While Manhattan is home to
innumerable restaurants, Le Cirque has a
distinct element of charm and intimacy which has
long made it the island’s most celebrated dining
spot. After all, are there any other restaurants
of this caliber where the owner and his family,
including his wife, Egi, and two of his three
sons, Marco or Mauro, preside in-house 6 days a
week. Though the new restaurant stands at over
16,000 square feet, one can still catch a
glimpse of Mr. Maccioni, talking and laughing
exuberantly with diners. This excitement is part
of the reason why, as Jon and Lizzie Tisch of
the Regency Hotel said, he is “a wonderful gift
to New York City.”
Despite the struggling economy and
the difficult times facing many restaurants in
New York right now, Le Cirque has made 2009 a
year of innovation. First, its new Executive
Chef, Craig Hopson, trained under Guy Savoy and
Alain Senderens in France, will bring some
welcome changes to Le Cirque’s venerable menu.
As a start, Le Cirque has created a 35th
anniversary menu, in which one can enjoy a three
course prix-fixe meal in the lounge for lunch or
dinner. The prices, $28 and $35, will certainly
help recession-weary New Yorkers get out of the
house again and enjoy some great food. If Sirio
has room in the main dining room, he tries to
accommodate his customers in the main dining
room.
Chef Craig Hopson will make gradual
but decisive changes in the restaurant’s menu.
He added some lighter fare to the lounge menu,
like his hamachi carpaccio, a smoky, spicy
yellow tail with basil puree and Cavaillon melon
and chipotle oil. A popular salad features duck
confit blended with green mango, slightly bitter
minzuna and honey vinaigrette. The Thai
influence of mango paired with textured duck
confit is most endearing. The dishes reflect
what he considers to be “a blending of cuisines”
and have a particular cosmopolitanism about
them. The grilled octopus salad, for instance,
has a Spanish Mediterranean influence with
chorizo aioli and fingerling potatoes.
Of course, all the new dishes are
available alongside the mainstays which have
made Le Cirque one of New York’s most favored
restaurants. Some of the wonderful indulgences
of its culinary repertoire include, lobster
risotto, grilled dover sole, the signature
paupiette of black cod with Barolo wine sauce,
and the sensational sea bass wrapped in buttery
Yucca gold potatoes adorns a luscious bed of
caramelized leeks surrounded by a delicate wine
sauce. Rich and ethereal, the creamy textured
crème brulee custard, crystallized with brown
sugar, is as good as ever. Mr. Maccioni, after
all, is a firm believer that “food is not
fashion” and that it should not change by the
season. He aims to provide straight-forward,
simple, and delicious food—fare that is elegant
yet familiar.
In another act of innovation and
expansion, Le Cirque has started offering
off-site catering, a move which will surely be
met with an eager and excited audience
throughout New York, so people having dinner
parties at home or at different venues will have
the excitement of Le Cirques imprimatur.
Yet, with all of the exciting
changes at Le Cirque this year, several things
remain unchanged. The Maccioni family has been
honored for years, and just recently Mr.
Maccioni was honored by CityMeals-on-Wheels for
his charitable efforts. Many charitable events
are hosted at Le Cirque, because it is a real
cache. The restaurant will continue to host
some of the most important charity and private
events in the city, and, as always, the
establishment will be filled with excited and
highly satisfied patrons.
Karen
Gantz Zahler is an entertainment lawyer and
literary agent who is trained in classic French
culinary techniques. She is the author of A
Taste of New York: Signature Recipes from New
York’s Best Restaurants, where she appeared
on QVC selling one thousand books with Sirio
Maccioni’s sublime crème brulee, and
Superchefs: Signature Recipes from America’s New
Royalty.