In just two-and-a-half years, New York City bar Double Chicken Please has achieved iconic status.

Located in Manhattan's Lower East Side, Double Chicken Please is a dual-concept bar whereby the front room is represented as a fast-casual cafe serving chicken sandwiches and small bites along with craft cocktails on tap. The back room is a luxurious, yet welcoming lounge where guests experience the bar's innovative menu which is designed such that you "drink your food and eat your drink."

That recipe has proved an undisputed hit: Double Chicken Please was named the best bar in North America and the sixth best in the world in 2022 by The 50 Best, an esteemed awards program that celebrates the best of global gastronomy and the international drinks scene.

With the bar recently closed for renovations, Double Chicken Please headed north to Boston to launch a pop-up on May 10 and 11 featuring the bar's award winning cocktails including the Red Eye Gravy, a sweet and savory libation made with Teeling Irish Whiskey, coffee butter, corn, walnut, wild mushroom and microwaved coppa; as well as the Japanese Cold Noodle, crafted with Bacardi Superior rum, pineapple, cucumber, coconut, lime and sesame oil.

We sat down with co-founder GN Chan at the Boston pop-up where he spoke about the inspiration for Double Chicken Please, his view of the bar as a design and performance studio, his belief that "nothing tastes better than nostalgia" and the company's strategic partnership with spirits giant Bacardi.

Show notes:

0:48: Interview: GN Chan, Co-Founder, Double Chicken Please – Chan spoke with Taste Radio editor Ray Latif about why he chose Boston bar Birds of Paradise to host his popup, how he learned his craft in an attic, the reason he doesn't drink alcohol and why he wishes he could experience inebriation. He also explained why he wants the bar's patrons to "remember something," a cocktail strategy in which drinks are designed to be simple, yet complex and affordable. Later, he spoke about the regionality of non-alcoholic cocktail and spirit trends, the influence of global flavors and other trends in cocktail culture and whether he feels any pressure from being viewed as a thought leader and influencer.

Brands in this episode: Teeling Irish Whiskey, Bacardi