The Year in Eats
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
This year showed that New York’s hunger for all things culinary is far from abating. On the contrary, it’s booming. According to the 2007 Zagat Guide, restaurant openings outpaced closing by two to one — there were 222 “noteworthy” openings compared with 102 closings. The press has expanded its coverage online, in print, and on the airwaves to include not just restaurant openings, but plate-by-plate accounts of chefs’ lives, exhaustive neighborhood reports, and up-to-the-minute guides on greenmarket offerings. Even the government went into the kitchen with restrictions on trans fats and sous-vide cooking in New York, and foie gras in Chicago and New Jersey.
But who knows the food scene better than those in the trenches? Here’s a snapshot of 2006 from chefs and restaurateurs who opened new restaurants this year. They named the best and worst trends, their own new discoveries, and their favorite openings.
Chef Andrew Carmellini
A VOCE
Favorite Opening: Tasting Room.
Best Trend: Counter dining. “It’s like a luncheonette, but with nice food. I just like that: sitting there and watching the guys cook. And you get to use your hands.”
Worst Trend: “The ‘mallification’ of New York … There’s no soul any more, or it’s very hard to find.”
New Discovery: Fiore sardo, aged and smoked Sardinian sheepmilk cheese. “It gives intensity and tangy depth of flavor. We’re crazy about it.” Also, pickled Calabrian hot peppers. “Just the right amount of heat and they have this sweet-and-sour thing going on that gives depth.”
Chef Michael Lomonaco
PORTER HOUSE NEW YORK
Favorite Opening: Le Cirque. “I was a line cook at the original Le Cirque 20 years ago. … The kind of glamour that Le Cirque represents and has — it was good to see that back.”
Best Trend: “The glorification of the small restaurant. … Where they are chef-owned, really trying to cook good food and take care of people.”
Worst Trend: “Las Vegas-ization” of New York. “We’ve exported some restaurants to Vegas, but I’m not sure if we need to import restaurants from other cities.”
New Discovery: “The online community has blown my mind, how many interested people there are out there, interested in food and wine and eating and drinking. … It’s created a new awareness.”
Restaurateur Mauro Maccioni
LE CIRQUE
Favorite Opening: Porter House New York.
Best Trend: “The depth of wines by the glass you can get now.”
Worst Trend: “I’m Chatham cod and chorizo-ed out. I wish sometimes chefs would do their own homework. Sometimes they just imitate one another.”
New Discovery: Scottish langoustines. “They come live, from further up [north] where the water’s colder. They’re really nice.”
Restaurateur Donatella Arpaia
DONA
Favorite Opening: “The Le Cirque party was a lot of fun. There are not many great hosts any more and [Sirio is] the last one.”
Best Trend: “I think it’s going to be the year of the Greeks. … I think every other cuisine has been done ad nauseam.”
Worst Trend: “Some of the garnishes on drinks have become outrageous. They’re meals in themselves. And at the same time I can’t find a good martini!”
New Discovery: “My carpet tiles. Greatest invention of all time, especially for restaurants. They’re like giant post-it notes.”
Chef Gary Robbins
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM
Favorite Opening: Little Owl.
Best Trend: Small plates. “Finally we’ve seen people accepting it and embracing it. People are experimenting and enjoying. It’s the way I like to eat.”
Worst Trend: “I’m tired of steak houses. The city is saturated.”
New Discovery: Farm-raised caviar. “It’s really great quality and people are putting lots of investment into it. The caviar is fantastic and it’s not depleting our natural resources.”
Restaurateur Marco Maccioni
LE CIRQUE
Favorite Opening: Country.
Best Trend: “My most favorite trend is that people get sick of trends and they always go back to the basic, to the classic. Fashion, food, whatever it is — eventually it all comes back. My favorite thing about food trends is that they come to an end.”
Worst Trend: “People making believe they know what they’re talking about just because they say, ‘You have a good balance of acidity and sweetness.’ You hear it all over the place. And it’s like, it’s ice cream! Come on!”
Discovery: Artisan soda from Dry Soda. “I’m fanatic about sodas and pop. For me, after the wheel, Coca Cola was the next-best invention.”
Chef Masaharu Morimoto
MORIMOTO
Favorite Opening: L’Atelier de Robuchon. “He knows how important New York is for him. … And he chose a Japanese cook from Japan [as executive chef]. I’m very proud.”
Best Trend: “Japanese restaurants [with specialties] like yakitori, soba, tempura. And small restaurants, like by a couple: Sushi chef husband, chief-waitress is wife — more like hospitality at home.”
Worst Trend: Kobe and Wagyu beef. “It’s easy because they can charge a lot. Real Wagyu you cannot get so easy — once or twice a month. Maybe they’re buying frozen. I don’t think the no. 1 comes to this country. But it’s still good.”
New Discovery: “We have a shochu boom in Japan. My favorite is potato.”
Chef Will Goldfarb
ROOM 4 DESSERT
Favorite Opening: Momofuku Ssäm Bar.
Best Trend: “The return of the superstar chef to the supersize restaurant and super-budgeted restaurants. I think never has New York seen such a luxurious amount of $10 million to $20 million restaurants in which to showcase people who’ve already been showcasing their abilities for a decade.”
Worst Trend: “Applying the term ‘molecular gastronomy’ or ‘avant-garde cooking’ to anything that wasn’t understood by the person writing the article.”
New Discovery: “Amber, my bartender, who we discovered at a talent search of all the customers at the bar. I ran after her on the street and recruited her to be our new bartender.”
Chef David Chang
MOMOFUKU SSÄM BAR
Favorite Opening: Degustation.
Best Trend: Online food media and blogs. “People realize it [the restaurant world] is a whole other part of the social structure. … It’s elevated now to New York City mainstream culture.”
Worst Trend: “Critics and New York City itself are not nourishing young talent enough. Things are becoming stagnant. Of all the places in the world, we should not be a steakhouse town. We should be the most individual type of city with our own unique cuisine.”
New Discovery: “The power of xanthan gum. We use it to make our own sriracha sauce.”