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Story by Manos Angelakis & Barbara Penny Angelakis
Photography by Manos Angelakis
Secession
30 Hudson Street
New York, New York
212-791-3771
After a justly deserved critical review of a less than satisfactory lunch that I and my companions experienced at Secession - David Boulay’s latest restaurant incarnation in New York City’s Tribeca - it was with mixed anticipation that Barbara and I made a dinner reservation. It was a freezing cold night and the car would not start. But the warm greeting we received – along with everyone else dining that evening - from the ebullient director George Barber, and the maitre d’ Basile Failler, once we finally arrived, more than made up for the inauspicious beginning.
After being seated in the strikingly beautifully designed and decorated dining room, we got down to the serious business of reading the large menu. The variety of choices seemed at first overwhelming but when George explained Secession’s raison d’être, it made perfect sense. Chef Boulay wanted to offer to this diverse neighborhood good food, creatively prepared, at all price levels; ergo his bakery, market, test kitchen, catering, formal and moderate restaurants, and a soon to  be Japanese restaurant. Secession’s menu addresses not so much a particular type of cuisine, but the local patrons, an eclectic group of sophisticated foodies. So, you will find dry-aged prime steaks at prices under those charged in other top-of-the-line restaurants uptown, alongside chicken livers normally found only in family style New Jersey diners, and the Wiener Schnitzel, a mainstay at Chef Boulay’s Danube Restaurant, the upscale dining establishment previously occupying the space that Secession currently inhabits. The menu is an eclectic mix and the prices are fairly moderate, the ingredients used are of the highest quality, properly cooked, and very nicely presented.
We ordered for our dinner some of the items that accounted for the previous unhappy review and found them this time to be as delicious as one would expect  from a Boulay venue. The Onion Soup was much improved with a rich, sweet flavor, properly seasoned, and toped by a thick layer of Gruyère. There was no risotto on the dinner menu, so I could not attest to its improvement, if any. Barbara had the Fried Calamari with Gribiche Sauce and MEGO - or in this case HEGO, her eyes glazed over. The baby calamari were cooked perfectly, panko coated so as not to overwhelm the delicate flesh, and accompanied by a seasoned mayonnaise-based dipping sauce with smashed capers, cracked mustard and cooked egg whites. The homemade charcuterie was excellent and the Pâté de Campagne aux Noix was just scrumptious. The organic Breast of Duck with the Apple-Rosemary purée was properly cooked, well on the outside and pink at the center. The large, nicely cooked Wiener Schnitzel was well presented with a trio of Austrian Warm Potato Salad, Cucumber Yogurt Salad and Lingonberry Chutney. Of the three the chutney was a clear winner with the potato salad more of a mash than a salad and the cucumbers a bit too soggy… but the chutney was brilliant.
 Dessert was also outstanding. An ode to decadence, the Banana-Chocolate Brioche with Prune Armagnac ice cream, the Hot Grannysmith Apple Tart with Tahitian vanilla ice cream, and Papa’s German Chocolate Cake with a scoop of Maple ice cream. And we could not resist a glass of honeyed, golden Château Manos from the Cadillac region, a hand-harvested Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend that, after all, bears my name.
The wine list, on the back of the menu, is very well thought out with a good selection of wines by the glass that includes the aforementioned Château Manos and other dessert wines. There are numerous under $100 bottles, most in the $40 to $75 range. The whites are from Burgundy, the South of France, and Italy with a couple of Champagnes and three, Austrian offerings. The reds, are mostly regional French, Burgundies and Bordeaux, numerous very good Italians and three US bottles, two Californias and one from one of the best Long Island wineries.
Back to the décor which in itself is a good reason to visit Secession. The original design of the restaurant was for the aforementioned Danube, and understandably, for that upscale restaurant, the windows and furniture were heavily draped and upholstered in rich, dark velvets to set off the visual ode to Gustav Klimt – in the form of floor to ceiling paintings produced in his style. The European Secession Movement more familiarly known as Art Nouveau, was so named because Klimt - and the Vienna Secessionist movement he founded at the end of the 19th century - visually departed from the traditional academic studio art style of the period by using organic forms based on flowers and vegetation, flowing female figures, and brilliant colors, often erotic in nature. Chef/Owner Boulay had the heavy draping and dark floor covering removed, but thankfully kept the wall décor, once again proving his creative talents are not limited to the kitchen. The paintings are overwhelming but don’t miss the more subtle and elegant touches that add to the overall beauty of the restaurant, such as the masterful arched and painted ceilings in the foyer and bar.
We have read reviews complaining about the diversity of dishes at Secession’s menu, to quote one “It’s the menu of an unfocused, distracted mind”. I beg to differ; the large menu is right on target in order to meet the wide-ranging preferences of the eclectic neighborhood clientele. And now that the kinks have been worked out in the kitchen, the food is exceptional. The restaurant is exquisite, the staff welcoming, and for the quality of the dishes, the price was right.
© March 2009 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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