Eddie Huang, co-owner of Baohaus, holds "The Taiwanese Te-Bao" sandwich
It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? Jeremy “Lin-spired” dishes and drinks have made their way onto menus across New York City.
And if this sounds like the perfect meal for you, the first port of call must be the bars surrounding Madison Square Garden, where Lin started the whole sensation. There, you will find Lin-burgers and “Lings,” which are Asian-spiced chicken wings. Various bars are, naturally, offering “Lintinis,” and the Shake Shack chain has come up with a “Jeremy Lin-Mint,” which is a chocolate and mint cookie milkshake. But be warned: though inspired by the awesome-ness that is Jeremy Lin, it won’t keep the calories at bay.
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In the nearby neighborhood of Murray Hill, the Arctica Bar and Grill wisely paid tribute to the colors on the Knicks jersey by making their Lin and Tonic and “Lintini” blue and orange (that’s a hint of blue Curacao and an orange garnish in the latter, in case you were wondering). And the Snap Sports Bar is doing something that doesn’t involve a pun of any sort but is hard to knock: every Knicks win results in an hour-long open bar. “It’s getting a lot of Knicks fans into the room,” co-owner Jordan Harris told the Associated Press. Mind you, his bar did come up with those “Lings” wings a few games ago, so they don’t get a total pass on the punning front.
As for quenching your thirst, well, the one beer to seriously benefit has been the fortunately named Yanjing, which some have taken to calling “Yanling.” Mike Burmil, general sales manager at SKI Beer, which distributes the drink in the area, told Fox that the number of bars serving Yanjing has more than doubled to 340 (a double-double any player would approve of). “Our sales had been mediocre at best, and over the past couple of weeks it’s just exploded,” Burmil said. “Our phones for new accounts have been crazy.”
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But if there was ever an award for covering all your potential bases, then that would arguably go to BaoHaus, a restaurant near Union Square. Eddie Huang, a Taiwanese-American chef and big-time Knicks fan, has created a new sandwich called the “Taiwanese Te-Bao.” Not only is this a nod to Lin’s Christianity but also references another high-profile Christian athlete, a certain Denver Broncos quarterback who goes by the name of Tim Tebow. It could prove a lin-stant hit with patrons.