Town & Country Travels HomeTrump International Hotel & Tower New York invited Town & Country Travel to the kitchen of its famed Jean Georges restaurant last week for a preview of the ultimate experience in cooking courses: a $9,000 private master class with Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
While showing us how to whip up dishes of charred-corn ravioli and lobster scented with mace (see the video below), Vongerichten -- who was in a fine mood following the four-star review of his new noodle restaurant, Matsugen, in the Daily News -- explained that the class was a response to ongoing requests from guests. Diners have been clamoring for more face time with the chef, and advice on recreating the dishes available at his restaurants, which include the Michelin three-star Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong, Spice Market and Perry Street.
The Jean Georges Master Class, designed for two to four people, takes participants behind the culinary curtain to learn the techniques and secrets of Vongerichten's vibrant cuisine, which favors the intense flavors and textures created from vegetable juices and fruit essences over the traditional use of meat stocks.
Along with the demonstration, guests receive Thursday through Sunday accommodations in an executive park view suite, daily breakfasts for two at Nougatine, dinner and Champagne at Jean Georges, and finally, a signed copy of the multi-faceted master's newest cookbook, Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges (Broadway Books; $40). For more information on booking a class, visit trumpintl.com.
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The Plaza, arguably New York's most storied hotel, has come to life once again. In bits and pieces this past spring and summer, the wraps have been taken off the renovated property, which is being operated as a small hotel within what is now a white-glove luxury condo building.
If you'd like an excuse to drop in to see the transformation, I suggest you treat yourself to the hotel's afternoon tea. (Image, right, by Ellen Easton.) Fans of this civilized ritual (whatever you do, do not call it high tea, which will immediately brand you as a rube) will be thrilled by the diverse selection of loose-leaf varieties to sample from Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Japan, among other nations.
Presented in the hotel's heart -- the opulent, domed Palm Court -- the tea is poured from gorgeous teapots as you sit back in one of the room's comfortable and conducive-to-privacy high-back chairs. There are two ordering options from which to choose: $60 for a plentiful menu of sandwiches (like English cucumber with diced mint and peekytoe crab salad), savories and pastries and sweets, or $80 for the same menu, but with sevruga caviar. Champagne and sherry also are available.
The light from the translucent ceiling above is artificial, but you'd be forgiven for not realizing it. The hue changes during the day to reflect the appropriate color of sunshine outside. By the time you've finished your treats (and the attentive staff will be sure to send you home with anything you can't finish), you'll be bathed in a pinkish glow -- the Plaza's homage to a New York sunset. Fortunately, there's no reason to expect the sun to go down on this glorious tea ritual anytime soon. Served from two in the afternoon to five o'clock.
The Plaza Hotel
Fifth Avenue and Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
212-759-3000
A few weeks ago I was invited to come try out the new menu at Brasserie. I had just eaten a meal at Benoit during its opening week, at Florent during its closing week, and had found myself sharing a bottle of Sancerre one night at Pastis with friends after seeing Olafur Eliasson's Waterfalls exhibit. I was suffering a bit of bistro fatigue. All the polished brass and tromp l'oleil were turning into a blur, and how many frites can one person eat, anyway?
Thankfully, I was in for a change. Despite its traditional name and its 1959 opening date, Brasserie's decor (pictured, left) -- redesigned in 2000 by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the same visionaries responsible for New York's High Line project -- evokes Battlestar Galactica more than Brasserie Bofinger. Definitely a nice change from frescoed angels and gilt.
The menu, on the other hand, didn't seem at first glance to stray much from classic French offerings. But Luc Dimnet (pictured below right) -- who returned to the restaurant in March as executive chef, having held the same position from 2000-2005 -- translates the restaurant's modern sensibilities onto the plate in the form of inventive twists on traditional dishes. 
Kumamoto and Beau Soleis oysters were served with a sprightly, frozen mignonette. Foie gras beignets -- small, molten pockets of rich liver -- were countered with a tart, pleasantly viscious balsasmic gastrique. Order these at the futuristic bar if you don't have time for dinner.
The whole grilled durade was light and aromatic. For something more substantial, tuck into the lobster thermidor (which half the patrons seemed to be eating), from the seasonal Lobster Celebration menu. The tarragon hollandaise was not too heavy, and the aged parmesan delivered the right amount of bite. We were somewhat wary of the addition of the (seemingly omnipresent) truffle oil to creamed spinach, but found that with a light touch, it worked perfectly. The unobtrusive and uber-professional wait staff at Brasserie -- which received two stars from William Grimes in the New York Times -- was adept at picking the perfect wine for each course; we happily left our choices in their hands. Pastry chef Kenneth Larson offered up a juicy and buttery seasonal plum tart; if you visit during the winter, the cheesecake is what you should order. Our only gripes: the leather on some of the dining chairs would benefit from a buffing, and a place to set a handbag in the sleek ladies' room would be a nice touch.
As for the frites? I found they were good enough that a person can, in fact, eat many more.
Brasserie
100 E. 53rd St.
New York, NY 10022
(212) 751-4840
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises took us out last night on the first day of Olafur Eliasson's New York City Waterfalls exhibit. We grabbed a camera and shot a quick tour of all four waterfalls. Check it out here:
For more on the much buzzed-about exhibit (rivaled only in New York City by Christo's Gates in Central Park in 2005), The Wall Street Journal has an intelligent look at the project called "Niagara's Rivals -- For a Time, Anyway".
We recently wrote about some of the notable boutiques, restaurants and shops cropping up over on Smith Street in Brooklyn - a young, laid-back place to visit if you're planning a trip to New York and want to escape the constant bustle of Manhattan. Now, there's a cocktail lounge that merits a stop if you're feeling thirsty after shopping.
Whether it's a julep, swizzle or collins you crave, Brooklyn's newest cocktail lounge, Clover Club, offers clever old-school libations for aperitif aficionados and those of us who simply enjoy a cocktail with a little punch (or sour or fizz). The brainchild of Julie Reiner (co-owner of Manhattan's swanky Flatiron Lounge), the Clover Club opened in June and derives its name from the gin-based cocktail, as well as the a group of Philadelphia intellectuals who convened each month to dispel their cares over drinks and good conversation. The atmosphere is cozy and chic: a dimly lit space, with an intricate mahogany bar, pressed-tin ceilings, plush couches and oriental rugs calls on decades past, while a tucked-away stereo plays Billie Holiday.
Patrons will appreciate the comprehensive - and explanatory -- menu that differentiates a cocktail from a cobbler. I was taken with the Southside Fizz (a concoction of gin, lime, cucumber and mint), and the Improved Whiskey Cocktail, with rye, maraschino, absinthe and bitters. When hunger inevitably strikes, go for the deviled eggs topped with bacon croutons and the lamb burger with goat cheese.
Click here for a look at the full drinks menu (via New York Magazine).
Clover Club, 210 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY (718) 855-7939
Coinciding with the official start of summer, New York's restaurant Daniel, on East 65th Street, has unveiled a strawberry margarita served with a side dish of "caviar." If you're a vegan, fear not. No sturgeon was harmed in the harvesting of these beautiful beads. In fact, through the magic of molecular gastronomy, they are created from the liqueur Cointreau - right before your eyes. Daniel's head bartender, Xavier Herit, concocted the cocktail and its sidecar after much experimentation, making Daniel Boulud's signature restaurant the first eatery in Manhattan to unveil a drink using Cointreau baubles.
T&CT TIP: If you're in a celebratory mood, request that Herit start you off with a glass of Champagne dappled with red droplets of Cointreau. But be sure to get to the bar before late August, when Daniel will close down for a month-long renovation.
Daniel
60 E. 65th St.
212-288-0033
Through four mayors, financial boom times and downturns, Seinfeld, Sex and the City and Gossip Girl, the classic Italian fine-dining spot San Domenico, located on New York's Central Park South, has endured.
But all good things must come to an end. (Especially when landlord negotiations get ugly.) Thus, San Domenico is shuttering its location in midtown and moving to Madison Square, turf presently dominated by restaurant impresario Danny Meyer. Plans call for San Domenico to reemerge at 19 East 26th Street next spring. The new space, promises SD owner Tony May, will be significantly larger, and with a much more contemporary décor than its predecessor. The way New Yorkers dine out has changed much in the past twenty years, becoming more casual, says May, and the time has come for San Domenico to hew to that evolution.
A favorite stop for midtowners in need of an after-work cocktail or a plate graced with the restaurant's famed raviolo (filled with soft egg yolk), San Domenico succeeded thanks to the warm Italian welcome extended by Tony and his always-charming daughter, Marisa. The Mays also had a nose for talent in the kitchen, hiring a series of chefs who would go on to make their names elsewhere, including Benny Bartolotta (presently at Osteria del Circo), Andrew Carmellini (now of A Voce), Scott Conant (of Scarpetta), Theo Schoenegger (of The Patina Group) and Marc Bianchini (who has since staked his claim with three restaurants in Milwaukee). And of course, current executive chef, Odette Fada.
We wish Tony, Marisa and Odette well as they embark on this new chapter in San Domenico's history. But we will most certainly miss having them a stone's throw from the Hearst Tower, home of Town & Country and Town & Country Travel.
(Pictured left: Odette Fada, Tony May, Marisa May and Marc Bianchini. Pictured right: San Domenico's entrance near Central Park South. Photos by Thomas P. Farley.)
The New York City Waterfalls, a new public art installation by Olafur Eliasson, will be a "spectacle to rival The Gates," the Central Park installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that capitivated New Yorkers in 2005, predicts New York Magazine. Eliasson, a Danish-Icelandic artist, has erected four 90- to 120-foot man-made waterfalls along the shores of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Governors Island that will add an impressive new vertical element to New York's waterways from late June through Oct. 14 this year. We're planning to go see it ourselves, and will be posting about the trip here in a few weeks.
The city's hotels and tour operators are rolling out packages in conjunction with the event.
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Heidi Mitchell is editor-in-chief of Town & Country Travel and Town & Country Weddings, and features and travel editor of Town & Country.
Adam H. Graham is a contributing writer for this blog; his work also frequently appears in Town & Country Travel, both in the magazine and online.
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