The steak-house boom continues! Empire Steak House opened a third New York City location, on West 49th Street in Midtown Manhattan, on July 12. Known as Empire Steak House Times Square, the new Theater District restaurant joins two Best of Award of Excellence–winning sibling locations nearby, as well as Award of Excellence winner Chazz Palminteri in New York and the Empire Steak House in Tokyo, Japan.
As with its siblings, the restaurant offers a formal, upscale atmosphere for enjoying a range of choice chops: prime New York strip, filet mignon, a porterhouse for three, to name a few. Chef Enko Purisic prepares these alongside other steak-house classics, including a Caesar salad, Canadian bacon, French onion soup, baked clams and fresh oysters. (A pre-theater, prix-fixe menu is also available from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Jeff Sinanaj, who leads the wine program, has put together a substantial range of full-bodied reds to pair with steaks. “We have carefully curated our selection to cater to guests from all over the world who visit New York,” Sinanaj told Wine Spectator via email. Cabernet Sauvignon fans can find standout bottles from Kendall-Jackson, Honig, Charles Krug and many more. With nearly 400 labels altogether and a cellar of 1,700 bottles, the program also features Sonoma Pinot Noirs, California Zinfandels, Bordeaux reds, Rhône Valley reds, Champagnes, dessert wines, large- and small-format bottles and more.
There is serious vintage depth here, with the cellar’s oldest wine being a 1982 Château Margaux, alongside other gems such as 1995 Mouton-Rothschild and 1996 Masseto. If you’ll be sipping a quick glass before rushing off to see a Broadway show, nearly 40 wines are served by the glass, including selections like Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Russian River Ranches.
“We are thrilled about the opening of our new restaurant and the opportunities it presents for the dining scene in midtown Manhattan and New York as a whole,” Sinanaj commented. “As we expand, we are laying strong foundations to ensure that our restaurant becomes synonymous with an upscale dining experience in Times Square—with the aim to bring a touch of elegance and culinary excellence to this iconic location.”—C.D.
Perry’s Opens Second Carve American Grille in Texas
In Texas, the team behind Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille—a leading steak-house group with 20 Restaurant Award winners across the U.S.—opened the doors of its second Carve American Grille location in Austin, in June.
Perry’s Restaurants founder Chris Perry debuted Carve in Austin’s Barton Creek area in 2019, as an offshoot of Perry’s Steakhouse. At the new concept in central Austin, Perry drew inspiration from the store his father opened in the 1970s, Perry’s Butcher Shop and Deli. Since its launch, the original Carve restaurant has drawn a devoted following for its steaks (and other menu items) prepared using wood-grill, smoke and live-fire techniques.
“We’re thankful to the Austin community for frequenting our first location of Carve American Grille,” said Perry in a statement. “The initial response to our live-fire approach was overwhelming, and we are grateful for the opportunity to expand with a second location so that we can serve more of this welcoming city.”
The wine program at Carve follows in the footsteps of those at Perry’s Steakhouse locations. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from California and other regions are bolstered by West Coast Pinot Noirs, Argentine Malbecs and other reds. For those ordering seafood or lighter fare, the program highlights Chardonnay from Burgundy and California, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and France’s Loire Valley, plus other lively whites. The restaurant proudly touts its wine on tap program offering around 18 global selections—from Texas to Tuscany, Mendoza to Marlborough—as 2.5-ounce tastes, standard 5-ounce glasses, a generous 7.5-ounce “Carve pour” and carafe.
The restaurant boasts a wine tower in its dining room, along with an island bar and three private dining rooms. Moveable glass walls connect the dining and bar areas to four outdoor patio spaces, creating an open and airy feel for diners. As an ode to Perry’s heritage, the restaurant features “the Butcher Room,” where a butcher carves high-quality, hand-selected beef cuts for the kitchen.
As at the original Carve restaurant, the menu spotlights steak-house classics, as well as seafood dishes, salads, pizzas and vegetarian options. There are also innovations like Wagyu beef “cupcakes” with mashed potato “icing,” or a “chicken and waffles” platter of buttermilk-fried Cornish hen with vanilla waffles and apple syrup.—O.N.
Following Devastating Fire, Geoffrey Lechantoux Brings Long-Awaited Maison Close to Long Island’s East End
After months of anticipation, chef Geoffrey Lechantoux—an alumnus of Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Monaco and Best of Award of Excellence winner Benoit in New York—was finally able to bring his French cuisine to the East End of Long Island, opening Maison Close Montauk in July.
It’s been a long road for Lechantoux and his team. Last year, he premiered Maison Close, from restaurateurs Thibaut Castet and Theliau Probst, in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. That was slated to be followed by Maison Close Montauk, originally scheduled for a Memorial Day 2023 weekend opening. Tragically, a devastating fire destroyed the restaurant at 435 East Lake Drive on May 25, just a day before it was set to open its doors. Despite that disastrous roadblock, the restaurant’s team persevered and is now serving guests brunch at the same site, though exclusively outside on a sandy, waterside area. (There are 22 dock slips for those arriving by boat.)
“We are thrilled to be able to bring the Maison Close experience from SoHo to Montauk this summer,” Lechantoux told Wine Spectator via email. “Our goal for Maison Close has always been to represent the best parts of French cuisine and New York culture, and introducing a celebratory, St. Tropez–style dining experience to the Hamptons was a natural next step.”
As with the SoHo restaurant, Maison Close Montauk features a menu of French-influenced dishes from Lechantoux: a croissant Maine lobster roll, Dover sole meunière and whole-roasted chicken with optional truffle shavings, for instance, along with local seafood and caviar services.
With about 70 labels, beverage director Adrien Lefort’s wine list spans much of France, covering Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Provence rosés and more. Included are well-known names such as Château Angélus, Château Malartic-Lagravière, Domaines Ott and Jacques Prieur. There are a few picks from California, as well as French-inspired cocktails like the tequila-based La Maison Rose or the spritzy, plum liqueur–based La Prunette.
Though Maison Close is operating for now on a more limited scale than planned, Lechantoux has also been busy with another summer project. Memorial Day weekend, the team opened a new Mediterranean restaurant, Talya, at Montauk’s Ruschmeyers Hotel. There, focusing on local ingredients, Lechantoux draws from Greek and coastal French culinary traditions for dishes like fried cauliflower salad, beef tartare, charred octopus salad, tuna crudo and crispy zucchini and eggplant chips.
Lefort oversees the Talya wine list as well, spotlighting regions across Greece and France with about 50 selections. A robust cocktail program highlights Mediterranean ingredients like Turkish coffee and ouzo. Design firm DMDesign has dressed Talya in forest green and magenta colors, alongside floral elements, plants, disco balls and hanging lanterns. An outdoor lounge features a fire pit.—C.D.
Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk Closes in Chicago
Best of Award of Excellence winner Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk, on Chicago’s Miracle Mile, closed on July 17. The space was one of a kind for the Cooper’s Hawk portfolio, which encompasses 57 restaurants across the U.S., primarily in suburban neighborhoods.
“It gave us an opportunity to show people this wide, whole world of wine but still through the lens of Cooper’s Hawk,” master sommelier Emily Wines, vice president of wine experience for Cooper’s Hawk, told Wine Spectator. “It was approachable; it was a really cool experiment.”
At most Cooper’s Hawk restaurants, the wine list is composed solely of the brand’s own Cooper’s Hawk wines, made at wineries across the globe. (Cooper’s Hawk offers these through a mail-order wine club as well.) However, Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk also featured prestigious bottles from other producers on its 1,200-label list, making that location eligible for a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. Standouts on the program included verticals from Bordeaux’s Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Pichon Longueville Lalande and Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, as well as California’s Caymus, Dominus Estate and Bond. According to a restaurant representative, the Cooper’s Hawk team doesn’t know yet what will be done with the 6,000 bottles from the Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk cellar.
Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk was located in the historic Esquire Theater in the Gold Coast neighborhood; the Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse team restored the theater as a restaurant in 2012, and Cooper’s Hawk moved into the space in Nov. 2019. There has been no announcement yet as to who will take over the location.
Nonetheless, Cooper’s Hawk has plans to keep expanding with new locations throughout 2023, including a new Roman-style pizza concept called Il Piccolo Buco. “We wanted to focus a bit more, and [Il Piccolo Buco] is a concept we can continue with and replicate a lot easier and bring out to more markets,” explained Wines. “We take risks, we try new things, we explore and experiment—sometimes things are very successful, and sometimes it’s just not right.”—J.L.