Brasserie 8 1/2 is as dramatic as the sweeping 1974 skyscraper it is part of.
The construction of the sloping Solow skyscraper west of Fifth Avenue in 57th Street was the continuation of the breathtaking 1970’s architecture in New York, which included the Citigroup Center and the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. Developed by Sheldon Solow and designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, it looks like a 54-story ski jumping ramp, immediately identified from far away by the big red number nine sculpture by Ivan Chermayeff out front.
The interior glows with a back-lighted Ferdinand Léger mural.
The revolving glass doors to the restaurant Brasserie 8 ½ open to an equally dramatic, sweeping red-carpeted staircase fit for any grand entrance, like the number in An American in Paris when Georges Guétary sings “I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise.” Downstairs is a swank onyx bar, white terrazzo floors, mirrored columns, expansive flower displays, deep leather booths, and a stained-glass mural by Ferdnand Léger , along with other original artwork by Matisse. Tables are well set and well set apart, the booths of soft brown leather exceptionally roomy and the lighting soft. VP of operations Ken Gordon has been keeping regulars and newcomers happy for a long time now.
Price-wise, management aims to please: in addition to regular lunch and dinner menus, there is a fixed price lunch (two courses, $29); fixed price dinner (three courses $45); a very popular Sunday brunch, $36, for children under ten $18; Oyster Bar Happy Hour and many upcoming holiday specials, including Thanksgiving ($69), Christmas Eve ($49) and Christmas Day ($69).
The jumbo lump crab cakes have been on the menu for decades for good reason.
Since I last wrote about Brasserie 8 ½, a new executive chef has come aboard, Geoffrey Bruijneel, who is both maintaining and adding to the menu of French brasserie classics with new notions of his own this fall.
Brasserie ½ has a justified reputation for its crab cakes ($19 as a starter or $37 as a main course), with an abundance of true jumbo lump crab meat in a light celery rémoulade with lemon aïoli. He’s upgraded the yellowfin tuna tartare ($18) with avocado, crispy farro and a tangy soy-wasabi dressing. The big crock of onion soupe gratinée ($15) is easily one of the best in the city, covered with bubbly Émmenthaler and Gruyère cheeses beneath which is a sweet, onion-rich broth the color of coffee.
Potions are hefty at Brasserie 8 1/2 like this three-chop rack of lamb.
With the absurd imposition of a ban on serving foie gras in New York restaurants, you still have time to enjoy the delicacy here, seared with poached Bartlett pear and a huckleberry and pistachio Banyuls gastrique sauce served with brioche toast. The only real disappointment among the appetizers were the risottos I’ve tried: one with asparagus with tomatoes and black truffle essence ($18), whose texture was gummy, looking more like guacamole than a rice dish, and, during the current white truffle season, one with four slices of white truffles on rice in need of more Parmigiano-Reggiano ($39).
The main courses are all generously proportioned, from the bowl of mussels in white wine, garlic and thyme with terrific frites on the side ($25) to plump, sweet, perfectly cooked sea scallops with parsnip puree, romanesco and lemon-caper butter sauce ($32). You get three impeccably trimmed chops in a rack of lamb ($40) with Fairy Tale eggplant, chanterelles and Parisian gnocchi with lamb jus. The dry-aged beef is hefty ($47), nicely seared and comes with a well-rendered Béarnaise and more of those superb frites.
A great old bistro classic, blanquette de veau, has been added to the menu by new chef Geoffrey ... [+]
With a little skepticism owed to a nostalgia for the first blanquette de veau I ever had on my first day in Paris train station at the age of nineteen, I wondered if Bruijneel, who is Dutch, could make me happy with his own version. He did: the abundant morsels of veal came in a luscious cream sauce with button mushrooms, baby carrots and leeks and pappardelle pasta on the side ($37).
How welcome to have a cheese selection (three choices for $15), and pastry chef Jerome Charpentier delivers beloved classic desserts with a superb Tarte Tatin ($9) made with tangy-sweet Granny Smith apples and mascarpone ice cream; a nicely spiced crème brûlée ($9); piping hot beignets with three dipping sauces ( $10); a crepe soufflé with pastry cream and passion fruit sauce ($9); and a chocolate caramel tart with hazelnut-chocolate ice cream ($9).
The wine list could use bulking up but there is a good selection of 13 wines by the glass, from $13-$16.
Brasserie 8 ½ might well have lasted all these years on the basis of its location within the Solow Building and for its stunning beauty. But year after year, without going off on any trend of the moment, it has maintained a clientele, both in and out of town, who come for consistently fine food and a very warm welcome. It is one of those spectacular but quietly sophisticated places anyone going to the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum and the Statue of Liberty should add to his itinerary.
Open for lunch and dinner Sun.-Fri.; for dinner on Sat.
BRASSERIE 8 ½
9 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
212)-829-0812
