Allegretti , NYC

[Wilfrid1]

Alain Allegretti took over from Kreuther at Atelier, following which one heard little about the place. A Ritz-Carlton can swallow a chef. But now he's cooking at his own restaurant on 22nd Street, and my first impressions were very good indeed.

 

Trust me: while we still have a few dollars in one of the few remaining banks, we need to believe in Allegretti and eat dinner there, lest we face a future of unrelieved Asian tapas, Wagyu sliders, lobster tacos, and Momofuku Klones.

 

Yes, it's a proper restaurant and the food it sends out is far from poor. Hope lives again.

 

A two-part review begins at the Pink Pig.

[oakapple]

We were impressed too:

 

The fall slate of restaurant openings is understandably timid. With the economy in the tank, restauranteurs are falling back on familiar formulae, and the trappings of fine dining have fallen by the wayside. How refreshing it is, then, to come across Allegretti, a new restaurant that—gasp!—has white tablecloths, servers who wear ties, an elegant atmosphere, and entrées that threaten (but don’t yet touch) the $40 mark. Has anyone told them we’re in a recession?

 

Fortunately, Allegretti is a startlingly good restaurant—one that I hope will be successful enough to encourage others to take similar chances. We need more restaurants like this.

[Sneakeater]

When you say "no dining counter", does that include a bar at which dinner service is available?

[Wilfrid1]

No. I wouldn't call that a "dining counter".

 

Also a nice review by Moira Hodgson in the Observer last week. Maybe they've nailed the whole "consistency" thing!

[Sneakeater]

Let me rephrase that. Whether you'd include it or not, DO they have a bar at which dinner service is available?

[Wilfrid1]

They have a regular, medium-sized bar as you enter, and I would be very surprised if you couldn't eat there. But I didn't try.

[Robert Brown]

Beware of all restaurants that serve breast of chicken by itself (and imported fish). As I once said to a maitre d'hotel in France, "What do you do with the rest of the rabbit?" But I see no signs of a tasting menu, which could more than offset the presence of chicken breasts (and imported red mullet).

[Wilfrid1]

No, Robert, no tasting menu. Believe me, I looked for one. Maybe staff dinner is heavily chicken-based?

 

As for the fish, the final result on the plate was impressive. I'm driven to contrast it with the fish offered at Esca, which may come from the most fantastic local sources, but didn't taste good.

[Sneakeater]

Haven't been yet, so I can't know whether I agree with his conclusions (although I obviously trust Wilfrid more), but the hostility to traditional fine dining in Adam Platt's pan of Allegretti is palpable.

 

(He even seems to say that old-school apprenticeship training is a bad thing.)

[Sneakeater]

PS -- They told me over the phone today that they do indeed serve the dinner menu at the bar.

[Wilfrid1]

Interesting: he shares exactly the same perspective on the restaurant as me, but has a completely different set of assumptions about whether classy, grown-up cooking by properly trained chefs is a good thing or not. With the exception of the oxtail ravioli, which he - incorrectly - describes as heavy, he pretty much likes all the dishes I liked.

 

I cover the meatier end of the menu in my review, part 2.

[oakapple]

Interesting: he shares exactly the same perspective on the restaurant as me, but has a completely different set of assumptions about whether classy, grown-up cooking by properly trained chefs is a good thing or not.

Like most critics, he discounts the value of classics done well. Whether Allegretti is, in fact, doing them well is naturally a valid question. But even where the answer is "yes," he assumes it's inherently less worthwhile than other types of restaurants.

 

He totally whiffs on the décor and service. It didn't remind me of "my grandmother in Westchester" (assuming I had one) at all. I mean, he gave "zero stars for the décor," whereas I was thinking, "Why don't we have more places like this?" The accompanying photo doesn't even look like what he says it looks like—"a grand, neo-imperial estate on the Côte d’Azur." And apparently, captains who wear coats and ties are a bad thing, too.

[Wilfrid1]

I agree. I have dined in a number of upscale upstate restaurants, whether or not in Westchester I can't say, and they're nothing like Allegretti. It's sleek, monochrome, and very urban.

 

 

[Anthony Bonner]

I'm not generally one to harp on review quality, but that was terrible. Perhaps there is a reason why certain dishes are canonical?

[Wilfrid1]

(He even seems to say that old-school apprenticeship training is a bad thing.)

 

The ratatouille did make me wonder if he had some help in the kitchen: