MARIANI’S
May
14, 2005
NEWSLETTER
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In
This Issue
NEW YORK CORNER: Cafe Gray by John Mariani
QUICK BYTES
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My Favorite Mansions
by John Mariani
The beauty of the world has made me sad,
This beauty that will pass;
Sometimes my heart hath shaken with great joy
To see a leaping squirrel in a tree,
Or a red lady-bird upon a stalk,
Or little rabbits in a field at evening,
Lit by a slanting sun,
Or some green hill where shadows drifted by.
Built and named for the wife of the First Earl of Carrick more than two centuries ago, this grand Georgian home was in the same family until 1914, and was taken over by Killeen Investments in 1987. The mansion is set on 1,500 gorgeously landscaped acres not far from the darling village of Thomastown in County Kilkenny, 75 miles south of Dublin. There are 32 bedrooms (right) in period decor, along with two- and three-bedroom large guest houses on the property called The Rose Garden, the Paddocks and the Hunters Yard.
There is a Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole championship golf course, a par 53 putting course, practice greens, and a 3-hole academy course. You may go fishing (with instruction, if necessary) in the River Nore and the
There is also the occasional fox
hunt
(which Oscar Wilde once described as "the unspeakable in full pursuit
of the uneatable") held
on the estate. Straight-backed riders in black and scarlet livery sit atop snorting black, brown, gray, and
white horses and
sip a dram of Irish whiskey or Champagne while dozens of yelping hounds
mill about like anxious children waiting to get on with the
excitement of it
all. Then, with the sound of a bugle, they are all off together
at a trot,
to return hours later for more Irish whiskey and a good meal at the
resort.I decided against the trot in favor of a deep massage in the spa here, yet I felt just as deserving of a good meal as did the hunters, so my wife and I dressed for dinner (it's actually fairly casual, though several men wore jackets) at the stately Lady Helen Dining Room, whose quiet delicacy of cream-white-and-azure colored walls, a taupe-and-rose-colored carpet, carved mahogany chairs, and bas-relief filigrees is buoyed by the sound of people having a lovely time in a style that hearkens back more generations than anyone can now remember.
You may start off with a cocktail in the well-upholstered Tetrach Bar or the Major's Room overlooking the estate. (For more casual dining there is also the wood-paneled
Photo: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery
Chef Paul Quinn has a light touch without the sacrifice of flavors that depend on the correct amount of fad and seasoning. .Our dinner in the Lady Helen (right) was impeccably served by an Irish and European staff, beginning with a torchon of foie gras with black grapes and truffled tarte Tatin with vanilla-scented chutney. Four preparations of rabbit came on one plate--a tiny stuffed loin, the roasted rack, a confit of the leg, and a parfait made from the liver--very finely wrought in every instance.
A not-too-sweet tangerine sorbet followed, then a warm leek-and-potato soup before the main courses. We chose wild boar--which I thought would have had more flavor of its own--enhanced with buttery, thinly sliced, crisp pommes Anna made aromatic with smoked garlic and served with creamy truffled Savoy cabbage, carrots, a sprinkling of chervil, and apple jus to give it a little sweetness. My wife had very fine veal loin with truffled sausage, a smoked garlic potato soufflé, roasted shallots, and a confit of leeks.
We opted for cheeses, which were unfortunately served cold, then a glass of Port before retiring up the grand staircase and off to a very comfortable bed. Dinner is 72 Euros (about $92), with tax included.
I might add that the modern amenities of widescreen TV, internet hook-ups, and excellent bathroom toiletries go without saying here, but it is not the modernity of Mount Juliet that impressed me as much as its quiet sense of place and time, both thankfully reclaimed and now perpetuated for posterity. The life of an Irish country gentleman has been much improved on in the 21st century.
Mount Juliet Conrad, County Kilkenny: Tel. 353-56-777-3000; www.mountjuliet.com.
Mount Juliet is within easy driving distance of the picturesque village of Thomastown (which will take all of five minutes to wander around), and also about 45 minutes from Waterford, a delightful fishing town of mid-size bisected by a waterfront and wonderful for strolling through winding streets that have obviously been enjoying a recent economic boom. Several people recommended lunch at the historic Granville Hotel, though the food turned out to be sadly typical of so much outdated Irish cooking, despite the rise of standards and ingredients throughout the country. Here was the usual meat and vegetables, the same steam-table lamb and fried cod, mucky mashed and greasy fried potatoes, along with the only saving grace, a twice-poured pint of Guinness.
Then, despite a series of counterproductive signs that had us going in circles, we arrived at the Waterford Crystal factory,
which gives a really terrific tour of every step in the
intense process of turning sand into exquisitely molded and cut
crystal, crafted by artisans and artists (right) whose training goes on for
years. It is a visit I heartily recommend.That evening we dined at Dunbrody House Hotel (below) on the Hook Peninsula, which is clearly one of the committed labors of love I've ever seen. Set on 200 acres, this 1830s Georgian manor was ancestral home to the Chichester Family, now owned by the indefatigable Catherine and Kevin Dundon, who are content to run the hotel, and the spa, and a cooking school on premises but also to maintain one of Ireland's finest country restaurants.
![]](Dunbrody.JPG)
Almost everything served here comes
either from the estate or from local farmers and nearby waters, and
menus are made up daily, as are the breads. Thus, the fish come
out of Duncannon Harbor, the shellfish from Kilmore Quay, the salmon is
smoked in Arthurstown, and the vegetables from Wexford or from their
own gardens. Each morning the eggs are collected from their own
hens, so no one is ever late for breakfast at Dunbrody.Unfortunately my wife and I had not the time to spend overnight in this beautiful mansion, whose every room is different in style,
elegantly set with antiques and superb
artwork, as
are the halls and the public rooms. You may sit in a drawing room
(right) on a fluffy couch,
enjoy a cocktail and peruse the menu before going in
to dine at the Harvest Room (below).
Kevin is a mildly--not a wildly--creative chef, which I mean as a high
compliment: he has a fine sense of culinary imagination without ever
going to a carefree extreme. So I was quite charmed with
pan-seared scallops served on a risotto suffused with crab, so simple,
so unconstructed. A goat's cheese terrine came with wild mushrooms,
greens from the garden, and peach chutney, with garlic crostini.
With these starters we sipped a crisp, green-gold '03 Montmain Domain
de Bois d'Yver
Chablis.
I expected good beef that evening, and
Dunbrody's comes from Wexford, grilled and beautifully charred, served
with golden oyster mushrooms, a gloss of white truffle oil, and a
reduction of red Médoc wine. The succulence of oven-baked
breast of corn-fed chicken was increased by being swaddled in a little
cloak of prosciutto and flavored with basil beneath the skin. With it
came cherry tomatoes and roasted garlic cream, a lovely small triumph
of balanced tastes. Happily I chose one of my favorite
Argentinean wines for the meats--'03 Alta Vista Malbec Grand
Reserve. (Prices on wines here are not outrageous, but the US
dollar
does not go very far on this list.)There were artisanal farmhouse cheeses--at ripe room temperature--and a pear in wine, then the Dunbrody Chocolate Kiss--a finale of chocolate ganache, raspberries and strawberries, the recipe for which, among others, is in Kevin lovely Full On Irish (2005), which he dedicated "to my mum, who inspired me to cook from an early age."
If Kevin's food does not sound particularly "Irish," it is not, at least not in the sense of being based on old Irish recipes. It is, however, modern European cuisine based on local provender and seafood, which is the way all cooking should be by whatever name you choose to call it. This is Kevin Dundon's food, and, with Katherine overseeing the dining room and winelist, Dunbrody is as personal a statement as any in this unique mansion near the sandy coves of County Wexford.
The table d'hôte menu is 55 Euros ($75). Tel. 051-389-600; www.dunbrodyhouse.com
by John Mariani
Cafe Gray
Time Warner Center
10 Columbus Circle
212-823-6338
www.cafegray.com
With the exception of
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ill-fated, now closed steakhouse, V, and
Charlie Trotter's, which never did open, the
restaurants (and retailers) in the Time-Warner Center at Columbus
Circle seem to be doing quite well, not least Café Gray, which since
opening in
November 2004, has succeeded in drawing crowds of fine diners who
may
not be up for the four-hour meals at Per Se (assuming they
could get a rez) or the $500 sushi bar at Masa.
Café
Gray is a far more amiable place, not that tough to get into, popular
at lunch, with a good bar crowd, busy at dinner, and not outrageously
expensive.
If it has been controversial in any way
it is over the decor, a glitzy, mirrored space by the Rockwell Group
where you'd expect a
production of "The Wedding Singer" rather than a fine restaurant, with
the kitchen (right)
overlooking the grandeur of Central Park (from the third floor),
thereby preventing guests from seeing much of it. It belongs in the
"What were they thinking" school of design, but in an odd way perhaps
it has worked in Café Gray's favor by encouraging people to come
here solely for the food not the view, with no need to fight over or
pay off for an "A" table, because there really aren't any. This
is definitely a place people come to dine well, not just to preen, be
seen, or say they've been-here-and-done-that. Happy, repeat
customers pay the bills better than the guy lucky or rich enough to go
to a restaurant once in his life.
Otherwise the place is very comfortable,
the noise level not bad, the table appointments excellent, with
tablecloths and fine wineglasses, and the
winelist getting better and better, geared more to Chef Gray Kunz's
mastery of flavors and form. There's a real bartender here who knows
how to
make cocktails at the bar, and the staff is cordial and well coached.
When
Café Gray opened I thought Kunz (left) was cooking a bit
tentatively,
testing out his market; the food was very good but not very much like
the stunning and imaginative cuisine he had created at his last
appointment, Lespinasse (closed three years ago). But now, eighteen
months after Cafe Gray opened, his food seems
to be more personalized, focused, beautiful but not precious and deeply
flavorful in every ingredients, as if removing so much as a leaf of
micro-greens would make less of the dish. In the open kitchen you can
see the fever and intensity of a cooking line in full flourish.
On a beautiful spring night our table of four
began with little amuses of
steak tartare, actually a tenderloin
carpaccio, with spicy ketjap manis,
an Indonesian condiment usually
made with palm sugar and anise; then marinated jicama and avocado
with hearts of palm and basil, a very refreshing starter; and
little roasted red beets whose own earthiness was picked up with
horseradish cram and vinaigrette. With this was poured a cheery
Chapuy
non-vintage Blanc de Blanc.
Among the first softshell crabs I've had
this
season, Kunz's were the fattest, served with 
Springtime was also very much present in a
lovely green and white asparagus velouté with tiny chervil
ravioli (too
few of them, once enjoyed), which a
Next came the seafood course, starting with
wild King salmon of lustrous fleshiness, fat and rich, served with a crawfish étouffée and a
watercress bouillon, though accompanied by an undistinguished '
Our two meat offerings were blissfully
flavorful spring lamb that took on Mediterranean undertones from an
herb-lamb sausage, pea tendrils, and a garlic flower cream--such a
subtle idea impeccably realized, with which a '00
As hard as we were tempted by a cheese course,
we begged off and opted instead for a chilled rhubarb soup with
refreshing lime-yogurt sorbet, and a well-wrought, classically made
chocolate soufflé with raspberry coulis. We sipped a non-vintage
It was the kind of
meal and evening that made me realize all over again how much depth and
breadth New York restaurants have, meaning that, while I can't imagine
eating much better anywhere in New York, I can eat just almost as well
at any number of
restaurants. The distinction is that Café Gray is uniquely
Café Gray, and Kunz has proven
himself yet again to be in the very top tier of New York chefs.
Appetizers at dinner run $19-$28, main courses, $31-$38. The restaurant is open for lunch, Mon.-Sat., dinner, daily.
Incidentally, the Time-Warner Center will be adding two new
restaurants: This fall Chef Michael Lomonaco will helm a new American
grill where Vongerichten's V used to be, and Marc Murphy, who owns
Landmarc and the new Ditch Plains, will open a larger branch of
Landmarc on the premises originally designed for Charlie Trotter's, to
open next spring.
YET ANOTHER GREAT REASON TO VISIT LIBYA
DEPARTMENT OF WRETCHED EXCESS
Mama Lena's Pizza House in Pittsburgh is offering a pizza measuring 3 feet by 4 feet for 99 cents.
QUICK BYTES
* From May 19-21 the New York Culinary Festival will be held at Pier 94 New York (54th Street and 12th Avenue), incl. NYC chefs and food from top eateries, incl. Megu, Petrossian, Artisanal, Osteria Gelsi, Blair Perrone Steakhouse, Country, Payard Patisserie & Bistro, Picholine, WD-50, Artisanal, Butter, Joseph’s, Citarella & Brasserie 8 1/2, Tintol, Colors, et al. Demos and seminars incl: “Molecular Gastronomy” by Will Goldfarb of wd-50; “Easy Entertaining” by Ted Allen of Robert Mondavi Private Selections; “Summer Cocktails” by Julie Reiner of the Flat Iron Lounge and Jason Kosmas of Employees Only; “Chocolatina, Queen of Desert” by Martin Howard; “Foie Gras Vol au Vent” by Pascal Condomine of D’Artagnan, et al. Live music, ice sculpture, fashion consultants, cookbook authors, etc. $20 pp, $10 for children. Visit www.nyculinaryfestival.com or call 1-800-555-MENU.
* On Sat, & Sun. from May 27-Oct. 8, 40
* From June 1-4, Napa Valley Vintners will hold the 26th Annual Auction Napa Valley, culminating in the live auction at the Meadwood Resort. Jack and Dolores Cakebread and family, owners and founders of Cakebread Cellars, will chair this year’s auction. Tickets at www.napavintners.com.
* From June 6-11 ‘A Taste of Andalucia’ festival at the InterContinental Miami in partnership with Diego’s Restaurant, Coral Gables, with 6 of the region’s top chefs, incl. Manolo Rincon; Jose Dominguez Oneto, chef and food critic from Cadiz; Francisco Afan Del Rio of ‘Casa Pepe,' Cordoba; plus Juan Martinez Lao, Antonio Jesus Caballero Sanchez and Francisco Javier Cobos Martin, all from Exsena Café-Teatro Restaurant, Sevilla. Also Spanish wines and ‘La Tropa’ flamenco. Call 305-577-1000.
"THE SWEET LIFE" CRUISE
This fall, from Sept. 29-Oct. 6 John Mariani (left),
publisher of Mariani's Virtual
Gourmet and food & travel columnist for Esquire Magazine, will host
and lead a 7-day cruise called "The Sweet Life," aboard
Silverseas' Millennium Class Silver
Whisper,
with days visiting Barcelona, Tunis, Naples, Milazzo (Sicily), Rome,
Livorno, and Villefranche. There will be a welcoming cocktail
party,
gourmet dinners with wines,
cooking demos by John and Galina Mariani
co-authors of The Italian-American
Cookbook), optional shore excursions will include a
tour of the Amalfi Coast,
dinner at the great Don Alfonso 1890 (2 Michelin stars), a private tour
of the Vatican, dinner at La Pergola (3 Michelin stars) in Rome, a
Night Cruise to Hotel de Paris and dinner at Louis XV (3 Michelin
stars)
in Monaco, and much more. Rates (a 20% savings) range from $4,411
to
$5,771. For complete information click.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher:
John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani, Naomi
Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson, Edward Brivio, Mort
Hochstein, Suzanne Wright. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery, Bobby Pirillo. Technical
Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
Any of John Mariani's books below
may be ordered from amazon.com by clicking on the cover image.
 My
newest book, written with my brother Robert Mariani, is a memoir of our
years growing up in the For those of you who don't think of the Robert and I think you'll enjoy this very personal look at our --John Mariani |
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copyright John Mariani 2006