Simple yet sumptuous, the food expresses the imagination of the man and the excellence of ingredients available to him in New York markets. A recent dinner of two different menus began with lustrous raw sea bass with caviar and summer's sweetest asparagus and morel mushrooms. Yellowfin tuna with eggplant and crayfish with asparagus followed, then lobster soup served with a shot of sake. Dish after dish dazzled us plump turbot with chanterelle mushrooms, foie gras with baby spinach, the whitest of halibut with bright zucchini, tender pink veal with fresh porcini, roast lamb with summer potatoes all expressing the glories of the season. Then, as if poured from a cornucopia, there were peaches and apricots, strawberries with lemon balm, and, later, assortments of coffee and chocolate desserts.
Selected wines are also available at an extra charge.
Another outstanding restaurant conversion has been achieved at the Drake Swiss Hotel, where one of my favorite New York chefs, Joe Fortunato, formerly of Layla, is doing fine work at Quantum . The big, casual dining room has a handsome, modern, unpretentious setting, and the service staff couldn't be more pleasant. Fortunato likes big flavors, evident in his braised rabbit ravioli with wild mushrooms in a light truffle broth, roasted sea scallops with pancetta cracklings and crispy grits, and fingerling potato and Brie tart. And that's just for appetizers. All rights reserved.