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Time
Warner Center |
With
the largest supermarket in Manhattan, an
accessible location, impressive city views and
a variety of restaurants from a who’s who of
the country's top toques, the Time Warner
Center (TWC) at Columbus Circle has established
itself as an important foodie destination.
In spring 2007, Landmarc opened, filling
the last space earmarked for membership in the
Restaurant Collection at this vertical
mall.
The
luxurious
Mandarin Oriental, New York hotel, housed
on floors 35-54 of the TWC's second building,
opened in November 2003. The property quickly
took advantage of the impressive views of
Central Park and the New York skyline from its
35th floor, by opening a trio of happening
eateries:
Asiate,
MObar, and
The Lobby Lounge.
Elegant
Asiate (212-805-8881) serves the
Asian-inspired contemporary cuisine of chef
Brandon Kida in a Tony Chi-designed space
featuring sixteen-foot, floor-to-ceiling
windows. The restaurant is complemented by
MObar, a lively cocktail bar, and
The Lobby Lounge, a comfortable area for
enjoying breathtaking views, afternoon tea,
light fare and late-night cocktails and
desserts.
The
fourth floor of the TWC's shopping area is the
epicenter of designer-chef restaurants with
Per Se (Thomas Keller),
Masa/Bar
Masa (Masa Takayama), and
Porter House New York (Michael Lomonaco).
Rande and Scott Gerber’s Stone Rose Lounge is
also on this floor. Down one flight are
Landmarc at the Time Warner Center (Mark
Murphy) and
Bouchon Bakery (Thomas
Keller).
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Asiate
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Thomas
Keller's (The
French Laundry, Yountville, CA)
Per Se (212-823-9335) has been one of the
city’s hottest tickets since it opened.
Reservations are taken up to two months in
advance, and callers spend considerable amounts
of time trying to shore up a precious
table. The chef’s tasting menu and a
vegetable tasting are nine courses each and are
priced at $275 per person. A five-course
pix-fixe lunch menu is also available for $175.
The Adam Tihany-designed restaurant is the
largest in the complex, but much of the space
has been reserved for the enormous kitchen. The
main dining room seats 64, and there is also
one ten-person private dining room, along with
a bar, wine cellar and spacious lounge.
In contrast,
Masa and
Bar Masa (212-823-9800) offer intimate
dining spaces, each with its own Asian
minimalist appeal. Masa, where Chef-owner
Masa Takayama’s (Ginza Sushi-Ko, Los Angeles)
Omakase menu is set at $450 per person, has a
centerpiece sushi bar with several tables to
the side. The markedly less expensive Bar
Masa has an à la carte menu in a long sleek
with a full bar and tables set against the
wall. Asian fusion dishes are offered at
both.
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MObar
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Stone
Rose Lounge (212-823-9769) is a no-cover bar
and lounge that is well-situated for the
building's after-work crowd. The lounge
serves an eclectic menu of international
tapas.
Porter House New York (212-823-9500),
opened in the corner space formerly occupied by
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's V
Steakhouse. Overseen by charming Chef
Michael Lomonaco (Windows on the World,
21), Porter House presents a cozy yet
formal version of a steakhouse and offers all
the trimmings with an extensive seafood menu as
well.
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The Lobby
Lounge
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The
unpretentious
Landmarc [at the Time Warner Center]
(212-823-6123) opened in April 2007.
Three times the size of its downtown TriBeCa
sibling, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch
and dinner in an expansive, urban
setting. Children are welcome here and
have their own colorful menu choices.
Down the corridor are
Bouchon Bakery, (212-823-9366) a retail
bakery that also offers catering and a sit-down
restaurant with striking views of Columbus
Circle and Central Park. The bakery
offers take-away sandwiches, soups, salads,
pastries, and other treats. Fresh salads
and sandwiches are offered at the café and its
coffee bar.
For
those who plan to skip the big-name restaurants
and dine at home, Whole Foods Market should not
be missed. The huge gourmet supermarket takes
up an entire underground level, concourse 1,
and has a 248-seat café, a sushi bar, a Jamba
Juice, and, of course, wide aisles.
Add
to all this the three fabulous jazz venues
and exciting programming from Jazz at Lincoln
Center on two floors of the building and
you’ll find the restaurants buzzing pretty
much all day long, filled with music lovers,
shoppers, neighborhood folks, and, of course,
the many tourists who understand what
shopping in a mall is about, sometimes better
than those that live in this city.
by
Meryl D. Pearlstein
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