View from the top floor of one of Manhattan’s tallest buildings. Below, from left to right, Daniel Boulud and Pierre Gagnaire.
Three French chefs who are taking a bite out of the Big Apple
Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten have had a seat at the New York table for many decades, and now they are joined by Pierre Gagnaire.
By Veronique Andre
DANIEL BOULUD
“LE PAVILLON” – MAGNIFICENT AND CHARMING
Daniel Boulud was the first to arrive in New York City in 1982. The Frenchy quickly became the city’s favourite chef. His 2 Michelin star restaurant, Daniel, serves French cuisine tweaked for New Yorkers’ tastebuds. He even created a burger with foie gras to celebrate the millennium.
Today he’s in charge of some 1,000 staff and has just opened three restaurants in Manhattan. He shares his next great ambition with us – a kind of French style covered market, typical of his hometown of Lyon.
THE BOULUD GALAXY
Daniel (two stars) in New York.
Café Boulud in New York, Toronto, Palm Beach, Lenox, and the Bahamas.
DB Bistro Moderne in New York, Miami, and Singapore.
Boulud Sud in New York.
DB Brasserie in Las Vegas.
Maison Boulud in Montreal.
Brasserie Boulud in Dubai.
Le Pavillon, Joji and Centurion in New York.
Le Gratin in New York.
Le Voyage on the Celebrity Beyond cruise ship.
Opened two years ago, and specialising in seafood and vegetables, Le Pavillon has already been awarded a Michelin star. Combining nature with larger-than life architecture in the heart of Manhattan, the venue is simply exceptional. The chef wanted it to be unhesitatingly modern, with a contemporary design. Located in the One Vanderbilt tower, just a stone’s throw from Grand Central Terminal, Le Pavillon is already very popular with celebrities, prominent figures, politicians, and artists of all kinds, attracting an elegant, loyal, and enthusiastic clientele.
Awe-inspiring is the name of the game here, enveloped by greenery. The establishment itself is just like the city, both magnificent and charming. It’s a “culinary oasis in the heart of Midtown Manhattan’s concrete jungle”, explains Daniel Boulud. The menu showcases the land and the sea, with local vegetables and New England seafood, cheeses from France and Vermont, and traditional French desserts.
Imagined by Daniel himself, Joji is an intimate Japanese restaurant run by a team of sushi masters, welcoming up to 20 diners at a time on the ground floor. Nestling on the tower’s 59th floor, a third restaurant, Centurion, is reserved to American Express Black Card holders who can enjoy breath-taking views over the Big Apple from the “One Vanderbilt Summit” observatory.
One Vanderbilt Ave, New York.
lepavillonnyc.com
PIERRE GAGNAIRE:
“FOUQUET’S”, A LITTLE CORNER OF PARIS IN NEW YORK
Fouquet’s New York is the latest French hotel to open in Lower Manhattan’s trendy Tribeca district, and it’s already made a name for itself on the celebrity circuit. Sought-after Swedish interior designer Martin Brudnizki decorated the 97 rooms and suites in pastel tones. With Art deco-inspired furniture and warm materials they exude a very French spirit, in contrast to the building’s brick and glass architecture. The walls are covered in a toile de Jouy-inspired wallpaper, the tones are soft, the materials refined: velvet upholstery, wood furniture, and marble bathrooms. The bedrooms and suites are laid out like Parisian boudoir; if it wasn’t for the view over New York’s buildings and the banks of the Hudson River, you could almost be in Paris!
In terms of food and flavour, multi-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, a big name in the world of French gastronomy, designed the menu, which is prepared by a chef on site, in homage to the restaurant on the Champs-Elysées. Well-balanced dishes and top-quality produce take us on a culinary journey. Make sure you try the delicious Maine crab, Faroe Island salmon, Long Island lobster etc. In the restaurant, tucked away in the cosy bar, or along the hotel’s corridors, don’t be surprised to see the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, or Melinda Gates.
456 Greenwich Street, New York.
JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN:
A CULINARY MARKETPLACE INSIDE THE TIN BUILDING
This covered street food market groups together many food and beverage outlets serving world food. From ramen to sushi and burritos, not forgetting burgers, pizzas, and chicken & French fries, the Tin Building by Jean Georges is a vast food complex set within one of New York’s historical monuments: the former Fulton Fish Market.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten arrived in New York in 1985 and is just as bowled over by the city now as he was back then. He fell in love with one of the biggest seafood markets in the world, built in 1907, and closed in 2005, in which to house his establishment. After raising the floor level, securing the foundations and the traditional cast iron poles, ten years after its restoration, the Tin Building is now starting a new chapter in the realm of New York’s culinary delights: 700 people work in the six restaurants, six counters, three bars, the larger-than-life kitchen, and several food markets – all exuding French elegance. Open from dawn to dusk, set under the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, visitors just can’t get enough of the place.
A fan of lime, which he sometimes replaces with yuzu, cherry vinegar, or balsamic, the Alsatian chef always takes his innovations one step further. The lasts New York craze is three cheese pizza with spicy lime – delicious!
96 South Street, New York.
IN ADDITION TO HIS LATEST OPENING, JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN HEADS UP 65 ESTABLISHMENTS, 15 OF WHICH ARE IN NEW YORK.