Sheridan Square, New Gary Robins Options

[Sneakeater]

The new Gary Robins venture, Sheridan Square (7th Ave. just above 10th St.), is in soft-opening mode. It is officially opening, I believe, tomorrow (Thurs. May 29). Until then, they are (unannounced until you receive your bill) providing a 20% discount on food and drink.

I'm a fan. Not only did I like the Biltmore Room like everybody else, but I was one of the three or four people who saw a lot of value in Robins's tenure at the Russian Tea Room. So it is perhaps not surprising that, based on my dinner last night, I am wildly enthusiastic about Sheridan Square.

In today's Times, Florence Fabricant, undoubtedly echoing a press release, talked about "Asian accents." But that's Robins's reputation talking, not the menu. This appears to Robins's attempt a "Casual American". But, Robins being Robins, the dishes end up being pretty complex -- and wildly flavorful -- anyway.

My knockout appetizer was foie gras ravioli in an oxtail broth with truffles, mushrooms, some white carby discs that my dining companion Spaetzle decided were sun chokes, and -- in an attempt to make the dish seasonal despite the oxtail broth and the truffles -- spring vegetables. This is an apparent descendent of the wonderful foie gras pelmeni that Robins contrived for the Russian Tea Room. If anything, this dish is better.

If I hadn't had the astonishingly fragrant stuffed trout at Redhead last week, I would say that this foie gras ravioli in broth was one of the most fragrant dishes I've had. It certainly implicated the same drool factor. And once you stopped drooling and started eating, it was simply delicious. A bunch of somewhat disparate flavors, reinforcing one another in a striking whole -- Gary Robins is back.

There was a main dish that had my name on it: juniper-scented prime rib with bone marrow. But last night was just too stuffy (a problem exacerbated by the unairconditioned room, with a big open oven in the back). So I had the annise-scented duck with more spring vegetables, parsnip (?) puree, and rhubarb confit. Beautiful, meaty medallions of duck, perfectly cooked (this is what the people who are troubled by Benoit's duck are thinking of -- but it's a different kind of dish), again wonderfully supported by a bunch of (even more, in this case) disparate flavors combining compellingly. For some reason, the sauteed spinich underlying this dish seemed particularly excellent (probably there was some pork fat in it or something) -- even if it was a bit gritty (a problem that also affected the mushrooms in the ravioli appetizer).

Desserts do not live up the savories. This place needs to get a really first-rate pastry chef.

Or maybe not. The problem I see Sheridan Square having is a possible identity crisis. As I said above, it seems to be Robins's attempt at "American Casual." But Robins isn't a casual kind of chef. I wonder how a restaurant will fare serving what I suspect will turn out to be some of the better food in the City in an unprepossessing room on an actively unpleasant corner. I know lower 7th Ave. has turned into a "dining destination," but this food is a level above what anyone is attempting here.

No, I take that back. This food succeeds at being what Bar Blanc tries. But will it draw a similar crowd in a much less stylish room in much less pleasing location? I don't get the feeling the Bar Blanc crowd goes there for the food.

OTOH, Biltmore Room drew patrons to a place that was in an even uglier location that wasn't even in any discernable neighborhood. A difference, though, is that Biltmore Room was designed to keep out its surroundings -- once you entered the door, the outside disappeared -- whereas Sheridan Square, with its front a sheet of windows (open last night, like at Barbuto) has you staring right at the garage across the avenue.

Cocktails are very good. A bottle of Chateau de Sales 1999, at a pre-discount price of $75, seemed to be a good deal.

[nuxvomica]

see, i never had any good food at Biltmore Room and i went twice, and i think i had his food somewhere before. nothing like what you described. instead, i remember oily shrimp wrapped in something with way too much going on a plate (every dish we had) and out-of-balance cocktails.

re: FloFab, you don't give her nearly enough credit - she's been around a long time and knows the chef and his food. if anything, she's more likely to go by what she knows about him than a press release. (of course, if it's someone she does not know, then she has to rely on press materials, menu, etc.)

[Wilfrid1]

Commerce seems to be pulling them in with finicky food served in a raucous tavern room.

[Sneakeater]

But of course Commerce is on The Prettiest Street In New York City©. You have to go to Sheridan Square to see just how awful its location is.

(Of course, you might point out that people are also lining up for finicky food at Bobo, right around the corner.)

[nuxvomica]

Commerce seems to be pulling them in with finicky food served in a raucous tavern room.

helps to have built-in theater audience

[Sneakeater]

nux -- What I think may be happening here is that the attempt at "Casual American" has reined Robins in some. There's a lot happening on some of these plates, but it isn't as exuberant (as his supporters would put it) as the Asian fusion at the Biltmore Room. Robins might benefit from being slightly simplified.

(It's funny, because my immediate reaction, when I ate this food, was that some of his supporters were going to accuse him of dumbing his stuff down too much in order to chase a mass audience -- a proposed feeling I obviously didn't share. Maybe it'll be the opposite, though.)

[Daisy]

I liked Robins' cooking at Aja (late nineties) very,very much and the Biltmore Room very much. I think he was the wrong chef for the Russian Tea Room but yes the pelmeni were quite nice.

I might give this place a shot, even given its location which I agree is not pretty. But convenient.

[oakapple]

The problem I see Sheridan Square having is a possible identity crisis. As I said above, it seems to be Robins's attempt at "American Casual." But Robins isn't a casual kind of chef. I wonder how a restaurant will fare serving what I suspect will turn out to be some of the better food in the City in an unprepossessing room on an actively unpleasant corner. I know lower 7th Ave. has turned into a "dining destination," but this food is a level above what anyone is attempting here.

This is the trend nowadays. You've got Scott Conant at Scarpetta, Harold Moore at Commerce, and now Robins at Sheridan Square: all legitimate three-star chefs doing their thing in much humbler surroundings.

The jury is out on these places. Do people want to pay 2-star prices in 1-star spaces? At Commerce, they got some really mixed reviews. They already announced that they're installing sound baffles, after almost every critic complained about the noise, to say nothing of tables smaller than a hula hoop.

[Sneakeater]

The thing is -- and I know when other people start to eat there they'll probably disagree with me -- to me this is three-star food. It's not as challenging as Robins's food at some of his past ventures has been -- but although it tries to be "comfort food", there's too much going on for that.

It just seems to me that the audience for this food isn't necessarily going to go to this room on this corner.

I want to be clear: I urge you all to try it. I'm going to be back LOTS.

[Sneakeater]

Another thing: this is another place (viz Benoit) where the bar area seems much more attractive, at least to me, than the dining room. Of course, that suits my own habits perfectly.

[oakapple]

The thing is -- and I know when other people start to eat there they'll probably disagree with me -- to me this is three-star food. It's not as challenging as Robins's food at some of his past ventures has been -- but although it tries to be "comfort food", there's too much going on for that.

It just seems to me that the audience for this food isn't necessarily going to go to this room on this corner.

I don't think the corner matters much at all, and even the neighborhood matters a lot less than some people think. The room is another story. I found Commerce so unpleasant that even if the food were perfect (which it wasn't) I would never return. Even with many of the trappings stripped away, there's an unavoidable expense of serving food on that level. Some people want a certain level of comfort when they're paying that much money.

[Sneakeater]

It's hard to tell because when we ate there the place was practically empty, but I don't think you'll find Sheridan Square uncomfortable. That's not the problem I have with it.

[Sneakeater]

Well, I think I'd agree if you replaced "comfort" with something like "plushness."

[nuxvomica]

The thing is -- and I know when other people start to eat there they'll probably disagree with me -- to me this is three-star food. It's not as challenging as Robins's food at some of his past ventures has been -- but although it tries to be "comfort food", there's too much going on for that.

It just seems to me that the audience for this food isn't necessarily going to go to this room on this corner.

I don't think the corner matters much at all, and even the neighborhood matters a lot less than some people think. The room is another story. I found Commerce so unpleasant that even if the food were perfect (which it wasn't) I would never return. Even with many of the trappings stripped away, there's an unavoidable expense of serving food on that level. Some people want a certain level of comfort when they're paying that much money.

i may be wrong but i think sneak may be referring to a specific demographics - pretty people looking for cool new spaces, not necessarily great food. the daily candy etc. crowd (i'm sure nathan would be able to explain better) i mean, Bobo was full even when the reviews were atrocious

[Sneakeater]

That's exactly right.

I'm afraid Sheridan Square might have a sort of a Dennis Foy problem.

(I want to repeat that I don't want to be negative about a place that I at least initially think is terrific. I think everybody should go and eat there. The rest is just inside baseball.)