N.Y. State of Restaurant Minds (and Our Meal at the Elm)

The Elm is one of the few restaurants to open this year that seems to be after three stars from The New York Times. The Marrow and Lafayette struck us as concepts that sought the same achievement, but both came up two stars short. We're certain Michael White's team at Costata is chasing three as well, but that review won't be out until (probably) September.

The trend is very much away from fine dining, polished rooms, and chiseled service from suited waiters. It's as if every new restaurant is following what's become the two-star template. Pearl & Ash, Uncle Boons, ABC Cocina, Montmartre, Hanjan, and Mighty Quinn's have all opened in the past seven or eight months and have all received two stars. They are fun, casual eateries where reservations and a month spent saving aren't necessary to eat there.

Wylie Dufresne nailed the formula with Alder. He described his new East Village restaurant as a casual concept from the get go. Dufresne wanted Alder to be a two star restaurant, aka approachable food and a fun dining experience. The two star review from Pete Wells defined a mission accomplished moment. Dufresne is cooking for the city and the restaurant is exactly what the city wants right now: a place you can just walk in and order from an a la carte menu that serves interesting, well thought out dishes that don't cost an arm and a leg (nothing on Alder's menu exceeds $24).

You'll notice good music playing in today's much buzzed about restaurants. It might be loud, but it also might be intended as part of the experience in the same way a strange plant or bar shelves salvaged from the Coney Island boardwalk are. In many cases, chefs/proprietors use music as a form of expression on par with what's on the plate. Maybe it's turned up to rival the conversation that ricochets off minimally decorated walls. Then again, the owners just might want to make sure you hear it. And the loud chatter? That's the excitable diners who are very much aware (and grateful to be part) of the current trend washing over the city: eating out is fun. And easy.

There are still (and always will be) old school chefs. The ones with classic sensibilities who want their food precise, chairs comfortable, service subtle and efficient, and the room in which it all happens in pristine and elegant. For nearly twenty years Daniel Boulud did this at Daniel (and still does according to many), but Pete Wells took away the restaurant's coveted fourth star last week. Now only five four-star restaurants remain in the city. As chefs grow their empire, focus is taken from their flagship concept. Wells cited this as part of the reason he ultimately awarded just three stars.

It is nearly impossible for a four-star restaurant to operate on the merit of that restaurant alone. Of the five remaining four-star restaurants in New York, only one is the sole restaurant of said chef/proprietor; Le Bernardin. But shows like Avec Eric and On the Table give Eric Ripert a strong television presence that certainly helps retain his relevance. Thomas Keller (Per Se) has a bicoastal stronghold. Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park have The Nomad. Jean-Georges owns ten restaurants in NYC alone. ABC Cocina, his newest, might be his most casual yet. The B&B empire, under which Del Posto falls, continues to grow at an exponential rate, and is largely maintained by the success of Babbo and Otto. Four-star dining is no longer a self-sustaining business model. The demand is no longer there and without the revenue generated from casual counterparts, the aforementioned chefs would be unable to maintain their iconic four-star concepts.

It isn't just four star restaurateurs that understand this. The Torrisi boys have Parm. Cesar Ramirez is crossing the river to open a more casual and a la carte version of Brooklyn Fare. It's such an important formula that the inverse is equally as relevant. Simply put, Blanca could never exist without the success of Roberta's.

Paul Librandt has never tasted four stars, but he was awarded three for the first time at the age of 24, when he was cooking at Atlas in 2000. In 2008, Frank Bruni awarded Corton, the restaurant he opened with Drew Nieporent in Tribeca, the same accolade. Liebrandt worked there from start to finish, and we say finish because of the recent and (only somewhat) shocking news that Liebrandt left Corton. He's put all his eggs into the Elm basket. The restaurant is located in the King & Grove Hotel, so the chef is responsible for breakfast, dinner, room service, and food at the rooftop bar, with both lunch and brunch forthcoming. To run another restaurant on top of that, given the demands Liebrandt makes in order to have his vision executed to his satisfaction, would be inhuman.

Kanpachi “Jamon” ($17) is a beautiful way to start a meal at The Elm. It’s beautiful to look at, beautiful to think about, and beautiful to eat. Liebrandt finishes the dish with a dusting of vadouvan, a curry-like spice blend of French influence. The vadouvan is homage to his time spent in European kitchens and it pairs surprisingly well with the watermelon and heirloom tomatoes that accompany the tender cured fish.

Agnolotti ($22) are easy on the eyes and easier on the palate. Filled with swiss chard and dressed with corn foam, shishito peppers, and lumps of tender lobster, the ingredients sit in a grandiose white bowl as if they’ve been placed there for Frans Snyders to paint rather than to be eaten by curious travelers to Williamsburg.

Of course the duck ($25), with pickled cherry, hazelnuts, and toasted honey jus was some of the best duck we’ve ever eaten. But for $25, it would have been nice to have more than two ice cube sized pieces of bird. Come to think of it, weren’t there only three agnolotti? And how many bites before we finished that kanpachi dish? 

There’s no denying the quality of food at the Elm, but the restaurant is in no way part of the trend. Then again, that's been Liebrandt’s MO since he started cooking in New York more than a decade ago. There will always be a time and place for Liebrandt and his food, but, as the documentary "Matter of Taste" suggests, the chef seems to be constantly on a quest to find that right time and place. If it wasn’t in the heart of Tribeca with Nieporent, we wonder not just if the garden level of the King & Grove Hotel is the right move, but also if Liebrandt needs to follow Dufresne's steps and use his brilliance to create a menu that ties tighter into the current trend without deviating from his genius.

Comments

[Paul Yee]

I have so many opinions about my meal at the Elm.... everything is so precise and so perfectly cooked but at the same time too restrained and precious. The most interesting thing I ate by far was a jet black puree of charred eggplant on the lamb belly dish. I also wish the 'share' dishes were more 'share'able and less 'two of the same entree'.