NYC - Brasserie Ruhlmann

NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani
Brasserie Ruhlmann
45 Rockefeller Plaza
212-974-2020
www.brasserieruhlmann.com
Could there be a better location than Rockefeller Center, the most elegant, totemic expression of urban art
deco in the world, built, amazing, at the height of the Depression and respectfully added to over the decades?
With its shaft-like GE Building (originally the RCA Building), magnificent plaza and skating rink ringed by flags of
all nations and centered by a gilded statue of Prometheus, it is a place of grace, beauty, and dashing style.
Yet the restaurant space at 45 Rock, built in 1938 as the Associated Press Building, has been troubled for years,
with a succession of tenants that have included name consultants like Roger Vergé. Now, for the last several
months under the management of Jean Denoyer, it has been Brasserie Ruhlmann, taking its name from the
art deco master designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, whose work was given a retrospective at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art two years ago. Reproductions of Ruhlmann-style furniture and fixtures are used throughout the
new restaurant, with walls lined with deep brown faux Macassar ebony, Drouant side chairs, intricately tiled
mosaic floors, nickel-plated sconces, and 20 signature mirrors that reflect light from four octagonal alabaster
ceiling fixtures (above). It is quite a production, unlike anything else in New York. and very classy.
Of course, Denoyer has long familiarity with the brasserie genre, having opened La Goulue on Madison Avenue
and, more recently Orsay, along with the Thai-inflected Le Colonial here and in San Francisco, and Bistro
Moderne in Houston. Upon opening in late winter, Brasserie Ruhlmann was of course the new kid on this very
splendid block, but a well-known chef left within weeks, leaving one to wonder about the curse of 45 Rock.
Denoyer quickly recouped- hiring the indefatigable Laurent Tourondel to consult and act as executive chef.
Tourondel, who has had an impressive, if checkered career, after working in London, then at Ledoyen and
Troisgros in France, he came to the U.S. as chef at Claude Troisgros' C.T., moved to Las Vegas' Palace Court,
then returned to NYC as chef at the very refined seafood restaurant Cello, which had great reviews but closed
suddenly in 2002. Tourondel re-emerged two years ago with three smashing successes in a row-- BLT Steak, BLT
Fish and BLT Prime.
So, the question presents itself- just how much time can Tourondel actually devote to Ruhlmann or take away
from his other enterprises? When I visited, he was fully dressed in his whites, but there are other enterprises,
oui?
The distinction, of course, is that each of these restaurants runs with an exacting attention to achieving
consistency within a genre, not as individualized entities expressive of the chef's individuality. If you can get
things right through hard work and good management, they can pretty much run themselves after a while,
and the brasserie formula has been around since Alsatians started opening these brewery-based eateries in
Paris in the 16th century, and especially after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 when Alsatians flooded the city.
Since then the menus of brasseries have become quite fixed, famous for their choucroute, confit, frisée salad,
baekefe casserole, tarte flambée, and truite in Riesling, Beer and Alsatian wines predominated. Such items still
do, though standard French bistro dishes are everywhere on brasserie menus, as they are at Ruhlmann, whose
menu is also appended with New York favorites.
Thus, you might begin with Jonah crabs or East Coast oysters, and you might as well have them in a plateau
de fruits de mer (small, $68, large, $110). Among hors d'ouevres are nicely fatted saucisson chaud with lentils
salad, crisp frisée aux lardons, and freshly chopped steak tartare. At lunch the salad options are increased, and
there are several sandwiches, including croque monsieur and the inevitable hamburger, made with Kobe-style
beef ($22).
Laurent Tourondel Bistro favorites like juicy steak au poivre ($36) come with some of the best frites I've had in ages, and there is a
grilled ribeye with marrow, for two ($74). Black bass is treated to a light curry sauce ($26) and sole is available à
la meunière ($38) or grenobloise (at $19, a terrific bargain), and cod is done up in Provençal flavors ($23). There
is also roasted free-range chicken ($24), beef short rib à la bourguignonne ($28), and some wonderful side
dishes, including roasted tomatoes, potatoes au gratin Dauphinois, and gnocchi romaine.
The cheese selection is chintzy, but the desserts are tantalizing, from yummy chocolate profiteroles and baba au
rhum to rich bread pudding and well-rendered apple tart. I can never resist caramelized Paris-Brest in its crisp
pastry or the ethereal floating island of meringues in crème anglaise.
Prices are very reasonable for good-sized portions, though lunch and dinner main courses are about the same
price. The winelist, with about 75 whites and 75 reds, gives good value in regional French wines like Robert
Vocoret Chablis 2004 ($44), Guy Saget Sancerre 2005 ($40), Château La Couronne St. Émilion 2001 ($52),
and Domaine Blaches Crozes-Hermitage 2002 ($40), along with a few good U.S. bottlings and some big ticket
Burgundy and Bordeaux.
I want very much for Brasserie Ruhlmann to make a go of it, if just to prove that the location is not jinxed and
that people will always want good, solid, honest cooking of this kind, with a nice glass of Kir royale, and an
atmosphere that looks more modern than most and should age as gracefully as Rockefeller Center itself.