New York

Of all the fronts used by the Mob, their delis are the most mouthwateringly legit, leaving selfish customers to say, "I don't care who you're murdering in back, this is a delicious sandwich". Fronting nightlife with tasty grub: Delicatessen.

From the Cafeteria guys, Deli's a four-room complex split between underground, scene-friendly lounges, and street-level grazing areas that, while far from divey, can accommodate even the most scene-unfriendly patrons (Thomas Pynchon?). The upstairs starts with a slick diner equipped with leather stools, white banquettes, and sunlight-welcoming raised garage doors, while beyond that's a sit-down room walled with wood sourced from dilapidated Pennsylvania barns and subway tiles made of cream-colored leather; both plate up tweaked comfort food like halibut tacos, jalapeno jack-cheese BBQ meatloaf, and short ribs "Stroganoff" (a variation on a classic dish, and a classic strokin-off joke). Downstairs the action shifts dramatically, with a glass-ceilinged, green-leather'd lounge w/ a semi-hidden, behind-the-wall DJ booth (food's available, but just-boozing's cool), plus the drinks-only "minibar": a dimly-lit space sporting its own sound system, decked in dark woods and shelves of empty martini glasses, wine goblets, and decanters, all bottom-lit, just like you.

Deli's opening in stages: Dinner tonight, followed by lunch next week and 6am breakfast the week following that, with eventual 24/7 service, enabling an activity even more nefarious than murder: 5am beef.

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