American Cuisines
Q & A with Contra’s Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske
If you ask chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske to describe the concept for Contra, their new, tasting-menu only restaurant, they’ll insist that its clean and spare, like their Lower East Side space, with food that’s serious, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. “We’re just trying to stay focused, showcase great products, and avoid doing things that represent who other people are as cooks…
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Piora – Reviewed
It ain’t often a chef comes out of nowhere and knocks your socks off. But when it happens, it reminds you exactly why you love eating out in the first place. I didn’t expect to find chicken skin crumbled over an appetizer of Scallops and Corn (the last of the season) at Piora, a new restaurant in the West Village. The scallops are pan-seared and plated over corn kernels, chanterelles, and an aerated corn puree, a sweet, ethereal last glimpse of summer. But I digress from the chicken skin. It’s laced with fennel pollen and crumbled over the dish, lending an umami-like depth to an otherwise, delicate scallop and corn combination. Lest I forget the black and white sesame seeds sprinkled over the top for nuttiness. One bite and you realize something exciting is going on in the kitchen…
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Preserved Sweet Corn Relish
As much as we hate to admit it, there are only a few precious days of corn and heirloom tomatoes left before greenmarket tables officially fill up with apples, pumpkins and butternut squash. But thanks to the magic of pickling and preserving, you can turn your final summer haul into a treat you can enjoy all year long.
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Q & A with Betony’s Executive Chef Bryce Shuman
Three stars from The New York Times? Not bad for a chef no one heard of before, that is until he stepped into the kitchen at Betony this spring. He, along with Eamon Rockey, transformed what was once a doomed restaurant space, which briefly opened as a Russian brasserie called Pushkin’s into a midtown dining destination with sophisticated seasonal cooking sans the pretense that often comes with it.
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Restaurant Spotting: The Backyard at The Pines
A restaurant with outdoor space of any sort already has a leg up in the city, even if it’s only a pair of rickety two-top tables deposited on the sidewalk. So the full blown, leafy backyard at The Pines in Gowanus makes it an idyllic summertime spot, a sunny reprieve from the restaurant’s dim, no frills interiors. So while you can still hunker down indoors with tender Squab with Parsnip and Blueberry and house-cranked Cappellacci with Oxtail and Crab Brodo, be aware that visiting The Pines’ backyard means stepping into a different restaurant entirely. Because Romano has re-imagined the scruffy urban enclave as a charming Basque cider bar and grill, offering a unique menu of wood-fired items, prepared from a makeshift, backyard kitchen.
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Drink Spotting: The Desert Shandy at Betony
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s good food to be found at Betony. After all, executive chef Bryce Shuman worked at one of the city’s preeminent fine dining institutions, Eleven Madison Park, for over five years. And like his EMP mentor, Daniel Humm, he doesn’t allow any of the details to escape his purview, from the homemade breadbasket (cheesy Frico & needle-thin Breadsticks, followed by piping hot Caraway Rolls with salted butter) to the perfectly curated cocktail list.
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First Bite – Estela
Ignacio Mattos is an eccentric chef to say the least. In fact, being eccentric is what garnered him so much attention last year at Isa in Williamsburg. Remember Isa? It was a quirky eatery designed by Taavo Somer (Freeman’s Alley & Peels) with an oddball menu dreamed up by Ignacio Mattos, who once helmed the kitchen at il buco. But it was at Isa that he really turned heads, serving up dishes, like deep-fried sardine skeleton with olives and celery, or pickled chanterelles mingled with roasted pig’s ear under a tangle of arugula. With Mattos in the kitchen, Isa received a star from the New York Times, and more importantly, tons of attention for its curious, cutting edge cuisine. Then suddenly, Taavo Somer let go of the entire kitchen staff, including Mattos, changing the concept to casual Mediterranean. That was just over a year ago, but Mattos is officially back on the New York dining scene with Estela, a new Nolita eatery, located along Houston Street just above a dive bar named Botanica.
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Q & A with Distilled’s Chef Shane Lyons
Despite a six-year tenure as a child actor, it would have been a surprise if Shane Lyons had become anything but a chef. Both of his parents are industry vets, and began teaching him how to cook at three years old. He eventually enrolled in the C.I.A, his mother’s alma mater, and became the youngest ever graduate at the age of 18. And this led to various respectable kitchen stints… first as a private chef, and then at restaurants like Craft Bar, Café Boulud and Momofuku Noodle Bar. But it’s at the recently opened Distilled that Lyons has achieved his ultimate goal, to become an executive chef and owner of a bustling New York eatery.
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Q & A with Alder’s Jon Bignelli
wd-50, Wylie Dufresne’s seminal, molecular gastronomy-loving eatery, is closely associated with all sorts of madcap, culinary experiments. After all, signature dishes include deconstructed Eggs Benedict with english muffin crumb-coated fried hollandaise, and Pizza “pebbles” made from a variety of dehydrated, tomato and parmesan flavored powders. So what can patrons expect from his new East Village restaurant, Alder? According to executive chef and wd-50 alum, Jon Bignelli, he and Dufresne have taken a decidedly more traditional (but no less fun and creative) approach to food.
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Topping Rose House
Who knew one of the best new restaurants in New York would open in the Hamptons? Bridgehampton to be specific. I didn’t see that coming. The Hamptons are better known for their wide beaches, grand houses and lavish parties. Not food. At least, not til Topping Rose House came along. Just taste the Ravioli with Housemade Ricotta and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a game changer – a singular and mammoth-size ravioli cradling impossibly fresh Ricotta, scattered with slivers of Shitake Mushroom, tender green Asparagus and fresh herbs. It’s glossed in a Beurre Fondue that amplifies the richness of the dish without overdoing the dish.
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Topping Rose House – Reviewed
Who knew one of the best new restaurants in New York would open in the Hamptons? Bridgehampton to be specific. I didn’t see that coming. The Hamptons are better known for their wide beaches, grand houses and lavish parties. Not food. At least, not til Topping Rose House came along. Just taste the Ravioli with Housemade Ricotta and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a game changer – a singular and mammoth-size ravioli cradling impossibly fresh Ricotta, scattered with slivers of Shitake Mushroom, tender green Asparagus and fresh herbs. It’s glossed in a Beurre Fondue that amplifies the richness of the dish without overdoing the dish. It’s a divine pasta that will compel you to make another reservation before you even leave the restaurant.
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Dish Spotting: Pork Slope’s Shrimp Po’ Boy
With a name like Pork Slope, it may seem a transgression to order anything off of the menu that didn’t formerly have a snout. In chef Dale Talde’s hands, however, a seriously substantial Shrimp Po’Boy is anything but a cop-out; a mere half-hearted gimme to the other-white-meat adverse. In fact, like most of his re-worked working class creations, it’s not only insanely delicious, but a gold standard of its kind. Instead of the expected French bread (a sturdier, more reliable conveyance for the overstuffed innards of the average New Orleans sub), Talde substitutes two infinitely tastier slabs of his addictive black pepper butter toast.
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Dish Spotting: Pop’s of Brooklyn’s Texas Sr. Burger
Normally, wandering around NYC in search of a great meal with no concrete plan doesn’t end well. If you manage to come across a place with a decent menu that will seat you without a reservation, chances are it won’t be long before you realize why the joint wasn’t exactly packed. But, once in a while you might come across a gem that not only accommodates your poor planning, but also becomes one of your new favorites. And that’s exactly what happened when we stumbled into Pop’s of Brooklyn this past weekend in search of a quick burger and beer.
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Gwynnett St. – Reviewed
I’d return to Gwynnett St. for the whiskey bread alone. It may sound silly, but it’s that good. Served warm, this crusty, homemade loaf is as sweet as cornbread, soft on the inside, and dosed with plenty of whiskey. It’s also the simplest thing on the menu… by far. The food at this newish Williamsburg spot is entirely complicated, and yet utterly satisfying, a rare feat as far as restaurants go.
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Restaurant Spotting – The Wallace
Ringed by a barbershop, a Subway franchise and a bodega, Brooklyn’s The Wallace seems an unlikely spot for Seared Sea Scallops with Hazelnut Cauliflower Puree, or Duck Breast with Fingerling Potatoes, Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Duck Demi Glace. And even though the restaurant is in coveted proximity to the Barclay’s Center, the massive new sports and entertainment complex on Atlantic Avenue, it’s not a place you’re likely to just stumble upon. But it’s one you might want to make a concentrated effort to seek out.
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Q & A with Back Forty’s Peter Hoffman
When Peter Hoffman opened his seminal, farm-to-table restaurant Savoy in 1990, terms like “local,” “seasonal,” and “sustainable” had yet to become part of the dining lexicon. Now, you’d be hard pressed to find a Manhattan chef that doesn’t make regular runs to the Union Square Greenmarket, or a Brooklyn eatery that fails to cite the origins of its Heritage pork, free-range eggs, and artisanal wedges of farmstead cheese. And although Hoffman shuttered Savoy in 2011, he remains resolute in his mission to eliminate out of season, overly processed ingredients from his restaurant menus.
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The NoMad’s Killer Fruits De Mer
Some restaurants just ride the buzz of their openings, becoming the hot restaurant by nature of being brand new. The mediocre and less than mediocre spots quickly peter out and fall off people’s radars while others settle into their groove. But few stay as hot as when they first opened. The NoMad is one of those delicious exceptions that’s managed to be as relevant and hard to get into now as it was when it opened just less than a year ago.
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The Nomad Hotel & Restaurant
Some restaurants just ride the buzz of their openings, becoming the hot restaurant by nature of being brand new. The mediocre and less than mediocre spots quickly peter out and fall off people’s radars while others settle into their groove. But few stay as hot as when they first opened. The NoMad is one of those delicious exceptions that’s managed to be as relevant and hard to get into now as it was when it opened just less than a year ago. It’s an undeniably sexy space with a series of rooms and scenes, including the bar with its killer cocktails, the library for light bites and several dining rooms to sample a taste of Daniel Humm’s much celebrated Roast Chicken with Foie Gras Stuffing or the equally as famous Milk & Honey dessert. There’s a fine wine...
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Boozy Beef and Beer Stew
There are plenty of recipes that call for wine, but especially during winter (and more particularly, Beer Week!) we’re all about experimenting with ale. Honestly, nothing adds depth to a dish quite as effectively as a quality bottle of beer. It’s the secret weapon in our hearty, rib sticking stew… the malt and hops deliciously accentuating its deep beef flavor and heady spice.
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Restaurant Openings to Look Forward to in 2013
For food writers, each year generally ends with a flurry of restaurant “Best Of” listicles, chronicling the highs and lows of eateries both old and new. But as soon as the calendar reads January 2nd, we hit the reset button, turning our attention towards a brand new crop of impending openings. From Michael White’s eagerly anticipated double header in Manhattan (The Butterfly and Ristorante Morini), to Andy Ricker’s continued expansion of his Pok Pok empire in Brooklyn (Whiskey Soda Lounge), it’s already shaping up to be a banner year for the New York restaurant scene. And who knows? A few of them just might make our “Best Of” lists at the close of 2013.
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