Food
Best Bar Snacks
Cipriani Dolci
Grand Central Terminal
212-973-0999

A late arrival to Grand Central's ravishing renaissance, Cipriani Dolci has already sparked a bit of a Bellini-swilling bar scene on the West Balcony. The welcome is warmer than expected, and the prices gentler, with a small carafe of wine (about a glass and a half) going for $7. Not only does the Cipriani clan take special pride in its cocktails -- like the tart, exquisitely thirst-quenching Harry's Bar Special Roger, $9 -- but it takes bar food seriously. The bar menu includes simple but sophisticated snacks like chicken croquettes and baby rice balls, and a squadron of bite-size sandwiches: a pair of swirly house buns that look like a cross between a biscuit and a failed croissant, filled with the famous beef carpaccio or smoked salmon and caperberries; tramezzini (irresistible Venetian tea sandwiches) larded with egg and asparagus, chicken and lettuce, and ham and mushrooms, all heavy on the luscious homemade mayo. And the crispy croque monsieur cut into thin finger-friendly strips is better than both.