Restaurant Operators Successfully Rework Flagships
Reworking a chief concept is a delicate undertaking,even when your name is Charlie Palmer.
By Kelly Smith Killian, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, October 1, 2009
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| Owner Charlie Palmer with Chef de Cuisine Christopher Lee (l.); beef tartare (r.); Aureole’s main dining room (bottom). | |
Aureole
Concept: Aureole
Location: New York City
Originally opened: 1988
Reopened: June 29, 2009
Operator: Charlie Palmer Group
Chef de Cuisine: Christopher Lee
Footprint: 10,000 square feet
Seating: 54 in the main dining room; 82 in the bar; 60 in the private-dining room
Average check: $65 in the bar; $110 in the main dining room
Key design elements: Floor-to-ceiling windows to 42nd Street; glass-enclosed mezzanine flanked with wine storage
SMOOTH MOVE: After operating for 20 years in an intimate Upper West Side townhouse, Charlie Palmer moved his first-ever concept downtown to a grand, light-filled, modern space in Times Square.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: The new space allowed for the addition of a bar room, so now Aureole has something to offer guests seeking more of a low-key dining experience than a three-hour splurge. The bar’s à la carte menu is where diners find the Aureole Grilled Burger ($19), while the menu in the main dining room provides a classic Palmer prix-fixe meal ($84 for three courses) as well as a condensed four-course tasting menu ($115).
LOOK FORWARD: Adam D. Tihany’s design weaves earthy hues and luxurious materials (marble, wood and etched glass) through the main areas of the restaurant. Banquette and table seating in the cozy dining room is a nod to Aureole’s origins. Most notable, however, is the mezzanine cantilevered over the bar that displays more than 3,000 bottles of wine.
ON THE MENU
BAR SNACKS
Beef tartare $14
Pastrami pork-belly sliders with raclette cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing $11
Papas fritas with manchego cheese, chorizo and saffron aïoli $9
PRIX FIXE $84
FIRST COURSES
Crispy soft-shell blue crab with endive, apple, smoked paprika and rémoulade
Sautéed foie gras with blueberries, smoked corn bread, pickled jalapeños and macadamia nuts
MAIN COURSES
Canadian Lobster Tail vs. Berkshire Pork Belly
Veal tenderloin and sweetbreads with charred onion, peaches, pickled ramps and lovage veal jus
DESSERTS
Chilled strawberry soup $8
Blue cheesecake with port-poached figs, quince and walnut leaves $10
Dark-chocolate torte with ricotta sorbet, butterscotch and malt $10
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| A muffaletta (top l.) sells for $12.75; owners spent $300,000 to renovate the restaurant’s interior (bottom); the building’s historic facade remains the same (top r.). | |
Tavern at Lark Creek
Concept: The Tavern at Lark Creek
Location: Larkspur, Calif.
Originally opened: 1989
Reopened: June 4, 2009
Operator: Lark Creek Restaurant Group
Chef: Randy Lewis
Footprint: Approximately 5,000 square feet
Seating:170 inside; 64 outside
Average check: $32
Key design elements: Located in an 1888 Victorian; a wall of colored-glass bottles in the entryway
A NEW DIRECTION: Co-founder, President and CEO Michael Dellar says the economy played a major role in Lark Creek Restaurant Group’s decision to transform its 20-year-old flagship, Lark Creek Inn, from a pricey special-occasion restaurant to the kind of place that inspires more-regular visits. The move also included a name change to the more-casual The Tavern at Lark Creek.
VALUE ON THE MENU: Under new chef Randy Lewis, the menu has been completely revamped. Now, no entrée costs more than $17. “But we will never lose sight of our commitment to seasonality, local farmers or sustainability,” Dellar notes. The Tavern also becomes the first Lark Creek concept to feature international wines in addition to local Napa Valley vintages.
NEW STYLE, INSIDE OUT: Because the restaurant operates out of a Victorian home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Lark Creek Restaurant Group could not make major changes to the building’s exterior. New signage and an herb garden were the main upgrades out front. Inside, The Tavern has a fresher style: The owners refinished antique tabletops, replaced the chairs to achieve a more-Colonial (rather than country) feel and added artistic interest at the entryway with a lighted display of colored-glass bottles.
ON THE MENU
NIBBLES AND BITES
Ratatouille-stuffed egg $3.95
Artisanal farmhouse cheese $5.95
Chicken-liver mousse $6.50
PRIX FIXE $27.95
Watermelon-and-tomato salad with chèvre, cracklings, lime and basil
Bread-crusted lingcod, sliced heirloom tomatoes and aji-chile sauce
Warm chocolate cake with house-made vanilla-bean ice cream
ENTRÉES
House-ground chuck burger $8.95
Shrimp and grits with bacon and oven-dried grapes $15.50
Organic chicken breast with Romano beans, pancetta, tomatoes and polenta $15.95
DESSERTS
Strawberry trifle, fresh ricotta filling, orange chiffon cake and mascarpone cream $7.50
Boston chocolate cream pie, crunchy chocolate-almond streusel $6.95
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