New York dining masters

01 January 2000
New York dining masters

JUST yards from one of New York City's most talked-about restaurants you choke on warm steam from a manhole cover and wince at the blast of a cross-town bus horn, but marvel at the enticements of the street corner snack bar.

For one dollar (62p) at Sam's Place, you can snatch a Diet Snapple or a low-fat muffin. Hard-boiled eggs are 35 cents (22p) and a hot dog and doughnut costs just $1.75 (£1.09). The promise of "coffee, bagels and more" ensures a steady stream of lunchtime munchers.

But the serious lunch brigade strides past and into an unassuming brownstone building, latterly a steakhouse, but now Patroon, a venue dedicated to classic American fare moulded by French executive chef Franck Deletrain.

To Deletrain's annoyance, some have labelled Patroon a steakhouse, however, a glance at the clientele tells you it's more club-cum-destination restaurant. Owner Ken Aretsky comes from Manhattan's renowned 21 Club and, clearly, many members have followed his migration across town. Coming to feast on Deletrain's cuisine are the famous, the wealthy, the expense account holders - and those wishing to watch the first three.

Deletrain's classical training was gained by working in France and Italy and, more recently, during almost six years with the Four Seasons chain. He talks with enthusiasm about his menu: "The influences are a mix of French, Italian and American. We never wanted to be a trendy restaurant and we want to make the customer as comfortable as possible when they look at the menu. It aims to be self-explanatory.

"I put food on the plate that is consistent and simple. I concentrate on flavours rather than on towering presentations. That can intimidate. I want my customers to eat, so I give them what they want and my ego is not bruised by any request."

Although the menu changes at least three times a year, certain dishes have stayed on since opening last winter, such as the starter of warm tuna tartare with miso and ginger, which costs $14 (£8.68). Deletrain's favourite starter is the rabbit and foie gras terrine with tarragon-infused sauce, at $17 (£10.54).

Table-side carving is a Patroon feature, and Deletrain is a fan of this service which he believes is making a comeback in upper-end venues in New York. A chance to try out this touch of tradition comes if you order one of the best-selling main courses, the wood-grilled prime sirloin steak with shallot confit and French fries at $35 (£21.71). Another popular dish is the peppered tuna with noodle salad and wasabi vinaigrette at $28 (£17.36).

Deletrain has been keen to plug the idea of frogs' legs. But he is forced to buy them in 10lb batches and demand from the New York public scarcely rises to this. "I put it on recently and sold 14 portions, but I'm not sure the customers are quite ready yet."

In the manner of such restaurants in New York, Patroon's "purveyors" are the bridge between the kitchen and the markets, such as Fulton Fish Market and the fruit and vegetable stalls at Columbus Circle and Union Square near Greenwich Village. Deletrain says: "If the produce is no good, we send it back. It's that simple. But our purveyors are very good - I've been in New York for 10 years and I've never encountered any obstacles except due to bad weather or problems in Europe."

Delatrain's brigade is a mix of American, South American and Hispanic. He is the sole Frenchman. He admires both Italian and French training standards but admits: "There is a problem with having French chefs in the kitchen. They often have this attitude thing, that because they are French, they are the best."

Firebird

Think of Russian food and there are images of stodgy dumplings, red cabbage and grey meat washed down with a joyless gulp of vodka. But that's more a legacy of Communism than a true reflection of food from the vast region that was the Soviet Union and which covered one-sixth of the globe.

While Russia is the main player, there are the many republics of central Asia and the Caucasus, all of which contribute to the fascinating repertoire of dishes at Firebird. Like Patroon, it opened last winter and is New York's big-name Russian restaurant. There are plans to open a second one in London's Mayfair next spring.

Shrewdly side-stepping modern perceptions of Russian fare, the restaurant has based its menu around what it describes as "regional cuisines from the empire of the czars". The food is what the ill-fated Russian nobility and wealthy classes would have enjoyed before their decimation in 1917. It is varied, sophisticated and draws on influences from its own territory as well as Europe.

Named after a colourful creature of Russian folklore, Firebird is the creation of J William Holt and his late wife the Baroness Irina von der Launitz, whose grandfather was mayor of St Petersburg until his assassination in 1907. The restaurant aims to reproduce the air of eating in a St Petersburg mansion circa 1912. Waiters and doormen are clad in Cossack costumes, the interior is stuffed with delicate china, crystal and family heirlooms.

Research across Russia has underpinned the exercise. Holt, restaurant manager Wiley Nomura and executive chef Brian Goode (since departed) indulged in a trip of tastings, meetings and exploration on the ground. What has emerged is a mix of the simple, the exotic, the refined and the hearty. Nomura says: "Russian food is one of the last world cuisines to be explored. A lot of people are leaving that country and coming to different parts of the world while a lot of foreigners are visiting Russia for the first time. There is a cascading of its food and culture. The public and press have received us with great enthusiasm - and in New York food reviewers don't give you much time to get it right."

Nomura points to the zakuska selection on the menu. This is a tasting menu and roughly equivalent to tapas or dim sum. Half the customers plump for this as it allows a broad overview of five items for just $19.50 (£12.09). It includes options such as golden domestic whitefish caviar, hot smoked sliced sturgeon, roasted beetroot and walnut phkali (like a paste) and shashlik (skewered marinated lamb).

Tongue twister

Acting head chef Mark O'Brien picks both the shashlik and the beetroot and walnut pkhali as two of his favourites. He is also an ardent fan of the tongue-twister starter, pokhlyobka, which is a wild mushroom and three-grain (wheat, millet and barley) soup with dark bread croutons at $5.95 (£3.69). Popular in Russia during the many fast days associated with the country's Orthodox church, the soup is proving to be one of Firebird's top sellers.

O'Brien says: "Prepared properly, Russian cuisine is outstanding. The period on which we are drawing offered a level of opulence which you just don't have there now."

Lutece

When Eberhard Mller took over the Lutäce restaurant from André Soltner in October 1994, revolutionary change was not on his agenda. This mid-town classic French restaurant had established its own vintage since 1961, and the successful formula clearly worked.

As executive chef and co-owner, German-born Müller explains: "We wanted to keep it as the French institution that it had always been, yet we updated the menu from a classic to a modern style without becoming gimmicky. This has never been a show-stopper restaurant. The emphasis has always been on quality, service, continuity and friendliness. The food is based on French regional cooking. The menu had been encased in a bit of a time warp and was offering items like beef Wellington."

Müller is not party to the frenetic competitiveness common among other chefs in New York and is not one to put a restaurant's theatre before its food. He is, though, obsessed with the freshness of produce and has even bought an 18-acre farm in north Long Island to create his own supply of organically-grown fruit and vegetables. "The farm is very helpful for the restaurant's image. People in New York these days are much more knowledgeable about foods and their sources. When I came here 15 years ago, it was very difficult to find fresh herbs and produce, but that has changed drastically."

As chefs in Europe seek Michelin recognition, chefs in this part of the USA look to the New York Times. Lutèce has two of its stars. Mller says: "It can have a real impact on the commercial success of a restaurant. The American public are as discerning as Europeans but here people definitely want faster service, even in fine dining. In New York, supper is a prelude to doing something else in the evening. They expect a three- or four-course meal in around two hours. The impact on the kitchen is that one must be a lot more systemised and methodical."

Yet he still cooks some dishes to order and will spend, for instance, up to an hour roasting a whole bird. He will then advise the customer that they should maybe take two appetisers while they wait. "You can't spend as much time working with or decorating the plates. You have to think through each dish from beginning to end before putting it on, and menus can't be too extensive."

Big sellers include warm lobster salad with mango and basil, while Müller's favourite starters are the warm cèpes salad with black truffle vinaigrette and the tuna carpaccio with pickled fennel. "The tuna carpaccio is very elegant, tasty and straightforward. That's how I like to keep the whole menu."

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