![Roosevelt Island Tram | Photo Credit: Jens Fricke [flickr]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54806d5de4b0a7c95f7b6d01/1421420009343-XOE1C6V3GB7AEZ9UZIVJ/image-asset.jpeg)
Roosevelt Island Tram | Photo Credit: Jens Fricke [flickr]
By Chef David Santos
The time of day for me is in the afternoon when things tend to mellow out a little bit and the hustle and bustle of the morning has settled down. Between twelve and two is really when you can enjoy walking around New York and taking things in, which I love to do because we find inspiration in our environment.
Lamb at Hot Kitchen | Photograph Courtesy of Hot Kitchen
I live on Roosevelt Island so I like taking the tram to get the best views of the city. From 60th Street, I walk seven blocks to the new location of Hot Kitchen, my favorite Szechuan restaurant in New York.
My top dishes are the Double Cooked Pork and the Ox Tongue and Tripe Salad. The lamb is really delicious and the Sichuan dumplings are awesome. What appeals to me about Asian cuisine is that all these spices and flavors have been created from fermenting, the fish sauces, vegetables and mustard greens. That’s super interesting to me.
It’s really cool to experience the food that I don’t necessarily cook. You take something and you learn from it every time.
HOT KITCHEN - 251 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 | T: 212.588.8826 | hotkitchenny.com
Chef David Santos of Louro
David is the executive chef of Louro in New York's West Village. Previously, he worked at at Bouley and Per Se, as well as Nicholas and The Ryland Inn in New Jersey.
A year before opening Louro, Santos explored his culinary chops by launching Um Segredo, a series of supper clubs hosted at his Roosevelt Island home, which quickly developed a cult following.
"Louro" means bay leaf in Portuguese and it embodies the restaurant and menu that Santos has dreamed about for years, drawing inspiration from his own Portuguese heritage.
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