The Wright

[Fat Guy]

I attended kind of a weird press event tonight. The invitation read:

GAZPACHO!

Be our Guest ‐‐ and Bring a Guest ‐‐ at an Exclusive Gazpacho Fest at

THE WRIGHT

Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 6 to 7:30 pm

FEATURING

Heirloom Yellow & Red Gazpacho Soup

Montes Sauvignon Blanc, Classic Series, Casablanca Valley, Chile 2009

INTRODUCING A NEW DESSERT

Warm Peach Tart with Vanilla Custard, Cinnamon Streusel, Mascarpone Mousse, Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois

THE WRIGHT

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 Fifth Avenue at 88th Street

New York City

I'm so culturally illiterate that not only had I completely missed the news that a restaurant called the Wright opened in the Guggenheim museum last year (even though there was a huge story in the Times and the place won a Beard Award for design), but also it took me a night's sleep to figure out why they called it the Wright (duh, because of Frank Lloyd Wright, that guy who designed the Guggenheim). All this despite the fact that for 19 years I lived almost around the corner from the place. Also, the invitation came from the Guggenheim's PR people, who I don't normally deal with because they're not restaurant PR people, but the woman handling the account and I have a good friend in common and an invitation worked its way to me. I was curious enough to go.

What was the purpose of the event, you ask? I'm not exactly sure. I think maybe just to remind media people about the restaurant. These were mostly not food-media people, though. I only recognized one person there: Bret Thorn from Nation's Restaurant News, who manages to be everywhere. He and I were the two token ugly guys. Most of the rest of the attendees were gorgeous fashion/lifestyle-media types.

The meal was literally just a bowl of gazpacho and a peach tart. So I took only these two photos:

I must say, the gazpacho was outstanding and little scoop of sorbet atop a tomato slice really elevated the dish. It was enough to make me take notice. The peach tart was also excellent.

It turns out the chef, Rodolfo Contreras, is one of those journeyman chefs who has worked everywhere, including for David Bouley, Christian Delouvrier, and Rick Moonen. He has put together a very nice menu that is interesting enough to make me want to go back for a fuller meal. For example, in a million years I wouldn't have imagined that an Upper East Side museum restaurant (Restaurant Associates, of course) would have on offer dishes like "Roast suckling pig, aged balsamic Port glaze, summer cherries, mustard espresso emulsion," or "Sardine and piquillo pepper terrine, black olive caramel, shallot vinaigrette."

For those who care about such things, every plate of food I saw come out of the kitchen was quite beautiful. They are currently running a "geometric prix fixe" menu made up of dishes with designs inspired by the Kandinsky exhibition, which is ending in a couple of weeks. And the tiny room (less than 60 seats even if you include the bar) is very attractive, designed by a fellow named Andre Kikoski in a style that is a more contemporary than the Guggenheim's design but flows naturally from it. I didn't take this photo; it's from the PR company. But really, isn't this the coolest looking restaurant?

I'll report back once I've had a more substantial meal.

Menus and such at http://www.thewrightrestaurant.com and they are on OpenTable.