Location

If the prix fixe is a chef’s CliffsNotes, the tasting menu is their magnum opus—lengthier and denser, painstakingly edited, with many an all-nighter spent carving out both structure and statement. Sure, they can be self-indulgent, glacially slow, sometimes damn-near masochistic in their nonstop cortege of plates. But boy, what a way to eat when the chef’s got something to say—and Bryce Shuman has plenty.

In March, the Eleven Madison Park vet discarded the à la carte offerings at Betony, the ambitious two-year-old midtowner that garnered him a Michelin star, and recharged the fine-dining room with a four-course prix fixe ($95) and a 10-course chef’s tasting menu ($195; optional wine pairing $95). But despite the luxe reworking—matched with a pleasant though militantly stiff waitstaff and those fussy trappings left over from the space’s days as the oligarchic Brasserie Pushkin—Shuman thankfully hasn’t lost his sense of fun.

Dining

That mirth is felt from the get-go, kicking off with a play-with-your-food plate of English-pea puree spackled with sesame and olive oil and served with a single rainbow kale leaf that the waistcoated server instructs to use as a utensil. Later, it’s palpable in a crispy carrot roll—twee enough for a hamster—snowed with crumbles of the fermented root veg, and a nest of julienned kohlrabi, broccoli stem and watermelon radish strips, sauced with honey-mustard dressing and scattered with chive tips. Altogether, you’ve got the world’s most elegant coleslaw.

Comments

Shuman isn’t immune to redundancy, however. Rice crackers pop up a touch too often, a carbonized crisp hooding a briny pat of caviar, caramelized onions and a crème fraîche dollop in one course and a tapioca wafer acting as a crunchy counterpoint to sweet hamachi and virile green-onion pesto in another.

And there are instances when the pomp and circumstance get in the way of the chef’s good nature: The flamboyant pageantry of the cheese course is enough to give you a case of the church giggles—a waiter earnestly slices open a bread roll nestled in a wreath of hay to reveal a molten core of velvety Wisconsin cow’s-milk cheese. It would be more entertaining to let diners gamely crack it open themselves rather than keep all the fun sequestered on a tray. Luckily, Shuman’s clear glee is almost enough to make up for it.


Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
October 4, 2017

The Zone

Despite the luxe reworking- matched with a pleasant though militantly stiff waitstaff and those fussy trappings left over from the space’s days as the oligarchic Brasserie Pushkin – chef Bryce Shuman thankfully hasn’t lost his sense of fun.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 30, 2017

Taoyuan Dim Sum

Although there’s a beautiful pricey steak – Creekstone Farms rib eye in a tenderizing marinade of fresh papaya and soy, the real draw for the neighborhood is the stuff that’s most recognizably Chinese, given the dearth of good Sino restaurants nearby.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 29, 2017

Great Sun Garden

For some, Jing Fong might be intimidating: It’s marked by giant escalators, a vast dining room and walkie-talkie–toting waiters marshalling diners. But it has remarkable dim sum.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 28, 2017

Wok Szechuan Diner

The expansive, opulent restaurant is dramatically outfitted in black banquettes, pink-clothed tables and illuminated, golden dragons that wrap around the perimeter of the dining room.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 27, 2017

Shanghai Dragon

That Chinatown passage bore witness to the grisly havoc of the Tong gang wars, but the bakery and tea shop had a sweeter reputation: Its almond cookies and moon cakes were legendary.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 26, 2017

Hohhot Dim Sum

Dressed in farm-to-table drag with potted plants in the windows, blond wood pillars and gingham booths, the place could easily pass for another seasonal New American restaurant.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 25, 2017

Adriatic Dream

The old-world charm of well-worn communal tables, dangling copper cookware and flickering lamps may help explain why a 23-year-old restaurant is still tough to get into on a Saturday night.

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/exploreadmin/public_html/wp-content/themes/betheme/functions/theme-functions.php on line 1600
September 24, 2017

Little Italy

The Italian-American supper clubs immortalized in mob movies and sepia-toned photos were never as dreamy as they seemed. The young guns behind Carbone, though, have moved beyond sentimentality in their homage to these restaurants by flipping the whole genre onto its head.