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           JADE MOUNTAIN, ST LUCIA

                                                                        by Marcy MacDonald

Atlantic Beach, St Lucia

      Although Columbus may have discovered St. Lucia on his conquest of the Americas in the late 15th century, it was the French who named her and the English who fought for her.

     By 1814 the island had switched political sides so often (seven wins and losses, each) that she was known as the "Helen of the West Indies" -- curiously located in the Eastern Caribbean.  Pirates loved Castries, an easy port for docking, as most of the big cruise ships still do.

     Early adventurers, however, sailed past the capital city and went to the west side of the island to find sulfur springs (where the future Empress Josephine bathed when she was still a girl from Trois Islettes in nearby Martinique), located near the seagoing city of Soufriére, and the remains of a volcano that is now a "drive-through" attraction, still the only one of its kind, anywhere.  And, yes, it's "active."

      Unlike most of the other Caribbean islands, St. Lucia is fabulously mountainous. The highest point may be Mount Gimie, at 3,120 feet above sea level, but two other mountains, the Pitons -- Gros and Petit -- form the island's most famous landmark and a recurring dream for many aesthetic explorers, including architect Nick Troubetzkoy and his wife, Karolina.

     After St. Lucia's independence in 1979, the Troubetzkoys began to visit the island -- and tried to take the view home with them. "Nick had been collecting antique jade mountain objets d'art for 35 years before he saw the Pitons," the Mrs. affirmed. "But what was meant to be a brief stint in paradise turned into a lifelong passion for the island and its people." Troubetzkoy felt that the best view of the Pitons could be had from a few of the rooms at the nearby Anse Chastanet resort, and began negotiations to buy it. That accomplished, he designed and crowned the hill above it with his expression of his "organic" design.

     "Nick was finally carving his own Jade Mountain, perhaps a little bigger than those in his collection," Karolina says of the resort. He used local workmen to create an über-luxe resort where open-air "sanctuary" guest rooms feature 15-foot ceilings, an ever-changing picture of his favorite view of the Pitons and  in many a 300-square-foot horizon pool nearest the transparent  wall, in contrast to the deep Jacuzzis in the restful restrooms. He used recycled glass pool tiles (designed in collaboration with David Knox of Lightstreams) to reflect the resident Koi fish and glass lighting squares (that would be high and mighty lighting structures if local birds hadn't designated them their preferred habitat) that create an atmosphere of an idealized hyper-home-away-from-home, starring the Pitons.

    Designers lined up to supplement the locally made furnishings: Environment Furniture, Janus et Cie, Padmas Plantation as well as Hans Grohe and Duravit (for bathroom fixtures and fittings) because Troubetzkoy wanted each guest sanctuary to be a little different than the sanctuary next door. More than 20 species of tropical hardwood are subtly displayed in every room, all environmentally harvested, and include snakewood, etikburabali, futubali, purpleheart, locust and others with even stranger names. He designed hardwood stairs and ramps (to accommodate a very few motor vehicles) to connect the various levels of Jade Mountain, each artistically obscured by massive bursts of green; a secret spa; a little bar or two or three; a shop around an unexpected corner; another glass of island cheer; an outcropping of flowers; a selection of mad hats; an art gallery; a fitness studio; more and better details, details, details and giant, economy-size bottles of sunblock.

     As the Troubetzkoys realized their artistic 24-room dream, they began to shop for a chef. Their favorite was Allen Susser, proprietor of Chef Allen's in Miami and an early winner of the James Beard Award for outstanding chef.   Susser took one look at the architectural designs (and a wander through Farmer John's house and tree-growing grounds -- yes, really -- a third-generation plantation farmer, down mountain from and now part of the resort), and began to plan his ideal "Jade cuisine" menus.

    "The Jade Mountain plantation provides the resort with most of the fruits, vegetables and the cacao we use in a variety of dishes there," the chef says. Guests are invited to tour the farm, along with the farmer, chef and sous chef, to see the raw materials used to concoct the new and exotic as well as the tried-and-true. Often, entire dishes, sauces, spices and rubs are devised during the course of these outings down on the farm. Chefs are forever experimenting at reinventing the wheel -- in full view of the guests.

     "There was a time when we just sent all of our cacao pods up to Hershey, Pennsylvania, for refining. But there were so many cacao trees on the plantation that we began to produce our own chocolate a couple of years ago," the chef explained. "What's amazing is the process, the time it takes to harvest the cacao bean from the pod to produce a tiny sliver, the nib -- about the size of a fingernail tip -- essential to chocolate-making."

     Amazing that the first purveyors of chocolate, the Maya, ever took the time to turn the cacao pod into a potion fit for their kings a few hundred years before they had even invented a language.

     Although St. Lucia officially speaks English, an Antillean French Creole is used in literature, music and menus,  and is gaining official acknowledgement, particularly by the Chastanet family, whose newest generation has provided the young nation with its current Prime Minister, who has been known to make himself at home for the East Indian cuisine in the Apsara Beachfront 14-seat dining room at Anse Chastanet (dinner runs about $100 for two), he makes himself at home in Jade Mountain’s 14-table restaurant by reservation only for about $170 for two -- worth every penny of your EC currency.  Chef Allen's famous Spices of the Caribbean Culinary menus  keep the gourmands coming up the mountain for more. And more -- as these special gastronomic adventures are packaged as "all-inclusive" weekend and week-long events. Generally, the only items not included in the price are the special daily cocktails, champagne (but at $130 per, the bottles of Moët are considered a bargain), cognacs, rums and malt whiskeys, not to mention spa dates, unscheduled adventures off property and gifts and, needless to say, the $350 charge for an underwater wedding.

      Guests who book these special foodie events are welcome to dine almost anywhere on the property (including their private sanctuaries). Each Major Domo provides superb and subtle service: Teddy-the-Perfect-Butler will worry himself sick if he doesn't see you enjoying your meal, wherever in the resort you experience it.

     Breakfast is often as experimental in the dining room at Jade Mountain as it is traditional in the restaurants down mountain at Anse Chastanet. And yes, guests who are already fans of Theresa Henry's bakery shack in nearby Soufriére still wait for breakfast until they can smell the fragrant bread being delivered to the resort each morning. After 60 years, 14 children and making thousands of Creole baguettes, the baker retired in 2006 to watch her daughters run the place. Ask for Jade Mountain's pulled-pork sandwich on her baguettes for one of the best taste treats on the island.

     Nor is Chef Allen (below) a stranger to Chocolate Weekends (even entire chocolate months) on the island, where some of the best and tastiest end-results in the Caribbean are produced. Chocoholics may agree that in St. Lucia there is nothing quite like drinking a chocolate milkshake, enhanced with local Crystal white rum, while gazing at the Pitons through the bottom of a very large glass -- steps from the Yoga class they may miss entirely.

     Do be certain you're expected (a reservation for dinner, a tour around the plantation or a beautiful week of grazing and viewing the Pitons is required), as they've already chilled one of the chef's favorite rum drinks for you at check-in, a kind of green Cabin in the Sky (equipped with a couple of computers for twitchy guest use).  From then on, your butler is in charge of your life: you needn't worry about drowning in the spacious Jacuzzi or the horizon pool because, if they don't hear from you on the tiny pocket phone often enough, they send out a search party.  Yes, really.  Even if they take you on the launch into town, they want to hear from you from time to time.

     Other than that, you'll never see them when they replace the contents of the fridge and they'll replace whenever you're not looking. Brunch and afternoon snacks are a must.

     Time to mentally undress, wrap a pareo (aka sarong) around you and grab a hat. You may be in time for early morning or late afternoon yoga, massage, shopping, loafing until Chef Allen's last supper.

     All of the entries are based on "ingredients locally farmed, harvested and fished," and include everything from daily fruit juices to freshly laid eggs. But each day of the Spices of the Caribbean Week may feature another tour of Farmer John's acreage for Chef Allen's top ten spices: cumin, black pepper (they even use it in a variety of massages to relax tired muscles in the treatment of arthritis, chilblains, constipation, cramps, digestion and circulation), cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, coriander, star anise and turmeric (it's also used in tea as a rheumatism remedy).

      The chef begins with the wine pairings that chief steward Eric Toles will pour every evening.  On Fridays guests are toasted by Chef Allen's hand-shaken Jade spiced rum cocktail, which combines sustainable local exotics from the Emerald Gardens, downhill, to the local rum; a good start to the gourmet days ahead. If guests select from Chef Allen's Spice Menu (a seven-course nightly offering), the bill will be about $85 per person per meal (plus a 10% service charge and 8% government tax) on their all-inclusive plan, plus liquids and solids not included, like Brandy or any drink with a flame fanning out of it.  Of course, if the Kobe beef is too wonderful to ignore;, indulge instead.

     For instance, the Emerald Vegetable Wrap in Rice Paper features all locally spiced pumpkins and green bell peppers in a cumin raita, which Eric pairs with a nice dry, smoky non-vintage Moet. You can taste every ingredient. Try one of these for the second course: The coriander grown on the property morphs into coriander seared foie gras with compressed pineapple and raspberry sea salt from the Caribbean. The combination of the salt and the sweet was made even more interesting by the addition of a glass of Arthur Metz Gerazinger Certzaler -- dry in the mouth, but sweetish in the finish. The passion fruit and sesame glazed shrimp looks like the more recognizable of the two early courses, but add melon mojito salsa with a Campari foam).

     The third course may feature two entrees, both of which you covet. A beautiful, freezing, dry rosé from the Côtes de Provence is soft on the palate and slightly fruity with both the almond-crusted goat's cheese served with local greens, tomatoes, lightly grilled onions and sun-dried tomatoes,  or the organic mustard greens, grilled and lightly dressed with a cucumber mustard seed vinaigrette).

     For the intermezzo: a passion fruit and raspberry sorbet, then the main course,  line-caught Kingfisher steak paired (unsuccessfully, I thought) with a Hob Nob Pinot 2010, happily because of the lentil and green banana Lyonnaise, over which a nice, crunchy celery salsa complements the purple long beans. A dry Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc goes perfectly with the garam masala grilled pork tenderloins with spiced sweet potato, ginger, bok choy and barbequed papaya from the farm for a more delicious 'white' meat than you've ever eaten.

     If you have an inch left for dessert, there are several to share: cardamom spiced crème brûlée, spiced chocolate truffles and-- in case you've gone 'calorie light' -- the black rice spring roll, unlike any other spring roll, ever: even the rice is light, slightly crunchy.

HOW TO GET THERE: Jet Blue flies daily from the New York airports; American Airlines flies from Miami; Delta wings in from Atlanta; Air Canada and West Jet carry passengers from Toronto, as well as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from London. Although rental cars are plenty, almost all of the resorts have 'meet and greet' people at the airport to organize transport.

THE BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OF 2013

by John Mariani

 

         To the rest of the world, American restaurants have become as copied as blue jeans and hip hop, so that steakhouses and hamburger stands,  lobster rolls and Cobb salads have become the hot items from Dublin to Dubai.

         Which doesn’t surprise me: our restaurants, from A to Z, are more innovative than ever before, not least when shining Asian, Spanish, Peruvian or Nordic food through an American prism while constantly refining our own regional foods, from shrimp and grits to banana cream pie with proud panache.

      So here are my picks in this month's Esquire Magazine for the best new restaurants to have opened in the past twelve months in America, listed alphabetically.

 

THE HALL OF FAME

The Maccioni Family of Le Cirque, NYC

(left to right, Mario, Mauro, Sirio, Egi, Marco)

Betony, NYC

Restaurant of the Year

Bronwyn, Somerville, MA        

 

Blue Dragon, Boston, MA

 

Carriage House, Chicago, IL

Coqueta, San Fransisco, CA

Michael Chiarello is Esquire’s Chef of the Year.

              

Del Campo, Washington, DC

The Elm, Brooklyn, NY

        

Embeya, Chicago, IL

 

Hinoki & The Bird, Los Angeles, CA

Juni, NYC.

King + Duke, Atlanta, GA

Mariza,  New Orleans, LA

MC Kitchen, Miami, FL

The Ordinary, Charleston, SC

Paiche, Marina del Rey, CA

Rolf and Daughters, Nashville, TN

Spoon Bar & Kitchen, Dallas, TX

Stampede 66, Dallas, TX

Stella 34, NYC- Best New Restaurant Design

Trois Mec, Los Angeles, CA

Virtú Honest Craft, Scottsdale, AZ

 

        

                                                                                                                                   

     

NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

Il Gattopardo

13-15 West 54^th Street (near Fifth Avenue)

212-246-0412

ilgattopardonyc.com

 

        Nothing makes me wag my head more than those food hipsters who contend that restaurants with 15 seats, no décor, no reservations, ear-shattering noise and expensive food are the most popular of the moment. In one sense, they’re right—for the moment, they may well be.  And the media fall right in line, hyping restaurants with three-hour waiting lines down the block. Of course, the media, with private phone numbers to call, do not wait on such lines.

        But they are dead wrong if continued, unstinting popularity and regularity of visits by a faithful clientele are the criteria.  Add to those elements well-appointed tables, refined décor, reservations graciously accepted and a reasonable noise level, and you have an enormous range of restaurants in NYC whose proprietors couldn’t care less about what is trending in Flatbush or cresting in Losaida.  Among such restaurants is Il Gattopardo, sister to The Leopard across from Lincoln Center, where owners Gianfranco and Paula Sorrentino (left, with Chef Gnazzo) have for more than a decade been serving superb Italian cuisine to a clientele they know by name and who may very well dine here two or three times a week.

     Named after the great 1958 novel of Sicilian life, Il Gattopardo by Giuseppe di Lampedusa, the restaurant recently shifted eastward a few doors away from its original location on West 54th Street, taking over the former Beaux Art Rockefeller townhouse that had once been home to the Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit.

     Gianfranco is a proud Neapolitan, and he and chef Vito Gnazzo feature the food of Southern Italy. Gnazzo had worked at the renowned Antica Osteria del Ponte in Milan, then at the equally esteemed Rex in Los Angeles before becoming Executive Chef at Sette MOMA the Museum of Modern Art across the street.

        The renovation of the new premises, overseen by Paula, has been extensive, with the grand downstairs room (below) now reserved for parties.  There is a fine-looking bar upstairs (which is actually down one flight from the street) and the long dining room looks more spacious than it used to, done all in off-white tones with wicker chairs. The ceiling lighting is soft but could be turned up a few watts, and a bit more color wouldn’t hurt the spirit of the room.

        Gnazzo’s menu contains much that is unique to Il Gattopardo, along with classic Italian dishes done here as well as anywhere in NYC. The wine list is first class, with an admirable selection by the glass, including Martinetti Bris del Banditi Barbera d’Asti 2010 and Gaglioppo “Odoardi” 2004.

        There are ample novelties among the antipasti, like delicious eggplant and buffalo ricotta cakes with a spicy tomato sauce; parmigiana of zucchini with smoked scamorza mozzarella, tomato and herbs; and meatballs wrapped in cabbage leaves with a thyme sauce.

        Every pasta I tried--all blissfully al dente--was superlative, from rigatoni with a hot and spicy ‘nduja sausage sauce with onions and rosemary (left), to scialatiello pasta swimming in a fabulous shellfish ragout.  Most interesting of all—with a good story behind it—is the  lusty paccheri tubes with a “Genovese” sauce, which you might expect to be a pesto; instead it is a sauce of onions, carrots, celery and pork ribs cooked for hours in white wine till soft and sweet, then added to the macaroni. The name comes from the practice of visiting Genovese sailors in Naples who kept cooking while drinking wine; the Neapolitans picked up the idea and so called in “Genovese.”

        The same Neapolitan meatloaf that has become a favorite at The Leopard has become just as popular at ll Gattopardo, thick, juicy, well textured not to fall apart, with chive-dotted mashed potato and garlic-riddled spinach. Well-fatted Colorado rack of lamb is crusted with herbs and served with a potato croquette,  sautéed spinach and an assertive mustard sauce.  But my favorite dish—since it is so rare in these parts—was a true baccalà (below) cooked in a casserole with black olives, capers, cherry tomatoes and potatoes. This is the kind of hearty dish the hero of the novel, Don Fabrizio,  preferred eating to the French-ified dishes so often served at aristocratic tables.

     Don’t leave the table without trying at least one dessert, perhaps the pistachio tart with vanilla gelato, which is fairly light, or the traditional Neapolitan cheesecake or the rum baba with limoncello-dunked strawberries.

       Il Gattopardo gets a well-heeled, well-dressed clientele, which includes all the museum and gallery people who are not dining across the street at The Modern, and celebrities like Paul McCartney (who eats vegetarian here) and Stanley Tucci rub elbows with fashion designers like Miuccia Prada.

        Yet the Sorrentinos and their staff are as gracious to a newcomer as they are to a faithful regular.  Which means that Il Gattopardo is packed every day and evening--not just for the next few weeks until the new-ness wears off, but for years, even decades to come. It’s a dining room for grown-ups and it is as fine a Southern Italian restaurant in NYC as you’ll ever find.

Lunch, Mon – Fri.; brunch Sat & Sun; dinner nightly. Antipasti $9-$22, pastas $20-$23, main courses $24-$46.

NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

  
Many of these wines are or will be available at NYC's Acker-Merrall Wines: Contact david@ackerwines.com.