CITY Issue 57

PER SE 10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE (212) 823-9335 PERSENY.COM CHICO’S FRIED CHICKEN | SERVES 8 1 whole chicken 1 quart buttermilk 1 kg. all purpose flour ¼ cup celery salt 3 Tbsp. cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp. spicy paprika 3 Tbsp. Espelette pepper ¼ cup mustard powder 1 Tbsp. chervil, chopped 1 Tbsp. chives, chopped 1 Tbsp. tarragon, chopped 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped 1 Tbsp. dill, chopped 1 L. canola oil Cut the chicken into 8 pieces (2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 breasts, and 2 wings) and soak in buttermilk overnight. Mix all purpose flour, celery salt, cayenne pepper, spicy paprika, Espelette pepper, and mustard powder in a large container. Add chervil, chives, tarragon, parsley, and dill. Remove chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the seasoned flour mixture. Fry chicken in canola oil at 280°. For the smaller cuts (wings and legs), fry for 5 to 8 minutes or until cooked through; for the larger cuts (thighs and breasts), cook for 10 or 15 minutes or until cooked through. For more recipes from Per Se, including Julia’s Buttermilk Biscuits and Janina’s Apple Crisp, go to www.city-magazine.com/familymeal meal was limited. Du ing my high-school tenu e at a ce tain ust alianthemed chain steakhouse, “family meal” consisted of whateve quick snacks I could stealthily compose in the kitchen du ing my shi — usually the house b ead topped with cheese and bacon. t conside ably mo e lo y establishments, though, fo mal family meals take place sho tly befo e lunch o dinne se vice, giving staﬀ membe s time to both elax and ev up befo e thei long and a duous shi s. It’s a simple concept, and as I discove ed while hopping f om one acclaimed New o k estau ant to the next, if you’ e lucky to wo k somewhe e that se ves ca amelized, blanched, o poached vegetables, athe than “bloomin’ ” ones, you’ e in fo a eal t eat. F inally someone w ites up ou family meal!” a se ve at Danny Meye ’s esteemed G ame cy Tave n said to he f iend just within my ea shot. “We have the best one!” Indeed, the imp essive eight-cou se sp ead was easily the la gest of the bunch as well as one of the tastiest. The co ne stones of the meal we e a t aditional coq au vin — “Just like and-mé e used to make it,” p ofessed Chef Tou nant G eg Ma chand — and Past y Chef Nancy Olson’s st awbe y sho tcake, so good I went back fo seconds and took home thi ds. The desse t was a special t eat in hono of the ﬁ st day of st awbe y season at the Union Squa e G eenma ket, whe e the estau ant gets pe cent of its p oduce in the summe time. day ea lie and a bit fa the west, the fo me Nabisco facto y in the meatpacking dist ict was also tu ning out imp essive fa e. The e, in the sp awling, echo-f iendly Buddakan — a space so palatial, in fact, Ca ie B adshaw hosted he ehea sal dinne the e — the wildly eﬃcient kitchen se ves up to , people on busy nights, not to mention -plus staﬀ membe s eve y a e noon. t Buddakan, and elsewhe e, the co elation between the styles of food se ved to each camp is not as st ong as one might imagine. lthough some ing edients ove lap, the estau ant’s Chinese fusion fa e makes only spo adic appea ances at p.m., and since dishes a e se ved buﬀet style, the e a e few points fo p esentation. Bold dishes, without much fuss, dominate. On the day I visited, Buddakan’s small a my, including owne and estau ateu Stephen Sta , was abuzz ove P.M. Sous Chef Dale Talde’s stunning loss the night befo e on Top Chef (wo d was he took the day oﬀ and silenced his cell phone). mid thei blow-by-blow ecount of the episode, they dined on exquisite cha i sho t ibs and Bengali ﬁsh cu y, both cou tesy of .M. Sous Chef li Loukzada’s Pe sian-Indian backg ound. Though pat ons may catch glimpses of it du ing a typical dinne , a chef’s he itage is neve mo e appa ent than when he o she cooks fo staﬀ meal. t the Me ce Kitchen, Staﬀ Meal Chef Jennife Luces’ cu ied chicken showcased he T inidadian oots, while at Midtown’s Toloache, Sous Chef’s teño Ba eto chicken and po k adobo stew with Mexican ice and a ﬁe y guacamole sauce felt ight at home at the contempo a y Mexican spot. Incidentally, the assumption that New o k’s p ima ily Latin- me ican back-of-house staﬀs stee most family meals towa d thei native cuisines — as autho Bill Bufo d suggested in Heat, his behind-the-scenes look at Ma io Batali’s estau ant empi e — went mostly unfounded, at least du ing my visits. t Toloache, hambu ge s and f ied chicken have ce tainly made an appea ance o two, said CITY TY 61 http://PERSENY.COM http://www.city-magazine.com/familymeal

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 57

City Issue 57 Contents Letter from City Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment Temporary Contemporary In Rouge Fast Food The Amused Bouche How We Live/The Kitchen Taste Test Dessert Wine Going Local Expert Opinion Travel Employees Only Summer Showers Wild Things Be There at 10 P.M. Sharp If... Where To Buy It Icon

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