You've seen a few mentions of Fireside recently yes? That's Sam DeMarco's new restaurant. The PR machine went into high gear on Monday night this week with the big press party. More than 300 attended to get a first look and taste of the new spot. Full press release after the jump.
Sam DeMarco creates new culinary sparks
It has been several years now since Sam DeMarco has had a project he can call his own. But he’s done it again. He’s sold his idea of Fireside (19 East 52nd street, NYC, 212-754-5011) to an eager investor who is backing DeMarco to the tune of $3 million. Fireside is much more befitting of Sam DeMarco than anything he’s done before. Think a serious DeMarco on steroids and you’ll get something like this: Cocktail Cuisine, totally modernized and quite serious.
Best known for his creative global fare at the ever-popular First restaurant in the East Village, Sam DeMarco’s American cuisine has won rave reviews from national restaurant critics. It was just as popular with his chef-colleagues, who often cabbed it downtown after a long night behind their own stoves for a late night bite of Sam’s tasty fare. In his column in The Hollywood Reporter, Wolfgang Puck enthused that Sammy is “a passionate chef who creates food that doesn’t just look good, but tastes even better." In 1998 entrepreneur Steve Wynn approached Sam to develop Sam’s at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter Sam teamed up with restaurateur Gino Diaferia to create two new New York restaurants Merge and District.
Fireside’s menu features 7-8 sections of medium sized plates, most of which serve two or three or can be upped by 1 or more of their main ingredient, et infinitum allowing the table to basically order a party platter right off the menu. Some of the signature sections include Conversation Pieces (Braised Short Rib Tacos, Escargot profiterales, Foie Gras Candy Apples, Lobster Rolls), Samwiches (Classic Mini Burgers, Chicken Saltimbocca Panini) and CenterPlates (BBQ Pork Osso Bucco, Smoked Salt-Crusted Prime Rib, Diver Sea Scallop Wellington, Szechuan Duck L’Orange).
The cocktails will be one of the hottest parts of Fireside, including drinks like Hibiscus Sidecar, Elderflower Collins, Candied Ginger Margarita, Kaffir Lime Agave, California Negroni, Cucumber Kaffir Gimlet, White Ginger Cosmopolitan. The desserts are Sam’s own creations and some highlights include First’s Smores, Baked Texas (Baked Alaska, just one state smaller), Black & White Chocolate Mousse Cake, Crème Brûlé, and House Spun ice cream & sorbets.
The bar is large, warm, and comfortable. The restaurant itself offers four levels of seating, from low/loungy, to couch level, to standard and then back to the bar. The design is a twist on a British Manor House and its elements, such as an old drawing room notion with all the expected architectural elements: mouldings, wood panels, damask patterning, but all done edgier and with a new attitude. In the bar, which gets prime space and lots of attention from DeMarco, intricate moulding profiles finished in patinas of gold, silver, gloss white, matte black and wood tones are stacked. Furniture is sumptuous: bright red Chesterfield sofas, modern wing chairs in over scaled hound’s tooth, and a new slipper chair in polka dots. The pattern of the table tops are covered in checkers and above the entire room is an exquisite contemporary grand chandelier
Sam DeMarco’s Fireside will be open 7 days a week, offering breakfast, lunch, dinner & late night; along with an Sunday brunch menu. Fireside opened in January of 2007 at 19 East 52nd Street at Madison Avenue NYC.
Everyone Has To Grow Up Some Time….
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