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Openings Roundup: Olana, Eighty One, Weather Up
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 23, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 23, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Olana: The internets are doomed to failure unless someone invents a way to click on a photo at the end of a wet, snowy day and be immediately teleported to the desired location – like those plush chairs clustered around the bar, where one of Olana’s specialty cocktails would be presented at once.
A recent visitor to the new upscale restaurant and bar had kind words for a drink called the Corpse Reviver: a “smooth” mix of Lillet, Tanqueray, Cointreau, simple syrup and fresh lemon juice in an absinthe-tempered glass. The warm, refined dining room, accented with cherry-wood, red-shaded chandeliers and artwork in the Hudson River School style, sets the stage for French-trained Italian chef Al Di Meglio to serve modern American dishes like Grilled Grass Fed Filet of Beef with bone marrow dumplings, braised root vegetables, celery root puree and baby spinach. A Grilled Whole Turbo (for two) comes with seasonal vegetables and clams; pastas include Risotto with sea urchin, king crab, black truffle and truffle cream. [Photo via Thrillist, who has the menu.] 72 Madison Ave., (212)725-4900.
Eighty One: Ed Brown, former executive chef of the Sea Grill in Rockefeller Center, elevates ingredient sourcing to the next level with his new restaurant, located in the Excelsior Hotel on the Upper West Side. According to promotional materials, Eighty One promises “artisanal varieties of vegetables, meats, seafood, custom-grown lettuces, heirloom legumes, exotic white soy sauce and hand-selected peppercorns.”
To dine there is to know – or believe you know – exactly where every morsel of food in your mouth originated. So hey, if that’s what you’re into, by all means dig into dishes like Chatham cod with black bean and sake broth, orange lentils and cous cous with crispy shallots. And depending on your point of view, the cocktails are also snobby or specialty; Brown has enlisted former Gramercy Tavern “mixologist” to design pricey concoctions like the Mid Winter Highball with Rhum Clement, mint, Chartreuse, and sparkling apple cider. 45 West 81st Street, (212) 873-8181.
Weather Up: Speaking of snobbery, a few bartenders trained at the Lower East Side’s Milk & Honey, the exclusive, reservations-only, old-timey lounge whose phone number we used to know, have brought their fastidiousness to Prospect Heights. Owned by Kathryn Weatherup, a partner in the East Side Company bar (a poor man’s Milk & Honey), the Brooklyn venture is a continuation of what’s proving to be a very successful business model: cultivate a sophisticated, sexy vibe with tasteful lighting, a mahogany bar, and music conducive to conversation, and people will pay through the nose for your fancy cocktails. There are eleven on the menu at Weather Up, including the East Side Company “Presbyterian”, an eye-opening intermingling of ginger beer and rye whiskey. 589 Vanderbilt Avenue, near Dean, Brooklyn.
Tagged
bar
brooklyn
eighty one
hudson river
italian
Madison Ave
milk and honey
new
new york
olana
opening
restaurant
rockefeller center
Upper West
Upper West Side
weather up
west side
John Del Signore
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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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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