it anyway.