NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
The Grill
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I don’t smoke. Or at least I don’t anymore. As a matter of fact, I’m the guy that does a disgusted fast walk when someone is in front of me on the street with a butt in their hand. How dare you pollute my personal ozone of hot garbage smells and bus fumes with your mouth smog? Do you even work out?
That said, there are two things in this world that make me desperately want to smoke a cigarette again: hanging out in Paris, and having dinner at The Grill.
If you happen to be new to the food internet, have better things to do than keep up with daily restaurant news, or were born after 1983, there is some important backstory that you need to know before you read this review. Before The Grill was The Grill, it was a legendary restaurant called the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons opened in 1959 and became famous for many things over the years, such as pioneering the concept of “New American” cuisine, popularizing the idea of seasonal cooking, and being an exemplar of New York extravagance. But the Four Seasons was probably most famous for its powerful clientele. It was a place where heads of state, moguls, icons, and tycoons all came to be seen, cut deals, and maybe even eat some food.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, except for The Simpsons, and the Four Seasons closed in July of 2016 amidst a dispute with the owner of the building. To be honest, by that point, the restaurant was probably past its prime. But it certainly marked the end of an era.
Now a new era begins, in which the Four Seasons has been brought back to life by Major Food Group, the owners of Carbone and Sadelle’s and other meticulously-crafted experiences masquerading as restaurants. They’ve taken over the entire space, splitting the famous dining rooms into two separate restaurants, and naming them after the colloquial terminology used back in the day to distinguish the two - The Grill (room) and The Pool (room). And they haven’t changed all that much aesthetically, because they can’t. Many elements of the classic Modernist interior are landmarked by the city. Even the curtains.
So, instead, it seems that Major Food Group decided to “Oceans 11” this bitch, which is to say they took the plot of something classic, tweaked the script a little, brought in some new actors, and spent an incredible amount of money on production. The end result is something that’s familiar if you’ve seen the original, but also different. Something that is great in its own right. Something that makes me want to smoke.
Why does The Grill make me want to return to that old bad habit of my youth? Part of it definitely comes from the fact that every element of this place has been designed to transport you back to a time before we had “good science” or a real understanding of “heart disease.” But really, it’s because every meal I have had here has ended with me feeling like some sort of legend from the past. Like a modern day Sammy Davis Jr. in a world full of Don Cheadles. The food is excellent, the service is perfect, and the entire experience is curated from the moment they open the door for you to the moment you leave. The prices? They are ridiculous. But that’s not the point.
The point is that The Grill is a place that gives me that feeling of doing something pleasurable but irresponsible. And I think that’s something we could all use from time to time. Lord knows we are living in a new era. You’re probably gonna need a smoke.