A bite of the Big Apple

A sense of guilt pervades New Yorkers’ favorite recreation, and dining in the city’s restaurant mecca presents both a personal dilemma for the individual, and a real problem for some restaurateurs. In the aftermath of the 9-11 disaster, Americans seem to be nesting. In the US, staying in is the new going out. Retailers like Crate & Barrel have experienced strong sales in furniture, furnishings and accessories. At lunchtime and early evenings, these stores are packed with men and women who seem to delightfully imply that by investing in their homes, they are investing in the life of the city.

How long this situation will remain is difficult to judge. This may just be temporary and will not stop transients from experiencing the culinary delights the Big Apple has to offer. Every time I visit New York, my first impulse is to get a copy of Timeout NYC to check out the latest hot spots and tables. When I board the yellow cab or ride the subway, I never, ever doubt that there would be an extraordinary meal waiting for me upon arrival at any of the districts of the Big Apple. And why should I? While there is something to be said for potluck – especially when it turns up the perfect sushi bar tucked between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in Lower Manhattan; Tao, an irresistible nouvelle Asian comfort lounge-bar along 56th St., or the basement Brasserie 8 1/2 along 57th St. – the less-than-divine meals are best forgotten.

Even a slightly-less-than-exuberant economy hasn’t prevented new restaurants from opening their welcoming doors since Sept. 11. And although many travelers still want to be dazzled – and why not? – there seems to be more places around now that offer a smaller, kinder, gentler, and yes, maybe less expensive experience.

On our visit to New York last spring, we have culled from our New Yorker guides – Jay Ocampo; fashion accessories designer Roger Gomez, and my high school mate Gilbert Africano – and were able to cover just about every taste and budget.

Restaurants aren’t just about eating anymore. As a dedicated food buff, I agree that restaurants are also about status and celebrity, power and politics, money and sex – and probably always have been. What is new is that big restaurants have turned into a surrogate for public realm. As in many cities, they have become just about the only public meeting place where you can find yourself in close proximity with people you don’t know.

Despite the tragedy, life goes on. People get married, graduate, celebrate the special milestones like the birth of a child. Life does and will go on. It always has. After all, the New Yorker is the center of it all. Read, plan ahead, and, amazingly, instead of glaring at each other in some unforeseen place, you’ll find yourself smiling and dining at some of the best restaurants in the Big Apple.

Brasserie 8 1/2

Brasserie 8 1/2 is not named after the Fellini movie, but because it is underneath 9 West 57th St., the curved skyscraper designed by Gordon Burnshaft. If you stand in front of this building and look up, you get the illusion that it’s slowly toppling forward and about to crush you, along with the big red number nine on the street outside its front door.

The initial descent into Brasserie 8 1/2 can be deceiving. You make your way through a glass lobby where a hostess, all smiles, directs you to a wide, semicircular, orange-carpeted staircase that leads down to the basement. You pause at the top for a second to get your bearings and then, like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, you make your grand entrance. Descending the long, serpentine staircase that leads to this subterranean scene might be the ultimate high.

There’s that first glimpse of the bar with its iridescent tile walls, glowing onyx countertop and Sixties swivel seats. Next, there’s the circular lounge with glass coffee tables, black leather couches and potted palms – the sort of place where suits might be worn and deals might be closed over dry martinis.

Restaurant Associates, which also operates Brasserie in the Seagram Building, hired the firm Hardy Holzmann Pfeiffer to design this restaurant. If you thought Brasserie, with its glass staircase and wall of digital photographs of customers coming through the door, was far out, wait till you see what Hugh Hardy has come up with. You can tell it was conceived during the halcyon dot-com days. The sprawling destination, all 1,300 square meters, designed by Hugh Hardy, is an exercise in colorful, textural excess. Walls sheathed in a combo of pale green velvet and maple wainscoting are hung with graphics by Matisse and Fernand Leger’s only stained-glass piece.

We were positioned strategically in the retro-chic lounge which allowed us to size up dates as they descend the grand spiral staircase. The lounge has a round, orange cast-glass ceiling lit from behind and supported by stainless steel ribs. It feels like the inside of a flying saucer. But instead of aliens from outer space, a surprisingly hip crowd was reclining in leather chairs and sofas. Once suitably tanked, we were moved to a booth in the dining room. The elaborate glass and stainless steel lighting fixture will keep the players fixated, while tall glass panels offer some sought-after privacy for discreet conversation.

The Matisse faces and Giacometti drawings hanging on the walls like booty from a trip to earth are a very small part of the personal collection of the building’s owner, real estate developer Sheldon Solow.

People used to say you could tell whether a restaurant was going to be any good as soon as the bread arrived. But top quality bread has become so routine in New York restaurants that this tenet no longer holds – and the bread usually goes unnoticed . The crusty square rolls, topped with crystals of sea salt, are exceptional, and they’re served with chilled, unsalted butter, sliced through a wrapper that is left on, a super-cool interpretation of the old-style square of butter in a foil packet.

The kitchen, meanwhile, dishes up a little performance art. Chef Julian Alonzo, who cut his teeth with David Bouley in New York and Guy Savoy in Paris, deftly updates classics.

The frisee salad, for example, comes with poached quail eggs on a tiny brioche. A thick, juicy cote de boeuf with the traditional bone marrow has a rich pinot noir glaze. A side of mashed potatoes is laced with Roquefort cheese, the perfect foil for humble rotisserie chicken. But Alonzo knows there are some dishes you just don’t mess with, such as coq au vin, a frequently featured plat du jour on the often changing menu.

Fish arrived in huge white bowls with matching lids to be whisked off with a flourish. The glistening piece of pink salmon arrived rare and moist on a bed of pureed sorrel with tiny chanterelles. A fillet of halibut was boldly garnished with grilled octopus, artichokes, tomatoes and roasted garlic. Pepper-seared tuna with roasted corn and foie gras sounded intriguing but oddly, didn’t have a lot of flavor.

When I smelled the aroma of the chocolate soufflé wafting from Gilbert’s side, I started regretting my decision of not ordering one. The hot steamed chocolate pudding topped with pistachio ice cream and a pistachio brittle was a feast. It made me wonder what I ever saw in the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake. The rich, creamy dark chocolate custard under a creme brulee topping was also worth crossing forks for. Pastry chef Nancy Kershner is also at Brasserie, and her desserts here are just as wonderful as they are there. After this, if the building topples over on you as you leave, you won’t even care.

Located at 9 W 57th St. between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (212 829 0812). Average main course: $24.