|
|
|
|
Chanterelle
The Top List of Stargazing Restaurants - New York, NY
Here are a few of the most reliable celebrity sighting restaurants with good food too.
by Eleonora Boreyko & Curtis Hagedorn
At any point in time, there are probably just as many celebrities lurking in New York as in Hollywood. But "stargazing" in New York is, traditionally, a far more discrete affair -- the watchwords "be cool" apply to everyone but the paparazzi and clueless out-of-towners. The New York attitude towards celebs seems to be "there, but for the grace of God, go I" or "look there's Julia Roberts, don't bother her, poor thing she's got enough troubles -- wonder what she got at Zabars?" That's why just about any place in the city can be the spot for a random celebrity sighting -- they're comfortable going out without camouflage. Here are a few of the most reliable.
CHANTERELLE
2 Harrison Street (at Hudson)
(212) 966-6960
Hours: (Tues-Sat) Lunch 12 - 2:30 pm; Dinner 6 - 10:30 pm.
If you're looking for celebrities, you have to pay the price -- Hollywood's finest don't often grace us with their presence at the local Burger King. At Chanterelle dinner is not a bargain affair -- or wouldn't be except for the quality of the food. Chef David Waltuck has been delighting diners with his always creative, now classic American dishes for over twenty years. The seafood sausages alone are legendary -- insiders say they've been shipped all over the world to satisfy the onset of on-set cravings. Waltuck also has magical ways with meat, from the rack of lamb to grilled beef rib (with marrow) for two. Chanterelle's cheese plate redefines heaven, and desserts always include something seasonal and spectacular -- blood orange soup garnished with glacé violets is so good it could put you off chocolate. The room is spacious, uncluttered and elegant, the service is impeccable without being stuffy, and there's always something a little extra to begin and end the meal -- white-fondant dipped gooseberries, anyone? Who hangs out here? Literary intelligentsia, art stars (Chanterelle has a gallery of menu art contributed over the years by a list of twentieth century masters) anyone with an Oscar, your favorite television newsperson, the folks you hear about on CNNfn. Celebrity spotting tip: Pick a weekday evening after theatre.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $75+
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Closed, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Closed, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
BALTHAZAR
80 Spring Street (between Crosby and Broadway)
(212) 965-1414
Hours: (Open 7 days a week) Breakfast: (M-F) 7:30 am - 11:30 am (Sat, Sun.) 7:30 am - 11 am; Lunch (M-F) 12-2:30 pm; Late Lunch (M-F) 3-5 pm; Dinner (M-Sat) 5:45-11:45 pm (Sun) 5:30-10:45 pm; After Hours (M-Th) 12-1:30 am (Fri-Sat) 12-2:30 am (Sun) (11 pm - 12:30 am) Brunch (Sat, Sun) 11:30 am - 3:30 pm.
Everyone agrees that a meal at Balthazar is the closest thing to a trip to Paris, and this 2-year-old brasserie still attracts the crowd and the buzz it did when it first opened. The décor is sublime -- antique brasses, wood and mirrors abound -- and democratic, you could very well find yourself inches away from Martha Stewart. The food is classic French bistro, which means everything on the huge menu is simple, good and freshly prepared on-site, from the brandade de morue and steak tartare to the steak frites (those frites are something to write home about, nobody does them better.) The bread, available for take out at Balthazar Bakery next door, is divine. At the top of everyone's list (and featured on Martha's television program) is the plateau de fruits de mer le Balthazar -- a gigantic tower of the freshest seafood -- clams, oysters, shrimp, scallops, lobster, sea urchin, you name it -- each spectacularly prepared and served cold (at $99, it can satisfy any number, from two gluttons to twenty models.) Who goes here? Young Hollywood-ites in town on a spree, stars who actually live in New York and environs (it's a great place to cool off the Platinum Card after shopping in Soho,) anyone starring on "Sex and the City," anyone appearing on "Law and Order." Celebrity spotting tip: The spectacular bar is a great vantage point to observe the comings and goings of the rich and famous.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $45-50
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Closed, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - ADM, Christmas Eve - ADM, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
ORSO
322 West 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
(212) 489-7212
Hours: (Open 7 days a week) (M, T, Th, Fri, Sun) Noon - 11:45 pm ; (Wed, Sat) 11:30 am - 11:45 pm (Lunch and Dinner)
In typical New York fashion, Orso seems to have a pact of discretion with the media -- on any night of the week you might see anyone who happens to be on Broadway at the moment, thinking about appearing on Broadway or wishing they were back on Broadway, yet Orso somehow stays below the public radar. This twenty-year-old Theatre Row Italian serves an always-reliable menu of pastas and gourmet pizzas (somehow even a simple dish like pasta with grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes in cream or veal scallopine seems special at Orso -- even the coffee is a cut above the ordinary) in an elegant atmosphere that defines calm. Orso also boasts a selection of excellent Italian wines, including the réserve Chiantis and Multepulciano's that seem to be all the rage these days. The service is discrete to the point of being magical -- in fact, the only difficult thing about Orso can be getting a reservation -- it's not a huge room and is often booked months in advance. Who's getting a table? The League of New York Theatre Owners and producers, anyone with a Tony, anyone who's a Tony voter, critics with a deadline, the cast and crew of The Producers. Celebrity spotting tip: Book après theatre, it's tough to sing and dance with a stomach full of Poached Salmon with Champagne Sauce and Caviar.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $45-50
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Open, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
GAGE & TOLLNER
372 Fulton Street (at Jay Street)
Brooklyn
(718) 875-5181
Hours: (M-F) 11:30 am - 10 pm (Lunch and Dinner); (Sat) 3:30 pm - 11:30 pm (Late Lunch and Dinner); Closed Sundays
Open since 1879, Gage & Tollner has played host to more than its share of stars, starting with Babe Ruth and Mae West. Though it's not the celebrity Mecca it once was, it has the singular advantage of being gorgeous (real gaslight, mahogany and mirrors in a cavernous room with well spaced tables) and off-the-beaten-track (no-one could call it trendy in the midst of Brooklyn's recent proliferation of trendy restaurants.) It's also a hop skip and a jump from BAM (The Brooklyn Academy of Music) from which any number of cutting edge celebrities flow. The menu is French-American-Southern-Classic, which means Maryland Crab Cakes, Oysters Diamond Jim Brady (baked, with tomato and crème fraiche Pernod sauce) and amazing she-crab soup. Most of the waiters have been with Gage & Tollner since at least the late Seventies, and will be happy to tell you exactly what you want. So why trek all the way to Brooklyn? Because one evening, a couple of friends and I discretely witnessed the not-to-be-missed spectacle of David Bowie and Iman enjoying the fried oysters (Iman) and grilled vegetables (David) only two tables away, a double-superstar sighting of the first order. After they left, our friendly waiter even offered us Mr. Bowie's plate (one of my companions had asked for his chair), which we, out of embarrassment, foolishly declined. Who else might show up? Serious art stars, born-again rock and rollers, movie stars who wear black and want to direct, living legends. Celebrity spotting tip: Check out the BAM schedule and book late on the night of the trendiest event -- this year it's Robert Wilson and Lou Reed.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $45-50
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Open, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
NOBU
105 Hudson Street (at Franklin St.)
(212) 219-0500
Hours: (M-F)11:45- 2:15 (Lunch); (Mon-Sun) 5:45 - 10:15 (Dinner)
Nobu is one of those places where to get in; it helps to be a celebrity yourself. The chef, Nobu Matsuhisa, is a star in his own right, thanks to the wildly popular "Iron Chef" programs, where he slices and dices the world's greatest culinary practitioners down to size. The owner, Drew Nieporent, seems to attract celebrities (as diners and partners) the way Microsoft attracts lawsuits. What's on the menu? Well, it's sushi like you've never had -- try the monkfish paté with caviar or ceviche South American style with fresh lobster -- all perfect beyond description on a menu as mutable as the seasons. Food that has experienced the touch of flame includes complex, delicate soups enhanced by a few jewel-like vegetables, and specialties like sea-urchin tempura and halibut cheeks with wasabi pepper sauce. Every dish is a work of art, presented inside a work-of-art room designed by David Rockwell. Who does get through the door? The Martin Scorcese traveling stock company (DeNiro, Keitel, Pacino, DaFoe), anyone with a first name (think Naomi, think Calvin, think Cher). In fact, it's been said that at table at Nobu is one of the highly contested items in the Giuliani/Hanover divorce. Celebrity spotting tip: Get a reservation.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $65+
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Closed, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
CLEMENTINE
1 Fifth Avenue (at 8th Street)
(212) 253-0003
Hours: (Open 7 days a week) (Tue-Thu) 5:00pm- 2:00am; (Fri-Sat) 5:00pm- 3:00am; (Sun-Mon) 5:00pm- 1:00am (Dinner)
One of the best ways to spot a celebrity is to go to a restaurant with a celebrity chef. John Schenk made his name by trendifying the venerable Monkey Bar uptown, and has now moved downtown to start a whole new scene at Clementine. Even though it's past the first blush of Young-Hollywood-packed excess, it's still a scene (particularly the bar, and particularly for the twenty-to-thirty-something crowd) thanks to Schenk's always-remarkable New American food. Start with the fried-green-tomato and sparerib salad, move on to the Clementine Seafood Stew with andouille sausage and okra, and top it all of with a homey, huge slice of Warm Apple Crumb Pie. Or just nibble on a few of the delectable sides -- Broccoli Rabe, Roasted Carrots, Hush Puppies and can't-eat-just-one Clementine Fries. For those who are into the art of the cocktail, there are drinks like the Dusty Rose, the Convertible and the Clementini. What celebrities brave this always crowded restaurant on the way to the "Back Room?" Your basic Slayers, Teenage Witches and creatures of the night, along with a smattering of soon-to-be supermodels and slightly long in the tooth residents of Melrose and 90210. Celebrity spotting tip: Be young, tireless and beautiful.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $45-50
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Closed, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
SERENDIPITY 3
225 East 60th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
(212) 838-3531
Hours: (Open 7 days a week) (Sun-Th) 11:30 am-Midnight; (Fri) 11:30 am - 1 am; (Sat) 11:30 am - 2 am (Lunch and Dinner)
Founded by a Broadway dancer, a Macy's window dresser and a Village comedian in 1954, Serendipity 3 has celebrity chops -- and seems to be discovered every decade by a whole new generation of stars. Broadway
beat a path to its doors in the Fifties and Sixties, Andy Warhol and everyone Andy knew (which was everybody) made it famous in the Seventies and Eighties. In the Nineties, names like Cruise, Kidman, Spielberg partied with their kids here. Rikki Lake comes here; MTV even filmed Mary J. Blige here. Why? Aside from being a magical kingdom of kitsch (there's even a gift shop), it's still small, kind of exclusive (reservations are tough to get during peak hours) and stays open late-late -- it's an entertainment last resort with a lot more sparkle than a diner. On the cuter than cute menu are stick-to-your-ribs and stave-off-that-hangover items like Sheperd's Pie, Foot Long Hot Dogs and Country Meatloaf, along with every kind of burger and omelet and sandwich you can think of (and some you can't -- cream cheese and rhubarb-ginger jam?) But the real reason everyone comes here are what they call Frrrozen Drinks, particularly the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate in incarnations from classic to Peanut Butter and Mochacchino (for those not interested in chocolate, there's also the delightful Apricot Smush.) Portions are huge, naturally, and prices are reasonable considering you won't stop smiling from the moment you enter until the moment you leave (remember to pick up some Frrrozen Hot Chocolate Lip Gloss on the way out.) Celebrity spotting tip: find out the birthdays of Spielberg's kids, or wait up on a Saturday night and see what drops by, they're open until 2 am.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $25
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Open, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
FOUR SEASONS
99 East 52nd Street (Between Park and Lexington)
(212) 754-9494
Hours: (Mon-Fri) 12:00pm-2:30pm (Lunch); (Mon-Fri) 5:00pm-9:30pm (Dinner); (Sat) 5:00pm-11:30pm (Dinner); Closed Sunday
One woman's celebrity is often another man's "ho-hum," and while you may not find the just slightly post-pubescent blonde of the moment at the Four Seasons, if you've got a yen to see what money and power looks like, look no further. The Four Seasons has been the place to see and be seen for over forty years -- and in New York, that's an achievement matched by few. Two rooms, the Grill Room and the Pool Room, each have their own special ambience, courtesy of master architects Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe (the interior is a New York City Landmark and deservedly so.) As if that weren't enough, there's the spectacular bar with its one-of-a-kind chain curtains, and a number of private rooms. Menus include a Prix Fixe bar lunch (a bargain at $25) and a pre-Theatre Dinner (a more than reasonable $55.) A la carte Dinner in the Pool Room, however, is not for the faint of wallet, and could include a Raw Bar of Lobster, Shrimp, Octopus, Clams, Oysters, Ceviche, Sea Urchin at $32, or Golden Iranian Osetra Caviar, at $120. If your taste for caviar doesn't break you, move on to Macadamia Encrusted Soft Shell Crabs or a Loin of Spring Rabbit. Who eats here? Anyone on the a-list, producers, directors, superstars and anyone with a corporation, library, museum wing, street, building or airport to their name, and the close friends and purveyors of goods to these human landmarks. Celebrity spotting tip: Start out at the bar and remain calm. The Four Seasons will make you feel like a celebrity. Watch and learn. This is the way the other half lives.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $70+
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Open, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
BLUE RIBBON
97 Sullivan Street (between Prince and Spring Streets)
(212) 274-0404 (NO RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED FOR PARTIES UNDER 6)
Hours: (Tue-Sun) 6 pm - 4 am (Dinner); Closed Mondays
Celebrities are often creatures of the night (and these days often play them on TV and in the movies.) Thus, if you've got the stamina, your own personal star search can last into the wee hours of the morning. And there are few better places to end up than Blue Ribbon where, if you can get in, the hip ambience, ever friendly service and amazing food might make up for the fact that Matt and Ben and Gwyneth are nowhere to be seen. Some people swear by the Bone Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade, others belly up to the raw bar for libido fortifying oysters, and, this late at night, some just want a comforting bowl of bouillabaisse or some excellently fried Catfish. Desserts also lean toward the comforting, drunkeness abating side, with choices like chocolate chip bread pudding. What kind of celebrity stays up this late at night? Look for the stars of shows off Broadway, musicians in town for a gig, the hippest of the hip young crowd who can still look presentable ordering raw oysters and fried chicken at 3 am. Celebrity spotting tip: Blue Ribbon is nothing if not democratic, so just blend, man, they're serving until 4.
Estimated Cost Per Person For Dinner: $45
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day - Open, Valentines Day - Open, Easter - Open, Thanksgiving - Open, Christmas Eve - Open, Christmas Day, Closed, New Year's Eve - Open
NELLO
696 Madison Avenue 136 Main Street (summer only)
NY, NY 10021 Southampton, NY 11968
212-980-9099 631-287-5500
Hours: (Mon-Sun) 11.30am-11.30pm
If your dress comes from Bergdorf Goodman or Hermés, Nello might be your place to lunch. An abundance of good-looking people display the latest fashion of the Upper East Side. Nello’s incessant popularity lulls its prosperous patrons into paying handsomely for the superb food. The chef’s mastery is evident; every dish is a pure creation of an artist. Get your iceberg lettuce elsewhere; instead, start here with a cold soup, gazpacho due colori (puréed yellow and red seasonal tomatoes). A surprise on the menu was a non-traditional ossobuco: fish supplants the habitually used meat. Chilean sea bass in lobster sauce, served on a bed of saffron veloute, rice pilaf. This appetizing fillet is sculpted exactly like a piece of veal, with a bone in the middle. Enjoy this pungent dish as you would your typical ossobuco; peeling the fish away from the bone. A true connoisseur will enjoy a slippery marrow hidden inside the bone. Haute cuisine, trés haute prices! For THIS money, I wish the $7 lemonade would be presented in a gold carafe, accompanied by a Bohemian crystal vase of ice. Pamper yourself anyway, maybe just once.
Estimated cost per person: $65-$100
Holiday schedule: call for info.
Some other great venues for celebrity hunters: "44" at the Royalton Hotel (any great hotel restaurant is a good bet, for older celebs hit the East Side palaces, for hip young ones, try any of the new small hotels in Midtown and Soho like the Paramount, Mercer or Grand -- all have fine, some legendary, restaurants.) Coffee Shop for models and wannabes both eating and serving, Gotham Bar and Grill and Patroon for power lunchers, and the ever reliable Odeon for movie stars making a comeback Off-Broadway. And if you're totally out of luck, hit the Stage Deli -- it's a star unto itself and at least the sandwiches are named after celebrities.
|
|
|
|
|
|