NEW YORK Myriad Restaurant Group is braving the turbulent business climate with an ambitious reinterpretation of a once-trendsetting restaurant. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Called Corton, the restaurant is named for a village in Burgundy famous for its grand cru white wine, which, Nieporent explains, is a “nod and a wink” to his operation that occupied the space for 21 years, Montrachet, another grand cru Burgundy village. The groundbreaking Montrachet helped transform Manhattan’s now-fashionable Tribeca neighborhood while launching the careers of many top chefs, including David Bouley. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Montrachet closed in 2006, the victim, in part, of economic difficulties that have plagued the downtown Manhattan neighborhood since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. At the same time, Nieporent blames a 2004 review in The New York Times that reduced its ranking to two stars from three. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Nieporent’s choice for Corton’s chef, the British-born Paul Liebrandt, is regarded by many local observers as being a controversial one. The former protégé of British chef Marco Pierre White and a disciple of avant-garde French chefs like Pierre Gagnaire, Liebrandt received mixed reviews since he came on the New York restaurant scene at the turn of the century. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
After working as sous chef for Bouley at Bouley Bakery, he was named executive chef of a little-known restaurant on swanky Central Park South called Atlas. There, his culinary precision and unusual flavor combinations, such as freshwater eel with watermelon and cocoa-enhanced red-wine sauce, earned him three out of four stars from the demanding New York Times. On the other hand, they also won him a rare drubbing from Gourmet magazine. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
After critically undistinguished stints at several other restaurants, he was appointed opening chef in late 2005 of Gilt at the Palace Hotel, where Le Cirque 2000 previously had been located. He lasted less than a year there before leaving in August 2006. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“Paul came to me quite some time ago to discuss possibly working together,” Nieporent said. “Truthfully, I was one of those skeptics who’d read about the odd combinations [of flavors].” —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
But while he had never eaten Liebrandt’s food at Atlas or Gilt, the two eventually joined forces and spent a year working on the new restaurant. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“He’s one of the hardest working people I know—very, very, very focused,” Nieporent said. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Nieporent—whose Myriad Restaurant Group also owns Tribeca Grill, Centrico and Nobu—ended up offering Liebrandt equity in the restaurant, something he had done previously with only one other chef, Nobu Matsuhisa. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Liebrandt wouldn’t say how much of an equity stake he got, but acknowledged, “It’s not one percent, it’s a proper interest.” —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
The transformation from Montrachet to Corton required a complete redesign. The kitchen was relocated, and the already minimalist decor was pared down even further so the focus would be more on the food. The number of seats was reduced from 80 to about 60. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“To [operate] this type of restaurant, you can’t do it on a volume basis,” Nieporent said. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Although acknowledging that chef-restaurateurs Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud have fairly high-volume restaurants, “the amount of steps [in Liebrandt’s cooking] are more in line with Per Se,” he added, referring to Thomas Keller’s critically acclaimed New York restaurant. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Corton offers guests a three-course, $76 fixed-price menu or a $110 tasting menu, and generates an average per-person check with alcohol of about $125. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
Corton’s pastry chef, Robert Truitt, formerly worked for Will Goldfarb, who had been Liebrandt’s pastry chef at Atlas. Their menu includes such items as veal sweetbreads with a confit egg, chestnut crisp and juniper oil; squab with chestnut crème, smoked bacon and pain d’épices milk; and, for dessert, white-sesame crème with lemon, huckleberry and salted toffee. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
In old-school style, Nieporent himself is acting as the restaurant’s maître d’, greeting guests and even occasionally putting the finishing touches on a plate at tableside. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
So far, Nieporent says, results have been good. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“We’re as busy as we want to be,” he said, indicating that while the restaurant is still only two-months old, he’s not squeezing in every possible reservation. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“Any smart restaurant person never bites off more than they can chew in the beginning,” Nieporent said. “It’s not my first rodeo. It’s my 31st restaurant in 23 years. If I’m going to make any errors, it’s going to be on behalf of the customers.” —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
He added that bookings for the holidays were “pretty good.” —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
The critics apparently are enjoying Corton, too. The Times hasn’t weighed in yet, but Time Out New York gave Corton an unprecedented six out of six stars, and New York magazine gave it five out of six. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“Corton is run by a very seasoned restaurateur and a world-class chef, and they’re getting consistently excellent reviews,” said Ben Leventhal, editor in chief of restaurant blog Eater. “If any new upscale restaurant can make it in this economy, this one can. —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s
“But, if it can’t, if it struggles, I think it’s a clear signal from New York diners that they don’t want this style experience right now—that if they’re going to take a risk on a new restaurant, it won’t be priced at $100-plus per person.” —Even as other local fine-dining operators hunker down in the face of the current economic storm, Drew Nieporent’s