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“Cafe Gray”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Break the Bank	Off the Charts

ed in crunchy rice that is surprisingly (and successfully) given the steakhouse treatment when plated on a bed of bury-me-in-this creamed spinach and a racy puree of preserved lemons. This last element is quite clever—the concentrated acid of the lemon actually lightens the weight of that gloriously creamy spinach and lifts the flavors of everything on the plate, sharpening the focus of the dish, like finally getting the right prescription for eyeglasses.

Pastry chef Chris Broberg, who worked with Gray at Lespinasse, is quite talented but he is in the unfortunate position of serving people like us, who are too sated and delirious from dinner to appreciate any more food. Being heathens, though, we did manage to order several desserts and agreed that the crème brulée ($12) was perfection, and that the baked caramel pear ($11) and the hazelnut soufflé ($15) were worth having to go up a size in your jeans. (Though after this meal, I’ll be lucky if it’s only one.)

Café Gray is a dream come true for Gray Kunz, the four-star chef who struggled for five long years to open his own restaurant. I believe it brilliantly represents him—his hospitality, his whimsy, his talent, and his steadfast vision. He has created a place of refuge, a place beyond retail, beyond white lights and mile-high escalators—a place that rests snugly in that wrinkle in reality that is fantasy.

Café Gray is located in the Time Warner Mall, 10 Columbus Circle, 212-823-6338.

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Posted: October 10, 2004

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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