I always feel very fortunate to be living in/ close to NYC, one of the best gourmet cities in the world. There are so many talented chefs here; new restaurants popping up every day, offering a wide range of varieties and options. However, the price may be steep.
An average cost at the city’s most prestige restaurant- Per Se would cost at least $600 per person (which I have yet loaded enough to pay a visit). With all the supplement, it would easily gone over 1200 for a night for two. The cost of fine dining tasting menu keeps getting higher and higher. However-much I would love to get a taste at these luxury establishments, the $$$ and opportunity cost had me pause and stunt. Once in a while (maybe more), we put on our fancy pants, dole out, and allow ourselves to be indulged. Our latest “guilt” meal was at Gabriel Kreuther.
If Gabriel Kreuther is not a household name for you, it should be. Sure, he is not as big a star as Thomas Keller; doesn’t have as many restaurants as Jean George; may not be as “hip” and popular as David Chang; all the restaurants he ever had his magically touch on are a huge success. His first solo venture The Ritz Carlton earned him a 3 stars review from New York Times. The Modern (@MOMA), one of my favorite restaurants in NY, was wildly praised and landed 2 Michelin stars. his one year old namesake restaurant already got a Star from the “tire man”, and recently Chef Kreuther even opens a chocolate specialty outpost to feature his sweet delicacy. if it was fame and fortune Gabriel seeks when he came to New York, he has found it.
We love the simple elegance at The Modern. It is bright and sleek, but of course the space was designed to fit the museum. And it did just that. With Gabriel Kreuther (the restaurant), we learn the true color of Chef Kreuther. This is his house, and it is more luxury with extravagant details. And I think Chef Kreuther is obsessed with cranes.
Prior entering the restaurant, we were first greeted by a façade of golden cranes. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this is a Japanese or Chinese restaurant rather than contemporary French. In Asian culture, cranes are often refer as the bird of happiness. They are mythological creatures representing food fortune and longevity. As we sat down at the comfortable coach (overcrowded by cushions), we found more cranes. There is a crystal/glass cranes chandelier hanging from the ceiling over the center piece of the main dining room. Once we settle down and look closely, we realized that the logo for Gabriel Kreuther is actually a his signature’s letter G drew as a crane. Lots of crane here, plenty of luck to go around, and we feel very lucky, as we are fortunate to be here, to enjoy this extraordinary meal presented to us in the most aesthetic way.
We had the Chef’s tasting menu. It seems only fit since we were at Chef Kreuther’s house, we should have his vision of a meal, in the way he thought could be best presented, bringing out the ingredient’s best quality. The nine courses tasting menu lasted about 3 hours. We started with some very fluffy, pillow soft bread. The scallion chive bread along side with herb whipped butter, by itself, could be a meal already. Then there came these bite size mozzarella cheese balls. Dusted with tomato powder, I feel like we need at least a dozen of them, but then I might not have room for all the exquisite plates that follows.
