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Chef Kyle Bailey, Allen & Delancey

John Del Signore

Published Feb 20, 2009

Modified Feb 20, 2009

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John Del Signore

Published Feb 20, 2009

Modified Feb 20, 2009

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When the owners of dark and seductive Lower East Side restaurant Allen & Delancey announced they'd be filling the position abandoned by chef Neil Ferguson with one Kyle Bailey, the general reaction was, "Who?" But the 28-year-old chef hasn't shown any hesitation about stepping into Ferguson's big shoes; or, rather, replacing them with his own inventive kicks, which emphasize the good olde farm-to-table approach. The restaurant's new menu is almost entirely Bailey's creation, and includes such winners as Arctic Char with Spinach Purée, Baby Leeks, and Barigoule Fingerlings; and a surprisingly spectacular beet risotto with whipped goat cheese. (Peruse the full menu.)

Tuesday nights are an ideal time to try the reboot because the bar's stellar cocktail menu, created by Death & Co.'s Alex Day, is half price all night long, starting at 6 p.m. The bar room has been filling fast though, so roll up early (or late) to secure a comfy stool, and be sure to ask for a dinner menu.

So where were you working before coming to Allen & Delancey? I was at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown.

For those who don't know, what's Blue Hill? It's an agriculture center on the Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown. They're all about being local, sustainable, and green. A lot of the produce comes from the farm. It's about eighty percent local, which is pretty much the highest you can get. I mean, you're not going to find a lemon tree up there; you can't make your own olive oil.

Was it hard for you to go from such a bucolic setting to the gritty Lower East Side? Not really. In the kitchen you never see the outside anyway; you're always inside! I do like the scene here a lot better in the Lower East Side, it's a lot cooler. The farm was great, there was a lot of fresh air, but I do like the Lower East Side a lot.

That kitchen at Allen & Delancey is so tiny. Is that something that's new for you, learning how to function in such a small space? Actually, my first kitchen was like this, and I love it. No matter where you step, you're in the middle of something. You can run the line in three steps, and you've got everything at your fingertips.

How much of the new menu consists of dishes that are already in your repertoire, and how much is an entirely new invention for you? They're pretty much all fresh and new. I used to cook at home a lot, and these are things that I cooked at home, these are things I love from places that I've eaten. The ingredients are loved. Over a decade, I've just been selecting little things here and there and putting it together.

With the economy the way it is, is it difficult to balance keeping the quality of the ingredients high while keeping the prices of the dishes down? No, not at all. This was my style before the economy crashed. The quality comes from the chef, from the person working with the food. Of course fresh is best, and the ingredients speak for themselves a lot of the time, but you have to show them love and care, then what you get out is incredible. But with the economy like it is, everyone's doing cheaper cuts, and that's something I was involved with anyway, the oxtails and the pig heads, those are all great ingredients.

How did you end up getting this gig? I was doing dinner parties to make some extra money; it's a lot of fun. The owner liked it, and after Neil left, they asked me to do a couple of tastings. They took a big chance.

Speaking of chances, what is the riskiest dish on your menu? This was surprising for me, but the beet risotto. I love beets, I love their depth, and risotto is a great vehicle for flavor. I wanted to utilize the beet stems, the beet greens, and use as few other ingredients as I could. But I've been hearing so many things about it; I've heard that it's provocative and crazy, and to me it's just beet risotto! It's beet stems, beet greens, and beet puree.

What's the most popular item on the menu so far? The scallops are pretty popular. Everyone loves scallops.

The Arctic Char is phenomenal. Where do you source that from? We get that from Slavin & Sons. It's a wonderful fish, just a great fish. I think what makes that dish work is the balance between the heavy and light.

What parts of your menu are made in house? On the brunch menu we have sausage; after everyone leaves, we make the sausage. We definitely have plans to start making more when things get rolling.

What about the Seared Duck Breast? What happens to the rest of the duck? We start with the whole carcass, and we remove the breast, so that's ready for service. Then we cook off all the fat, and render that until we have duck fat, and that's great for everything. We cook the duck legs in that, and the carcass goes into stock.

Is that methodology something you picked up at Blue Hill? It's actually something I learned when I was at Cru. To have something, and then at the end of the day have ten different things that came from it, and nothing from the original rough cut, that's so cool.

What is one thing on the menu that you wish people would try more? Is there anything that's been overlooked? Not really, I think everything's going pretty well. I think maybe more people should try the veal, the Prosciutto Wrapped Veal, because it's wrapped in pork and it's pretty great.

What's your worst kitchen scar? I've got one on my chin. I was working in Miami, and I was making croutons. I took the tray out of the oven and put it in the window, which was just about chin level. Someone called my name and I turned around really quickly and it burned me underneath my chin. The funny thing is that I did it again the next week! I got a double burn, so I started growing a goatee. Now I've got a beard.

There didn't seem to be any music in the kitchen when I passed through. Some chefs like to blast music, is that something that you avoid? I definitely want my guys to focus, and nobody has the same taste in music across the board. If it was up to me, I'd have death metal blasting all the time. I think the focus is very important. It's so tiny, with the dish washer rattle, people bumping into each other, I don't think we need to add music there.

What do you usually eat when you're just grabbing something basic? Probably hoagies. I'm actually a huge fan of the Wawa hoagie. It's this huge chain of convenience stores based out of Pennsylvania. If you talk to anybody from Pennsylvania they'll tell you how great Wawa is. They don't have any up here, so I found one about forty minutes away, and I drive there just to get a hoagie. They're that good!

And what made you want to be a chef in the first place? I just never wanted to work in a job where I was sitting down all day. Eight hours a day, it's all the same. I just needed the energy, the chaos. It's running around all day long, and you never, ever will learn everything about this, because it changes every day. You work at this your whole life, and at the end you still don't know everything. It's just awesome; it's beautiful.

Tagged

allen and delancey

chef

kyle bailey

Lower East Side

manhattan

new

restaurant

John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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