A Toast to Tocqueville
This Flatiron District Restaurant Is Better Than Ever
by John Mariani

After more than six years in its original location, Tocqueville has moved a few doors down to a 1906 Beaux Arts building to become larger, far more elegant, roomier and more sophisticated restaurant, without taking on a whit of pretension. Chef Marco Moreira and his wife Jo-Ann Makovitzky opened Tocqueville at a time when modern French-American fine dining meant first-class tablesettings, glassware and silverware; a bonhomie achieved not through loud music but by the voices of people having good conversations; and a service that was as respectful as it was amiable and knowledgeable about all points of food and wine.

Now, with chef de cuisine David Coleman and Master Sommelier Scott Carney, Tocqueville is better than ever. The refinements are subtle but are evidence of the sort of evolution that takes place when the chef and staff truly care about maintaining that particular attention to detail that true gourmets understand, from the soft, flattering lighting to the presentation and temperature of the butter.

The 65-seat main dining room, with nicely separated tables, textured chairs, smoked mirrors, and large abstract paintings, is hung with a nickel chandelier from 16-foot ceilings. On a mezzanine there is a delightfully intimate private dining room for up to 25. The wine list–hefty in Bordeaux, ample in wines from the Pacific Northwest–is a collection of 300 labels carefully selected for Tocqueville's kind of cuisine, with about 20 offered by the glass.

Moreira was born in Brazil but has wide training in sushi preparation, arriving in New York City in 1982 and launching Marco Polo Sushi Catering, followed by setting up a sushi program at Dean & DeLuca where he met Jo-Ann, a NYC native who'd previously cooked at La Caravelle. Marco went on to learn classic cuisine at Bouley and The Quilted Giraffe, and worked as chef de cuisine at The Mark. In 2000, they opened Tocqueville at 15 East 15th Street, a space they turned into Japanese restaurant 15 East after moving to Tocqueville's current premises a year ago.

Moreira has always been a chef of finesse, now translated by Coleman, to reflect the seasonality of New York's bounty. This is especially apparent with seafood, but I found on a recent visit an equal facility with all kinds of meats and poultry. In summer there will be a perfect heirloom tomato salad with hearts of palm and Sherry vinaigrette, along with a golden yellow corn soup with smoked Yukon potatoes and tangy green tomato marmalade. Refreshingly lemon-scented chicken will come with a confit of cippolini, pancetta bacon and a fava bean purée, while a confit of red snapper arrives with corn pudding, "breakfast radish" and sweet Black Mission figs.

In fall the soup might be a sweet potato velouté with tiny lobster ravioli, Fuji apple slices, and a juniper cream, while a hearty, crispy suckling pig comes with pork sausage and violet mustard. The chicken may now come with crispy Brussels sprouts, butternut squash pudding and chestnuts. Pan-roasted skate wing comes with a confit of onion and wild mushrooms, and truffled Parmesan grits with a sunny side up country egg and house-cured veal bacon–which I wouldn't mind having for brunch.
  
For dessert definitely go with the chocolate tasting, or, simpler, the polenta cake with almonds, corn ice cream and gooseberries.

Note well that there is not an extraneous, quirky note or idea on any of these dishes. Harmony rules, the thought process of combining sweet-salty-bitter-sour flavors makes perfect sense, and the whole meal is remarkably balanced.

So few restaurants improve so consistently over the years that simply being as good as ever is a sufficient draw for people of good taste.  But when a restaurant like Tocqueville evolves in a very natural trajectory towards better and better expressions of personality and intensifying of flavors, you have something very special indeed.

John Mariani is well known for his frank and poignant writing in Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink and co-author, with his wife, of the Italian-American Cookbook.