Varietal

[JohnL]

I think the reason was simple and obvious.

In fact most critics agreed and the market agreed.

Confusion over the mission.

No one (including the owners) seemed able to present a cohesive

vision of what this place was trying to be let alone execute it. It is no wonder that the market place was confused.

This is restaurant marketing 101.

[rich]

I agree with John about confusion, but as to why the confusion and how did it come to that.

Well that answer is possibly simple as well.

NYC restuarants need to have have a "hook" because the competition for the food dollar is fierce. Hooks could be a celebrity chef, a location a little-known cuisine etc.

In Varietal's case it appears they wanted to be different from any other. So they put together a very ambitious wine program with an avant garde pastry chef and a non-avant garde savory chef. Then they decided to price thmself above the Mason-Dixon or Mendoza line.

In the end it may have proved to be too different and many critics and patrons saw it as being different for different's sake - and that doesn't attract an audience for long.

[oakapple]

I think the reason was simple and obvious.

In fact most critics agreed and the market agreed.

Confusion over the mission.

No one (including the owners) seemed able to present a cohesive

vision of what this place was trying to be let alone execute it. It is no wonder that the market place was confused.

This is restaurant marketing 101.

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We have no idea what the "market" thought, because there is no one place where the "market" expresses its opinion. After all, you and I are both part of the "market," and we have different opinions about why it might have failed.

The critics didn't agree either. Just compare the Adam Platt and Frank Bruni reviews. Not a lot of agreement there. Among other things, Platt liked the desserts; Bruni didn't.

Agreeing that something has failed, and agreeing on the root causes, are two very different things. The first is obvious and requires no further elaboration: both chefs are gone. The second could have many answers, and will never be resolved definitively.

[docsconz]

Moderator's Note

This topic will be left open for discussion of the original Varietal. For discussion of Varietal under Wayne Nish, please start a new topic.

[BryanZ]

Cuozo really can't let the whole dessert thing go, especially the damn tonka beans:

Desserts were scary messes made with eggplant, otherworldly herbs and even tonka beans - a seed banned in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration.

I really hate this guy.

[docsconz]

Cuozo really can't let the whole dessert thing go, especially the damn tonka beans:

Desserts were scary messes made with eggplant, otherworldly herbs and even tonka beans - a seed banned in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration.

I really hate this guy.

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Is this new or from his original article? If new what is the context of his piece?

[Sneakeater]

It's a new article about what a hard time Varietal is going to have retooling even with Wayne Nish at the stove (except, as the article takes pains to emphasize, he won't be at the stove, as this is now his second restaurant).

Here's a link that might or might not still be alive:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04042007/enter...teve_cuozzo.htm

Edited April 4, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[docsconz]

It's a new article about what a hard time Varietal is going to have retooling even with Wayne Nish at the stove (except, as the article takes pains to emphasize, he won't be at the stove, as this is now his second restaurant).

Here's a link that might or might not still be alive:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04042007/enter...teve_cuozzo.htm

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Thanks for the link. I agree with Bryan. Not only is Cuozzo a poor food critic, he also appears to have quite the ego as he relishes taking "credit" for what has transpired at the restaurant:

Last week, Varietal's executive chef and pastry chef both quit or were fired. Some blamed a hair-splitting Times review; others saw a delayed reaction to the column I wrote on Dec. 20, which called the place an outright fiasco under the headline, "Eat at Your Own Risk."

[BryanZ]

Apologies for the lack of context.

And yes, he is pretty ridiculous. No one cares what Cuozo thinks, and it's a pretty shitty thing to take credit for a restaurant's misfortunes.

[docsconz]

Apologies for the lack of context.

And yes, he is pretty ridiculous.  No one cares what Cuozo thinks, and it's a pretty shitty thing to take credit for a restaurant's misfortunes.

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Anyone who has to point out how influential he is, probably isn't all that influential.

[oakapple]

No one cares what Cuozo thinks, and it's a pretty shitty thing to take credit for a restaurant's misfortunes.

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I thought it was more like taking credit for having made a correct prediction. With the large number of detractors the original Varietal had—including quite a few published critics—it's pretty hard to give credit to any one person. It would be almost like waking up the day after the election in 1948, and saying, "See, I told you Truman would win."

I find Cuozzo entertaining, but I do not rely on him for dining recommendations.

Edited April 4, 2007 by oakapple (log)

[docsconz]

No one cares what Cuozo thinks, and it's a pretty shitty thing to take credit for a restaurant's misfortunes.

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I thought it was more like taking credit for having made a correct prediction. With the large number of detractors the original Varietal had—including quite a few published critics—it's pretty hard to give credit to any one person. It would be almost like waking up the day after the election in 1948, and saying, "See, I told you Truman would win."

I find Cuozzo entertaining, but I do not rely on him for dining recommendations.

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Mark, I have to disagree with your interpretation on this one. "Others saw a delayed reaction to the column I wrote..." strikes me pretty plainly that he feels at least somewhat responsible or at least would like to be considered somewhat responsible for the demise of that iteration of Varietal rather than having simply made a correct prediction.

[Sneakeater]

That's pretty standard tab style, isn't it?

I mean, the Post constantly puts little boxes in their news section showing how their headlines predicted things that subsequently happened, or that they broke a story.

[JohnL]

I don't think it was the critics.

The Bruni review was actually not a bad review.

There was a commonality through the reviews though--one of uncertainty about what this restaurant was about.

The highly experimental deserts fit in with a WD-50 kind of place where it is easy to comprehend and for an audience to "get."

I still believe that the dining experience--food--wine--deserts--atmosphere etc needs to be a cohesive entity. It needs to make sense.

There was plenty of talent here but no cohesion --sometimes a great team needs role players as well as a star or two and a manager who can bring it all together.

[docsconz]

I don't think it was the critics.

The Bruni review was actually not a bad review.

There was a commonality through the reviews though--one of uncertainty about what this restaurant was about.

The highly experimental deserts fit in with a WD-50 kind of place where it is easy to comprehend and for an audience to "get."

I still believe that the dining experience--food--wine--deserts--atmosphere etc needs to be a cohesive entity. It needs to make sense.

There was plenty of talent here but no cohesion --sometimes a great team needs role players as well as a star or two and a manager who can bring it all together.

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I agree with you. Cuozzo is mean-spirited about it or so it seems to me.

[JohnL]

I agree about Cuozzo.

I know there will be (or is) a Varietal/Nish thread but

I think someone as experienced as he is may be able to take the wine theme and create the food that will work. He is a master of small plates which I believe he was a pioneer at March.

(possibly going back to his stint at Quilted..)

It should be noted that between the lasyt days of March and the rebirth as Nish he tried his hand at the Hudson House in Rockland County--I think this relationship has ended having modest success.

Liz Johnson can probably shed some light on this venture.

[Nathan]

Alex Stupak on Varietal:

"I was anticipating that review. I was pretty sure it was going to come out the way it did, and I think Jordan was, too. There’s a disconnect there: You had someone cooking very rustic, borderline bistro style food, and then you had someone creating extremely esoteric, highly conceptual desserts; some with 15 or 20 components. They both can be great, but trying to combine them in one restaurant creates a kind of disconnect. "

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/04/04/alex_stupak_che.php

[oakapple]

Alex Stupak on Varietal:

"I was anticipating that review. I was pretty sure it was going to come out the way it did, and I think Jordan was, too. There’s a disconnect there: You had someone cooking very rustic, borderline bistro style food, and then you had someone creating extremely esoteric, highly conceptual desserts; some with 15 or 20 components. They both can be great, but trying to combine them in one restaurant creates a kind of disconnect. "

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What Stupak doesn't say, is what most of the reviews did say: Ed Witt's food, however characterized, was rather uneven, and over-priced for what it was.

[rich]

Alex Stupak on Varietal:

"I was anticipating that review. I was pretty sure it was going to come out the way it did, and I think Jordan was, too. There’s a disconnect there: You had someone cooking very rustic, borderline bistro style food, and then you had someone creating extremely esoteric, highly conceptual desserts; some with 15 or 20 components. They both can be great, but trying to combine them in one restaurant creates a kind of disconnect. "

←

What Stupak doesn't say, is what most of the reviews did say: Ed Witt's food, however characterized, was rather uneven, and over-priced for what it was.

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I guess the question that needs to be asked is did Witt forget how to cook? He appears to have received favorable reviews elsewhere. Was he trying to do something beyond his comfort zone to keep up the the price structure and dessert menu?

[Sneakeater]

The food he conceived at Varietal is pretty different from what's served at Il Buco, where he first received attention.

Also, the attention paid to him at Varietal was a lot more intense than anyone's focus on Il Buco was.

Edited April 5, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[phaelon56]

Moderator's Note: Varietal has a new chef and a new direction thus a new thread has been created and this one is now closed.

Discuss Varietal, under Wayne Nish here.