The Times this week sends Sam Sifton to review Alfred Portale's 27-year-old classic Gotham Bar and Grill and, for the fourth time, the restaurant walks away with a very solid three-star review. The restaurant "celebrates stability and excellence, perhaps even opulence," yet it continues to offer up surprising new twists while keeping the old standards up to snuff. For instance the seafood salad, which has been getting raves for decades, "still tastes terrific." And despite being "very expensive, almost aggressively so," the restaurant thankfully does not care to tell you the provenance of the wild arugula on your plate: "A meal at Gotham is about you and your interests, not of those who made it."
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Results tagged “gothambarandgrill”
Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Review Roundup
Alfred Portale, Chef
Alfred Portale became Gotham Bar and Grill’s chef in May of 1985. The restaurant had been open for a year: despite a strong opening, business was seriously flagging and the food didn’t taste so good. Portale basically cooked his pants off for six months, at which point the restaurant was re-reviewed and awarded three stars from the Times. It was also around that time that the chef started attracting young, talented cooks with names like Colicchio, Telepan, and Valenti to work in his kitchen. Later, Wylie Dufresne and Chris Lee spent time on Portale’s line, and the talent roster continues to grow.
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