Demian Repucci content

Tonight was a good night.  I realized earlier today that this weekend was FergusStock.  FergusStock is that special time of year when the owners of The Spotted Pig, Ken Friedman and chef April Bloomfield, host chef Fergus Henderson for a couple days of pork-based feasting.  In past years Fergus Henderson’s trips to New York from St. John Restaurant in London have been for such things as the launch of his latest cook book.  But this year the celebration was more ‘New York-y’ in nature.  Friedman and Bloomfield were putting the final touches on their spanking new launch of The Breslin at the Ace Hotel.  And to grease the wheels properly they invited chef Henderson and some of his St. john crew to come over and lead a couple evenings of cooking and eating. 

Thursday night Henderson and Co. presided over the cramped quarters of the Spotted Pig.  But tonight was the night everyone had been waiting for.  Tonight was the first night that the new kitchen at The Breslin would be put to the test with its first full dinner crowd.  And given Friedman’s newly cemented love of a ‘no reservations’ policy, me and the boss decided to head over there and see what was going on.  As soon as we got to The Breslin, we had a nice chat with Mr. Friedman, who was on a mission to make sure that everything ran as smoothly as possible on his new restaurant’s first night.  And really, the service was better than service that we have had at other restaurants that have been open for years.  Friedman obviously knows what he is doing.

Beyond the immediately mature level of service, we were struck by the space.  There are still a few finishing touches to be taken care of, but The Breslin is shaping up to be a beautiful restaurant.  Of the ‘tall dark and handsome’ variety.  Designed by New York firm Roman and Williams, The Breslin’s turn of the century ’bones’ have been honored and upgraded.  Iron, brass and glass features are everywhere.  Dark, glossy finishes give the space a richness and depth that is hard to manufacture from scratch.  And the space itself is both tall and rambling with lots of corner booths, a mezzanine that hovers over the bar and dark upholstered corners to sink into.  The Breslin has a historic depth and luxuriousness that so many other restaurants would die for.  And given the tight coziness of The Spotted Pig, I am sure Friedman and Bloomfield are happy to stretch out a bit for a change.

But back to Fergus.  I will admit that I have a special place in my heart for Fergus Henderson.  The reason being that the boss and I spent ‘06 to ‘07 living in London.  And during that time I managed to work my way into a year-long ’stage’ in the kitchen at Henderson’s famed St. John Restaurant.  Having experience as a restaurant designer I had a special interest in learning how the operations side of a restaurant worked.  But I also wanted to learn more about serious food too.  And the chefs at St. John were great in schooling me about both.  They taught me about loads of butchery, great ingredients, preparation technique, managing supplier orders, you name it.  I learned a lot.  I also worked my butt off.  But I loved it.  My days at St. john were some of the best days in London.  I often think about the St. John crew and wish I could get back there to say hi to everyone again.  So I am always interested when I get word that Fergus Henderson has come into town. 

And tonight we were treated to a special surprise.  Not only was Fergus wandering around keeping a careful eye on the kitchen, but I got to see and catch up with a couple of the guys I used to work with at St. John.  Justin, the pastry chef was there.  As well as Lee and Tom, who was running things on the line for chef Bloomfield.  That’s Tom in the photo above.  Tom was instrumental in my St. John education.  He would teach me butchery technique, wax poetic on the virtues of things like venison liver, demonstrate the correct width of a slice of whatever animal was in front of us and then ridicule me for my flat ‘American’ pronunciations.  A specific episode surrounding my utterance of the traditional British ‘bath chaps’ comes immediately to mind.  Ah… such is kitchen life.  But it was all in good fun and all very fun to me.  I loved the time I got to spend at St. John.  And it was great to reconnect with those guys again tonight. 

Finally, I should mention the food.  It was surreal to see armies of braised pig’s heads marching out of the kitchen to be slurped up by eager diners.  Have Americans become more comfortable with Henderson’s brand of ‘nose to tail eating’?  Of course this type of cooking is more efficient in that it seeks to enjoy as many parts of each animal as possible.  Peasant sensibilities from way back in history I think.  ‘Waste-not-want-not’ as they say.  Does this new American interest in trotters and kidneys have something to do with the weak economy?  Maybe Fergus just makes us want to be better people.  Whatever it is was on full display tonight.  I am sure I have a biased opinion, but we really enjoyed everything tonight.  Bloomfield’s terrine selections were great.  Especially the guinea hen and morrels.  And the picklelilly on the side was delicious.  Chef Henderson’s trotter, rabbit and prune pie (with a beef marrow bone poking up through the middle of course) brought lots of fond memories of St. John back.  Simple and straight forward food but really great stuff.  And this all on The Breslin’s first night!  I am certain that Bloomfield will develop The Breslin’s menu into something that we will want to revisit again and again.  Especially when our memories remind us of our time in London and the food at St. John.  So with The Spotted Pig and now The Breslin, we definitely have food of a similar sensibility near by.  But hopefully I won’t have to wait for another restaurant opening to see the my friends in the St. John’s crew again.