Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse

When you walk into Sammy’s, a classic Jewish/Eastern European spot on the Lower East Side, you’re likely to see two things on every table. One is a pitcher of schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), and the other is a bottle of vodka sitting in a frozen block of ice. These two items should give you a pretty good sense for your night ahead. You should pour schmaltz on just about everything, especially the chopped liver - get it with fried onion and crispy chicken skin (“Sammy’s Style”) - it’s the best thing here. As all of the groups celebrating birthdays and breakups make their way through their bottles of vodka, the one-room space turns into what seems like an adult bar mitzvah, with conga lines, people being lifted up on chairs, and everyone dancing.