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Potbelly Sandwich Shop

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100 Park Avenue
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Lost Gem
Fine & Rare 14 American undefined

The Flatiron Room Murray Hill

The location was renamed in 2023 as The Flatiron Room Murray Hill. This feature was first published in September 2017. Fine & Rare, shorthand for “fine food and rare spirits” is the latest creation of Tommy Tardie, restaurateur and owner of the Flatiron Room on West 26th Street. In contrast to the more common restaurant theme of the 1920s and 30s, which Tommy considers to have “played out, ” Fine & Rare aims to be an aristocratic parlor straight out of the 1950s, modeled after classic Manhattan hideaways such as The Explorers Club. “The challenge was getting it to look like the Flatiron Room - old world, almost like we discovered it, ” Tommy told the Manhattan Sideways team. The space has had other lives as a Japanese restaurant and a photocopy center - Tommy said that when he first saw the space, it was raw, with concrete floors that had holes them and wires hanging from the ceiling. In 2016, it became a little slice of vintage Manhattan, complete with a repurposed teller booth from Grand Central Station serving as the hosts’ stand. The wallpaper is finely textured with glass and sand, and the stainless steel ceilings are reclaimed parts from a former distillery. Descending into the restaurant, we walked on 125-year-old floorboards from Connecticut that have the names of the restaurant’s investors carved into it. Two of these investors are Tommy’s young sons, River and Sawyer, who each made a $1 investment in the establishment in order to garner a place on the floor. Hanging above the booths are pieces of taxidermy that Tommy believes “bring in some more old world charm. ”The room is large, but because the tables are isolated from one another, each setting is intimate and unique. “Wherever you are in the restaurant, you feel like you’re in your own area. ” Each side of the dining room features a fireplace: one has hand carved marble from Italy, and the other is repurposed from the door of a country schoolhouse. The jazz stage provides a theatrical ambience to the space without overpowering it. “We want the performance to enhance, but not be, the experience. There’s always a show going on even if nothing is onstage. ” The walls are decked out with the restaurant’s inventory of over 1000 bottles, which Tommy noted are, “part of the architecture. ” Some sit atop high shelves and can only be reached by ladders, which members of the staff will climb throughout the night. Others sit in the caged bottle keep, with personalized labels that can be bought. “New York is all about showmanship - people love to put their name on something. ” The back elevated room holds up to thirty-five people and is used for tastings and private events. It has a few hidden elements of its own, including a chandelier and leather and steel door from a masonic hall. While speaking with Tommy, the Manhattan Sideways team sampled a few of the restaurant's scrumptious items, including the burrata served with arugula and an assortment of fruits, the short rib burger, the seafood Cobb salad, and the Greek grain bowl with quinoa, mint, and beet humus. While the Flatrion Room focuses largely on whiskey, Fine & Rare features cocktails with tequila, rum, and brandy. This does not mean that they do not still have some amazing whiskey options, such as the breathtaking smoked Old Fashioned that was presented to us to photograph and then sip. Tommy began his professional career as a creative director in advertising on Madison Avenue, but realized after a dozen years that he was craving something more exciting. “The higher I got on the corporate ladder, the less creative it got. It lost that cool factor. ” He resolved to go the route of the entrepreneur, initially with a few clubs, and later with the Flatiron Room and eventually Fine & Rare in 2017. “With this one, I decided to make the demographic and design a place I’d like to go, as opposed to previous projects that centered on reaching a specific consumer base. " Tommy also remarked on how Fine & Rare is the result of the trial and error from past ventures: “This is as if I got to do it again and I could do it better. I think entrepreneurs are genetically coded to forget how difficult it can be starting out, but a new project is fun. It makes your heart pump and your adrenaline go. ”

Lost Gem
Ratatouille 1 American French undefined

Ratatouille

Growing up in France, one cannot help but gain a thorough education about good food. Although she admitted to not having any formal culinary training, Sandrine, the warm and delightful woman behind Ratatouille, avidly observed her mother in the kitchen. Her passion for authenticity brought her to 39th Street where she prepares everything on the premises. In addition to the chickens that are well-seasoned with Herbes de Provence, and spin on a rotisserie that was delivered straight from her homeland, there are chicken meatballs, a pulled chicken honey Dijon coleslaw sandwich, homemade soups, healthy salads, an array of vegetarian options, including rice balls and their star dish: lentil loaf. Each of these seem to go beyond the restaurant's name. The desserts are baked fresh everyday, and the marble cake, vanilla tart, and chocolate carrot cake are the absolute standouts. The yellow and red decor captures a feeling of the south of France, and there are a few tables and chairs that are used by people in the community. Sandrine often sits down and strikes up a conversation with her neighbors. When I asked why she chose to be on 39th, Sandrine explained that she had been looking for six months and when the realtor showed her this space, she knew it fit the bill. She loves the area (she lives only two blocks away) and her survey of the surrounding community revealed no comparable food places. Having first met Sandrine while she was painting and preparing for her spring, 2014 opening, we left feeling confident that Ratatouille would receive an enthusiastic welcome. “This is our dream location, " Sandrine told us, ” and we keep hearing people say that “we need flavor in this neighborhood. ” Well now they have it.

Lost Gem
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Vitae

Flitting the boundary between fine and casual dining, Vitae brings a new creativity to Midtown that appears to have caught on quickly. Edwin Bellanco, hands on chef and owner, began his culinary career some twenty years ago at Gramercy Tavern, and then moved out to California to work at the French Laundry. He came back to Manhattan to be the executive sous chef, guided by Daniel Boulud, and then as he tells it, with a few additional experiences under his belt, he finally opened his own restaurant in 2012. Edwin speaks of his opportunity to work for Thomas Keller as incredibly influential on his own culinary conceptions, particularly on using only the freshest ingredients. "They're the building blocks of the dish, you can't ignore them" said Bellanco. "We have some highly-technical preparation here; we can't risk diminishing that with poor ingredients. " He went on to explain, that although the food takes top priority, "I want people to be able to approach this place on their own terms. "This accessibility is evident in their location. Vitae seems to attract the younger crowd during the week and the neighborhood folks on weekends. "We wanted to build a community here first, and then build outwards into a destination" Bellanco told us. The strength of Vitae derives from this approachability, without sacrificing the quality or inventiveness of the top restaurants in New York. Looking around, we felt this sense of welcome hospitality from the staff. The bartender, a friendly twenty-something from Kentucky, shared some of his signature drinks with us: a strong old-fashioned made with demerara syrup, and "crystal green persuasion" - a cucumber, vodka and honey-infused drink perfect for the summer weather. The Manhattan Sideways team sampled some dishes and agreed that the food is exceptional: crispy pork belly with watermelon and green papaya, cod with razor clams, and a strawberry and pear salad. Each offered strong, rich flavors, while remaining light enough for a hot summer day.

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