Sam Mason's Tailor

[BryanZ]

What smoked paprika was in 06, ketjap manis will be in 07? That's where I'm putting my money.

[Vadouvan]

Pan I meant 75 in a manner of speaking not exactly 75.

Bryan i misunderstood, you mean in terms of trendy jumping on bandwagons like fennel pollen and cocoa nibs of past years, my point is it,s aready being used and it just follows a trend of using traditional ethnic names for basic ingredients outside the western context..........such as "Shiro Dashi" which Kinch at Manresa uses And I am certain I tasted in pumpkin soup at the first Gilt.

[Gabe Q]

Hello everyone.

Just a quick note to say that there is a new article on the New York Grub Street coverage about the launch of Tailor.

The link is here.

He makes reference to the financial aspect among other interesting things. Check it out!

[docsconz]

Hello everyone.

Just a quick note to say that there is a new article on the New York Grub Street coverage about the launch of Tailor.

The link is here.

He makes reference to the financial aspect among other interesting things. Check it out!

←

This is a fascinating series that reminds me somewhat of Alinea's pre-opening documenttion right here on eGullet. Of interest from the article:

We’re not a three- or four-star restaurant. We don’t expect to just break even on food. We want to turn a profit, without cranking up our price points. You’re going to take a hit on some things. Waste, for example. It’s hard to see, and it’s not something you can always account for numerically. But we expect to make a lot from our cocktails, which are going to be amazing. One thing we’re thinking about is having private parties, events where someone buys out one of the floors.

[tan319]

Thanks to gabe for keeping on top of it.

Amazing stuff, can't get enough of it.

[NaFairge]

fran derby is a wicked good cook.

ya'll ready for this!?!?!?

[tan319]

fran derby is a wicked good cook.

ya'll ready for this!?!?!?

←

ready!!!

[Gabe Q]

Hello

New update on Grub Street's The Launch website.

Topics include some information on new dishes, how they are receiving feedback from chefs and friends, annd some details on the restaurants building.

Link here

[tan319]

Nice stuff, as usual!

Glad Liebrandt is hanging out, and that Wylie is coming over too.

Aces!!!

Hello

New update on Grub Street's The Launch website.

Topics include some information on new dishes, how they are receiving feedback from chefs and friends, annd some details on the restaurants building.

Link here

←

[xyz123]

Glad Liebrandt is hanging out, and that Wylie is coming over too.

Aces!!!

Hello

Sam any news on Liebrandt and are you still on schedule

[docsconz]

Sam any news on Liebrandt and are you still on schedule

←

Sam likely knows more than I do, but recent communication with Paul revealed that he is indeed working on something that he is not currently at liberty to discuss.

Man, I would love to be at that test dinner that Sam mentioned in Grub street!

[Shirley]

Does anybody know the opening date yet? Is the phone number available yet? I'm going to be in New York for a few days mid March this place is high on my list to visit.

[kathryn]

Does anybody know the opening date yet? Is the phone number available yet? I'm going to be in New York for a few days mid March this place is high on my list to visit.

←

"Early March" last I heard.

Keep an eye out here:

http://nymag.com/daily/food/the_launch/

As you can see, they are still hammering out details like soundproofing and purveyors, so I wouldn't count on them being open when you are in NYC.

[bpearis]

In addition to opening Tailor, Sam is also going to be hosting a web-only cooking show called Dinner with the Band where he invites indie groups to his apartment where they help make food and then rock out. You can watch the trailer here. He is a busy guy!

[docsconz]

In addition to opening Tailor, Sam is also going to be hosting a web-only cooking show called Dinner with the Band where he invites indie groups to his apartment where they help make food and then rock out. You can watch the trailer here. He is a busy guy!

←

Mole waffles

[tan319]

Too Much!!!

Looks like a great show!

Hope someone lets us know when it starts 'netcasting.

In addition to opening Tailor, Sam is also going to be hosting a web-only cooking show called Dinner with the Band where he invites indie groups to his apartment where they help make food and then rock out. You can watch the trailer here. He is a busy guy!

←

[BryanZ]

The Dinner with the Band concept sounds so cool. I'll be interested to see who he brings onto the show.

[tan319]

BTW, is there a website for Tailor yet?

[tan319]

New episode of "The Launch" up on 'Grub Street'.

Expenses, excavation and Pretzel Ice Cream are amongst subjects discussed.

Great as usual!

[tan319]

New episode (late last week)

"The Launch"

Eating to eat and for ideas, waiters uniforms, etc.

Always great!

[Gabe Q]

Hello

Just wanted to let everyone know that Sam's personal website has been completly updated, here is the link:

http://www.sammasonnyc.com/

It includes a whole picture section on the test kitchen for Tailor and plating of a lot of dishes and things to do with the restaurant design., Very interesting stuff.

Also the Tailor website has been launched, although it is basically just a homepage with no content added yet, that link is:

http://www.tailornyc.com/

[robert brown]

The guy with the tatooed arm bent over whatever it is he is prepping personifies what "cooking" has turned into.

[tan319]

The guy with the tatooed arm bent over whatever it is he is prepping personifies what "cooking" has turned into.

←

Can you tell us what it has turned into then???

Can't wait to hear this...

[tan319]

Hello

Just wanted to let everyone know that Sam's personal website has been completly updated, here is the link:

http://www.sammasonnyc.com/

It includes a whole picture section on the test kitchen for Tailor and plating of a lot of dishes and things to do with the restaurant design., Very interesting stuff.

Also the Tailor website has been launched, although it is basically just a homepage with no content added yet, that link is:

http://www.tailornyc.com/

←

This update is REALLY amazing!

Seriously great!!!

Thanks for posting, Gabe.

Love the timeline page on The website.

I had the pleasure of eating his milk chocolate/hazelnut parfait dessert & additional at one of the best tasting menu dinners with matched wine that I've ever had at Union Pacific during his tenure.

[robert brown]

Tan, I wrote "cooks" because in these new-fangled shoestring restaurants (and even the odd one that isn't), dishes are either cooked very quickly or sit in plastic bags for several to many hours. It has all become a shortcut game where the chef creates a menu that preordains as much as possible what gets ordered and made, and everything is cut into little pieces that can be made quickly by relatively inexperienced and inadequately trained cooks. There's a restaurant I went to recently in a luxury hotel that had counter seats facing the "kitchen" so that you could watch everything and chat with the head chef and his two assistant. The kitchen was about the size of one on a train; as much a galley as a kitchen. Cooking involved some sautéing, grilling, and microwaving, but as far cooking in the sense of the great traditions, it was nowhere in sight. As I wrote recently in another forum, I told of the stagier at Charlie Trotter's who told me as a point of pride, "Just about everything here is cooked sous-vide; in fact, everything is cooked sous-vide." As my hosts had procured the table in the kitchen, I tried to watch the going-on as much as I could without being impolite, and I was struck by how antiseptic, quiet and odorless the kitchen was.

Look, I'm not saying that these restaurants aren't worth a visit or are completely without merit. The chef in charge of the hotel restaurant had some good ideas and some of his dishes were quite enjoyable. It’s not as if the gene pool has stopped turning out people with an aptitude for chefdom. Also, I don’t mean to imply that restaurants inspired by classicism or tradition are seeing numbered days. What is worrisome is that it’s the chefs who get the buzz who distort what being a gastronome is about, and that sometime in the future we may really see that higher-end dining has achieved making complete pawns out of diners. It’s interesting that when you go to Per Se, you get some spiel from the maitre d’hotel about how eating the Thomas Keller way does away with “palate fatigue” when actually what it does with its parade of tiny portions is impart palate vertigo. We desire extended pleasure and excitement in such activities as sex, sporting contests, and well-written stories. So why not in dining? Any gastronome worthy of the distinction doesn’t like being dictated to by being told what to eat and having to put up with imposed mediocrity (which is unavoidable in these multi-course, tiny-portion meals). Yet the hallmark of the kinds of restaurants we are talking about here is to cheat the informed diner by not providing him anything beyond superficial inquiry, thereby making it futile for him to try to avoid pitfalls and engaging in the challenge of trying to get the most from the larder, limited as it may be.