VIEW ALL ADANNA'S BLOG ENTRIES
When last we left off, departing Macao Trading Company during the recent winter monsoon, I landed at Secession, the latest in David Bouley's expanding restaurant portfolio. Secession occupies the old Danube space, and stepping through the entryway I am immediately reminded of ghosts of Restaurants Past. Little has changed in the interior, save for the paint-freshened ceilings and re-glossed floors. Klimt still looms large, like the stale perfume of an antebellum Viennese grand-dame who longs to waltz in an era of swing. Azure remains the operating color.
The menu, on the other hand, has changed, offering copious versions of everything: terrines, salads, grilled dishes, fried dishes, charcuterie, and yes, pasta. Think variety for the sake of variety, along the lines of Kenny Shopsin. The menu supplies the diners with the raw lumber needed to build their own meals. Pity that most diners are not architects and will thus defer to their server's opinion. "Tell me what's good" is not a phrase that a chef wants to hear over and over again. That said, the best items on the menu are those that are grilled, and anything that features duck. The terrines are inconsistent.
Specializing in everything is simply not possible—unless you are offering Little Bit of Everything Soup—and so there is no attempt to wow diners with a dish that is fully in touch with itself. And it is an expensive way to dine, as side dishes are not included. (Recession-busting note: tack on an extra $8 for that side.) Nor does this gargantuan menu make sense from a business perspective, as planning and prepping for this many complex dishes (especially the terrines) must be rather expensive and time-consuming.
The crowd, like the Klimt-inspired décor, remains from the Danube days. Expect furs and strands of pearls and firsthand accounts of the Village in the Beatnik days, back during an earlier recession. And beware the busboys, whom you must watch like a hawk so that they do not whisk away the last swallow of your $20 glass of wine, or the last morsel of foie gras.
Tags:
danube, david bouley, macao trading company, secession
© All rights reserved.
Posted on 12/18/2008
(
Permanent Link
)
Send to Friend
