Bar Snacks

choi

Jeff  Gordinier, Beyond Pretzel logic; The bar snacks of yore can’t hold a peanut to the brisket tots and fish skin of today. New York Times, May 15, 2015.
www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/dining/beyond-pretzel-logic.html

(a) excerpt in the window of print: ‘If you’re crafting great cocktails, the bar snacks have to keep up.’

(b) first three paragraphs:

“For years, lingering at the bar came with a penance: a bowl of stale peanuts or soggy pretzels. Even if you didn’t start out wanting to drown your sorrows, the food made you want to. Bar snacks were meant to lace your mouth with plenty of salt, leading you to reach more often for your thirst-slaking gimlet.

“Deliciousness was not a priority.

“But over the last decade or so, the elevation of the American cocktail has led to a corresponding gift to booze hounds everywhere: the refinement of the American bar snack. Influenced by the izakayas of Japan, the tapas counters of Spain, the gastro pubs of England and mixology trailblazers like PDT in the East Village, bar owners and restaurateurs have brought a new level of care, craft and passion to something that used to be a negligible form of human nourishment. (Then again, it used to be free, too. Nowadays, even a cup of spiced nuts may set you back a few bucks.)

(c) My comment:
(i) Only read the first three paragraphs [shown) and view photos.
(ii) “hold a peanut to”

Naturally the phrase is “hold a candle to.” The food critic here just wants to be funny.

(iii)
(A) penance (n; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latinpoenitentia penitence):
“an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin”
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penance
(B) mortifcation (n): "the subjection and denial of bodily passions and appetites by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or discomfort"
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortification

(iv)
(A) tot
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tot
(may refer to “Tater Tots™, a brand of hash browns produced by Ore-Ida”)

Click it and you will know immediately what it is, if you live in US. I did not know there was a name for it.
(B) tot (n; origin unknown): “a small child : TODDLER”
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tot

(v) Gimlet (cocktail)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimlet_(cocktail)
(section 3 Etymology)
(vi) izakaya  居酒屋
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izakaya
(vii) gastropub
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastropub
(“originated in the United Kingdom in the late 20th century. British pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food”)
(viii) devil (vt; First Known Use 1800): “to season highly”
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devil
(ix) For slider, see hamburger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger
(section 4.1 United States and Canada: explaining "slider")

(x) Photo legends from THE PRINT:
(A) “Ardesia’s deviled eggs, accompanying a slate of ricotta-topped crostini and quail-egg toast”
* The crostini is plural form of Italian noun (masculine) “crostino
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crostino
(meaning "little toast" in Italian)
* The crostino is similar to canapé (French noun masculine for “sofa”).
* This critique described, “Ardesia, a gracious wine bar on West 52nd Street.”
(B) “Italian meatballs and a salumi plate at Ciccio, above, where the mixologist Cristina Bini makes the cocktails.”

salumi
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salumi
(C) “Below, at Marc Forgione, giant curled potato chips with a smoked-onion rémoulade [$5], left, and duck in a jar”

rémoulade (n): "a pungent sauce or dressing resembling mayonnaise and usually including savory herbs and condiments"
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rémoulade