[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 27, 2008]
I have been wondering what happened behind closed doors Grayz this summer, as the former lounge/restaurant/private-dining operation sought to transfer itself into "fully fledged" restaurant.
Not a lot, as far as fixtures and fittings go - as far as I could see, anyway, at a recent lunch.
Yes, the room to the left of the door as you enter, which had previously housed a private chef's table, has been opened up, and you can eat casually at high tables right in front of the open kitchen (which I did).
The ground floor space looks exactly the same - somewhat awkwardly shaped, with both good and very bad (near the door) tables. I enquired about downstairs, which many will remember as the Aquavit atrium, and was told that that's not open for regular diners, but can be hired for private dinners.
So they've changed...what, exactly?
Well, the one massive change is the departure of the eponymous chef, Gray Kunz, who with the shuttering of Café Gray at the Time Warner is now - astonishingly - cooking nowhere again. He leaves behind a few signature touches on the menu and the restaurant's inelegant and now entirely inappropriate name.
The good news is that Martin Brock, whose praises I have repeatedly sung is now the official top dog, and cooking a slightly more extensive menu. But no, I don't suggest changing the name to Brockz.
I had a quick dip into my dining companion's winter squash soup, and came up with a velvety spoonful of tasty foam and pine nuts.
I enjoyed the scallops - large ones, crisply seared - served over rich mashed potatoes in a Burgundy sauce. This was an appetizer portion, although it could have served as an entrée. At around $13 or $14, you can lunch well on two appetizers here.
And so I did, with four neat cubes of swordfish skewered on sugar cane. The dark, sweet sauce had a spicy kick to it, but the fish wasn't the greatest I'd tasted. It didn't have the rich fattiness of the last swordfish I ate, at Kyclades in Astoria during the summer.
I don't know why Grayz resists some of the easier paths to success. Although the web-site now confesses that Martin Brock heads the kitchen, it still floats picture of Gray Kunz past you, and insists on displaying the Spring lunch menu. This is surely something it would take five minutes to correct. Whatever the season, not only is the dinner carte slightly longer - half a dozen entrées - but chef Brock will prepare a tasting menu on request.
That strikes me as one of the more appealing dining options in Manhattan this season, and I've added it to the list.
