Google Ads

<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Tailor”


  Occasion: Cuisine: Area: Cost: Rating:
  Night Out New American Soho Moderate Good


MY DINNER AT TAILOR
I remember the first time I interviewed Tailor’s chef and owner, Sam Mason. It was in 2003, for a piece I wrote for Time Out New York on a wacky trend of savory ingredients showing up in desserts. At the time, the trend was in its infancy, and I was stunned by the random vegetables (parsnips, beets) and wild ingredients (coffee, chiles) Mason was tucking into panna cottas and cakes at WD-50, which had just opened at the time. (And what exactly was coffee soil?) As we talked, he explained that over the years he found himself reaching into the savory kitchen’s walk-in and stealing ingredients for the pastry kitchen because his mentor, the late Jean Louis Palladin, had encouraged him to use vegetables in different and often startling ways. “Palladin thought that vegetables should not be categorized as untouchable in the pastry kitchen,” he told me back in 2003. “And he was right. My thing is to change the perception that vegetables are for savory and fruits are sweet.”

Now, almost four years later, with the opening of Tailor, Mason has made his mentor proud. Indeed, vegetables, chiles, and even mustard are not just for the savory kitchen. As Mason demonstrated at WD-50 and now at Tailor, they play well on the sweet side as well. But he’s also one-upped himself. With Tailor we learn that a pastry chef’s pantry—fruit, chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch, can move over to the hot line too. Impressive.

Set in the 19th century building that was once the home of the American Nut & Screw Building and more recently, the bar Veruka, Tailor shows an impressive way with design. Through a double height solid wood beamed door (with knocker in case you want to knock), you’ll find a warm amber-hued dining room lined with rows of wide booths on one side and deep leather banquettes on the other, with a strip of glossy two tops down the center. Though it was designed by partner Lauren Weiss, it has a vaguely AvroKo feel as the space is lit with antique bare bulbs and clusters of little crystal chandeliers that look like grapes hanging from the ceilings. The walls speak to the “Tailor” moniker, in navy and grey with soft pinstripes. Toward the back a few stuffed blackbirds sit on a breakfront, offering the requisite element of taxidermy. Take a walk down stairs and you’ll find a bar tended by well-groomed men in ties and snug fitting, yo ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

RSS Feed


Other restaurants in Soho :
+ Balthazar   + Savoy   + Blue Ribbon   + Lupa   + Public   + Kittichai   + Lure Fishbar   + Barmarche   + Porcupine-- CLOSED   + Ama   + La Esquina   + Jerry's- Closed Now   + The Tasting Room   + Papatzul   + Shorty's.32   + The Monday Room   + Ed's Lobster Bar   + Aurora   + Provence   + Tailor   + Hundred Acres   + Delicatessen, By Guest Reviewer Julie Besonen   + The Mott   + The Dutch   + Cherrywood, by Guest Reviewer Dara Pollak   


No comments yet. Be the first to post!

Advertise on the
StrongBuzz site and emails.