66

[vengroff]

The names, place and number above recently appeared in the windows of the ground floor of 66 Leonard St. (at the corner of Church St.).  The interior is still under construction.

Anyone have any details on what this space is destined to become?  Is JGV going Chinese?

[Liza]

Apologies for the vague answer but I do think I read somewhere that JGV is opening something there. But I think you've probably stumbled across more accurate information. I'll walk by in the next few days and see what I can see...

[Howie]

vengroff,

The last I heard of this was in the NY post, but can't seem to find the link. From what I remember, Jean-Georges was opening two restaurants. The first was an Asian/Asian-fusion place on Leroy with a new chef from Shanghai. Second, he was looking into opening a restaurant in Shanghai, but I can't remember what specific type of cuisine.

Pretty exciting news that they are starting to break ground. Meier doing the architecture is an added plus as well!

[stefanyb]

66

Puff piece in The NYTimes tomorrow.

[Charles Smith]

I walked by on Saturday- very sleek space, looked like they were dry running a bit-

no menu up yet

[vengroff]

I go to the gym around the corner, so I've been watching the progress for many months. They've had a few private parties in the last month or so, but haven't opened to the public yet. I asked one of the doormen at one of the parties when they were opening, but he either didn't know or wouldn't say.

For a while there were fish and crabs in the tanks between the dining room and kitchen, but they were gone last time I passed by. Must have been used either for a party or to test recipes.

[cabrales]

A New York magazine newsletter notes the following:

"Tireless chef-entrepreneur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the Asia-obsessed Alsatian ... *Next week,* he unleashes his idiosyncratic take on Chinese food at 66, where kitchen recruits from Hong Kong and Chinatown collaborate on family-style platters that might look more familiar than they taste—or cost. Think *Shanghai soup dumplings, sea-scallop shumai*, and sweet-and-sour fried red snapper with pine nuts, for starters. The stark modern design is by Richard Meier; the uniforms by Vivienne Tam. Fish tanks divide the kitchen from the dining room, which is furnished with Eames chairs and round resin tables, each with its iconic lazy Susan. At lunch, the 44-foot-long communal table becomes a dim sum and noodle bar. At night, we boldly predict, it will be a scene.

241 Church Street

212-925-0202"

[jordyn]

241 Church Street

212-925-0202

Not 66 Leonard?

Now I am confused about the name...

[CathyL]

One of those old Tribeca buildings with more than one entrance, I think. Leonard and Church intersect.

[vengroff]

One of those old Tribeca buildings with more than one entrance, I think.  Leonard and Church intersect.

That's correct. The building is on the corner. The 66 Leonard entrance is to the lobby for the apartments upstairs. The 241 Church entrance is to the restaurant.

[Bond Girl]

Just got off the phone with Vongerichten himself. opening night is tuesday. Expect mob scene.

[Louisa Chu]

66

Puff piece in The NYTimes tomorrow.

From the aforementioned feuilletage:

"He has hired five dim sum experts from a Chinatown restaurant 'on Elizabeth Street' that neither Mr. Vongerichten nor the cooks will name, and an eight-man wok team, also from Chinatown, who also prefer not to talk about their previous employment."

Why do you suppose? The secrecy I mean.

[coolranch]

From Daily Candy:

The Chinese Revolution

Heavens to boredom. Chinese for dinner again? Haven't you already consumed three lifetimes' worth of #59 with garlic sauce?

Hold the chopsticks. There's a new Chinese game in town, and it will forever change your ideas about lo mein.

66, the latest from Jean-Georges Vongerichten (we don't have to explain, right? Jean Georges, Vong, Jo-Jo), is finally opening to the public. With its gorgeous bamboo floors, frosted-glass walls, and muted tones of gray, 66 is as fancy as most Chinese takeout joints are, um, not.

Still, here's what you'll recognize:

Family style: Lazy Susans encourage we'll-take-one-to-share ordering.

The menu: cold sesame noodles, dim sum, dumplings, stir-fried shrimp, wonton soup.

Here's what you won't:

The menu: The dishes sound the same, but you've never tasted such delicate, refined interpretations.

The bar: It seats 40, but there's nary a bartender in sight. They're the shadowy figures pouring behind the long scrim (Chinese puppet theater style).

The prices: Come on. It's Jean-Georges.

Yeah, yeah, but is it authentic?

Like it matters. Where J-G goes, New York follows.

66, 241 Church Street, at Leonard Street (212-925-0202).

[jeunefilleparis]

it opened this past tues. in tribeca, great space, going for drinks tonight,i ll write tomorrow!

[jeunefilleparis]

this message is for Bond GIRL

I got your message, but for some reason, I could not send you a personal reply. You can email me by clicking below.

I ate at 66 last wednesday.

66 was wonderful. The space was lovely, very simple and chic as his other restaurants. The food was delicious. my friend and i shared 5 dishes. Everthing was very fresh and not heavy as chinese can be. I highly recommend the fresh veggie plate, scallion pancakes, grilled shrimp dish- we had some great desserts too, but i can not recal them.

I was lucky enough to meet JG himself. He was very nice and gracious, was everyone aware that he was so young? only 46, i thought he was at least 60

in any case, the prices were quite reasonable. I ate at the communal table which was very fun, and lively

there is a nice lounge in front too

Lauren

Edited February 9, 2003 by Fat Guy (log)

[juuceman]

open for lunch as of today..

[Bond Girl]

Went to 66 last night, it's very much the scene the newspaper predicted. Lots of designer labels, tall modelish women and un obstrusive but cool music. The organization is still a little off (we were made to wait 30 minutes for our table.), but the staff was very courteous, and the service impeccable. We ordered the shrimp hargow, which was like the traditional kind of dumplings served in traditional chinese dimsum, only ten times better. The shrimps were succulent, with a delicate hint of ginger, accompanied by soy sauce spiked with five spice powder. Also ordered were a different version of shrimp dumplings which was not at all Chinese: shrimps with foie gras, formed into a quenelle like texture, but it takes fusion cuisine to the next level. Entrees shared with the garlic lacqured fried chicken and steamed black bass with lotus seeds and crispy rice. I hate chicken, but it was said to have paper thin skin done to a crispy perfection with the consistency of a pecking duck skin, while the meat was moist and tender. My black sea bass sits in a bath of sweet and spicy malaysian flavour broth. It can be a little spicier, but that was quickly fixed with a dose of chili oil.

Desserts were a lime coconut tapioca pudding which shine in its simplicity and provides a perfect palate cleanser to the chinese flavours. And, an ovaltine and banana pudding that I didn't think was so great, but everyone in the table seemed to love it.

Don't go if you are looking for traditional chinese comfort food. But if you are looking for something a little different, 66 will change the way you see chinese food.

[Pan]

Interesting post, Bond Girl.

Just as a way of having some idea how much your tastes coincide with mine, please remind me whether you've been to Vong before and whether you liked the food there.

(For the record: JoJo used to be my favorite restaurant in the old, pre-renovation days, but on two visits [a rather long time ago], Vong struck me as overpriced watered-down Thai with lovely decor. I know others think it's really Thai-influenced French, but their opinion doesn't change how the food struck me.)

Edited February 14, 2003 by Pan (log)

[Bond Girl]

Had drinks at Vong once, about five years ago, and got some appetizers, but was not terribly impressed.

[Pan]

Then I have a further question for you:

What kind of prices are we talking at 66, and is the quality you referred to sufficient for the markup over the Chinese places I normally go to in Flushing and Chinatown, which cost me between $5 and $25 or so at the outside for lunch/dinner?

[Bux]

Pan, don't forget you will also have to pay for the rent and decor as well as the rest of the overhead, so all of the tab will not be going just for the food. There are many people in the world, and especially in NY, who are more than willing to pay more for mediocre food in chic surroundings than slightly better food in a drab restaurant and plenty at the other end who won't pay twice as much if the food isn't twice as good with an "I can't eat the decor" attitude. Most of us tend to put ourselves smack dab in the middle, although it's obviously not necessarily the next guy's idea of the middle.

[Pan]

Pan, don't forget you will also have to pay for the rent and decor as well as the rest of the overhead, so all of the tab will not be going just for the food.

Acknowledged.

As for my attitude toward paying for decor, I've previously gone on record as saying that my ranking in rough order of importance is something like this:

(1) Food

(2) Service

(3) Price

(4) Decor/ambiance

Of course, extremes in any of these change the equation, such as an ambiance that's so loud I can't hear my dining partner or great food and service at a price that I simply can't afford. But you get the idea. If the food isn't great, I resent paying just for the decor. In that respect, I more closely hew to what at least used to be the stated credo of Chowhound than to a middle-of-the-road position on decor vs. food. Decor, to me, is a frill. To take an extreme example, the decor at Grand Vefour was absolutely gorgeous and added a great deal to my experience of eating there, but if the food had been mediocre, I would have felt sad and ripped off (even though it was my parents or brother paying, rather than me).

[Jinmyo]

My black sea bass sits in a bath of sweet and spicy malaysian flavour broth.  It can be a little spicier, but that was quickly fixed with a dose of chili oil.

Bond Girl, there were condiment bottles at the table?

[Bond Girl]

Yes, there were condiment sauces at the table in little white dishes.

As for Pan's question...Sure the prices at 66 probably reflect the Richard Meier interior, and the church street rent. But, I think it completes the whole dining experience. For us women, it means not being grossed out at the thought of the bathroom, not worrying if the cashmere sweater that took us months to pay off will be wearing the grease stain from the table. It's a more relaxed dining experience, because of all the frills that comes with it. At the end of the day, despite how we stress food, ambience matters. Chinatown or flushing is great for family outings, friends get togethers etc, but if a guy took me there on a date, I'd be pretty damn pissed off. How romantic does he expect me to feel under a flourescent light with greasy tables, waiters banging chinawares around, and chinese music blaring above us?

Having said that, I think the food alone at 66 is more than worth it. Take the Shrimp Hargow, for example, if you get it at a Dim Sum irestaurant in chinatown, it's probably priced at $3.00 to $3.50 for four pieces. What you get is a tiny lump of dumpling, laden with salt, shrimp bits that tasted of freezer burn, and quite often they have not been cleaned properly so you see bits of black sand, and shrimp shells, huge clumps of ginger, lots of MSG. In 66, four pieces of hargow will ran you $6.00. But, you get top quality shrimps, that actually tasted sweet and fresh, it not chopped so fine that you can actually taste the snap in the shrimp. No black sand, no shrimp shells, No MSG, seasoned just perfectly, with delicate hints of ginger. Everyone at the table agrees that they'd rather pay more for a product more superior in quality.

Like I said, it's not chinese comfort food. Don't go if that is what you are expecting.

Edited February 15, 2003 by Bond Girl (log)

[Pan]

I'm going to meet a young woman at Golden Unicorn for dim sum Monday as a first date.

We travel in different circles, Bond Girl. But you knew that.

So if everything is about twice as expensive as in a normal Chinese restaurant, are we talking about $40 for dinner, not including drinks (I assume that tea is provided without extra charge)? Oh, by the way, that could be worth it for a relatively special occasion, and my parents might be interested.

Edited February 15, 2003 by Pan (log)