Factory? Fresh! Rice.
Welcome to Buffet Magazine, an independently owned digital food magazine. Our Tuesday editions are where we feature great writing about food. Thursday is for recipes.
IN THIS ISSUE: A Midtown cigar bar’s short-form video woes, and Sam—who’s home now!—makes tough choices in Chengdu.
Appetizers
Stop Spreadin’ the News
The Viral Virus has come for the cigar bar. An anonymous Comrade of Buffet (CraB) tipped us off that Sinatra Saturdays at Midtown NYC’s celebrated stogie lounge the Carnegie Club have been smoked by the nicotinic vibe cravings of TikTokers. Every table at every set of the club’s Sinatra cover band is fully booked through the week before Christmas. The show was recently extended to Fridays to accommodate the sudden influx of guests, but our CraB reported that even so, he had to pivot his plans to prime a pal on the pleasures of puffing to Barclay Rex Pipe Shop downtown: Fridays are sold out too. Our source isn’t upset that more people are enjoying the club. His biggest gripe is that the TikTok set does not actually go there to smoke. He worries about the future of the Carnegie Club and for its devoted aficionados. “I’m in America’s greatest cigar city,” he said. “Now I’m smokin’ somewhere else tonight. No hate on Frank Sinatra, but if I’m going there with my friends, it’s not to see a Sinatra show.” —Alex