Attaboy Opens In Former Milk & Honey Location - NYC

We'll admit that we caved to sentimentality when Danny Meyer handed Eleven Madison Park to his youthful protégés, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara. The move was a relief to those who loved the restaurant the way it was, but also a fire-starter of potential.

So when we heard that Sasha Petraske's Milk & Honey was leaving its storied location on the Lower East Side, with the lease going to two of its most tenured bartenders, Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy, we felt similarly fuzzy heart pangs.

Attaboy, the name of Ross and McIlroy's new cocktail den, opened at the Eldridge Street address late last month.

The duo did some minor renovations, including an expansion of the bar itself and exposing a previously hidden window in the front. And the elusive Milk & Honey reservation system is gone, as is that bar's famous list of rules.

But the drinks are as good as ever. Ross's creations, like the Paper Plane (bourbon, amaro, Aperol and lemon juice; $16) and the Penicillin (Scotch, honey and ginger; $16), have become industry standard-bearers; order them here and you'll understand why.

"As Milk & Honey, the space was just so important to us, and to the industry," McIlroy told us.

As Attaboy, that legacy continues.