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WORK • Tuesday Routine
Mise en glace
SASHA ZABAR • owner • Glace NY
Neighborhood you work in: Upper East Side
It’s Tuesday morning, where are you working?
I live and work on the Upper East Side, basically within a 10-block radius. Right now, almost all my time is spent on Glace, my ice cream and viral hot chocolate shop. We opened as a neighborhood scoop joint, but it wasn’t until our hot chocolate exploded last November that it became a seven-day-a-week commitment. On weekends, the shop is busy from open to close. Mondays are spent doing paperwork and cleaning up operations. So Tuesday is starting to feel like my day off (but of course, I’m still working…).
On the other end of the spectrum, my girlfriend and I recently brought home a long-haired Jack Russell puppy named Yoshi. He’s so cute, but also a menace, and his barks (he barks a lot) are beginning to feel like sound torture. I wake up Tuesday early and very quietly try to leave the bedroom without disturbing our little sound machine. If I’m lucky, he’s still sleeping when the door closes. If I’m too loud, then my day begins.
Before heading to Glace, I’ll grab coffee and a snack at my dad Eli Zabar’s first business E.A.T., which just went through a big renovation in time for its 50th anniversary.
What’s the Tuesday morning scene at your workplace?
The minute I walk through the door at Glace, everything else I was working on (or thought I could finish) gets paused. I say hello to Boris, our manager, then head upstairs to check that the marshmallow fluff is being made correctly, the hot chocolate tastes right, the chocolate chip cookies and brownies are in the oven, and everyone is ready for the day.
We just started to work on what will be a new and improved version of Glace, right next door. When we originally opened, I didn’t have the time or budget to build it the way I envisioned. This time, I hired a young but very talented architecture firm, Lathe Studio (Levi Shaw-Faber Design), to help turn my vision into a reality.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I have this vision for what I want Glace 2.0 to be, and it involves all these small details coming together. Occasionally I have a breakthrough, but recently, it feels like I’m hitting roadblocks. I’m trying to get samples sent from Italy, but DHL wants $400 for a 1kg package, and the equipment manufacturer is behind schedule, and I can’t get the company that makes the ingredient I’m trying to buy to respond to my emails. At the same time, an interesting alcohol company calls me and wants to do a collaboration and event, so that’s exciting. Turning dreams into reality is proving harder than anticipated.
What’s for lunch?
Glace is located on Madison between 90th and 91st. On the south corner is Noglu, a gluten-free bakery from Paris, and on the north corner is my Dad’s store/restaurant, Eli’s Bar 91. During the day it’s a grab and go café and at night, a wine bar with excellent food. If I’m in a rush, then I’ll grab a breakfast taco or a smoked salmon with scallion cream cheese on health bread. Both are pocket lunches that can be put away for when I’m starving later.
If a friend’s in town, I might meet them for lunch at Café Sabarsky in the Neue Galerie. It’s an incredible room, and the schnitzel or bratwurst are top notch.
Any plans tonight?
Tuesday night I normally cook at home. If it’s pasta then I rotate between the Roman classics — carbonara, cacio e pepe, Amatriciana, Aalla Gricia. Tonight I’m in the mood to go out, so I’m thinking Primola, an Upper East Side classic, for clams Oreganata and veal parmesan.
The best room on the Upper East Side is the private Dick Ebersol four-top at Isle of Capri. The veal and chicken parm are the same price, which is a little concerning, but you can’t beat the old school service. (You can never have too much parm.)
However, my favorite restaurant is… Eli’s Table. It’s sandwiched between the wine and flower shop at our family's gourmet market, Eli’s, and the menu changes daily based on what looks good or just came into the store. It also has the best wine list in the city if you like Burgundy, Piedmont or Champagne. If you want to drink old wine, Thibault, who is in charge of the wine list, can always find the perfect bottle in your budget.
Eat, drink, sleep, and hope that tomorrow morning, Yoshi doesn’t start barking…
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Sweet smells
Takamichi Beauty Room, a tiny, five-year-old shop near Gramercy Park, is a trove of marvels from all over the world, but Japan in particular. “We’re like a little cabinet of curiosities,” manager Naoko told me, “and we look for items that are eco-friendly and as natural as possible.”