One of the best parts of warmer weather in the city is al fresco dining. At both The Smith East Village, and The Smith Midtown, the front doors open onto the street, and voilà! You have the best of both worlds: sunlight and a roof. Grab a drink, some friends, some food, and get comfortable. We’ll be here.

p.s. We’re adding 100 patio seats to our upcoming Lincoln Center location! See you in the fall!

One of the most popular items at The Smith is our Mac + Cheese. Served sizzling, straight from the oven in a cast iron skillet, the cheese bubbling. A perfect golden crust. You break the crust, dig the spoon in to find a mecca of glorious string cheesy, salty perfection.

Oprah.com recently asked us to share our recipe with them, which we did happily. And we figured, hey, why not share with you too?

To enjoy when you just can’t make it to the restaurant:

yield: 8 servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 ounces all purpose flour
• 12 ounces heavy cream
• 12 ounces whole milk
• 3 ounces cheddar, shredded
• 3 ounces fontina, shredded
• 3 ounces gruyere, shredded
• 1 ounce parmigiano reggiano, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces  shredded parmigiano reggiano to finish

Directions

Preheat oven and shallow ovenproof baking dish to 400° F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta to al dente. Strain, do not refresh.

Simultaneously, in 2 quart heavy bottomed stockpot, whisk butter and flour together over medium heat to blonde roux. Add milk and heavy cream to roux; whisk until boiling. Add all cheese, reserving 2 ounces of parmigiano reggiano; stir until mixture is melted evenly throughout.

Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Remove hot baking dish from oven, butter evenly while hot. Add entire contents to buttered baking dish, sprinkle top with reserved parmgiano reggiano. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned. Serve immediately.

One of the cocktails we currently have on the menu is the Blood & Snow – a riff on a classic from the 1920s, the Blood & Sand. Our beverage director, Jeff Leanheart, wanted to create something that paid homage to the original but was a little more modern, a little more clean – literally. Besides the finishing touch of a vibrant, deep red maraschino liqueur, the drink is clear .

The original Blood & Sand was inspired by the 1922 film of the same name, and was made up of scotch whiskey, cherry brandy and sweet vermouth. Below, our take:

¾ ounce Low Gap Whiskey
¾ ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
¾ ounce Dolin Vermouth Blanc
½ ounce white cranberry juice
½ ounce clear curaçao
dash of brandied cherry liquid
brandied cherry to garnish

Pour all ingredients except brandied cherry liquid and cherry into cocktail shaker. Add scoop of ice. Shake until chilled. Strain intro chilled martini glass. Pour brandied cherry liquid into glass. Garnish with skewered brandied cherry. Cheers.

Almost a year ago, we signed the lease for our Midtown location. Formerly a Rite-Aid, there has been a lot of work involved to go from pharmacy to fries, etc. In the past twelve months, we’ve spent countless hours with our restaurant designers, nemaworkshop, creating a space that, though entirely unique, is still unmistakably The Smith.

Jeff Lefcourt, owner, on facing construction challenges: “Running ventilation up a 20 story residential building? That was a fun three months.” Besides designing and building a new restaurant, we’ve also been busy working with the lovely Lindsay McCabe and Leigh Nelson of LMNOP Creative, tweaking the design, logo and menus of The Smith (we hope you like it!). At this point, we’re days away from opening, and we can’t wait to be part of the neighborhood. We feel like we made a great choice with this corner, and we look forward to seeing you at The Smith!

Fast Facts: THE SMITH MIDTOWN
Location: 956 Second Avenue (corner of 51st and 2nd)
Grub: All your favorites from the East Village: mussels, tomato soup, burgers, mac and cheese, etc. PLUS, we’re adding a Raw Bar: oysters, clams, shellfish specialties. Yum.

Want more?: We will deliver, too.
Even more Smith?: We do a mean private party. Like the East Village, Midtown has a beautiful private dining room – we can seat up to 60 guests.