Meryle Evans, a culinary historian and contributing editor at Food Arts magazine,
proved an invaluable resource for Zagat’s Vintage Dinner series,
providing 19th-century menus and historical insight to some of the
chefs as they prepared their meals. Here she reflects on some of the more memorable moments, including the 72-cake "caravan" that capped off the night at Jean Georges. For a behind-the-scenes look at the dessert extravaganza, watch the video below.
A night to remember? How about 16 nights of dazzling dinners? As a culinary historian tracking the Zagat Vintage Dinners series for an article in Food Arts, I was blown away by the enthusiasm, imagination and extraordinary amount of research that New York’s top toques devoted to the planning and execution of these remarkable repasts.
Poring through old cookbooks, reviving recipes from apprenticeship days and enlisting equally enthusiastic staffs to create distinctive period decor, entertainment and beverage pairings, the chefs choreographed dinners that captured the essence of a bygone era, but still remained perfectly attuned to the ambiance of their own 21st-century establishments: Del Posto’s bella Italia cucina based on the seminal cookbook by Pellegrino Artusi; the robust 75-lb. steamship roast Terrance Brennan carved tableside at Picholine; Le Bernardin’s fish-focused menu featuring a whole striped sea bass with champagne sauce; the re-creation of 19th-century fine hotel dining at Alain Ducasse’s Adour at the St. Regis.
That sense of place was vividly evoked at two recent, totally different, dinners: Mike Anthony’s intimate, convivial Colonial American feast for 20 guests in the private dining room at Gramercy Tavern and the sumptuous caviar-and-truffle extravaganza for 70 in the main dining room at Jean Georges.
At Gramercy Tavern, Anthony composed a locavore bill of fare that also managed to stay true to an era two centuries before that word entered our vocabulary. “The idea was not to reproduce a meal, but prepare something delicious in [that] style,” Anthony explained. “I was aiming for the warmth of a dish that looks back in time but also has delicacy and contrasting textures.” Oysters were a given – during the 19th century, oysters were so abundant in New York that they were hard to sell, and so large that the writer William M. Thackeray remarked that eating one was “like swallowing a baby.” Fortunately, our crisp fried Fisher Island bivalves were small and succulent, perched atop a pool of light fish stock with onion and spinach purée, mixed chopped herbs, garlic, oil and lemon juice.
House-smoked ham and a medley of green market beans in a wine vinegar and pork sauce were a tribute to the all-purpose pig – smoked, cured, pickled head-to-trotters – in an era of no refrigeration. And later there were bravos for a pig encore, a whole suckling roast that recalled an early traveler’s description of a Fourth of July celebration when booths lined Broadway for miles “and in every booth there was a roast pig, large or small as the center of attraction. Six miles of roast pig!”
The rivers, bays and seashore surrounding the city also swarmed with fish and shellfish during that time, so Anthony salted his own cod and added it to individually poached lobster, scallops and mussels served in a light tomato-based chowder. A bounty of birds – wild turkeys, geese, doves, grouse, quail – inspired a dish of guinea hen accompanied by fritters made with sweet potato purée and pâte à choux, the latter a nod to the culinary influence of Gallic refugees (including the great gourmet Brillat-Savarin) who found a haven in New York during the French Revolution.
Finally, early travelers also remarked on Americans' penchant for sweets, and what could be more appropriate than the apple pudding with clotted cream that pastry chef Nancy Olsen selected for a Tavern dessert.
From a simple pudding, fast-forward to the mid-20th century for the astonishing cavalcade of 72 cakes that were paraded around the dining room as the grand finale to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s homage to Fernand Point – considered the father of modern French cuisine – and Point’s protégé, Louis Outhier, in turn Vongerichten’s revered mentor. “I don’t usually do this kind of dessert,” admitted executive pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini, “but Jean-Georges was so enthusiastic, going back to his book of handwritten recipes from his apprenticeship, that it was infectious.” Even after swooning over seven savory courses like lemon gelée with caviar and crème fraîche, sea bass en croûte, lobster à la nage and truffled chicken, guests were still hungry enough to tuck into the trademark Outhier array of classic pastries, among them chocolate and vanilla charlotte Cecile, glazed black-currant mousse, and almond sponge, hazelnut and Pernod noisette.
“I feel like bringing everything back, having a caravan of desserts every night,” Vongerichten sighed, a reminder of Point’s philosophy that the duty of a good cuisinier is to transmit to the next generation everything he has learned and experienced. The Vintage Dinners certainly proved the point.
– Meryle Evans