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A Little Old, a Little New for the Four Seasons Space A Little Old, a Little New for the Four Seasons Space
(about 2 hours later)
Ever since the news broke last year that the grand Midtown space housing the Four Seasons restaurant would be taken over by the three young men behind brassy places like Carbone and Dirty French, one question has loomed above all: Will they preserve the clubby, reliable comforts of the original or strike off in a bold new direction?Ever since the news broke last year that the grand Midtown space housing the Four Seasons restaurant would be taken over by the three young men behind brassy places like Carbone and Dirty French, one question has loomed above all: Will they preserve the clubby, reliable comforts of the original or strike off in a bold new direction?
The answer: both.The answer: both.
As envisioned by the chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi and their business partner, Jeff Zalaznick, the space on the ground floor of the Seagram Building will become a twinned tribute: The restaurant’s Grill Room will celebrate the virtues of looking back, and the Pool Room will harness the thrill of moving forward.As envisioned by the chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi and their business partner, Jeff Zalaznick, the space on the ground floor of the Seagram Building will become a twinned tribute: The restaurant’s Grill Room will celebrate the virtues of looking back, and the Pool Room will harness the thrill of moving forward.
The current tenants, the restaurateurs Alex von Bidder and Julian Niccolini, will move out in July and hope to re-establish the Four Seasons in a new location. The Carbone-Torrisi crew expects its restaurant, as yet unnamed, to open toward the end of the year.The current tenants, the restaurateurs Alex von Bidder and Julian Niccolini, will move out in July and hope to re-establish the Four Seasons in a new location. The Carbone-Torrisi crew expects its restaurant, as yet unnamed, to open toward the end of the year.
For the Grill Room, where the well heeled and connected have long held their power lunches, Mr. Carbone is plunging into a library of menus from the earliest phase of the restaurant, which opened in 1959, hoping to recreate many of the vintage dishes.For the Grill Room, where the well heeled and connected have long held their power lunches, Mr. Carbone is plunging into a library of menus from the earliest phase of the restaurant, which opened in 1959, hoping to recreate many of the vintage dishes.
“I’m really just doing the first decade,” he said in an interview at Carbone. “I don’t know how much interest I have beyond that. I want to be playing in the J.F.K. world. He’s my muse.”“I’m really just doing the first decade,” he said in an interview at Carbone. “I don’t know how much interest I have beyond that. I want to be playing in the J.F.K. world. He’s my muse.”
Mr. Carbone and his two partners, whose restaurant company is called the Major Food Group, want the tone of the room to be masculine, meat-embracing and signified by the brisk confidence of the Kennedy years. Mr. Zalaznick described it as “a true American grill.”Mr. Carbone and his two partners, whose restaurant company is called the Major Food Group, want the tone of the room to be masculine, meat-embracing and signified by the brisk confidence of the Kennedy years. Mr. Zalaznick described it as “a true American grill.”
A few steps away in the Pool Room, however, Mr. Torrisi will oversee a different vision: a shrine to newness. He said the room would have a more feminine feel, a menu revolving around vegetables and seafood, and service that would not shrink from tableside extravagance.A few steps away in the Pool Room, however, Mr. Torrisi will oversee a different vision: a shrine to newness. He said the room would have a more feminine feel, a menu revolving around vegetables and seafood, and service that would not shrink from tableside extravagance.
“Nothing will reference what has happened in the past,” Mr. Torrisi said. “I want this to be the No. 1 room in New York and in America where you go to celebrate.”“Nothing will reference what has happened in the past,” Mr. Torrisi said. “I want this to be the No. 1 room in New York and in America where you go to celebrate.”
He and the others said they would make no major design changes to the rooms; the Seagram Building, a touchstone of modernist architecture, has a thicket of landmark protections that forbid them. The landlord, Aby J. Rosen, lost a battle last year to make changes to the restaurant’s interior. He and the others said they would make no major design changes to the rooms; the Seagram Building, a touchstone of modernist architecture, has a thicket of landmark protections that discourage them. The landlord, Aby J. Rosen, lost a battle last year to make changes to the restaurant’s interior.
“Basically, if it’s attached to the building and you can’t pick it up and move it, it’s landmarked,” Mr. Carbone said, adding, “We don’t feel handcuffed because you can’t change the greatest restaurant space ever built.”“Basically, if it’s attached to the building and you can’t pick it up and move it, it’s landmarked,” Mr. Carbone said, adding, “We don’t feel handcuffed because you can’t change the greatest restaurant space ever built.”
What they mostly have in mind, they said, is a thorough cleaning of a space that has endured decades of wear and tear. They say they will tweak minor design elements like chairs and tableware, but haven’t settled on the details.What they mostly have in mind, they said, is a thorough cleaning of a space that has endured decades of wear and tear. They say they will tweak minor design elements like chairs and tableware, but haven’t settled on the details.
Mr. Carbone and Mr. Torrisi, who first made a name for themselves as chefs at the tiny (and now closed) Torrisi Italian Specialties on Mulberry Street, said the stark bifurcation of the two rooms’ menus would reflect the differences in their personalities. Mr. Torrisi likes to wing it, coming up with new dishes by improvising with ingredients. Mr. Carbone prefers to stick to a traditional template.Mr. Carbone and Mr. Torrisi, who first made a name for themselves as chefs at the tiny (and now closed) Torrisi Italian Specialties on Mulberry Street, said the stark bifurcation of the two rooms’ menus would reflect the differences in their personalities. Mr. Torrisi likes to wing it, coming up with new dishes by improvising with ingredients. Mr. Carbone prefers to stick to a traditional template.
“I could never work the way he does,” Mr. Carbone said. “I personally like to handcuff myself to things. I won’t do it if it’s not on the menu.”“I could never work the way he does,” Mr. Carbone said. “I personally like to handcuff myself to things. I won’t do it if it’s not on the menu.”
To that end, Mr. Carbone has spent hours investigating reams of vintage Four Seasons menus on file at the New York Public Library. In them he has encountered some unfamiliar dishes that offer few clues about how they were made. Sometimes, in a search for details, he consults with Mimi Sheraton, the former New York Times restaurant critic, who has a deep memory of meals at the Four Seasons.To that end, Mr. Carbone has spent hours investigating reams of vintage Four Seasons menus on file at the New York Public Library. In them he has encountered some unfamiliar dishes that offer few clues about how they were made. Sometimes, in a search for details, he consults with Mimi Sheraton, the former New York Times restaurant critic, who has a deep memory of meals at the Four Seasons.
The research has led far beyond New York. For years, the Four Seasons menu featured an appetizer simply called “coriander prosciutto.” Unsure what the dish entailed, the Major Food partners asked La Quercia, a company in Iowa that specializes in cured meats, to develop prosciutto involving coriander.The research has led far beyond New York. For years, the Four Seasons menu featured an appetizer simply called “coriander prosciutto.” Unsure what the dish entailed, the Major Food partners asked La Quercia, a company in Iowa that specializes in cured meats, to develop prosciutto involving coriander.
Another menu curio: stroganoff with rare beef. “The ‘rare’ part of it gets us all going,” Mr. Zalaznick said.Another menu curio: stroganoff with rare beef. “The ‘rare’ part of it gets us all going,” Mr. Zalaznick said.
Mr. Carbone aims to honor the dish by creating a stroganoff that is familiar enough for people to recognize, yet also elicits the reaction “Wow, that’s the best version of that dish I’ve ever had,” he said.Mr. Carbone aims to honor the dish by creating a stroganoff that is familiar enough for people to recognize, yet also elicits the reaction “Wow, that’s the best version of that dish I’ve ever had,” he said.
Old menus allude to something called “fancy cake,” a confection conjured up by Albert Kumin, the Four Seasons’ original, Swiss-born pastry chef. Mr. Kumin is now in his 90s and living in Vermont. So Mr. Carbone, Mr. Torrisi and Mr. Zalaznick plan a pilgrimage there to question him about the cake’s provenance.Old menus allude to something called “fancy cake,” a confection conjured up by Albert Kumin, the Four Seasons’ original, Swiss-born pastry chef. Mr. Kumin is now in his 90s and living in Vermont. So Mr. Carbone, Mr. Torrisi and Mr. Zalaznick plan a pilgrimage there to question him about the cake’s provenance.
They are also making a research voyage to Switzerland because the restaurant’s first chef, Albert Stockli, came from there, and they want to commune with the roots of his cooking. “We’re going to Switzerland just to feel that,” Mr. Zalaznick said.They are also making a research voyage to Switzerland because the restaurant’s first chef, Albert Stockli, came from there, and they want to commune with the roots of his cooking. “We’re going to Switzerland just to feel that,” Mr. Zalaznick said.
They have hired a craftsman in Mexico City to construct huge, elaborate guéridons, or trolleys, that will be used in the Pool Room for the tableside presentation of certain seafood dishes.They have hired a craftsman in Mexico City to construct huge, elaborate guéridons, or trolleys, that will be used in the Pool Room for the tableside presentation of certain seafood dishes.
For a third space in the Seagram Building, which previously housed Brasserie, the team hopes to foster a loose, festive atmosphere. The partners have brought in Peter Marino, an esteemed architect known for regularly dressing like a leather-clad biker, to redesign everything in the room, including plates, chairs and server uniforms.For a third space in the Seagram Building, which previously housed Brasserie, the team hopes to foster a loose, festive atmosphere. The partners have brought in Peter Marino, an esteemed architect known for regularly dressing like a leather-clad biker, to redesign everything in the room, including plates, chairs and server uniforms.
One form of luxury they will not provide is a tasting menu. Although they drew raves for their New York-themed marathon of plates at Torrisi Italian Specialties, they have decided that tasting menus, often considered a necessity for projecting a chef’s ambition, are an impediment to pleasure.One form of luxury they will not provide is a tasting menu. Although they drew raves for their New York-themed marathon of plates at Torrisi Italian Specialties, they have decided that tasting menus, often considered a necessity for projecting a chef’s ambition, are an impediment to pleasure.
“We did it for a moment in time, and it was amazing,” Mr. Carbone said, “but it taught us a lot about what we never want to do again.”“We did it for a moment in time, and it was amazing,” Mr. Carbone said, “but it taught us a lot about what we never want to do again.”