Marcus Samuelsson coming to Philly!

[KatieLoeb]

How's this for some cool Celebrity Chef news. Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit in NYC has been named Executive Chef at the soon to open Washington Square eatery, the next opening in the Steven Starr empire.

I've always been a big fan of Chef Samuelsson. He has respect for his ingredients, and although his style of cuisine at Aquavit could arguably be called "Swedish Fusion", it's true Fusion, not CON-fusion as most such attempts end up being.

This should be an easier commute for him than going cross country to Minneapolis where his other outpost of Aquavit used to be. Maybe he and Alfred Portale can ride the train down together in the mornings.

[Andrew Fenton]

Interesting. Does that mean that the new Starr joint will be Scandinavian? I suppose that that's a cuisine still left for him...

[KatieLoeb]

Interesting. Does that mean that the new Starr joint will be Scandinavian? I suppose that that's a cuisine still left for him...

Andrew:

I think the concept is Global snack food or something like that. Definitely NOT Scandinavian exclusively.

I have the info about it somewhere - I'll update when I find it.

[stephenc]

When I think swedish,

I can't help but think of the meatballs served at IKEA....

[KatieLoeb]

Here's the blurb re: Washington Square.

"...Global ingredients and distinctive flavors will highlight the small, medium and large portions available at this indoor/outdoor operation..."

Sounds good to me. I hope it's more about the food than the decor. That's a great concept and a great chef to pull it off.

[Andrew Fenton]

Sounds vague to me: "global ingredients" and "distinctive flavors" could mean just about anything. But I'll be interested to see what happens with it.

[rlibkind]

Marcus rocks! His meatballs are NOT to be confused with Ikea's.

If you don't know who he is, you might find this ad from a Vita-Mix series revealing: http://www.vitamix.com/foodservice/news/ads_detail.asp?ad=3

(Cary Neff of Sansom Street Oyster House also participated in this ad series.)

I try to get to Aquavit at least annually, though they will have to move sometime in the next year from their gorgeous space, complete with two-story waterfall, in the former Nelson Rockefeller townhouse off 5th Avenue (lost their lease, I think). The Sunday brunch is outta sight, if you like herring, shrimp, salmon (cold smoked and baked), cheese, salads, lamb, etc. Couple that with a flight of aquavits chased with a Carlsberg and you're in heaven.

A few years back I attended a tasting menu Samuelsson created as "guest chef" at a Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Management School function. Had a celery sorbet intermezzo; kinda like a sophisticated Dr. Browns which, for me, triggers sustained Proustian memories. Menu featured some of the standards from Aquavit, including foie gras ganache.

The new Aquavit cookbook that came out last fall has some tasty-looking goodies; so far I've only done the meatballs with quick pickled cucumbers. Beautiful photos, definitely food porn. He signed it for me when he was at the Swedish American museum in South Philly last fall.

His most recent restaurant in NYC (I forget the name) is more of a world/Asian fusion place; haven't tried it yet.

From what little info is available, based on Katie's post, sounds like the Washington Square outpost will be well worth a visit. I certainly hope it fares better than Aquavit's Minneapolis restaurant, a which closed with the falloff in business expense account dining in the Twin Cities.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm liking the idea of "building" my own meal with the various portion sizes. Since I tend to dine with people that like to share I think that's a great option. Other restaurants that I know do at least a small portion and a large portion are The Tasting Room in NYC and Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ. It works well in those places and I'm certain it will be well received here as well. Especially with such a talented chef at the stove.

[rlibkind]

Other restaurants that I know do at least a small portion and a large portion are The Tasting Room in NYC and Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ.

I dined at Martini Beach about a year ago, and they do an interesting job.

Quite a few restaurants use this approach. In Ithaca NY, Just A Taste's tapas inspired menu handles this approach quite successfully. It's a wonderful restaurant year-round, but particularly nice in warmer weather when the backyard patio is open.

Other restaurants, while not basing their entire menu around smaller plates, offer them. Some, like George's in Bar Harbor, price appetizers in price groups and offer packages to encourage you to make a meal of them. (I used to do that at George's way before they formalized it.)

[jeunefilleparis]

I will be curious to see what Chef Samualson does at the new place. I have always loved his food at Aquavit. Hey Katie,let me know when this opens and I ll swing down and we can also visit Jason,,,,,,,and I need to sneak a peak at the SB!

[sara]

I'm liking the idea of "building" my own meal with the various portion sizes. Since I tend to dine with people that like to share I think that's a great option. Other restaurants that I know do at least a small portion and a large portion are The Tasting Room in NYC and Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ. It works well in those places and I'm certain it will be well received here as well. Especially with such a talented chef at the stove.

I very much agree. I greatly prefer small plates to big ones--it lets you sample more, build a meal, share with friends. Literally dozens of restaurants I've been to during the past year in DC, NY, Chicago, LA, are all doing this--I'm sure more of this will come to Philly soon. The Tasting Room is one of my all-time faves Katie, but you can do the same at Public, Spotted Pig, etc etc in NYC...

[Yannii]

i went by and read the menu today (it opens to the public tomorrow), IMHO, not that interesting... it does have lots of "small plates" which i like as well, but very little if any Scandinavian influence, and in short nothing that jumped out as very unique. it is, of course, very possible that the menu is written in an understated manner, and that Samuelson has made masterpieces out of the mundane, but the menu reads a little boring to me. the decor as well was a little ordinary by Starr standards. lots of black, very high ceilings, candles, animal print lounge cushions, overly ornate lamp shades. i don't know, if it were the first Starr place i ever saw, I'd be impressed, but now, it's getting a little old. same with the menu. seared tuna and tuna tar tare are like chicken Cesar these days, and if you are aren't the best in town or doing something different with the dish, don't do it, IMHO. i guess I'm feeling a little bitter and cynical today (my 30th b-day is looming), but i was disappointed it wasn't more of a Marcus Samuelson place and less of a Starr place, you know. i will try the food soon and tell you if my opinions are justified or not.

PS, they do have a very interesting outdoor seating area.

[sara]

Tonite was Friends and Family night--anyone go and have a report?

[Andrew Fenton]

What's the address? I'd like to walk by tomorrow and check it out...

[SG-]

Is he actually cooking or just supervising the menu?

I'm not surprised by the menu being not having any Scandinavian influences. If you look at his recent ventures in NYC they've veered more towards Asian than anything nordic.

[Yannii]

the adress is 210 w. washington square, between walnut and locust on the west side of washington square.

[herbacidal]

Is he actually cooking or just supervising the menu?

I'm not surprised by the menu being not having any Scandinavian influences. If you look at his recent ventures in NYC they've veered more towards Asian than anything nordic.

More than likely he's just supervising the menu, maybe he'll spend a shift every month or so there.

He has more than one new venture going in NYC?

Aquavit's moving, Riingo's new, anything else?

[rlibkind]

He has more than one new venture going in NYC?

Aquavit's moving, Riingo's new, anything else?

AQ Cafe. which is in Scandia House on Park Ave (about 38th, I think). It's a casual lunch-only establishment in the lobby of the building, not fancy. Think Swedish upscale cafeteria. Some of the favs from Aquavit, like the herring platter, as well as a couple of sandwiches and Swedish meatballs. If you're in the neighborhood, a nice lunch stop.

[KatieLoeb]

For those of you that might not have seen THIS article in the Philadelphia Daily News on Wednesday.

[Andrew Fenton]

Neat article, Katie. Thanks for passing it on.

As to Washington Square: I walked by this afternoon, and popped my head in to look at the menu. To be honest, I couldn't get excited about it. I don't really buy the overall theme: I'm not particularly convinced by "street food", especially when it's served off the street, and at fancy sit-down restaurant prices. The menu seems just like a list of random stuff; whether it tastes good or not, I don't know. I do know that the "small plates" concept, if it works, looks like a license to print money: I can see how it'd be very easy to rack up a big food bill there...

[tim olivett]

I ate there the first night, this last wednesday, just a casual "little bite". The wine list has nicknames corresponding to the flavor of the wine, I had a merlot or "cherry cola".

The two small bites I had were his signature "foie gras ganache" with peach chutney which was otherworldly and only $8 -though it was only the diameter of a quarter, it was still ethereal and when most foie gras around town is at least $16 bucks, go ahead and order two.

The other was thin shaved Kobe beef wrapped around green papaya and topped with soy nuts. The flavor and texture of the Kobe beef was kinda lost with the sharp papaya and the soy nuts didn't add much to the dish.

The outdoor garden is really comfortable and relaxing but at the same time, a little awkward to eat at like the front lounge of Tangerine. More than half the seats are outside so I'm sure that some of that staff of 18 talked about in the article is going to be looking for jobs come the first frost (then again they could just go to one of the 12 other restaurants (14 including NYC) that Starr will have by that time!

I'll be going back soon to try more stuff, but for $8, I'll be having that foie gras (the ganache is served like a molten chocolate cake with a liquid center) everytime I go.

[KatieLoeb]

An unnamed chef friend told me that his dinner there on Wednesday evening was so aggressively and appallingly bad and badly served that they comped his and his four companions $250 check without even flinching.

One has to hope that the low level of service improves over time. And that the bratty little Spawns of Satan who live in the condos upstairs stop throwing trash down onto the patrons on the outdoor patio.

edited to correct check amount

[KatieLoeb]

And the latest report from Rick Nichols:

Washington Square

[gabe]

Sounds like Rick has a crush...

[Andrew Fenton]

I had the same reaction to the article. But I gotta say that this:

There's even a "scallop and lobster corn dog," which is nothing of the kind, but rather four fritterlike nuggets of cornmeal-dusted scallop-lobster mousse accompanied by - what else? - a dollop of house-made sauerkraut and dark tomato-jam ketchup, a streak of mustard painted across the plate ($10).

sounds really good.

Edited July 1, 2004 by Andrew Fenton (log)