Over the years as I developed as a cook, I always looked back at the initial sparks, travel through Europe, West Africa and Southeast Asia, pivotal books like old Larousse, Pepin, Wolfert, Palladin and in more recent history Bras, Bertolli, Keller. The most influential book was White Heat by Marco Pierre White, It was not about the actual recipes but the sharing of a passion and a vision. A restaurant is never easy even when you have 60 stages who want to work for you for free, details still need to be attended to and in many ways the more people who touch the food the more the possibilities of details getting overlooked.
Every cook eventually want's "his or her own place", there are a multiplicity of established models from cafes, fine restaurants, bars, gastro pubs, tapas and the list goes on. What is essential for everyone of us it to find the venue that best showcases our talents, continues to stimulate our passionate interest in what we do and provides the financial rewards that makes it all worthwhile. Money isn't everything but without money there is no art in the modern age. This business is as much about money as it is about food, it is important that the pursuit of one does not negate the other.
My basic point is every one finds their own road either directly or by circumstance, I have chosen to follow my own road by putting together a small team of people who want to work in a 30 seat restaurant that serves only dinner 5 days a week.
Why ?
It works, it's different and ultimately people want value both in the experience and the cooking, if all the energy went into the cooking and the food rather than the hype and the book matches, then food costs a lot less than you might think.
It does not require multiple investors whose vision or interest may diverge from yours.
It is the "un-restaurant"
Chang has done it at KO.
Talula has done it in Kennet Square.
I tested the idea several years ago.
In the end the landscape is better when everyone has a contribution and does it well.
My road forward is "Studiokitchen" currently under design in the space above.
As in everything I have always done, I started small and grew. I will start small and grow again.
As this process develops I will share as much as I can, I haven't figured it all out yet but that is the same creative approach I use to cook, let it evolve towards the best final product.
The plan is to be in business this fall and I will continue to hone my food concept by resurrecting the apparently missed Studiokitchen of e-gullet fame in the new test kitchen in less than 2 weeks.
I was lucky enough to attend the collaboration between Alex and Aki of IDEASINFOOD , Scott Anderson and Joe Sparatta of ELEMENTS RESTAURANT in Princeton.
More pictures and commentary later. Needless to say one of the best meals I have had in a long time. Thanks to Scott, Joe and the rest of the team for encouraging some rather invasive photography.
Now to the food itself.
Overall i tend to like anything with Japanese sensibilities.
The first course of various sushi and sashimi was very good, particularly loved the monkfish liver.
Favorite courses were the Madai with Green Goddess Consomme, Shiso, Cucumber and Parmigiano.
The Wagyu Beef and Hirame were fantastic.
The revelation was the Tuna Tasso, Potato Chip Ice Cream, Malt Vinegar caramel.
A lovely day in Central Park today, after a quick client consultation and a nice chat on the benefits of CVap VS Rational Combi Oven with JOEL , I decided to get out of Manhattan for dinner.
A short scenic drive to the barnyard.
Very good food, great philosophy.
I suggest you go if you haven't already.
Anything else you want to know ?
It's fun to see what other restaurants are doing and what better way to spend an evening off that roam around NYC, with passover and the pope in town it was a recipe for no waits anywhere, you could just walk right in and eat.
I much rather prefer sitting at the bar and haven't made a reservation in months.
Now that Wylie is all over Iron and Top Chef, I thought what the hell lets just go to WD-50 on an off night.
Guess who was standing at the pass...Ha!
It's impressive to see New York Chefs actually in their kitchens on a Saturday night.
After having a quite tasty Escabeche of Sawara at the tasting room earlier, I thought it would be a great time to finally try Alex Stupak's desserts finally.
I have to say the boy makes some good stuff, pistachio tube being my favorite.
They were quite nice enough to do a dual 3 course dessert tasting.
Sadly no camera besides that would have attracted too much attention.
What next ?
Thought I would find my pal Amador Acosta and headed to TAILOR for some chicken wings I heard about.
I love whimsy when it works.
If you are in NYC, go try the "Tailor made wings".
As I am eating my perfectly geometrical wings, I said to the quiet looking Brit, "are you Paul Liebrandt"
Why yes indeed I am.
You never know where the winds blow in NY, after being dragged to Milk and Honey by Mssrs Freeman and Acosta, the evening ends at 3am on the lower east side.
In our never ending quest for soulful ramen, we made a trip uptown to Menchanko Tei.
You can find them HERE.
In any case, we tried the hakata ramen.
Really good but I have to say at the end of the day, upon further reflection, I still like Setagaya at St Marks place better. The Hotate oil, charcoal grilled pork and salted eggs are just outrageous.
Hakata Ramen or Cha syu men.
Every now and then one needs to take a leisurely lunch and see what's going on out there in the food world so D.A.G and I headed to JG for a 5 course lunch, prices are quite reasonable.
Here are impresssions.
Amuse:
Shiitake and Pumpernickel.
Salmon Belly, Ginger, Scallion.
Sunchoke Soup, Cranberry Tofu Foam.
All quite good, mushrooms perhaps got lost.
Course 1:
The famous Caviar Egg.
A very tasty dish, doesn't quite have the surprise of the Arpege egg but very good nonetheless.
Course 2:
Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Black Bread, Jalapeno, Yuzu.
Despite the fact that I much rather prefer my urchins naked-a-la-Yasuda, this was delicious, well balanced.
Foie Gras Brulee, Sour Cherries, Candied Pistachio, Port Gelee.
Outstanding, no complaints whatsoever.
Course 3:
Young Garlic Soup, Frogs Legs, Thyme.
Too lemony and over-thymed, still decent but lacked the finesse of previous courses.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken Leg Confit, Salsify, Basil, lemon Butter.
Too rich, confit with a butter sauce makes me gag.
Chicken on it's own was good.
Overall not a dish for a restaurant of this caliber.
Course 4:
Skate, Chateau Chalon Sauce
Very Austere, sauce was good but I prefer pan fried skate to steamed or CVAPed skate any day.
Crispy Arctic Char, Miso Potato Puree, Apple Jalapeno Juice.
Lacked balance, sauce was weak, fish easily overwhelmed by potato puree.
Skin was amazing.
Course 5:
Sweetbreads, Licorice, Pear Grill and Lemon.
Not good at all, I hate Licorice sticks.
Breads were dry and not crispy.
Smoked Squab a l'orange,
Asian Pear, Tamarind.
We both hated it, the smoke was awful, had a resinous quality that killed the squab's flavor.
Overall a great time. Going back for dinner in 2 weeks
Increasingly on days off, cheap and good is the way to go regarding dining out. I tend to look for deep flavoured satifying solid cooking with some authenticity. Noodles restaurants are among my favourite places from Pho to Soba, Somen, Udon and Ramen. Among my most frequently visited are Minca, Rai rai ken, Sapporo and Momofuku.
If you are in the moodle and the east village, Setagaya open recently on first avenue and redifines expectations. While they are doing nothing new, they are doing mostly everything right. Excellent broth, properly cooked noodle texture, a real Japanese tone to the flavors and the salted eggs are outstanding.
The pork is finished on a little charcoal grill which adds a great smoky flavor.
Not the best but definitely the best in NY right now.
Dont stop the presses yet, rumor has it Hakada Ippudo is opening this year.
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