Secession

Note: Secession has closed. It will be replaced with a Japanese concept called Brushstroke, supposedly by the end of 2009 (but don’t hold your breath).

David Bouley has been a busy guy. He has something like seven restaurant projects going right now. We’re not talking about seven stable, business-as-usual restaurants, but seven in a state of flux. And we’re not talking about seven clones, but seven very different concepts. The obvious question is whether he can keep so many balls in the air, or if some of them—indeed, perhaps all—are going to land with an embarrassing thud.

So far, we have the answer for one of these: Secession, which just opened, replacing Danube. THUD. There is plenty of time to right the ship, but Secession needs a lot of work. With his next project, the new flagship Bouley, set to open next week, when will he have time to fix Secession, which right now is beyond mediocre?

It is not merely flawed execution—though there is plenty of that—but an absurd concept. The menu has practically as many options as a diner. It is more than any restaurant could expect to do well. And as one food board participant noted, they are almost sure to be always running out of things. If there’s to be any semblence of consistency, about half this menu needs to be jettisoned.

Perhaps they are heading in that direction. Last night, there were marginally fewer items offered than on the menu that I posted a couple of weeks ago. But it is still far too much, with something like 25 entrées and an equal number of appetizers in multiple categories. I mean, spaghetti carbonara and shrimp kebabs? They seem to be just phoned in. The menu, printed on a huge broadsheet, is also unwieldy to handle at the small tables.

The prices, at least, aren’t exorbitant. Almost all of the appetizers are below $15, and most of the entrées are $25 or less. Steaks range from $21 (skirt steak) to $32 (sirloin), but if they’re aged prime, as the menu says, that’s a pretty good deal. Nearly all of the wines are below $100, with many good choices below $50.

The brasserie menu and befuddled service are at war with the surroundings. Danube’s faux Klimt interior has been retained, which was a wise move, as this is still one of the most gorgeous rooms in town. It still feels like it should be a three-star restaurant, though it most certainly isn’t. Chairs and banquettes are comfortable, but our table wobbled. About halfway through, the server came by and stuck a piece of cardboard under one of the legs.

 

The charcuterie section of the menu offers nine homemade terrines, pâtés and boudins (sausages), all $11. We ordered two of those, and then waited. And waited. It made no sense, as these items are obviously pre-made. There was bread service, but it was stale. This was hard to figure, as the bread just next door, at Bouley, has always been excellent.

The boudin noir, or blood sausage (above left), comes with six different garnishes, but this isn’t clear on the menu, and our server was at a loss to explain it. Apparently they were out of one garnish, and had substituted another. Or something. For all that, it was pretty good. The Terrine du Chef (above right) had a flat, dull taste, and came out too cold, as if it had been in the fridge all day. The accompanying bread was again stale.

  

One of the more unusual menu items is Baby Goat; they were out of it, but didn’t bother to tell us this when the menus were handed out. I was offered Baby Lamb instead ($25; above left). It was presented in a cast-iron skillet, but I thought they’d serve it out onto a plate. Instead, they just left it for me to eat directly from the skillet, which was a bit wobbly. The kitchen did a respectable job with the lamb, but the potatoes underneath it were greasy and stuck to the pan.

I had asked the server to recommend a side dish. He suggested the mac ’n’ cheese, or technically “Grandmother’s Pasta and Cheesse Gratin” ($9; above center). Perhaps a better name is “supermarket pasta elbows.” They were too watery and not cheesy enough.

My girlfriend had the Skirt Steak ($21; above right). Apparently it was supposed to come with sauce, but the server forgot it; we did too, till we re-checked the menu afterwards. The steak itself was tender and nicely seasoned, but the accompanying schmear of what looked like mashed potatoes wasn’t any good at all. It also came with fries, which were soggy and limp. A runner asked what was wrong with them, and we told him. “I’ll tell the manager,” he said. Instead, our waiter came back and said, “Sorry about the fries.” At another table, the fries weren’t delivered till after everyone had finished their entrées.

Earlier in the evening, we’d had drinks at the bar, which they offered to transfer to our dinner tab. When the bill arrived, they weren’t on it. I’d like to think they were making up for the fries, but I doubt it. Surely, in that case, a manager would have come over and said something. I think they’re just discombobulated. We pointed out the apparent error. The server just said, “Forget about it.”

The dinner crowd was an eclectic mix. For the first part of the evening, the average age of the room was definitely over 50, but it got younger as time went on. The staff can’t decide what atmosphere they want in the dining room. Lighting levels were adjusted three times during the course of our meal. The full menu is also available at the bar. It has several comfortable tables, and a number of people seemed to be dining there by choice. It was standing-room-only by the time we left.

The dining room was never full, though it got close by the time we left, a bit after 8:00 p.m. Curiously, we were seated right next to a party of six, even though the restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived. About half-way through our meal, another party of two was seated right next to us, though there were a good dozen other two-tops with no one else around. Spreading people out when the dining room is empty is a pretty basic service concept, not yet mastered here.

There’s no reason Secession couldn’t be a great restaurant, but it isn’t right now. Too many basic things misfire. The staff is too confused. David Bouley needs to cut down the menu to about half of its currrent length, and the front-of-house needs a serious kick in the shins.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the prices are low, and that encourages a re-visit. If I hear that things have improved, I’ll drop by again one evening and dine at the bar.

Secession (30 Hudson Street at Duane Street, TriBeCa)

Food: Uneven
Service: Uneven
Ambiance: ***
Overall: Uneven (no stars)

Bar Boulud

I dropped into Bar Boulud last night for a pre-opera snack. The tables were all full at around 7:00 p.m., but there were a few seats available at the communal table (far left in the above photo).

The menu offered at the communal table seems to be abbreviated, but I quickly settled on one of the warm charcuterie specialties, the Saucisse Fumée Façon “Morteau” ($16), or smoked cumin-spiced sausage on a lentil stew. For what it was, this dish was about perfect. I could eat like this every day.

As I observed last time, service can be helter-skelter, although they fared better at two recent lunch visits. Servers do a first-class job when you have their attention, but getting it isn’t so easy, as there aren’t enough of them to go around, especially in the frantic pre-theater hour.

But the kitchen still seems to have its act together, which is more than you can say for many a Lincoln Center restaurant. Despite its faults, we are lucky to have Bar Boulud in our midst.

Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway near 63rd Street, Upper West Side)

Food: **
Service: *½
Ambiance: *½
Overall: **

Roberto

 

For years, I’ve been reading about the “other” Little Italy on Arthur Avenue, in the Bronx. It’s supposed to be less of a tourist trap. The food is supposed to be better. Last weekend, with my son in town, we visited the legendary Roberto.

The restaurant has been in a lovely townhouse on Crescent Street, just steps away from the main drag on Arthur Avenue, since 1989, when it was Tony & Roberto’s. In 1993, Times critic Molly O’Neil awarded one star. A few years later, brother Tony went back to Salerno, leaving Roberto Paciullo in charge by himself—still stopping by every table to ask how your meal was.

From most parts of the city, it is not especially easy to get here by mass transit. Fortunately, we live close by the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal in Washington Heights, where you can catch the Bx36 bus to the corner of Bathgate Avenue and E. 180th Street. That still leaves you about eight blocks away, and you’d best have a map with you unless you already know the area. The closest subway stop, 182nd–183rd Streets on the D line, leaves you with a good 15–20 minutes’ walk.

Roberto does not take reservations except for large parties, and if you arrive at prime times you have a long wait ahead. We got there around 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday, and it was already nearly full. The hostess said she could seat us downstairs, which didn’t sound so good, but was actually a blessing. We were in a small, quiet room with about 6 tables, dominated by a long wine wall with hundreds of rare bottles, mostly magnums and double-magnums. Two hours later, when we left, the main dining room upstairs was noisier than a train station at rush hour.

The menu is long, and on top of it the server recited a dozen or more specials. Naturally, by the time he’d finished his lecture we’d forgotten at least half of them. We got the sense that large portions were coming, so we settled on one antipasto, two pastas and two entrées to share amongst three people. That turned out to be about right.

We started with a good spicy Cotechino ($14), or Italian pork sausage, with spinach and cannellini beans. Both of our pastas were specials. There were tender Agnolotti ($21) filled with goat cheese and braised short rib; and Fettuccini with a short rib ragoût ($25). I don’t think we actually meant to order short rib twice, but that’s what happens when recited specials go whizzing by too fast. My son made short work of Pollo Affumi ($21), or chicken with prosciutto and mozzarella, while we shared a tender Lamb Shank Ossobucco ($26).

None of the savory courses came out quite warm enough. Dishes weren’t heated before the food was plated, and they cooled a bit on the way from kitchen to table. The captain served us family-style, but anything left cooled quickly, since the original plates weren’t warm. Silverware was not replaced after our first course, but it was after our second.

Dessert was, I believe, a terrific almond cake with cinammon ice cream, which the three of us shared. (It’s the only food photo I took that is worth publishing.)

The wine list doesn’t seem to have any bargains, but we got a perfectly respectable 2003 Villa Puccini Chianti Riserva for $44.

I have no idea if we got the best, the worst, or the average performance for this restaurant. With such a sprawling menu and 240 covers a night, it’s inevitable there will be highs and lows. Everything was solid here, but the food was somewhat let down by the service. Still, it was a fun evening, and we’ll probably try it again sometime.

Roberto (603 Crescent Avenue at Hughes Avenue, Bronx)

Food: *
Service: Sub-*
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

The Spotted Pig

Note: Click here for a review of FergusStock at The Spotted Pig. Click here for a review of the famous burger.

The Spotted Pig has been packing in West Village diners more-or-less continuously since it opened 4½ years ago. The tiny gastropub doesn’t take reservations, and waits of an hour or more are legion. I generally avoid such places, so the Spotted Pig and I were making do without each other till last Friday. That day, I realized that if I left work at 5:00 p.m. and headed straight for the Pig, I’d be there when they opened, and would probably get a seat. It worked…and the food was good enough that I just mighty try it again. And again.

The English chef, April Bloomfield, has stints at London’s River Cafe and Berkeley’s Chez Panisse on her C.V. It was enough to impress Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Ken Freeman (who are all investors). It was enough to impress Eric Asimov of the Times, who delivered a rave in $25 & Under. And it was enough to impress the Michelin inspectors, who gave the Pig a star, which it has held four years in a row.

Frank Bruni awarded one star in 2006, though in his four-star system that isn’t quite as much of a compliment. Regardless of the merits, read the Asimov and Bruni pieces, and it’s as clear as can be which one should be reviewing restaurants, and which one is an imitator. Mind you, I think one star (in Timesspeak) is about right for this place—but not when you’ve awarded two to so many other mediocre ones, as Bruni has done.

But let’s get back to the Spotted Pig, where eclectic European comfort food comes in four sizes: bar snacks ($3–7.50), appetizers ($14–18), entrées ($17–32) and side dishes ($7–10). If you’re a vegetarian, a plate of five sides is $24. Except for the acclaimed roquefort cheeseburger ($17; the most popular dish), the entrées are all $25 and higher, and there are three that sell for $32. At these prices, one might resent the loud and crowded pub space, seating on backless stools, and a no-reservations policy. But for almost five years now, the verdict of the dining public is that it’s worth it.

Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Brown Butter & Sage ($15) have been on the menu from the beginning, and one can see why. They’re soft, delicate, rich, and just heavenly: surely one of the top ten appetizers in town. I got a little more adventurous for the entrée: Lamb Crépinette with lamb kidneys and black-eyed peas ($29). Braised lamb shoulder was stuffed in a sausage casing, covered in diced kidneys and a heavy, dark sauce. The kidney taste was a bit overpowering, but the tender shoulder had a bright, strong flavor.

Service was impressive for a place that was so busy. The server had a lot of tables to cover, but she never lost track of me. The entrée took about 45 minutes to come out, but she comped a glass of wine and a serving of olives & almonds as partial recompense. I wasn’t in any hurry, and didn’t mind.

The menu is reprinted daily and changes frequently: there were five specials written on the board, including that crépinette. Perhaps I was one of the first to try it, which could explain the long delay. There probably aren’t many customers demanding lamb kidney. I might not order it again, but it wasn’t bad, and I give Bloomfield credit for venturing beyond the obvious.

Bloomfield has every right to be distracted: her seafood restaurant, The John Dory, originally scheduled for the spring, remains under construction, with a promised October opening very much in doubt. But Bloomfield was in the Spotted Pig on Friday night, running the kitchen as she’s done for the last five years. It is very much a contradiction, with the food a level or two above the pub surroundings in which it is served.

The Spotted Pig (314 W. 11th Street at Greenwich Street, West Village)

Food: ★★½
Service: ★★
Ambiance: ★
Overall: ★★½

Someone's in the Kitchen at Mai House

It looks like the soap opera at Mai House is over. Eater has the news today that David Lee, a former sous chef at Bar Room at the Modern, will be behind the stoves.

We were big fans of Mai House under founding chef Michael Bao Huynh. Top Chef’s Spike Mendelsohn replaced him, and Top Chef’s Lisa Hernandes replaced Spike. Neither one figured to be a permanent figure, and owner Drew Nieporent wasn’t going to let the place drift for long. Lee comes in with serious cred. He plans “serious menu changes,” with about half the dishes to be replaced by sometime in November.

We’ll give Lee a few weeks to get out the kinks before dropping in for a look-see.

Unaccompanied Minor = Legalized Theft

My 13-year-old son travels to see me two weekends a month. All U.S. airlines will accept unaccompanied minors—that is, children traveling alone—starting at the age of 5. However, the rules and fees keep changing to parents’ detriment.

It used to be that children 12 and over could travel on most airlines “as adults,” without payment of a fee. You would normally be charged $50 each way for children under 12, though JetBlue, the airline we used most often, charged nothing extra. A few years ago, JetBlue started charging $25 each way; then, they raised it to $50, and later to $75.

I couldn’t wait for my son to turn 12. Just as he did, they raised the cutoff age to 13. And just as he turned 13, they raised it to 14. Many airlines have now raised the cutoff age to 15, and some are charging as much as $100 each way, which practically doubles the cost of the ticket.

You might have understood the change if it had happened after 9/11, but for several years after that the normal cutoff age remained at 12. I have to think that the airlines are changing because they need the money, not out of any newly-discovered concern for children’s safety.

Now, I don’t really mind when airlines charge extra for things that actually have value. It may be inconvenient that the second suitcase that used to travel free, now entails an excess baggage fee. And it may seem nitpicky that many airlines now charge for meals and snacks that used to be free. But food and luggage really do cost money. The costs may be egregious in relation to what you get, but at least there’s a connection.

But the airlines don’t do anything for unaccompanied minors traveling on nonstop flights. Basically, they provide an escort up and down the jetway—which they also do for wheelchair passengers, without charging extra—and that’s it. They don’t have any extra staff at the gate or on the plane. The don’t do anything to earn their fee.

As I paid Delta airlines $100 one-way for my frequent-flying son to be walked down the jetway, there was one word that came to mind: Theft. The airlines have now been reduced to stealing from their customers. How sad.

The Café at Country

 

Note: Country closed in summer 2010. Its replacement is Millesime, under chef Laurent Manrique.

*

The Greek tragedy that is Country continues. Geoffrey Zakarian ran his top-tier three-star restaurant into the ground. The gorgeous upstairs dining room is now closed indefinitely, supposedly to re-open as Country Steak sometime next year. Don’t all yawn at once. The downstairs café is now in the hands of Blake Joyal, who replaced Willis Loughhead, who replaced Doug Psaltis.

A friend was staying in the area, and I was curious to see what has become of the café, so I made a reservation. I wasn’t pleased with the café the first time I visited, but that was nearly three years ago, and Country was a very different place. Today, it feels like a hotel lounge—which it basically is. “A lot’s changed,” said a sullen bartender. He didn’t sound pleased.

I was surprised to find that the menu is reprinted daily, which suggests that Chef Joyal isn’t just phoning it in. The menu might not be adventurous, but at least it isn’t cast in stone. There are nine appetizers ($11–18), ten entrées ($18–39) and five sides ($8–9): a reasonable compass that a good kitchen should be able to manage. Except for the dry-aged sirloin ($39), entrées are all in the mid-twenties or lower.

 

The Café at Country was never the most comfortable place to eat, but it is not doing much business, so you’ll get a good table. The bartender clearly preferred to be somewhere else, but at the table our server was friendly and efficient. A warm mixed bean salad ($14; above left) was respectable, but I didn’t detect much of the cured pork belly that was supposed to be lurking under those green leaves. Brased shortribs ($26; above right) were acceptable, but not as tender as they should be. I didn’t note my companions’ entrées, but both of them raved about an onion soup appetizer ($14).

As of now, the Café at Country is serving above-average hotel food, but it’s a far cry from what this wonderful restaurant was once capable of.

The Café at Country (90 Madison Avenue at 29th Street, Gramercy/Flatiron)

Food: Satisfactory
Service: Average
Ambiance: Hotel Lobby
Overall: Satisfactory

Secession: The Menu

Secession opened this week. It’s the successor to the late lamented Danube, David Bouley’s tribute to Austrian cuisine that closed two months ago. The faux Klimmt décor survives, and it gives the restaurant its name. You might think that “secession” refers to the American Civil War, but it’s actually an Austrian art movement, of which Klimmt was a part.

The cuisine here is mostly that of a French brasserie, with a nod to Austria (Wiener Schnitzel remains from the Danube days), and another nod to Italy via consulting chef Cesare Casella. It says on the door, “Breakfast Lunch Dinner.” (You can only barely see that in the photo on the left.) Breakfast and lunch haven’t started yet.

I worry about the sprawling menu, which seems to offer a bit of everything. The charcuterie could be impressive, but it’s not available till October 13th. As one poster noted on Mouthfuls, “they offer six different preparations of boudin noir alone. How much boudin noir are they planning to sell?”

Our reservation is a week from Friday. In the meantime, we offer you the menu (click on the image for a larger version):

Archipelago

Note: Archipelago closed in December 2008 after about two months in business. Either the space or the food was doomed. Take your pick. The owners claimed they would be re-opening with “an exciting new menu,” but that idea was short-lived.

*

I’m not a believer in “cursed” restaurant spaces, but the new restaurant Archipelago threatens to challenge that view. It occupies the space that was formerly home to the doomed Dani, a pretty good Italian place that couldn’t attract diners to the cavernous gloom of Hudson Square, the dead patch of land west of Varick Street between Houston and Canal Streets. It’s not that a serious restaurant couldn’t draw people to this neighborhood. But it would need to be serving “destination cuisine” — the kind of food people go out of their way for.

Archipelago tries to make the case for Japanese–French fusion cuisine, but it fails. The chef here is Hisanobu Osaka, who was the sous chef at Morimoto. With such a pedigree, who’d have thought the food would be so awful? Maybe we just missed the boat, but this was the most mediocre meal we’ve had in quite some time—a real disaster at the price. Can an Eater Deathwatch be far off?

The menu is divided into three sections, not counting dessert: starters ($12–18), mains ($20–32) and shokuji—rice dishes—to conclude ($10). The server advised ordering one of each. This is wise, in that the mains are practically appetizer-sized; but also unwise, as you’ll probably be wishing you were somewhere else by the time the last course arrives.

Many of the items have French-sounding names but Japanese-sounding ingredients, such as Côte de Boeuf with Yuzu Foam or Carré d’Agneau with Japanese eggplant. Despite occasional nods to France, the “feel” of the restaurant is mostly Japanese, and a majority of the patrons seemed to be Asians.

 

Cannelloni ($14; above left) sounded better than it turned out. Cold crabmeat was plated lazily between two cold sheets of cauliflower pasta, with a bland avocado purée on the side and a bizarre crabmeat mini-sandwich at the top of the plate. Crevettes et Canard ($13; above right) offered poached shrimp and smoked duck, both of which tasted like they’d been in the fridge for a week.

 

A dish called Sake ($20; above left) is pan-seared salmon with a tasty tomato and lemon confit under the skin. This was the only dish we had all evening that we liked. It was actually a respectable hunk of fish, skillfully prepared, albeit looking a little lonely on the plate. Côte de Boeuf ($32; above right) may look impressive with yuzu foam on the top, but under the foam were just a few wan slices of cold beef that tasted like the London Broil they serve at a Bar Mitzvah.

 

Risotto ($10: above left) was alleged to contain toro, but it tasted merely like slightly over-cooked rice. But that was a gourmet experience compared with Oshi Zushi, or “pressed sushi” ($10; above right), which seemed to be a salmon paste slathered onto hunks of chalky rice.

At least the sake was comparatively inexpensive. Bottles of Tamano Hikiri were $30 apiece, and after two of them the food here almost seemed decent. I say “almost.” Dinner for two was $172 including tax, but before tip.

The space has been lightly redone since the Dani days. It is rather sterile and charmless. The restaurant was only about 3/4 full at prime time on a Saturday evening, which does not bode well for its success. Despite the rather low degree of difficulty in the dishes we tried, the food took a long time to come out. It wasn’t worth the wait.

Archipelago (333 Hudson Street between Charlton & Vandam Streets, Hudson Square)

Food: Mediocre
Service: Friendly but too slow
Ambiance: Dull
Overall: Mediocre

Michelin New York 2009 Ratings

Note: Click here for the 2010 Michelin Ratings.

The 2009 Michelin restaurant ratings for New York were announced this morning, with an early sneak peak available from Eater. (See also: press release.)

Obvious winners are Masa (promoted to three stars); Gilt (promoted to two); and both Adour and Momofuku Ko (awarded two right out of the gate). Four restaurants got one star in their first year of consideration: Allen & Delancey, Eighty One, Insieme, and Kyo Ya. The latter restaurant was ignored by most critics, including Frank Bruni, but the Michelin folks found it somehow.

The other promotions to one star were Alto (which got a new chef) and Public. We’ve never been impressed at Public, and we’re not aware of any intervening event that would have justified a re-evaluation. Fiamma re-gained the star it formerly had, which was taken away last year after a chef change.

Restaurants losing their stars include: A Voce (departed chef), Babbo (no obvious reason), Bouley (relocating), Café Gray (closed), Country (closed), Danube (closed), Dévi (no obvious reason), Kurumazushi (no obvious reason) and Vong (long overdue).

Eleven Madison Park remains the most obviously star-worthy restaurant that does not have one. Jewel Bako remains the most obvious candidate for demotion, but the Michelin inspectors seem to like it.

The full four-year history of the NYC Michelin ratings is presented below. Promotions are shown in green, demotions in red, ineligible restaurants (closed or opened too late in the year) in gray. A demoted restaurant that still has a star is shown in yellow (that has only happened once).

Restaurant	2006	2007	2008	2009
Adour				**
Alain Ducasse	***
Allen & Delancey				*
Alto				*
Annisa	*	*	*	*
Anthos			*	*
Aureole	*	*	*	*
A Voce		*	*
Babbo	*	*	*
BLT Fish	*
Blue Hill			*	*
Bouley	**	**	**
Café Boulud	*	*	*	*
Café Gray	*	*	*
Country		*	*
Craft	*	*
Cru	*	*	*	*
Daniel	**	**	**	**
Danube	**	*	*
Del Posto		**	**	**
Dévi		*	*
Dressler			*	*
Eighty One				*
Etats-Unis	*	*	*	*
Fiamma (Osteria)	*	*		*
Fleur de Sel	*	*	*	*
Gilt			*	**
Gotham Bar & Grill	*	*	*	*
Gordon Ramsay			**	**
Gramercy Tavern	*	*	*	*
Insieme				*
Jean Georges	***	***	***	***
Jewel Bako	*	*	*	*
JoJo	*		*	*
Kyo Ya				*
Kurumazushi		*	*
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon			*	*
La Goulue	*	*
Le Bernardin	***	***	***	***
Lever House	*	*
Lo Scalco	*
March	*
Masa	**	**	**	***
Modern, The	*	*	*	*
Momofuku Ko				**
Nobu	*
Oceana	*	*	*	*
Perry St.		*	*	*
Per Se	***	***	***	***
Peter Luger	*	*	*	*
Picholine	*	*	**	**
Public				*
Saul	*	*	*	*
Scalini Fedeli	*
Spotted Pig	*	*	*	*
Sushi of Gari		*	*	*
Veritas	*	*	*	*
Vong	*	*	*
Wallsé	*	*	*	*
WD~50	*	*	*	*