"New Paradigm" Restaurants

[docsconz]

I don't think that it is all that curious given the tightness of the definition. Certainly if taking Nathan's definition at face value, the field is wide open, but then it becomes clear that the paradigm really isn't new. What makes it a new paradigm perhaps follows more along Fat Guy's definition, which is haute and basic cuisine on the same menu in a casual atmosphere though not necessarily cheap.

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how does this differ from: "chef-driven haute and rustic cooking combined in an informal, casual atmosphere."?

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I didn't mean to shortchange you, Nathan, but as I have tried to indicate, the broadness of your definition makes it such that there really isn't anything new about it. Fat Guy's definition went into more detail, but as such limited it to the point that I don't think it really includes much beyond Momofuku. That was the point about my going through a list of restaurants upthread that meet some but not all criteria for the definition. A trend and a paradigm may yet fit into the tight definition, I just don't think it does yet.

[Nathan]

"haute and basic cuisine on the same menu in a casual atmosphere"

"chef-driven haute and rustic cooking combined in an informal, casual atmosphere"

????

if anything my definition is slightly narrower. are you saying that "basic" is narrower than "rustic"?

Edited June 13, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[docsconz]

"haute and basic cuisine on the same menu in a casual atmosphere"

"chef-driven haute and rustic cooking combined in an informal, casual atmosphere"

????

if anything my definition is slightly narrower.  are you saying that "basic" is narrower than "rustic"?

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"Haute and basic" were my words used to paraphrase points Fat Guy made in his posts. They were not a quote. I don't really want to argue who offered what definition. The salient point is that the definition is either so wide that whatever paradigm it may be it is not new or so narrow as to be almost irrelevent at this time.

[oakapple]

The only restaurant that clearly fits that bill to me is Momofuku. The problem is I see it is that one restaurant does not justify using a term "paradigm."

. . . . .

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It strikes me as equally likely that we believers haven't been done a good job of describing what it is we're seeing in places as diverse as Upstairs and Room 4 Dessert that sets them apart from their more obvious associations (respectively, perhaps, Bouley and El Bulli). I can't figure out which angle we've missed, but we'll get there, eventually.

Part of the problem is that the definition keeps shifting.

But by the same token, non-believers might benefit from applying the same flexibility to what Nathan, Steven and I are calling new-paradigm restaurants as they apply to other categories.

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It's actually the believers' inflexibility that has made me a skeptic.

For instance, Resto serves the same artisanal poultry as Momofuku; has the same no-reservations, come-as-you-are ethos as Momofuku; is highly prized by a young demographic; and is actually cheaper than Momofuku. The original Landmarc is much the same. So why aren't Resto and Landmarc NP? In my view, there are probably 40 or 50 NYC restaurants that satisfy all or most of the paradigm rules, and the believers are too inflexible to admit their existence.

You're really left with a paradigm that has only one clear exemplar, which just isn't enough to establish that any kind of "shattering" (FG's term) re-invention of the restaurant experience has taken place.

Edited June 13, 2007 by oakapple (log)

[Nathan]

I haven't been to Resto.

What exactly is "haute" or technically accomplished on the menu at Landmarc?

[oakapple]

I haven't been to Resto.

What exactly is "haute" or technically accomplished on the menu at Landmarc?

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I haven't been to Resto either; the similarities I noted were gleaned from press accounts and other Internet sources.

Some people may have forgotten the Landmarc story, but every year the foodies have a go-to place. This year, it's clearly Momofuku Ssam Bar, but 3½ years ago it was Landmarc. Marc Murphy is a classically-trained chef, and had cooked in big-name kitchens. He then opened a casual, inexpensive, no-reservations restaurant with haute cuisine grace notes in a rustic setting and an innovative wine program.

Rather than directly answering your question about what is "haute" or technically accomplished at Landmarc, I'll direct you to the original Landmarc thread, to get an idea of the excitement this place generated, among precisely the same kinds of people who are now so excited about Ssam Bar, and who (in 6-12 months' time) will be so excited about the next such place none of us can predict.

Hearth and Blue Hill are also similar in many ways, and generated comparable excitement. They have conventional sit-down service, but are basically come-as-you-are restaurants. "Dining at the pass" at Hearth (the ultimate foodie thrill when Hearth was new) is very similar to a Momofuku meal. Canora's cuisine is not Chang's cuisine, but if you have to duplicate everything Chang does, then the definition of NP is awfully restricted indeed.

Edited June 13, 2007 by oakapple (log)

[docsconz]

If there is a "new" paradigm in restaurant dining, I thinkthis article by Frank Bruni captures it.

“This really puts you in touch with your barbaric self,” said a woman in our group as she tugged at individual ribs along the pig’s midsection. Her fingers were slick with grease.

A man in the group flashed back to his two previous dinners. “I had suckling pig in Boston on Saturday,” he said. “I had a pork chop at ’Inoteca last night.”

He paused for a beat, then added: “It’s a lifestyle choice.”

So it is, and there’s a wicked, wonderful cluster of restaurants to support it.

For those Momofuku fans, it is, indeed, in the thick of it.

[Fat Guy]

I think Frank Bruni is exactly 10 years too late on that trend report. In 1997, such an article would have made sense. That's about when one could have pointed to the confluence of the 2.5-pound crackling pork shank at Maloney and Porcelli, all the rodizio restaurants like Churrascaria Plataforma and Master Grill, the entrenchment of Korean barbecue, a slew of new steakhouse openings, barbecue restaurants starting to get more serious, the mid-1990s backlash against so-called healthy eating, etc.

[Fat Guy]

A quick search reveals that on 6 December 1996 Ruth Reichl wrote a piece titled "Moderation on the Skids: Big and Bad Are Back." It says, among other things:

IN the no-nonsense 90's, we were all supposed to grow up, get sensible and atone for the excesses of the 80's. And we did. For a while. Now six years of moderation have taken their toll. We're tired of low-fat foods. We're sick of fish and bored with frozen yogurt. Aren't we entitled to time off from good behavior?

Bad is back. . . . . nowhere is the new extravagance more happily celebrated than in restaurants. Portions are growing to absurd proportions. New steakhouses open every month. . . .

[docsconz]

Perhaps this article from the New York Times captures some of this elusive "new" paradigm.

Yet the most striking feature of the new season may be not what it offers, but what it doesn’t: Formality.

Imagine a crop of new restaurants without even one that strives for the high-gloss grandeur represented by Gordon Ramsay at the London last year, Del Posto the year before, or Per Se the year before that. Instead, plans are afoot to eventually bring burgers with Daniel Boulud’s brand to the Bowery.

All around town, bare tables have shed snowy linen, customers’ shirttails are hanging out as ties and jackets are left in the closet, flip-flops replace Ferragamo, and an assortment of small plates of food, often shared, fills in for traditional three-course dinners.

Later in the article:

Partly because of the expense of running a restaurant, the decline of elegant dining does not necessarily mean the food will be any cheaper. There has been a certain dumbing-down, as with the appearance of truffle oil everywhere, the culinary equivalent of a Louis Vuitton bag from a street vendor. But no matter what they are cooking, serious chefs do not want to compromise on ingredients.

Though the trend has picked up steam and is more readily apparent because of the general decline in formality, I still assert that it is not really new nor is it limited to NYC.

[vengroff]

Though the trend has picked up steam and is more readily apparent because of the general decline in formality, I still assert that it is not really new nor is it limited to NYC.

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I agree. I think it's not only not limited to NYC, but actually more prevalent in traditionally less formal cities. In Seattle, for example, there is nothing that matches the overall experience of New York's top tier, but places like Union, Lark, and Harvest Vine serve very high quality food in relatively casual settings. Taken to the extreme, there's Sitka and Spruce where Matthew Dillon won himself a F&W Best New Chef award working in a 20 seat former donut shop next to a Subway in a gritty little strip mall.

[Dave the Cook]

Despite a bit of hyperbole, JJ Goode make some astute observations in his piece in Time Out NY:

. . . it’s clear: The paradigm has shifted. Food groupies stalk prime-time tables at the itsy-bitsy Little Owl the way they once chomped at the bit for a two-top at Daniel. Despite Gray Kunz’s unimpeachable reputation as a genius of Asian flavors, it’s Momofuku kingpin David Chang who’s inspired a religious following for his casual Asian- and Greenmarket-inspired fare.

Goode goes on to describe new ventures by Kunz, Samuelson, Boulud and Ducasse, and handicaps them before the gates have opened:

Operating without the luxury of low expectations is the fee for the built-in cachet the Boulud and Samuelsson names bring. But because these chefs are jumping into a crowded pool, maintaining excitement will be harder than ever.

Of course it's going to be difficult. The restaurant business is difficult, whether your name is Chang, Ducasse or Robuchon. What's more interesting is that these guys see a market for top-notch food without the trappings (white tablecloths, formal service, etc.) that usually accompany it.

[Nathan]

after eating at Tailor last night I'll say...that you can throw one more clear example into the mix.

[Nathan]

It's been about 8 months since this discussion of NP places began. at the time, it was Ssam Bar and Bouley Upstairs that prompted the discussion.

Those of us purporting the existence of the NP had noted a number of common characteristics:

chef-driven haute and rustic cooking combined in an informal, casual atmosphere, i.e. the chef as auteur...innovative food coming from chefs cooking what they wanted to cook...often genre-busting served in casual surroundings...removed from the fine dining model despite the presence of haute ingredients and technique.

here's a list of current NY NP restaurants:

Ssam Bar, Bouley Upstairs, Bar Room at the Modern, Tailor, Graffiti, Barfry, Fatty Crab (especially as it's become more ambitious), Noodle Bar (ditto). I suppose an argument could be made for Kampuchea as well....

[weinoo]

here's a list of current NY NP restaurants:

Ssam Bar, Bouley Upstairs, Bar Room at the Modern, Tailor, Graffiti, Barfry, Fatty Crab (especially as it's become more ambitious), Noodle Bar (ditto).  I suppose an argument could be made for Kampuchea as well....

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Interesting that 50% of your list is Asian restaurants.

[Nathan]

function of the zeitgeist...well, frankly, I wouldn't qualify either of the Momofuku's as "Asian" restaurants. nor Barfry.

[Fat Guy]

P*ong probably goes on the list -- I say that with some hesitation because I've seen the menu but haven't made it in yet. Degustation is still an arguable inclusion, even though I don't love the place. And I think the Kitchen Counter at Beacon gets noted as well, because it's an NP island within an OP restaurant. R4D will be back, assuredly. We probably should have included Chikalicious all along too, as a very early example.

There was also an interesting NP alert in the most recent issue of Food Arts. It was a discussion of two LA restaurants titled "Small is the New Big." This piece comes at the NP issue (not explicitly so, but I interpret it that way) from a kitchen-mechanics angle (remember, it's an industry magazine). Eric Greenspan, who has worked for Ducasse and Bouley, has a little place in LA now called The Foundry. Definitely worth reading the whole piece, but here's a core quote:

When you have no room, you have to make certain decisions. You have to decide that everything you've done in the past was wrong and find a new way. I'm doing the same fine, intricate food I've done in the past. It takes a lot of planning to make that work in a small kitchen. Part of it means hiring young cooks who don't know that what I'm asking them to do is impossible.

Food Arts also talked to Jason Travi of Fraiche, who had a cute line:

If necessary, you can cook a turkey in a toaster oven. That's what being a chef is all about.

[Fat Guy]

I'd characterize several of the NP places as being without borders. I mean, a restaurant like Graffiti has an Indian chef who worked mostly in pastry at places like Jean Georges and Aix, and his menu is crazy-eclectic. There are a few Indian-ish items but there's also feta and watermelon salad with mint sorbet and pomegranate syrup, and there's foie gras raspberry crostini. You go to Momo-Ssam and some of the dishes have the Korean inflection that you were expecting while others are classic Western technique all the way. Bouley Upstairs has a sushi bar.

[Nathan]

hmm...my problem with P*Ong, R4D and Chikalicious is that they don't really have any cooked savories....

liked that article.

Edited November 8, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[Nathan]

I'd characterize several of the NP places as being without borders. I mean, a restaurant like Graffiti has an Indian chef who worked mostly in pastry at places like Jean Georges and Aix, and his menu is crazy-eclectic. There are a few Indian-ish items but there's also feta and watermelon salad with mint sorbet and pomegranate syrup, and there's foie gras raspberry crostini. You go to Momo-Ssam and some of the dishes have the Korean inflection that you were expecting while others are classic Western technique all the way. Bouley Upstairs has a sushi bar.

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precisely. Ssam Bar has a chawan mushi right next to a lamb shoulder cooked with a classic French wine reduction next to a chicken ballotine next to fried brussel sprouts with fish sauce.

[Fat Guy]

Two examples from the P*ong menu that seem to me they're probably cooked:

"braised duck, kabocha squash tapioca, chocolate, raisin, oyster mushroom"

"kabocha squash coconut soup, tonka bean, cinnamon, crushed walnut amaretti"

The others are of course dessert restaurants. But I'd call them NP dessert restaurants. I think that comes out more clearly if you compare them to a traditional cake-pie-pastry dessert cafe. So I don't know that they're disqualified by serving only dessert. Anyway, where else are you supposed to get dessert after Noodle Bar or if Momo-Ssam happens to be in one of its mercurial phases where there's no dessert?

[Nathan]

this is where my complete lack of interest in dessert or sweet items comes to the fore.

[weinoo]

function of the zeitgeist...well, frankly, I wouldn't qualify either of the Momofuku's as "Asian" restaurants.  nor Barfry.

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I'll give you Ssam Bar (not at lunch though) but Noodle Bar's menu is probably between 60 - 70% Asian. Kampuchea and Fatty Crab were the other two I was thinking about. Haven't been to Barfry.

[Fat Guy]

Based on a meal this evening (I'll post more on the appropriate topic), I'll say that Crave should also be considered for inclusion.

[Nathan]

Bruni weighs in here:

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/dinin...html?ref=dining