![]() Ladies, you’re covered if you have a wardrobe or make-up malfunction.ĭespite the lack of TLC in the dining room, whoever stocked the restroom cares a lot. Wine pairing descriptions are delivered breathlessly with no perceived room to ask questions, which would be nice since the high-brow presentations assume all diners have passed a sommelier exam.Īll new restaurants have kinks to work out, this one is no different. No server springs into action to show guests where the restroom awaits. No one asks to take my coat throughout the evening. For example, draping my worn leather jacket over the nicest chair I’ve ever sat on feels like upholstery abuse. “Tom would have been the first table if all of his guests had arrived,” he tells us. Later, Onwuachi follows suit and blabs that Sietsema was the second table to dine at his restaurant. “She was at the bar last night,” a sever humblebrags. A server swings by as my friend and I and are chatting about our mutual admiration of Carla Hall. For starters, they don’t exercise discretion. They’re earnest and into it but fall well short of the level of hospitality offered by staff at competing restaurants ( minibar, Pineapple & Pearls, Metier). It almost feels like front-of-house staff members are playing dress-up. While Onwuachi’s cooking is largely finessed, service isn’t. This lack of hospitality is foreshadowing. Dinner at The Shaw Bijou is meant to feel like a dinner party, so diners start in the bar before moseying through the kitchen on the way to the dining room. I’m not offered any assistance or even another napkin, and when the time comes to move down to the kitchen, my dining companion has to ask that I not be left to navigate a dark stairway carrying my up drink. The glass remains wet and I have to use my soaked napkin to guide the drink to my lips. I’m left to manage the Deepwater Horizon situation on my own, using my lone napkin to clumsily soak up rye and Averna. Also be fair, I’m no delicate, high-society flower that belongs at The Shaw Bijou. Seconds into the most extravagant meal of my life, I spill the black Manhattan Zac Hoffman crafted for me after letting me drone on about my love of brown liquor. And since friends and strangers have been texting to hear how it was, I’ll share some observations. ![]() Those who do the middle-of-the-road wine pairing can expect to pay $962 per couple after drinks, tax, and tip. ![]() Most of the non-stop needling stems from the fact that the Shaw restaurant from 26-year-old Chef Kwame Onwuachi can be the priciest menu in town, depending on what drink pairings diners spring for while resting their buns first on Icelandic sheepskin bar seats and later, on blue velvet chairs in the minimalist dining room. Proof is in the prolific trolls: Post critic Tom Sietsema’s “First Bite” has been live for a couple of days and already has 500 comments. Good or bad, The Shaw Bijou has been the most talked about restaurant opening of 2016. His life's influence can be seen in dishes such as jollof rice with ginger, roasted garlic, confit spring onions and Nigerian red sauce honeynut squash velouté with squash pickle, Parmesan foam, toasted pepitas and herb essence and beef patties with Calypso sauce.Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. His latest endeavor offers Afro-Caribbean inspired food representative of his life experiences-his native Bronx and spending a few years in Nigeria, familial ties to Louisiana and the Caribbean, and incorporating his fine-dining resumé. With Kith and Kin, he states, "I want everything about this restaurant to be different-from the price point to the menu items. Why not learn from people that have been doing this for years on end?" Though Kith and Kin is Onwuachi's vision, he is not an owner with some of the business responsibilities off of his plate, he is able to focus on his duties as the chef. "Being as young as I am, I thought I still have a lot to learn. With all of the offers to get back into the kitchen, he chose to work with an established hotel operation because of the support.
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