Original subtitles

[dog barking]

MAYA RUDOLPH: In New York City,

the hours between last call and first light

are a time of increased ambiguity.

In other words...

[cats snarling]

...shit can get weird.

[cats continue snarling]

The bars are winding down. The subways have been cleaned.

The pigeons are definitely up to no good.

Streets that have been bustling all day are now...

Well, they're still bustling... [people speaking indistinctly]

...with college partiers

and cabbies on night shift

waiting to drive their asses home.

And your bodega guy and his cat.

[cat meows]

This is the city that never sleeps, remember?

That's New York's whole thing.

[sirens blaring]

You might not be able to find a fancy steak dinner at this hour,

but I promise you can find something even better.

♪ upbeat music playing ♪

‐ Mmm.

So good. So good.

♪

MAYA: Do you see that,

under the 7 train in Jackson Heights?

That's a truck serving tacos so good you might just shed a little tear.

‐ Mmm.

MAYA: Ooh, she cute.

MAN: That's the birria.

This is exactly how they sell it in Tijuana.

Classic onions, cilantro, and sauce. Nothing else.

The more important about how you make the birria,

I can give you the recipe but it's the love you put in there.

MAYA: So José here has almost 20 years of experience

cooking in the best restaurants in New York City.

He was at Lupa and Del Posto,

but now he's running things out of his own truck

with his brother, Jesus.

This Tijuana‐style birria is made by dipping tortillas in beef fat,

throwing them on the griddle,

and stuffing them with rich, chili‐laced beef stew.

Uhh. Yeah, I could, uh... I could eat all of that.

JOSÉ: When I come back to New York, I still have this tacos in my mind.

And the only way to eat them again is if I make them myself.

And I started making for my coworkers and they liked it.

They tell me, "Why you don't sell this tacos? You would make money."

That's how they convinced me to start with this.

Then we are here and I'm so glad about this neighborhood.

They give me a very good welcome.

The impression the customer do to me when they start eating my tacos,

I get so many feelings inside. It's like, "Oh, this is good."

[both speaking Spanish]

MAYA: In Tijuana birria is usually eaten with consommé,

a red cilantro‐y broth that turns a good taco into a great one.

If you know what's up,

you dip those bad boys in consommé between each bite.

Mmm‐hmm. That's right. Just like that.

Dr. Steven here, he knows what's up.

Some might even call him an expert on the subject of tacos.

‐ Different corporations in history

have removed Mexican people further and further.

And that removes all the history of the people

that brought the food in the first place.

And that's called de‐contextualization.

MAYA: Yeah. This guy teaches a class on taco literacy.

But you don't need a degree to enjoy these tacos.

Although it might give you a deeper appreciation.

DR. STEVEN ALVAREZ: The tradition of birria,

is it comes from mining communities in Jalisco.

It's a very hearty stew. A working class kind of food.

As I lift it up, you can see the beef just kind of falling apart to the spoon.

Beautiful, beautiful.

I'm having a quasi‐religious experience. Excuse me.

Wow. Oh, man.

Mmm.

Oh.

DR. ALVAREZ: The thing about this is that

there's a lot that people can learn about Mexican people through the food.

For people to understand us, you have to understand our food.

You have to understand the culture.

The best way to measure it is on the happy faces of the folks who try it.

‐ Mmm.

Mmm.

Oh, my God.

The first day they open, I was here with them

and I‐‐ literally, I cried.

Because I have to go all the way back to TJ to have this beautiful taco.

We don't have in New York.

I feel love into these tacos.

I will say it is the same as you will get it in Tijuana.

MAYA: Look, late‐night eating can get, well, emotional.

If you ever find yourself crying on the streets at 2:00 a. m.,

I hope it's over the pure beauty of a taco made with love.

JOSÉ: I feel so happy when I hear this.

I mean, it's like, something like, it's better than money we make over here.

So I'm happy.

♪ upbeat music playing ♪

MAYA: In the blurry hours after 2:00 a. m.,

as club goers and bar hoppers begin to make their way home...

MAN: Should we get more beer?

MAYA: ...cab drivers have to deal with a lot.

‐ [pop top snaps] ‐ [man yells]

Oh, and Lord knows they need a break.

Luckily, they have a spot where the vibes are good,

the chai is hot,

and the minton, oh, it's bad.

This is the only after‐hours badminton club in New York City,

where a lot of taxi drivers come during the slow hours

to get some exercise and hang out.

♪ upbeat music playing ♪

You don't have to be a cab driver to play here.

But if you are, you'll probably see a lot of your homeys.

‐ Uh. Yo, Tayyab?

So what do you do? Like, you do taxi, right?

Okay. And Shihab?

Taxi, okay.

He drive, I think, taxi as well.

They do Uber.

He drive a cab.

And what about you?

Mmm?

Student, okay.

But you do have a... like, job? Like taxi driver?

Not a job. Okay.

So, yeah, 95% people are cab driver.

MAYA: Meet Jack, the night manager at the badminton club.

He's also a taxi driver.

Jack loves his job.

He loves the atmosphere. He loves the night time.

JACK: I'm kind of a late‐night fan and I do late‐night work

and do late‐night activities.

MAYA: He comes here to get exercise, to take a break from the slow taxi shifts,

and to admire his giant racket

and giant shoe.

But perhaps, most importantly, he comes here to chill with his friends.

JACK: I invite all of my friends here to come join with me, cheers with me,

love each other,

and have some chai tea together.

We are American‐Bengali. [speaking Bengali]

[in English] That's the quality time.

‐ [in English] Very traditional Bangladeshi food.

You dip the bread in a tea and you drink it.

[speaking Bengali]

MAYA: Everyone's got their own chai recipe,

but here's the deal of Boishakhi,

a no‐frills Bangladeshi joint in Astoria, Queens.

They mix Red Label Indian tea with hot, steamy milk,

and then spike it with a healthy dose of sugar.

And to balance out the creamy sweetness, you need a fresh lentil puri.

I want to cuddle up with that and go night‐night.

[speaking Bengali]

‐ [in English] Thank you for the food.

[Jack speaking Bengali]

MAYA: At 3:30, some places in New York

are still what you might call a category‐five shit show.

MAN: Slow down, man.

♪ loud lively music playing ♪

MAYA: There's definitely some fist‐pumping happening.

$30 drinks are getting spilled.

Hey, watch it.

But some people prefer nightlife in a more intimate setting.

♪ dramatic choral music playing ♪

Karaoke performed at this level is a feat of athleticism.

Sure. You could refuel with a sad dollar slice of pizza,

but in Koreatown, even this late, you don't have to settle for sad.

[laughter]

MAN 1: You guys ready to eat now? MAN 2: Let's do it.

MAN 1: Let's go. That's right. MAN 2: Let's eat.

CHARLIE: Right this way, guys. Come on in. Thanks for waiting. [speaking Korean]

[laughter]

MIKE: We got brisket. We also have ribeyes.

We also have boneless short ribs

and we got pork belly sliced or big thick slabs.

We also have marinated pork collar.

And... last but not least, we have beef tongue.

MAYA: This guy, Mike, is the executive chef at Baekjeong,

a very special barbecue spot here in K‐town.

MIKE: You know, there's always pockets of Manhattan where it's always busy

and we have karaoke bars

and rooms that stay open till 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning too.

And the people that leave those places, they need a place to go eat.

They don't want diner food.

Korean place like us, you know, has barbecue at that hour.

Who wouldn't want barbecue?

YOUNGMI: What do you guys want to drink? You want soju?

MAN: Let's do soju.

[indistinct conversation]

MAN 2: I don't think I've ever seen you drink this much.

‐ We‐‐ We get a lot of‐‐ We get a lot of good characters over here.

MAYA: Charlie here runs this place.

Sometimes it feels more like a meat‐themed nightclub than a restaurant.

CHARLIE: We're going to cook everything. We're going to cut everything.

All you got to do is eat.

‐ Yeah.

MAYA: Since Baekjeong won't kick you out until almost sunrise,

it's frequented by karaoke legends,

random drunk people, stand‐up comics, and...

‐ We're going to drink until 7:00 a. m.

MAYA: Youngmi, who right now is all of the above.

YOUNGMI: Uh... Yeah.

Korean people are, like, really hard on women and their bodies.

And so I read as very large to them.

And I was in Korea, like, a few months ago and I walked into a Korean restaurant

and the woman working there was like, "Ha‐ha, we're going to need more beef."

[audience laughing]

Um, but then I ate a bunch of beef.

[audience laughing]

MAYA: Aside from stand‐up,

Youngmi hosts a podcast with Brian here called "Feeling Asian,"

where they discuss everything from Korean moms to Korean food.

And they know a thing or two about good Korean barbecue.

CHARLIE: Guys, we have some brisket here and then a short ribs right over here.

YOUNGMI: Brisket!

BRIAN: It's brisket. And it's called chadol baegi in Korean.

So think of it as like an appetizer because it just cooks so quickly.

YOUNGMI: Like, when I lived in Korea, we would have dinner

and then we would go out to a club.

And then at like 3:00 or 4:00, we'd have a full blown other meal...

BRIAN: Seriously? ‐ ...which is what we're doing now.

BRIAN: Oh!

MIKE: Well, pretty much, we spend half the day slicing.

8:00 a. m., we finish at 4:00 p. m.

just so we can have one night's worth of meat for service.

Which is 96 pounds of just this cut.

CHARLIE: I think that difference that we wanted to bring here

was a complete barbecue experience.

Not just the barbecue, but the banchan.

MAYA: This is banchan.

And so is this.

Technically, banchan means side dishes, but they're more than that.

They're snacks. They're condiments.

They give a meal flavor, texture.

Basically, they are a counterpart to all that sizzling meat.

BRIAN: Yeah. Honestly, that's like the mark of a bad Korean restaurant

is that they charge you for any of the banchan

or if they charge for rice.

MAN: Oh, it looks good.

BRIAN: Yeah. So this is steamed egg. That's just cooking.

Korean food I think is like a great drunk food

because it's meant to be very messy.

And there's a lot of spoons touching, a lot of shame.

It's like the messy sex of food.

SERVER: Also, here's the lunchbox.

[all cheering]

MAYA: The lunchbox dish is a throwback to the old school... literally.

Kids would bring these metal boxes to school

and reheat them over the radiator.

It's quintessential comfort food.

ALL: Shake. Shake. Shake.

MAYA: Oh. Okay. Get it, server.

Hey, I see you. Go ahead. Okay.

‐ It's like from my parents' era Korea.

Even though I never grew up with it, it's so nostalgic to look at it.

MAN: That looks good, dude.

BRIAN: Yo, this looks like what is in my lunchbox after I run with my backpack.

[all laughing]

‐ How the hell are these people out here this late?

[indistinct conversation]

And they're still sitting there through a meal.

The party doesn't stop for them.

It's almost as if we're in Korea.

Because out there, it's just nonstop partying too.

MAN: Do the bars not close?

‐ In Korea, never.

‐ It's definitely not someplace you would bring your girlfriend

to have a quiet dinner.

[laughing]

You have to be in the mood to drink.

It's going to be a little boisterous for some people.

[whooping]

You know that you're going to be in for a party,

but it's definitely fun.

BRIAN: This place is the spot.

This place has the best service, the best quality of meat.

And they're totally okay with us being chaotic legends right now.

MAN: I'm afraid I'm going to get so drunk

I'm going to cry on Hulu.

[laughter]

‐ Can you not?

MAYA: Hell's Kitchen, as the name suggests,

wasn't always the kind of place you'd want to be at 4:00 a. m.

[thud]

MIZ CRACKER: Now, those are some flat tires.

[all laughing]

All right, children.

JAN SPORT: Oh! Whoa.

MAYA: Now, it's... well, obviously fabulous.

And anyone ignoring this neighborhood because of its name

is missing out on some of the best drag in New York.

A beloved center of the city's LGBTQ+ community...

MIZ CRACKER: Jan, you and I have the sensible shoes.

JAN SPORT: Yeah. [laughs]

MAYA: ...and a late‐night party at the kind of place

where you won't get a noise complaint from the manager.

A place like Empanada Mama.

MAN: How are you? QUEENS: Hi!

‐ You all look fantastic tonight.

‐ Thank you.

MAN: Any questions about the menu I can help you with?

‐ Oh, no, we know this inside and out, right?

MAYA: Open 24/7, Empanada Mama,

one of the city's few Colombian‐focused restaurants,

serves more than 40 types of hot flaky pastries

filled with seafood,

buffalo chicken,

mac and cheese.

Basically, if you can eat it,

Mama can stuff it in an empanada.

‐ Okay. I'm going to have the caramel and cheese,

and I'm also going to have the spinach and cheese.

JAN SPORT: Oh, my gosh.

MIZ CRACKER: And cheese.

[laughter]

MAYA: Please, welcome Miz Cracker.

Writer, performer,

queen of our hearts and the stage.

‐ Oh, if you're a drag queen, you got to live out of your suitcase.

That's just the way it is.

I have Christmas lights.

I have Hanukkah candles.

And now I'm going to dig around here

and figure out what on earth I'm going to wear.

I think I'm going to start with these titties

that my sister made for me.

Ooh, that's the good one.

I mean, we came here to die. Like, let's do it in style.

Okay, my titties are a little bit bigger than they were back then.

Let's see what happens.

All right.

Here she is. She's ready. Now she's a woman.

She's ready to go.

Therapy is known for its late‐night shows.

It is a late‐night hot spot.

If you have a show at Therapy, you're living your drag life.

[hair spray spraying]

When we are working a late night like this,

it's just nightlife people.

‐ It's just crazy people. ‐ Right. Yeah.

‐ And then when you're out in the world after,

don't you feel like Cinderella coming home from the ball,

just, like, full rags again?

‐ The sun comes up.

My face is halfway off.

And the people who are going to their job at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning...

‐ Yes. ‐ are looking at me like, "Wow, they must've had a great night."

I was like, "Nope, just a normal night at work."

[audience cheering]

♪ upbeat music playing ♪

♪

‐ I want to bring to the stage

our very special guest tonight. Okay.

You know her from New York City, you know her from RuPaul's Drag Race.

Everybody, please make some noise

for the one, the only, Miz Cracker!

[audience cheering]

Yes. Keep it coming. Make some more noise. I know you can be louder than that.

♪ upbeat music playing ♪

‐ This is so amazing.

Therapy is packed like my asshole on a Friday night.

Just... [audience laughing]

♪ "Everybody Party Tonight" by Cobra Man playing ♪

Come on, you guys.

Hell's Kitchen is one of the only places in New York

you can do a late‐night show

and then find something to eat right next door.

And that is why I love performing there.

[laughter]

MAN: Do you come here all the time after your gigs?

‐ I feel like I'm here at least once a week.

IZZY UNCUT: You'll be here and you'll look around

and you'll be like, "Oh, there's Pixie. There's Tina."

It's like every other drag queen in the city.

It's constantly‐‐ they're just, like, swarming here.

‐ It's the unofficial after party of all the shows.

‐ Absolutely.

My goodness.

‐ Hey, ladies. There you are. JAN SPORT: Thank you.

‐ Of course.

It's really cool to see everyone just smashed together here.

That's the thing I love about here,

it's just the amazing customers that come in here.

It's just like a family.

‐ Thank you so much. I appreciate it. ‐ Hey. Of course.

‐ Good to see you. ‐ You as well.

‐ You always make me the best drinks. I appreciate it.

Thanks for always showing love.

‐ Thank you. Thank you for continuing to join us.

‐ Have a good night. ‐ Yeah, of course. I love your outfit.

‐ Thank you. ‐ [Rob chuckles]

MAYA: Empanadas are a staple in Latinx communities across the globe,

made in all different sizes with all different fillings.

STUART: See all of these empanadas, we identify them with the holes in them.

So each empanada has got a different mark.

There's 40 of them.

Imagine how long it takes to train someone.

It's like their head is blowing up at the end of a Friday night shift

once they've gone through all of that.

[Stuart laughing]

JAN SPORT: Is that the caramel cheese?

‐ Yeah. I thought it would be too sweet, but it's just right.

JAN SPORT: I enjoy my favorites.

‐ Yeah. You find your favorite five and then you try the Viagra ones

'cause you're like, "What is that?"

‐ [whispering] A Viagra.

It'll make you really happy.

MAYA: If you want to know, and of course you do,

a Viagra empanada doesn't actually contain D‐pills.

STUART: The Viagra is shrimp and crab.

It's our biggest selling empanada.

MIZ CRACKER: Oh, this is delicious.

MAYA: Whoever says nothing good happens after 4:00 a. m.

is a goddamn liar.

We're in empanada heaven, baby.

[all laughing]

♪ mellow music playing ♪

MAYA: Around this time of night or morning,

the last calls have been called,

the Ubers have been called,

even some booties have been called.

But for this baker, the day is just beginning.

DANIELLE: I would describe the life of a baker as a little sleepless.

To start my day normally, our shift starts around 3:30.

♪

Usually, I am the first to arrive.

And then I'm by myself until around 6:00 a. m.

I, like, always have to kit out my clothes in, like, a little area

so that I don't wake my boyfriend up.

MAYA: Danielle runs the pastry program at Win Son Bakery,

a Taiwanese‐centered cafe in Brooklyn.

But her pastry chef dreams date back to the tender age of 12.

She headed to the Culinary Institute of America to hone her skills.

And she's now living her dream,

which apparently involves using a blowtorch at 4:00 a. m.

♪ "Like the Sun" by Tanukichan playing ♪

♪ And, ooh, to be turned ♪

DANIELLE: Right now, we are prepping the laminated pollo bao

so you want the butter to be pliable.

Like, you should be able to kind of do, like, the roller‐coaster move with it.

♪ Don't know where you could sit ♪

♪ So carry... ♪

‐ When I was in this one city in Taiwan,

Josh's mother was like, "We're going to this one bakery called Angel Bake."

We opened up this pastry,

and it was laminated inside.

And I was like, "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life."

I was very fortunate to go to Taiwan with Josh,

which was a mind‐blowing experience.

‐ Hey, Briana.

MAYA: This is Josh,

Danielle's friend and the co‐owner of Win Son Bakery.

As a Taiwanese kid growing up in the United States,

he craved American food,

especially lasagna.

But as a college student,

he found a new appreciation for his food roots.

‐ The menu kind of runs the gamut of fusion

to more traditional representations.

We are just trying to push Taiwanese cuisine here in New York.

MAYA: Win Son is seriously upgrading the Brooklyn breakfast scene

with dishes like this bacon, egg, and cheese

wrapped in a traditional Taiwanese sesame pancake.

And its cousin, the PTEC,

a pork trotter, egg and cheese.

They make a giant pork blunt out of braised pork knuckle.

Then they slice it up, fry it,

and slap it on a bun.

Good morning!

JOSH: Opening the bakery lends itself

to operating at these unusual twilight hours.

It definitely gives us

an opportunity to kind of embrace the city at that time.

MAYA: As soon as the doors open at 7:00 a. m.,

the breakfast crowd starts rolling in.

‐ Hi, how are you?

MAYA: It's like the supreme drop of breakfast foods.

One of the most popular items on the menu is Danielle's take on mochi doughnuts.

Unlike a regular old doughnut,

the mochi dough has a springy, almost bouncy consistency.

Kind of like if a cloud and a Twizzler had a baby that looked like a doughnut.

This little lady's coated in toasty, black sesame sugar.

Hmm, look at that.

‐ It's Asian comfort food for us.

I mean, they do their twist, but it's basically comfort food for me.

And that's always a plus in the morning.

He has his opinions too.

This is the pork Fan Tuan.

It's basically a rice burrito.

MAYA: It gets hit with some salted radishes,

scallions, rousong AKA pork floss,

a crawler, and a little sweet soy sauce.

Then it's all rolled up and rolled to order.

KENNY: Smells good.

Hmm, soft...

and crunchy.

That's a tattoo idea. Soft and crunchy.

I should get that tattooed somewhere on me.

JOSH: When we opened, we kind of thought that the Taiwanese Americans,

you know, kids like me,

would, you know, be the more receiving ones

because of the fusion aspect of it.

And the Taiwanese folks would kind of be like, you know,

"This is not traditional or authentic, "

but it's quite the opposite.

It's the Taiwanese folks that come that are like,

"That's what we care about. Representation."

♪ mellow music playing ♪

MAYA: Most people, they'll never see this New York,

the one that wakes up when you're supposed to be sleeping.

It's not always glamorous to be up in these hours.

Although, you know, sometimes it is.

Eating this late is about more than nourishment.

It can be about finding a flicker of home in the city.

‐ Hmm.

‐ Enjoy, cheers.

MAYA: Or it can be an antidote to a night spent

getting a little too awesome.

[cheering] A way to keep the party going.

Or just a moment of peace before the rest of the city wakes up.

As the sun rises,

a whole new crop of people are starting their days.

Commuters rushing to work past night owls stumbling home.

Dollar slices are traded for doughnuts.

And in this moment, as dawn gives way to daylight,

we're reminded that there's so much life in the city.

And so many stories and meals we're sleeping through...

‐ Mmm.

‐ ...all the time.

MIZ CRACKER: I do have a black belt in karate.

Yeah, I studied for 20 years.

I have a wig on, but I also have brass knuckles.

I've never had to use them.

The only time I've ever been approached in the city at night while I'm by myself

is, like, a proposition.

I'm like, "Hmm...

Maybe."

[laughing]

Just kidding. That's not true.

I've always said yes.

[laughing]