A journey completed

About a year ago, I read a book that changed my life. It is Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business. It was written by Danny Meyer, the Donald Trump of New York's restaurant scene. His restaurants, particularly Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern, are consistently rated #1 and #2 in Zagat among the city's favorite restaurants for many years running. Meyer has achieved this feat by blending upscale food and wine with warm and friendly hospitality. His service with a smile was a reaction to the stiff haughtiness he encountered while eating in New York and Europe during the early 1980's. The book details his philosophies on leadership, the restaurant business, and how to find the right employees to help you succeed.

Over the past week I had the opportunity to dine at two of his places: Union Square Cafe and Blue Smoke. He opened Union Square Cafe in the mid 1980's at the age of 27, after having only worked a couple of years in the restaurant business! An impressive feat, to say the least! The restaurant consistently earned 3 (out of 4) stars from the New York Times, an accomplishment very few achieve. The food is Italian in nature, with the occasional touch of American and French influences. Blue Smoke on the other hand is a casual BBQ joint with an amazing list of specialty bourbons, beers, tequilas, and a small wine list (unusual for a BBQ place for sure). The rest of Meyer's restaurants opened in the 90's and run the gamut, from high end French 4-star dining, to BBQ, to Indian food, and even burger stands, and each is extremely successful. 

Ever since I read the book, I knew I had to visit Union Square Cafe. I had to see with my own eyes what I consider to be the birthplace of hospitality; the birthplace for the philosophies that helped shape my own. This book put into words the reasons why I chose this as my career. The Union Square neighborhood has changed immensely in 25 years (not that I'd know, but can imagine). The restaurant is slightly hidden in a side street off the Union Square park, which is now inhabited by college kids, skateboarders, and all sorts of young people.

Meyer chose this locale because he wanted to source ingredients from the farmer's market held 3 times a week in Union Square. So, depending on what's available and in season, the menu will change. In fact, my appetizer is no longer on the menu this week.

Union Square has great handmade pastas, so I knew I had to try one. These are raviolis filled with veal cheeks (baby cow cheeks) and dressed with morel mushrooms, spinach, and parmigiano reggiano. They were absolutely delicious. You could taste everything in the dish--the mushrooms, the veal, the spinach, and cheese. The sauce was light in texture, but still rich in flavor from the reggiano. Since the greens were not wilted, they added a nice texture component with their crunch. The dish was awesome! Next time I may just order an entree portion of pasta! By the way, the bread basket came with some black olives dressed in red pepper flake, fennel seed, and orange zest. They were out of this world good! I don't eat olives often because they can be bitter, but these were absolutely delicious with the fennel and orange!

My entree consisted of grilled baby lamb chops over a bed of arugula dressed in olive oil and a light vinegar with some crispy fingerling potatoes. The lamb was tender and flavorful without the characteristic heavy funky taste lamb can have. I think the potatoes were there for texture, whereas the salad provided some nice acid to the dish. On the left is polenta (cornmeal) dressed up with walnuts (for texture/crunch) and some melted blue cheese. Polenta is an Italian dish, and I figured they'd do it right here, and they did. However, the blue cheese was a bit too strong for the dish. I would've chosen something lighter, such as a gruyere. With the lamb I had a glass of Barbera d'Alba, a rustic flavored red wine from the Piedmont region in Italy. It wasn't a knockout wine but was decent for the price ($9). Overall the entree was mostly good. They were simple flavors cooked simply. Nothing wrong with that. I just felt there was nothing truly standout about the dish. I was perhaps expecting too much.

Dessert was ok. I should have perhaps stuck with the Italian theme and gotten a panna cotta or something. I ordered this one because they labeled it as their signature dessert, but found it to be just average. It's two bananas, caramelized, with some honey-vanilla ice cream, and caramelized macadamia nuts on the outside. Nothing outstanding--again I was perhaps expecting too much out of it, as with the lamb chops. The ice cream was great though. I decided to have some sweet wine along with the dessert, as Union Square made its mark back in the 80's by serving dessert wines (a somewhat uncommon thing back then). I learned of a new wine region outside Sauternes called Cadillac with wines done in the same style (botrytized wine), but since they don't carry the Sauternes name, they're a better monetary value. The sweetness and richness of the wine went well with the dessert. The wine was a 1999 Chateau Reynon.

Overall, Union Square fell slightly below my expectations, and I don't think I'm the only one. Sam Sifton, the current food critic at the Times, dropped them from 3 stars to 2 stars (they've had three stars for a LONG time). Unbeknownst to them, I even noticed a lapse in service--a food runner brought out my entree but it was not what I ordered. My server realized it when she handed him the plate and he didn't deliver it to me; he took it back to the kitchen to make things right and came over to tell me the dish would be out shortly. I applaud him for that. However, it meant my correct entree took twice as long to come out. In addition, I felt the menu could have a bit more variety, especially the entrees. The desserts were not revolutionary. The pasta was really the only thing that made me say "wow." I'll probably be back at some point just for the pastas.

Here's the thing about Danny Meyer, though. He's not chasing stars anymore--he's gotten plenty. There's no need for Union Square to be his prodigy--he now has Eleven Madison Park seated firmly among New York's elite. Union Square is his cash cow. He has always said he wants his restaurants to be valuable to the regulars--the people in the neighborhood. I saw plenty of those while I was there--the bartenders knew half of their guests by name. Perhaps that's why some of the menu items looked like they didn't belong--those items are there for the guy coming in 3 times a week, not for the food critic coming once every 3 years. He doesn't need 50,000 items to please everybody's taste buds--he only needs the items that will please his regulars.

If my inhibitions are correct, I can definitely understand where Meyer is coming from. Restaurants are not fads. They are meant to stay around for decades, otherwise you don't make a valuable return on your investment. And the only way they'll stay around for decades is if the regulars like you, and Meyer treats his regulars better than anybody in the game. There are still many Meyer spots I have to check out around town, but my journey of 1,300 miles came to an end. I was able to finally see for myself where it all began.

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As for Blue Smoke, the atmosphere is great and their beer and bourbon selection is great. I didn't photograph anything because it's just BBQ--nothing crazy. There's live jazz played nightly in a downstairs room. The food was mostly good, but certainly not the best BBQ I've ever had. I liked the pulled pork best and the ribs were decent. But the macaroni and cheese needed some real cheese...It seems you have to head south to have real BBQ, I feel. At the end of the day, it's another Meyer neighborhood spot with regulars. I'd definitely come back here for beers and burgers, or to have drinks at night and see the jazz.