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Flavors of New YorkBy Carole Kotkin
Sophisticated New Yorkers are always in search of new trends, finds some of its most imaginative and satisfying destinations at the dinner table. The best new restaurants draw on established traditions but construct their own visions, in the dining rooms and on the plates. The most fully evolved American cuisine in the United States still dominates here. So don’t come to town looking for the same food trends developing in your corner of the world. People come to New York to explore the leading edges of contemporary culture. As the city constantly reinvents itself, exploring it is an endless process of discovery. Where to StayMandarin Oriental Hotel: Where to Eat
Brasserie 8-1/2, 9 W. 57th St. (Midtown West) between
Fifth and Sixth Aves. 212-829-0812 Caviar and Banana Brasserio, 12 E. 22nd St., near Broadway,
212-353-0500. Chef Claude Troisgros, who owns two restaurants in Rio de
Janeiro, said the name referred to his signature beads of tapioca ''caviar,''
which he serves with plantain chips.
Main courses include a variety of "moquecas," Brazilian coconut stews with red onions, tomato, garlic, ginger, fresh hearts of palm and toasted cashews served bubbling hot in a handmade "Panela de Barro," a black clay pot from the state of Espírito Santo. An assortment of "churrascos," Brazil's traditional grilled and skewered meats, are beautifully presented, most (where possible) in custom-made "churrasco" holders with three deliciously packed vertical skewers as the centerpiece. Fun tropical desserts include Troisgros's signature Crêpe Passion, a caramelized soufflé crêpe with fresh passion fruit coulis. What to DoThere is something for everyone in New York City from shopping, walking, and eating, to museums, and theater. Here are a few of my recent finds: MOMA—tickets can be purchased on sit or online at www.ticketmaster.com/venue/24678, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9499. The food is very good in the museum café (no reservations required). The museum is also home to the Modern, a new restaurant featuring the French-American cuisine of chef Gabriel Kreuther; reservations suggested. www.moma.org/visit_moma/restaurants.html, 212-333-1220. . Lower East-Side Tenement Museum—Before the lower east side became the stylish area it is today, the downtown neighborhood was home to communities of immigrants struggling to establish themselves in the United States. Located in the country’s oldest tenement building, the museum pays tribute to the experience. Apartments have been restored to simulate the lives of actual residents. www.tenement.org/tours.html. 90 Orchard St. 212-431-0233. Carole Kotkin is food editor for travellady.com; Wine News magazine, and Coral Gables Gazette; and a syndicated food columnist for the Miami Herald. She is co-host of Food and Wine Talk, WDNA FM that can be heard of southfloridagourmet.com; co-author of MMMMiami—Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere, and manager of the Cooking School at The Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. |
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In
New York City, there is something for everyone. With so many wonderful things
happening simultaneously at any given time, the question isn’t what there is to
do, but how to fit it all in. The city is unique— a different place each time
you visit it.
While
most of the world’s great cities cherish their pasts, New York looks to the
future. In the past few years, whole neighborhoods have emerged from
obscurity—the transformation of the gritty meatpacking district in the West
Village into a hotbed of trendy restaurants, clubs and boutiques. The Flatiron
district, anchored by Union Square’s Greenmarket, is returning to its roots as a
Mecca for restaurants.
The
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) has reopened on nearly two acres in midtown. The
$425 million undertaking will effectively bring the center of the art world back
to New York for the first time in decades. New York’s hottest mall materialized
in The Times-Warner Center on Columbus Circle housing New York's top-notch
restaurants, high-end chain stores and The Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
The 80-story twin-towered complex has transformed Columbus Circle into an
upscale destination. In the north tower from the 35th through 54th floor, is the
North American flagship of the Asian luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental, with
its own restaurant, Asiate, and mega bar and a plush bi-level spa. Because even
the lowest floors are high up, there is no such thing as a room without a view;
new perspectives of Central Park, the Hudson River, and midtown are available
from any window. Each room is well equipped: an internet connection, two
flat-screen TV’s (one in the bathroom), and best of all, a pair of binoculars.
Asiate:
80 Columbus Circle, 212-805-8881. At Asiate Restaurant in Manhattan’s Mandarin
Oriental, Chef de cuisine Noriyuki Sugie has melded traditional Japanese
technique and classic French culinary skills to produce a modern American
cuisine that is undeniably his own. A dish of giant prawns lushly combined with
house-made lemon zest gnocchi in a bracing brandied shellfish sauce and wrapped
up in a paper pouch demonstrate his ability to be unique and playful with his
ingredients. Sugie’s menu is filled with surprises like his Caesar Salad Soup
with Bacon Foam.
French
bistro classics like ravioli in oxtail broth with garlic foam, fresh oysters,
and cote de boeuf with bone marrow and pommes souffles accent the menu but the
stunning downstairs restaurant steers a clearly contemporary American course.
Chef Julian Alonzo, artfully turns his creativity and flavor focus in all
directions.
Billed
as "Simply Raw'' are three fish tartares-Asian tuna, Japanese yellowtail and
salmon belly, plus delicious, coarsely chopped tartare of prime steak. Fresh
wasabi root is brought to the table is grated over the tuna. A pomegranate gelee,
lemon oil and cucumbers complement the salmon, and a quail egg enhances the
steak tartare. jumbo lump crab cake is paired with a salad of artichokes and sea
beans. The spacious room, featuring a beautiful glass mural by Ferdinand Leger
separates the dining room from the kitchen space and adds brilliant color to the
room.
The
restaurant, a partnership with Jeffrey Chodorow, replaces Rocco's of the
infamous The Restaurant television show, and has been redone with cream, ocean
blue and swaths of lace. Chodorow and Troisgros who also work together at the
Blue Door in Miami Beach, decided to bring Troisgros’ vibrant and exotic
Brazilian-inspired cuisine to New York. Upon entering Caviar & Bananas, guests
are immediately transported to the fun and friendly seaside of Brazil, with its
scintillating rhythms and carioca ambiance. The festive and appetizing menu,
conducive to sharing, begins with "salgadinhos," the Brazilian equivalent to
tapas, served in groupings of four small tapas per order.
They
include Brazilian cheese bread ("pão de queijo"); shrimp salad with 'açaí"
vinaigrette; grilled hearts of palm salad with black raisins; tuna confit with
capers and black olives; octopus with achiote vinaigrette; and Spanish Serrano
ham, to name just a few. The Carioca breads, Troisgros's thin and crispy-crusted
Brazilian answer to pizza, include the Copacabana, topped with beef tenderloin
carpaccio, dried "carne seca," mushrooms and white truffle oil, as well as the
Flamengo, a vegetarian offering of grilled eggplant, zucchini, shallots,
caramelized pineapple and banana with spicy achiote olive oil and sesame seeds.
Appetizers include Troisgros's signature Big Ravioli, filled with taro root
mousseline and covered with an airy mushroom foam and white truffle oil.