Art on the Walls, Not Just the Plate

It's not just culinary creations that Dennis Foy shares with patrons at his new TriBeCa restaurant.

The six colorful landscape paintings that line the walls of the dining room are conceptions of the chef as well. The paintings portray ocean scenes from the Hamptons and the New Jersey shore,

Since he began painting professionally in 1988, art and cooking have meshed to form an important creative outlet for Mr. Foy.

"What I couldn't express on the plate, I learned to express on the canvas," Mr. Foy said.

He said his artwork is an important part of the restaurant's ambiance. "It's such a personal restaurant for me and my wife, Estella," Mr. Foy said. "I didn't want somebody else's art on the walls." Rather than hiring a firm, Mr. Foy solicited the help of his friends in the art world to design the interior of the restaurant.

Before opening the restaurant in December, Mr. Foy spent six years painting in a studio and running a seasonal restaurant in the small beach town of Bay Head, N.J.