September 28, 2022 • 39 mins
Nearly thirty years ago, chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson met in the kitchen of Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Boulud. Since then, their names have been synonymous with superlative French bistro dining in New York City. After years helming the kitchen at the iconic Balthazar, they opened up their own restaurant, Frenchette, to great acclaim. Their latest project, Le Rock, a beautifully-designed 4,000-square-foot restaurant, is part of an ambitious re-imagining of Rockefeller Center. Martha, a fan of theirs from the beginning, catches up with her old friends to hear how these chefs are continuing to interpret and reinvent classic French dishes in their new dining room.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you go ice skating? Yeah, well I haven't been
ice skating yet. Don't break a leg and don't break
an arm. It's a beautiful roller right now. Okay, you
can break a leg, but you can't break an arm.
Cheff Rey d. Nasser and Lee Hansen are the masterminds
behind one of New York City's newest and most beautiful restaurants,
Little Rock. The Rock, which is located in Rockefeller Center,
(00:24):
has a well curated French menu and stunning design. The
pair is also known for their James Beard Foundation winning
restaurant Frenchet and their bakery French At Bakery. Both Riad
and Lee are veterans of Balthazar and have carved out
a successful path for themselves. Welcome to my podcast, Read
and Lee. I am very happy to be here, sitting.
(00:45):
We are sitting in the most peculiar spot. It's a
little newsstand recording studio on the first floor of one
Rockefeller Plaza. And this is a well one East forty
nine Street, I guess. But have you ever been here before?
We passed it a few times. Yeah, so it's it's
very cute. It looks, it looks it's it has windows
(01:07):
right onto a promenade that goes from forty nine S
Street and Uh, and the restaurant is really at St. Yeah.
And last night was my first time at lar Rock.
When did you open exactly? First week of August? First
week of August. I tried to come earlier, and I
just you were closed one night that I was free,
(01:29):
and then I wasn't able to get in. But boy,
am I glad I ate there last night because now
I have a lot to ask, even more questions than
I had before. Uh. You guys have been really, really busy.
I first met you many years ago at Both of
Ore when you were both the chefs working with Keith
McNally in one of the most innovative restaurants of the time.
(01:53):
Both are which still is going strong. I've been there
a few times during and since COVID, but I miss
you guys so much. And then of course you went
on to Minetta Tavern. Did you leave both Ustart to
go to Mindetta or did you just redesign? We did that.
We did that with Keith and um it was I
(02:14):
think the last project that we worked together. That was
it right? And and then you parted ways and took
your great talents and opened Friendship. So describe friend Set
to everyone, because I want to talk a lot about Laroq,
but friend Set is also such a delightful place to
go and and a first choice on many many people's
(02:34):
itineraries come from out of out of town. So tell
us what friendship and where you got that idea from.
When Lee and I, uh, look, we were always you know,
uh cooks, cooks. You know, we wanted, uh, we wanted
to forge our path. You know, we were looking for
a sort of a small location where the two of
us could basically just just sort of click. Well, you know,
(02:57):
every young chef stream or that you have been cooking,
how many dinners at Baltaz are thousands thousands every day? Right?
But the bakery, the fantastic food at it was fantastic. Okay,
So then you go, so yeah, I mean we we
we we left and to sort of pursue that dream.
And we found this location that you know, we had
(03:19):
um have many seats through at French that it's pretty
big and stuff that's pretty big. That's not a little
tiny place, and it was taking a very size of
what we're sort of used to, you know, prior to that.
But we just wanted to do sort of a simple
neighborhood French bistro, very very market driven, sort of inspired
(03:40):
by you know, our travels in France and you know,
our culinary upbringing so to speak, you know, incorporate some
ideas that we had. How long did you know each
other before you joined forces at baltaz Are when we
met back when we both worked for Danielle Blood at
restaurant Danielle and that was that opens and I met there,
(04:01):
So you were both there at that time, at the
opening and at that fabulous place at the former home
of the Cirque. No, this is in Missouri Hotel. This
was seventy six streets, which then became your cafe Balloon.
You know. I think that's when we first met you, Martha.
That is great, Okay, that was a long time. Yeah.
And Danielle is my neighbor now. He lives right across
(04:23):
the street from me in Bedford. Keep the noise down.
A good neighbor. No, he's great, he's great. We share,
we share. I share eggs with him. He shares rare
things with me that gets shipped to his house. Rare things, yeah,
rare things like pineapples out of season. But so so
(04:44):
first with first at Danielle, So is that when you
forged your idea of a partnership or yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We were both Sux chefs there And what was your
training before we had? Prior to that, well, I met Danielle.
I I was cooking in France. I was working at
Michelle bra and I've been wrong a little town called
Yol And prior to that, I was you know, Park
(05:07):
Bistro and Leal I was working and I was sort
of like, where were you moderns? I was born in
New York, but I grew up in Montreal. Okay, so
you're you have a French background kind of yeah, I
think so I'm sort of pseudo French. And what about you,
you're so American? Uh well, my first job out of
school is with Danielle when he was a chef at
(05:28):
Le Cirque, and school was ci a corner and student ark.
And after I worked with Um Jean George at Van
and Charlie Palmer for a number of years, and then
I've always had a conversation with keeping in touch with
Danielle and everything, you know, when he when he was
ever going to open his own place, I wanted to
be a part of that. And that came a few
years later and he came by and it's like, okay, Lee,
(05:51):
let's go and h And that's where you met read remember. Yeah,
So it's a long it's a long partnership. You two
guys had any arguments, I don't know, quiet pouting, Maybe
when we both kind of express are are we We've
we express our frustrations in similar ways, like what just
(06:13):
like to ourselves we might kind of be like, all
right ly, I'll just slide this time, or Maria, don't
walk away from this from now. But now we've never
had any screaming matches. Um. Great. I think he keeps
score though we think you do. I think he does
right down. And there's a given take that you have
to have with the relations and life changes have occurred.
(06:33):
I mean, you're married, are you married ly? I don't
even know sure. My kids were on your show one
that's right, Oh my gosh. Yes, the the the bathroom,
the bedtime we had sleepover, sleep over one sleepover episode, pajamas.
Oh my goodness, how old are they know? Your kids? Wow?
Ones in college? Junior in college that it's a junior
(06:55):
in high school. Any chefs in the family. Oh no, no, definitely, yes,
I don't don't read. Yeah, no, My wife and I
have been married twenty three years, so no kids. Lots
of cats. My wife does trapping in to her release,
so we foster. How many do you have right now?
(07:17):
We have six? Yeah. Yeah, we have a good big
space though. Yeah. And um, I know your sister, that's right. Yeah,
she's the editor in chief of Harper's Bizarre. Yeah. We're
incredibly proud of incredible. She's an incredible editors. So proud
of you. Oh my gosh, she talks about you along.
(07:38):
She needs to get out of the world a little
bit more. But she she loves your food as I do. Um. Well,
back to the food friendship is um is the food
is very delicious and kind of unique. Uh, those are
your own, your own ideas of what what what's this
friendship mean to you? Sort of French e or I
(07:59):
when we start with with I mean, it's it's rooted
in in in traditional French French cuisine, but we like
to throw a little twists and things. You know, I'm
not twists or just have a little bit more of
a attitude about what's your favorite dish on the menu
at French at I think you would probably have to
be the brillad, which is the soft scrambled eggs with
(08:20):
saute scargo and you like, yeah, certainly. Yeah. I had
them last night. They were delicious and we love the
way you serve them in the little individual, little individual cups,
so pretty with a little toast on top. Really really tasty. Yeah.
Where do you get the snails from? The snails? They're
(08:41):
they're Burgundy snails. It's a preserved snail that that we
cook in a corbillon and they're braised out with a
little bit of pinch, had tons of aramats and then
stuffed in those little pots. And tarragon is everywhere on
the menu at at l Rock. Yeah, you love tarragon. Yeah,
in the league and also in the in the crab,
(09:03):
I had the best appetizer last night that I've had
in a long time. It is a dungeoness crab shell,
perfectly cleaned, filled with the most delicious crab salad um.
So that has a lot of tarragon and what else
does it happen? And I'm trying to get a recipe
out of this. I want to make that at home.
Because I get dungeon iss crab ship to be from
(09:25):
from Seattle Top, parsley and lemon and sieved egg and
capers a. That's a super little all four of those
up nice and even like the idea to kind of
mix it all together, add a little the uh mayonnaise
that comes with it beautifully. It's called a dressed crab
on the menu. Funny last night we had a we
(09:46):
had a customer come in and said, I would like
my crab undressed please? Oh no mayo. That means no
mayo crab. Well, it's a delicious appetizer. Wow, I could
I want that for lunch today? Unfortunately Laroc is not
open for lunch yet. That's coming soon though. That's good.
October will be in. October will be. And what's your
(10:08):
favorite dish on the menu at French Chet French Set. Yeah,
hard to say. I guess one of my favorite little
pairings that we do is the oysters in the chippe LATAs.
So we serve oyses on the half shell and a
little of the sausages on the side. So it's a
very kind of unique combination from Brittany that you don't
see very often. But it's the richness of the sausage
and that kind of clean Briani oyster is the sausage
(10:32):
or it is? You see. That's another wonderful feature of
of these Guys restaurants. It's everything is really homemade and
touched and and loved, and it tastes so good. Every
single thing my favorite thing. Last night at LaRock we
had a lot of appetizers, so I'm going to read
(10:53):
what four of us ordered on the off the menu.
Yesterday we had um, Let's see, we had the column
mari and shochito peppers. That was delicious. So the calamari
were wrapped with schito peppers and put on little tiny skewers.
That was wonderful. We had the sardine escabeesh, that was fantastic.
(11:15):
So those are fresh sardines that you pickle. You pickle
them yourself. And then we had the pette maison which
was also excellent. What is that made out of? That
was a pork and rabbit, Yeah, rabbit with large squares
of little little cubes there yea, And yeah that was
(11:38):
served with a little apricot mustata that was very little, right, Didjli?
That was a jellow shot basically that was really good.
Then we also had annualati with corn and chantarelle central
are just coming into season, I guess, yeah, and they
are they were. That was delicious. And then it also
(11:59):
had some red pepper, I think like soft read pepper,
and oh it was so good. Then we also had
the um let me see, I thought we had yet
did you ever yet have that? Yeah? So we have
that bread. We have sort of that section underneath the
bag att, So we offer the bag at and then
we have like several sorts of smallish a little little
(12:20):
bread and all the butter that whole section and that
you're looking at all things that go with bread, and yeah,
the riette dear, and my favorite of all was the
chicken liver most with that wonderful topping of a little
port on the top port. That's pork jelly for those
(12:41):
of you who don't know what it was really also
very nicely not too big a serving, just enough because
it's very rich. But you know how to you know
how to serve chicken livers. Yeah, you know, we were
we were brought up on chicken livers, and this is
the best chicken livers I've ever had. Might be able
to share that recipe and then we went on two
(13:03):
leaks vinaigrette. That are the leaks were so interesting because
you wrapped them in what are they wrapped in? Leaks?
And the most of the leaks, that's the dark leaves
poached and there are they poached in there and then
and then roasted. Now the roasted hole first, yeah, really hot,
so they get kind of caramelized in their skin a
little bit, and we strip away the outer layers and
(13:24):
put that inner very tender leak now in some new
green leaks that are still raw, and then we grilled that.
It's grilled. Yeah, so they were quite burned on the
outside and so delicious on the inside. That's a different
way because post leagues oftentimes get a little wet. These
were These were not wet. These were all leaks. And
(13:44):
that's fun. That's the sort of a bit of a
surprise there. You're taking a humble ingredient and then treating
it with a bit of reverence, not unlike a baked
potato that you might smash tableside. And that's our most
popular dish at the Bedford. That's great, we should do
a mash up with it and leak, but it's a
good it's a good it's a good potato. I mean
we're using we're using Yukon gold large gold potatoes, and
(14:08):
they're so tender inside, buttery buttery on their own. Um,
So you're following that I opened a restaurant. I am
now the proud competitor of all my friends who I
have visited year after year after year, and I can't
believe that I actually have a restaurant. Now we'll have
to get a show and have you on. Wouldn't that
(14:29):
be great? Nobody has asked me to talk about my
restaurant on a podcast yet. But but it's it's fun,
it's I'm under I was a nervous wreck about opening
the restaurant, So you guys must have been you must
have been nervous. How long did it take to actually
build the rock this beautiful space? A year and a half,
I mean a year and a half of actual construction,
(14:50):
and there's probably a year of development prior to that.
I mean, you know, COVID sort of put a real
it just slowed the entire process down and actually kept
our meetings of on a remote um, you know, remotely
versus being sort of on premise and and and and
basically prototyping things. So we spent a lot of time
(15:11):
fixing things that you know, maybe didn't quite line up
because you're not in the space as often. Um, but
just Inspire bought Rockefeller Center a few years ago for
what looks like in retrospect a terribly small price one
point six billion for all of Rockefeller Center. Can you
imagine that's not a bad business move. That was a
(15:33):
smart move. And then somebody had your space before a
rule it was it was brocery rule mine, Yeah, which
was very beautiful but very dark. It was dark and
would he have was sort of different? Yeah, I mean
you get to read the floors or floors there you've
got you got the Torozzo guys to come in. A
lot of people surprised when we say the floors and
(15:54):
you're like, yeah, because Rocketfillar Center is known for its Toronto.
You know, all all the spaces here have the most
beautiful Toronto. One of the reasons for using is try
and tie into some of the beauty that's just naturally
exists everywhere. And the color palette, the design choices were
all taken from from roaming you know, the center and
picking up on those details. And the half shades up
(16:15):
the windows are so beautiful. You have to come and
see this place, in this space because it really is
unique to New York and uh and so clean. And
I have to warn you the only thing that bothers
tender ears is the noise, because it's hard escape the
whole place Toronto floors, plaster walls and high ceilings and
(16:38):
naked and naked tables which you protect nicely with pasters.
Everything is a poster or paper under it, but knows
nothing to soften them. The excited sound of the patrons
were working on that and there how there'll be some
acoustic help coming. There has to be. I mean it's
noisy for the help too. That at French yet as well.
(17:02):
But people really are noisy, aren't they builds and as
they drink it sounds like everybody's screaming, but they're not.
You know, they're talking out the high as revelry exactly.
That's a nice way to be excited when you're in
a big room. So what are the big surprises about
(17:28):
opening this place with a big commitment of time and effort.
What were your big surprises moving uptown? This is your
first Uptown restaurant. Midtown, uptown in the most famous place
in New York, you know, Rockefeller Center. What were your
surprises all that we would like it up here? Do you?
(17:48):
And do you know ice skating? Yeah, well we haven't
been ice skating yet. Don't break a leg and don't
break an arm, and you can break up with it's
a beautiful roller right now. Okay, you can break a leg,
but you can't break an arm, you know. I I
don't know. And not to be too like Smalty is
serious about it. It's funny coming out of out of
pandemic um and and and reintroducing yourself to the city
(18:10):
in a way and re embracing the city. We couldn't
really think of a better place to do it than
than than Rockefeller Center. It is an epicenter and you
haven't lived to the through the tree lighting yet. Yeah,
we're a little anxious about that. It will be pretty
big and better be open for lunch, Yeah, we should be.
(18:33):
Are you ever going to open for breakfast too? For they? Oh?
I hope so, yeah, that would be Those are actually
really fun meal periods for us to explore. I want
to bring my grandchildren for breakfast and ice skated. Yeah,
that's a nice time. Applause is so airy and beautiful. Uh.
And the light in the room during the day is
pretty is pretty great. So now they're able to see
(18:54):
about a hundred people, So make your reservations early. Everybody listening.
But you'll be open outside too. Is that going to
be a heated space outside for winter time or only
only summer time? Mostly seasonal? But we've talked about, you know,
and closing it. But again, you know, I think the
we like the idea of seasonality being sort of expressed,
(19:15):
and in winter maybe indoors is where you should be,
right and in springing and summer really enjoy the spring
of the summer outdoors a little bit more. So I
think we're good with you know, maybe just some space
heaters and the some umbrellas, and I mean for the
tree lighting and that kind of really festive time of year.
We're not gonna rule out the possibility of someplace to
keep warm and have a snack out on the terrace
(19:37):
while you're looking at the tree. It would be so fun.
So how did you come to name the restaurant Little Rock?
I mean, it's it's natural, but but how many names
did you have before you came up with the rock.
The naming part of a restaurant is the worst by
far um. It's because when you that's going to be
the name for the life of the restaurants, so you
do you just bang your head over it and it's
(20:00):
on you. Some of the some of our worst actually
meetings have been about the names and what were what
were other possibilities we've exercise them from. But it's funny.
We were both kind of this project. We didn't really
have that many names for right, we we didn't really
have a naming session. We had a couple like, hey,
what do you think it is? What do you think
of that French? It was, Yeah, that was a long one.
(20:21):
That was It was more so, do you have investors
in the restaurant? Yeah? So they're pretty they're pretty um
fabulous because there they are really redoing this entire location,
a lot of great talent, thoughtfully invigorating the and with
a lot of fun. I mean, look at us, we're
(20:42):
in an old news stand here. They're amazing repurposing of
the space. Right Yeah, and uh uh so where do
you source your ingredients? I saw I saw coming down
Fifth Avenue from seventy Street there was a fish truck,
there were there were vegetable trucks coming down Fifth Venue.
(21:02):
Is that you you buy from wherever that you've learned
I guess through the other restaurants, your sources. You have
a pretty extensive prevayor list the chefs. The chefs shop
at the Farmer's market as well, so there's three days,
four days a week they're picking up fresh and seasonal
from from some of our partners at the at the
(21:22):
Farmer's market. Um. And then yeah, you have some some
larger scale purveyors for for potatoes for example, or at
least the you know the frying potatoes. Umbly, what do
you use for the frying potatoes? Yeah, they're Idaho. They're
g p O d gepod. There's a shortage right now.
Then well, yeah, yeah there is. They were very good
(21:44):
last night the Kevin Sharky loves your Fried Potatoes. Boy.
We discussed the potatoes for about fifteen minutes. Yeah, and
they were They're very very good because they they're soft
in the middle and crispy on the outside, and they're
not hard and they're not too soft, and they they
stayed crispy the whole meal really much. We just got
right past that season of potatoes where they go where
(22:06):
they're out of the potatoes from last year, and your
young potatoes are still very kind of sugar. Yeah, and
so we're just getting into that sweet spotted potatoes. They were,
they were very very good. But remember you came on
my show and showed me how to make um the
onion rings from Balthazar's right, And guess when I made
(22:27):
them the other day. And I think I improved on
your recipe at the last second. I looking at the
flower and you use all purpose flower. I went to
won Dra try it. They are the best onion rings
anybody in the whole room. And had had try to
(22:49):
try the Wondering. I had never used it before for
Ra and it held on nicely. They're glorious color and
that the rest of the recipe is pretty much the
same with beer in the batter and stuff. But it
was really good. You use wonder and anything nice. Now
(23:11):
we have it on the shelf and we dust and occasionally,
depending on what we're cooking, well dust you could do
or crab or skate wing. Yeah, yeah, it's really it was.
It was just incredibly delicious. So I just wanted to
share that nice happens. Since so, um so, who designed
(23:32):
the restaurant? I mean, I'm sure you had a lot
of input, but did you have an architect or a designer.
We had a firm called Workstead that we are They
from Brooklyn, Yes, I guess technically from Brooklyn. Um it's beautiful. Yeah,
they didn't know. They did a great job. It was it,
but it is it definitely a collaboration. We worked closely
with them for over a year on every detail and
(23:54):
all the lighting fixtures are great. We chose them is
because they design their owlining well. Oh they doe chanelers.
They were beautiful sign those and it was beautiful and
the light is ambient but but not intrusive, and you
can still read the menu and it was it was
really really beautiful. And who is your matre d that'd
(24:15):
be Kevin King. He was great. He came by several
times to check on us, and we had the best waiter. Yeah, Craig, Craig,
you come in about the vodka? Dot know Kevin Kevin
and Kevin Sharkey mentioned it. Yeah, I said you didn't
like our vodka selection? Is that correct? Well? I drink
very little except I drink wine, and you have lovely wines,
(24:39):
but you didn't have a European or a Polish or
Russian vodka. This was great goose, great, but I can't
drink great like I like potatoes, potato, like gluten free vodkas. Yeah,
it just it just agrees with me. Great. Yeah, that's
like I could see that. So you have to please
get That's why you can come back and happen. What
do you do? What do you like that? I like Pilvidere.
(25:00):
I like I found a new one called Zubrovka that's
a potato of Polish vodka. Is very very nice and
it's not terribly expensive. It's but it's good. Yeah, are
well as Helix, I think and uh, which is a
French vodka. But yeah, you're you're you're right in saying
that there's not you don't have the originator there. Yeah
the other guys. Yeah, that's true. Well, if vodka tasted
(25:23):
like Gin, I think we'd probably have more at the place. Martini.
I like it. I like Gin, you do? Yeah? So
what about what about stories from opening the restaurant? What
about the clientele? What do they say? I've been pretty
receptive this this, this, this go around. I mean, look,
(25:46):
we've been really really fortunate, I think, I think coming
from where we came and opening French yet we had
a tremendous amount of goodwill and support from from you know,
from the press, from patrons, from peers and so on
and so forth. Uh and and and here it's just
sort of extended, you know, really fortunate with the staff
that we have. You know, Joel Michelle is our general manager.
(26:09):
We work with him, um many many years ago at
Baltasar and I think he was a manager over the pasties.
So he's another emigrat from Balthaz. Yeah, yeah, you know,
he he left and he did a little stint in
fine dining and then he you know, he worked with
Jean George and uh, you know, post COVID, there were
a lot of sort of free agents around. Um, a
lot of people sort of skeptical about getting back in
(26:32):
the business, but you know they you know, we were
sort of known entities to them and and and previous friends,
so so you know, they sort of took a leap
with us. Well your time. He was really pretty good
to be able to be planning and building a restaurant
during the most difficult time in New York restaurant history. Yeah,
just world history. Yeah, world history. But even in New York,
(26:53):
what a difficult time last two years have been. And
then to be able to open with great fanfare and
have people they're eating and enjoying in a in a
most iconic location, it's been. It's been fantastic. So are
you happy with the turnout? I mean you are. Biggest
adjustment is just you know, the times people would come
(27:16):
in for the or want table as their prime time
tables downtown French yet it's always been seven thirty eight
and here it's more six. Well, they kiss right out
of work, right, and you're getting that big bar rush
at five. Did you read in the New York Times
today how restaurant diners are now opting for earlier and earlier. Yeah,
so they can get home and watch their streaming shows.
(27:37):
So much to watch, isn't it funny? But no, I
think it's also healthwise. Earlier you eat, the better it
is for you for dinners and uh and then you
and then you also you know, get you know, you're
just coming out of the officers. No, you don't have
to stay late at the same late at the office
is not a priority. These days the same coming to
(27:58):
the office is not such a priority these days, which
is really I hate this. I hate this whole not
coming to work thing. So have you had any difficulty
filling the filling the spots in your restaurant in terms
of waiters, wait staff and kitchen kitchen staff is? Uh, yeah,
it's been difficult for sure. I mean, we're we we're
(28:21):
basically operating five dinners and that's our entire staff. You know,
should actually single them ountain and congratulate them as well.
You know, our chef, our executive chef as Walker Stern
who had a restaurant in Brooklyn, Michelin Starred and Jeffrey Teller,
who's are one of our chefs are executive chef company
(28:43):
ye and our pastry chefs as well, Maria and Michelle. Um,
we're fortunate that to sort of have a core group
that as as strong as they are and have plowed
through the whole, you know, pandemic situation with us, and
you're lucky. But I think I think is because of
you two guys who are such loyal employers and so
(29:04):
and so nice to work for, it, nice to be
friends with. I mean, it's it's it's really you're the
you're the glue together. You know, it's it's a pretty
good it's a feel good story right now, you know,
I mean it's a restaurant opening. They're still difficult. You
just went through it yourself and and you know, and
it's not like, Okay, we're open and it's over. It's
it's open. It's beginning. So how much time do you
(29:33):
spend at LaRock right now? All the time. Yeah, it's friendships,
all friendships, operating wealth. I'm very impressed with their wine
menu at French chet Where did you get all that wine? Yo?
An existing wine seller? I wish we did. No, we didn't.
We didn't have the money for that. We just started
to collect. We started to look. Our wine director is
(29:53):
Hore Riera. You know I know Hore over thirty years
we worked together at lahaw and big proponent of the
natural wine movement, and we knew we wanted to sort
of make that distinction with French Chett. And uh he
built out that wine list and in blank last night. No, No,
it was very Yeah, it was probably from a former
(30:14):
a former Bobbasar employee, Lauren Sairet. I bet you had
the lucky you Yeah, so we worked together as there. Yeah,
and so are you continuing at tradition here? Absolutely? So
that's your that's your wheelhouse. Yeah, I mean to to
move off of that would be disingenuine yea. And but
(30:37):
it's extensive. And so what do you what do you
find I mean when you when you're dealing with such
a eclectic clientele, but but pretty much all American? Well,
I guess you find it mostly American right now? Yeah,
or a New York American New York Americans do they do?
(30:59):
They do ask for anything that you don't want to make. No,
everyone's been very receptive menu and there's so many kind
of different choices to go there that by the way,
also the boys also ordered the big Steak. Yeah, they Thomas. Well,
(31:20):
you know why because we last week on my little
New Roku show, we cooked a coach to booth and
I on a grill and I had never really cooked
a great that kind of well it wasn't actually a coach,
but it was a Tomahawk. But but we reversed heared it,
you know, cooking it really slow for a long time,
and then we then we caramelized the exterior. It was
(31:44):
very good, but we were just comparing steaks, and your
steak was utterly delicious. And my favorite thing that I think,
after the crab, was the duck. Wow, where's that duck from?
Is that a long island? Long island? What a beautiful,
beautiful piece of duck And it was boneless. And then
(32:04):
the flavorful you have sugar on their it's what's the
what's the crystal things? That's honey, and then it's coated
and spices it is so yeah, and a lot of
is that coriander? Yeah, it was delicious, So a little
bit Moroccan kind of a to me, almost Roman kind
(32:26):
of inspired by that sort of stuck yeah, um yeah,
that's um. Yeah. Walker brought that to the menu. And
I love the Swiss chard. Oh, the Graton switch. I
grew a lot of Swiss chard and that was that
was just delicious. Yeah. So you have sort of the
influence of of of what a cream spinach would be
(32:49):
or how it would play in a steakhouse. But it's
that Gratton is a very French, French technique and approach,
and that meat is all sort of local beef, very
good beef premise as well. It is two boy, where
do you do all that because I went back and
I saw the kitchen. There's a whole So again, the
(33:10):
Rockefeller Center planned well for the for the future, and
you have enough space. Um, but the kitchen is beautiful
and that's a it's sort of square. Yes, yes, it's
not like a typical I guess straight line rectangle. Yes.
We're using these athor suites, which are a way to
work where you're kind of working across some people. So
(33:31):
it's it's communication wise, it's it's great. It's an amazing equipment.
And we have two sections. We have like an entree
section and then a separate app and garmage a section
where um, so there's two stoves and we can go
simultaneously because it's it's a very I love the kitchen.
It's beautiful than you and it looked like there's lots
of camaraderie and uh it's concentric squares. It's all tired.
(33:55):
They're just all tired. The there there there. What are
the hours of the restaurant? Uh five the bar opens
at five five to ten. We start seating dinner at
five thirty. Um. I hope to expand on that. I mean,
the idea is really to go continuous service from from
sort of eleven in the morning till eleven you know
(34:17):
at night with with sort of a continuous menu. We'll
see how that evolves. And then Petty d eight four right,
I'll be there for Petty Jane when I have to
go and do the Today Show. Yeah. I do regular
appearances on that Today Show right down the street and
it's always fun. Have you been on the Today Show yet?
We haven't. Oh they have to have you. Gosh, you guys,
(34:38):
should they should come over it? I got a face
for radio. Oh, yes, you're you'll be great on TV.
Oh look, people are walking by. We have windows right
on this ponds from a very big liquor store Moral.
That's a very nice quiet store. So if you could
have gotten the vodka for me right there, told me
(34:58):
go out and get stuffing. The only PoCA we have
is in Lee's like filing cabinet in the office. Next
day is to kill outside of the restaurant. What do
you do? What do you do with your kids? What
do you do on your do you have a day off?
We're having Sundays off lately. Um, when we have more
(35:20):
of a regular schedule, I guess you know my hobby
is to serve and to be in the ocean as
much as possible. We're out in Montalk. Yes, that's usually
where we go because it's closest. It's a year um
family stuff. Yeah, I mean the kids are into thrifting
these days, so we do a lot of that and
you know, I'm just hanging out and yeah, doing the
(35:40):
family stuff. That's great. And what do you do with
my getaway? The activity is steel heading, so it's uh
so fly fishing for steelhead or Atlantic salmon out West Alaska?
Do you go to Alaska? I was in Alaska in April,
Prince of Wale Islands. Guess what I got for my birthday?
(36:02):
I got a fly fishing lesson. Fantastic. I used to
tie all my brothers flies for them and I'm good
at that. But then my casting I went. I went
with Kenna Redski, who's a big fly fisherman from from
his restaurant across the street Patroon, and he uh and
he thought I was terrible castor. So I got a
(36:23):
fly fishing lesson, so I'm looking forward to that. I
actually think you'd be a great caster. Well. I love
doing it, I love catching you steal that is a
passion and m so try and do that as as
a as a getaway and then um ever do ever
do for tarpin um that's so that's hard. I did
that down in in uh in, Costa Rica for tarpon.
(36:46):
That's right, very my my fishing buddies, one of them
is turning forty next year, and there's plans of Rica,
not Costa Rica, and they've been talking about going to
Cuba and and doing a liverboard there and doing some
tarp and fishing. So Hemmingway action, a little Hemmingway action.
It's not steel head, but it was a hundred and
(37:08):
twenty five pounds and it took five hours to get
it in and my stomach was black and blue because
I was holding the room. I didn't have one of
those harnesses. I didn't know about that incredible and my
stomach was completely black and blue trying to hold the rod.
They say, it's pretty intense when you actually see that
tarp and eye for the first time. It's like you're
looking at it's like checking out. You're in a little robot,
(37:32):
like a little skiff, so you're not working anything. It's
rocking back and forth with this big fish it on
a wall somewhere. No, no, no, it's all catch and released.
Yeah you can't. Absolutely you can't keep your trophies. Yeah,
it's better, but they're very beautiful. Well listen, guys, I
think that you have to get back to your kitchen.
But I know this is great. I think that you know,
(37:53):
please okay. I think that you have done amazing things
in a very short period of time and developed a
clientele that really loves you and loves your food so
much and will follow you to the ends of the earth.
Each that crab and that and that fabulous duck and
those escargo I will. And I think it's just incredible
(38:16):
what you've done. And I wish you the very very
best of luck. Thank you so much for taking the
change today. And you should all look up lar Roc
New York City and it's called Larroc NYC dot com.
The menus are listed, and make your reservation early, because boy,
you will miss out if you come to New York
(38:37):
on a visit and don't visit lar Roc. Thanks every bank,
Thank you,
Do you go ice skating? Yeah, well I haven't been
ice skating yet. Don't break a leg and don't break
an arm. It's a beautiful roller right now. Okay, you
can break a leg, but you can't break an arm.
Cheff Rey d. Nasser and Lee Hansen are the masterminds
behind one of New York City's newest and most beautiful restaurants,
Little Rock. The Rock, which is located in Rockefeller Center,
(00:24):
has a well curated French menu and stunning design. The
pair is also known for their James Beard Foundation winning
restaurant Frenchet and their bakery French At Bakery. Both Riad
and Lee are veterans of Balthazar and have carved out
a successful path for themselves. Welcome to my podcast, Read
and Lee. I am very happy to be here, sitting.
(00:45):
We are sitting in the most peculiar spot. It's a
little newsstand recording studio on the first floor of one
Rockefeller Plaza. And this is a well one East forty
nine Street, I guess. But have you ever been here before?
We passed it a few times. Yeah, so it's it's
very cute. It looks, it looks it's it has windows
(01:07):
right onto a promenade that goes from forty nine S
Street and Uh, and the restaurant is really at St. Yeah.
And last night was my first time at lar Rock.
When did you open exactly? First week of August? First
week of August. I tried to come earlier, and I
just you were closed one night that I was free,
(01:29):
and then I wasn't able to get in. But boy,
am I glad I ate there last night because now
I have a lot to ask, even more questions than
I had before. Uh. You guys have been really, really busy.
I first met you many years ago at Both of
Ore when you were both the chefs working with Keith
McNally in one of the most innovative restaurants of the time.
(01:53):
Both are which still is going strong. I've been there
a few times during and since COVID, but I miss
you guys so much. And then of course you went
on to Minetta Tavern. Did you leave both Ustart to
go to Mindetta or did you just redesign? We did that.
We did that with Keith and um it was I
(02:14):
think the last project that we worked together. That was
it right? And and then you parted ways and took
your great talents and opened Friendship. So describe friend Set
to everyone, because I want to talk a lot about Laroq,
but friend Set is also such a delightful place to
go and and a first choice on many many people's
(02:34):
itineraries come from out of out of town. So tell
us what friendship and where you got that idea from.
When Lee and I, uh, look, we were always you know,
uh cooks, cooks. You know, we wanted, uh, we wanted
to forge our path. You know, we were looking for
a sort of a small location where the two of
us could basically just just sort of click. Well, you know,
(02:57):
every young chef stream or that you have been cooking,
how many dinners at Baltaz are thousands thousands every day? Right?
But the bakery, the fantastic food at it was fantastic. Okay,
So then you go, so yeah, I mean we we
we we left and to sort of pursue that dream.
And we found this location that you know, we had
(03:19):
um have many seats through at French that it's pretty
big and stuff that's pretty big. That's not a little
tiny place, and it was taking a very size of
what we're sort of used to, you know, prior to that.
But we just wanted to do sort of a simple
neighborhood French bistro, very very market driven, sort of inspired
(03:40):
by you know, our travels in France and you know,
our culinary upbringing so to speak, you know, incorporate some
ideas that we had. How long did you know each
other before you joined forces at baltaz Are when we
met back when we both worked for Danielle Blood at
restaurant Danielle and that was that opens and I met there,
(04:01):
So you were both there at that time, at the
opening and at that fabulous place at the former home
of the Cirque. No, this is in Missouri Hotel. This
was seventy six streets, which then became your cafe Balloon.
You know. I think that's when we first met you, Martha.
That is great, Okay, that was a long time. Yeah.
And Danielle is my neighbor now. He lives right across
(04:23):
the street from me in Bedford. Keep the noise down.
A good neighbor. No, he's great, he's great. We share,
we share. I share eggs with him. He shares rare
things with me that gets shipped to his house. Rare things, yeah,
rare things like pineapples out of season. But so so
(04:44):
first with first at Danielle, So is that when you
forged your idea of a partnership or yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We were both Sux chefs there And what was your
training before we had? Prior to that, well, I met Danielle.
I I was cooking in France. I was working at
Michelle bra and I've been wrong a little town called
Yol And prior to that, I was you know, Park
(05:07):
Bistro and Leal I was working and I was sort
of like, where were you moderns? I was born in
New York, but I grew up in Montreal. Okay, so
you're you have a French background kind of yeah, I
think so I'm sort of pseudo French. And what about you,
you're so American? Uh well, my first job out of
school is with Danielle when he was a chef at
(05:28):
Le Cirque, and school was ci a corner and student ark.
And after I worked with Um Jean George at Van
and Charlie Palmer for a number of years, and then
I've always had a conversation with keeping in touch with
Danielle and everything, you know, when he when he was
ever going to open his own place, I wanted to
be a part of that. And that came a few
years later and he came by and it's like, okay, Lee,
(05:51):
let's go and h And that's where you met read remember. Yeah,
So it's a long it's a long partnership. You two
guys had any arguments, I don't know, quiet pouting, Maybe
when we both kind of express are are we We've
we express our frustrations in similar ways, like what just
(06:13):
like to ourselves we might kind of be like, all
right ly, I'll just slide this time, or Maria, don't
walk away from this from now. But now we've never
had any screaming matches. Um. Great. I think he keeps
score though we think you do. I think he does
right down. And there's a given take that you have
to have with the relations and life changes have occurred.
(06:33):
I mean, you're married, are you married ly? I don't
even know sure. My kids were on your show one
that's right, Oh my gosh. Yes, the the the bathroom,
the bedtime we had sleepover, sleep over one sleepover episode, pajamas.
Oh my goodness, how old are they know? Your kids? Wow?
Ones in college? Junior in college that it's a junior
(06:55):
in high school. Any chefs in the family. Oh no, no, definitely, yes,
I don't don't read. Yeah, no, My wife and I
have been married twenty three years, so no kids. Lots
of cats. My wife does trapping in to her release,
so we foster. How many do you have right now?
(07:17):
We have six? Yeah. Yeah, we have a good big
space though. Yeah. And um, I know your sister, that's right. Yeah,
she's the editor in chief of Harper's Bizarre. Yeah. We're
incredibly proud of incredible. She's an incredible editors. So proud
of you. Oh my gosh, she talks about you along.
(07:38):
She needs to get out of the world a little
bit more. But she she loves your food as I do. Um. Well,
back to the food friendship is um is the food
is very delicious and kind of unique. Uh, those are
your own, your own ideas of what what what's this
friendship mean to you? Sort of French e or I
(07:59):
when we start with with I mean, it's it's rooted
in in in traditional French French cuisine, but we like
to throw a little twists and things. You know, I'm
not twists or just have a little bit more of
a attitude about what's your favorite dish on the menu
at French at I think you would probably have to
be the brillad, which is the soft scrambled eggs with
(08:20):
saute scargo and you like, yeah, certainly. Yeah. I had
them last night. They were delicious and we love the
way you serve them in the little individual, little individual cups,
so pretty with a little toast on top. Really really tasty. Yeah.
Where do you get the snails from? The snails? They're
(08:41):
they're Burgundy snails. It's a preserved snail that that we
cook in a corbillon and they're braised out with a
little bit of pinch, had tons of aramats and then
stuffed in those little pots. And tarragon is everywhere on
the menu at at l Rock. Yeah, you love tarragon. Yeah,
in the league and also in the in the crab,
(09:03):
I had the best appetizer last night that I've had
in a long time. It is a dungeoness crab shell,
perfectly cleaned, filled with the most delicious crab salad um.
So that has a lot of tarragon and what else
does it happen? And I'm trying to get a recipe
out of this. I want to make that at home.
Because I get dungeon iss crab ship to be from
(09:25):
from Seattle Top, parsley and lemon and sieved egg and
capers a. That's a super little all four of those
up nice and even like the idea to kind of
mix it all together, add a little the uh mayonnaise
that comes with it beautifully. It's called a dressed crab
on the menu. Funny last night we had a we
(09:46):
had a customer come in and said, I would like
my crab undressed please? Oh no mayo. That means no
mayo crab. Well, it's a delicious appetizer. Wow, I could
I want that for lunch today? Unfortunately Laroc is not
open for lunch yet. That's coming soon though. That's good.
October will be in. October will be. And what's your
(10:08):
favorite dish on the menu at French Chet French Set. Yeah,
hard to say. I guess one of my favorite little
pairings that we do is the oysters in the chippe LATAs.
So we serve oyses on the half shell and a
little of the sausages on the side. So it's a
very kind of unique combination from Brittany that you don't
see very often. But it's the richness of the sausage
and that kind of clean Briani oyster is the sausage
(10:32):
or it is? You see. That's another wonderful feature of
of these Guys restaurants. It's everything is really homemade and
touched and and loved, and it tastes so good. Every
single thing my favorite thing. Last night at LaRock we
had a lot of appetizers, so I'm going to read
(10:53):
what four of us ordered on the off the menu.
Yesterday we had um, Let's see, we had the column
mari and shochito peppers. That was delicious. So the calamari
were wrapped with schito peppers and put on little tiny skewers.
That was wonderful. We had the sardine escabeesh, that was fantastic.
(11:15):
So those are fresh sardines that you pickle. You pickle
them yourself. And then we had the pette maison which
was also excellent. What is that made out of? That
was a pork and rabbit, Yeah, rabbit with large squares
of little little cubes there yea, And yeah that was
(11:38):
served with a little apricot mustata that was very little, right, Didjli?
That was a jellow shot basically that was really good.
Then we also had annualati with corn and chantarelle central
are just coming into season, I guess, yeah, and they
are they were. That was delicious. And then it also
(11:59):
had some red pepper, I think like soft read pepper,
and oh it was so good. Then we also had
the um let me see, I thought we had yet
did you ever yet have that? Yeah? So we have
that bread. We have sort of that section underneath the
bag att, So we offer the bag at and then
we have like several sorts of smallish a little little
(12:20):
bread and all the butter that whole section and that
you're looking at all things that go with bread, and yeah,
the riette dear, and my favorite of all was the
chicken liver most with that wonderful topping of a little
port on the top port. That's pork jelly for those
(12:41):
of you who don't know what it was really also
very nicely not too big a serving, just enough because
it's very rich. But you know how to you know
how to serve chicken livers. Yeah, you know, we were
we were brought up on chicken livers, and this is
the best chicken livers I've ever had. Might be able
to share that recipe and then we went on two
(13:03):
leaks vinaigrette. That are the leaks were so interesting because
you wrapped them in what are they wrapped in? Leaks?
And the most of the leaks, that's the dark leaves
poached and there are they poached in there and then
and then roasted. Now the roasted hole first, yeah, really hot,
so they get kind of caramelized in their skin a
little bit, and we strip away the outer layers and
(13:24):
put that inner very tender leak now in some new
green leaks that are still raw, and then we grilled that.
It's grilled. Yeah, so they were quite burned on the
outside and so delicious on the inside. That's a different
way because post leagues oftentimes get a little wet. These
were These were not wet. These were all leaks. And
(13:44):
that's fun. That's the sort of a bit of a
surprise there. You're taking a humble ingredient and then treating
it with a bit of reverence, not unlike a baked
potato that you might smash tableside. And that's our most
popular dish at the Bedford. That's great, we should do
a mash up with it and leak, but it's a
good it's a good it's a good potato. I mean
we're using we're using Yukon gold large gold potatoes, and
(14:08):
they're so tender inside, buttery buttery on their own. Um,
So you're following that I opened a restaurant. I am
now the proud competitor of all my friends who I
have visited year after year after year, and I can't
believe that I actually have a restaurant. Now we'll have
to get a show and have you on. Wouldn't that
(14:29):
be great? Nobody has asked me to talk about my
restaurant on a podcast yet. But but it's it's fun,
it's I'm under I was a nervous wreck about opening
the restaurant, So you guys must have been you must
have been nervous. How long did it take to actually
build the rock this beautiful space? A year and a half,
I mean a year and a half of actual construction,
(14:50):
and there's probably a year of development prior to that.
I mean, you know, COVID sort of put a real
it just slowed the entire process down and actually kept
our meetings of on a remote um, you know, remotely
versus being sort of on premise and and and and
basically prototyping things. So we spent a lot of time
(15:11):
fixing things that you know, maybe didn't quite line up
because you're not in the space as often. Um, but
just Inspire bought Rockefeller Center a few years ago for
what looks like in retrospect a terribly small price one
point six billion for all of Rockefeller Center. Can you
imagine that's not a bad business move. That was a
(15:33):
smart move. And then somebody had your space before a
rule it was it was brocery rule mine, Yeah, which
was very beautiful but very dark. It was dark and
would he have was sort of different? Yeah, I mean
you get to read the floors or floors there you've
got you got the Torozzo guys to come in. A
lot of people surprised when we say the floors and
(15:54):
you're like, yeah, because Rocketfillar Center is known for its Toronto.
You know, all all the spaces here have the most
beautiful Toronto. One of the reasons for using is try
and tie into some of the beauty that's just naturally
exists everywhere. And the color palette, the design choices were
all taken from from roaming you know, the center and
picking up on those details. And the half shades up
(16:15):
the windows are so beautiful. You have to come and
see this place, in this space because it really is
unique to New York and uh and so clean. And
I have to warn you the only thing that bothers
tender ears is the noise, because it's hard escape the
whole place Toronto floors, plaster walls and high ceilings and
(16:38):
naked and naked tables which you protect nicely with pasters.
Everything is a poster or paper under it, but knows
nothing to soften them. The excited sound of the patrons
were working on that and there how there'll be some
acoustic help coming. There has to be. I mean it's
noisy for the help too. That at French yet as well.
(17:02):
But people really are noisy, aren't they builds and as
they drink it sounds like everybody's screaming, but they're not.
You know, they're talking out the high as revelry exactly.
That's a nice way to be excited when you're in
a big room. So what are the big surprises about
(17:28):
opening this place with a big commitment of time and effort.
What were your big surprises moving uptown? This is your
first Uptown restaurant. Midtown, uptown in the most famous place
in New York, you know, Rockefeller Center. What were your
surprises all that we would like it up here? Do you?
(17:48):
And do you know ice skating? Yeah, well we haven't
been ice skating yet. Don't break a leg and don't
break an arm, and you can break up with it's
a beautiful roller right now. Okay, you can break a leg,
but you can't break an arm, you know. I I
don't know. And not to be too like Smalty is
serious about it. It's funny coming out of out of
pandemic um and and and reintroducing yourself to the city
(18:10):
in a way and re embracing the city. We couldn't
really think of a better place to do it than
than than Rockefeller Center. It is an epicenter and you
haven't lived to the through the tree lighting yet. Yeah,
we're a little anxious about that. It will be pretty
big and better be open for lunch, Yeah, we should be.
(18:33):
Are you ever going to open for breakfast too? For they? Oh?
I hope so, yeah, that would be Those are actually
really fun meal periods for us to explore. I want
to bring my grandchildren for breakfast and ice skated. Yeah,
that's a nice time. Applause is so airy and beautiful. Uh.
And the light in the room during the day is
pretty is pretty great. So now they're able to see
(18:54):
about a hundred people, So make your reservations early. Everybody listening.
But you'll be open outside too. Is that going to
be a heated space outside for winter time or only
only summer time? Mostly seasonal? But we've talked about, you know,
and closing it. But again, you know, I think the
we like the idea of seasonality being sort of expressed,
(19:15):
and in winter maybe indoors is where you should be,
right and in springing and summer really enjoy the spring
of the summer outdoors a little bit more. So I
think we're good with you know, maybe just some space
heaters and the some umbrellas, and I mean for the
tree lighting and that kind of really festive time of year.
We're not gonna rule out the possibility of someplace to
keep warm and have a snack out on the terrace
(19:37):
while you're looking at the tree. It would be so fun.
So how did you come to name the restaurant Little Rock?
I mean, it's it's natural, but but how many names
did you have before you came up with the rock.
The naming part of a restaurant is the worst by
far um. It's because when you that's going to be
the name for the life of the restaurants, so you
do you just bang your head over it and it's
(20:00):
on you. Some of the some of our worst actually
meetings have been about the names and what were what
were other possibilities we've exercise them from. But it's funny.
We were both kind of this project. We didn't really
have that many names for right, we we didn't really
have a naming session. We had a couple like, hey,
what do you think it is? What do you think
of that French? It was, Yeah, that was a long one.
(20:21):
That was It was more so, do you have investors
in the restaurant? Yeah? So they're pretty they're pretty um
fabulous because there they are really redoing this entire location,
a lot of great talent, thoughtfully invigorating the and with
a lot of fun. I mean, look at us, we're
(20:42):
in an old news stand here. They're amazing repurposing of
the space. Right Yeah, and uh uh so where do
you source your ingredients? I saw I saw coming down
Fifth Avenue from seventy Street there was a fish truck,
there were there were vegetable trucks coming down Fifth Venue.
(21:02):
Is that you you buy from wherever that you've learned
I guess through the other restaurants, your sources. You have
a pretty extensive prevayor list the chefs. The chefs shop
at the Farmer's market as well, so there's three days,
four days a week they're picking up fresh and seasonal
from from some of our partners at the at the
(21:22):
Farmer's market. Um. And then yeah, you have some some
larger scale purveyors for for potatoes for example, or at
least the you know the frying potatoes. Umbly, what do
you use for the frying potatoes? Yeah, they're Idaho. They're
g p O d gepod. There's a shortage right now.
Then well, yeah, yeah there is. They were very good
(21:44):
last night the Kevin Sharky loves your Fried Potatoes. Boy.
We discussed the potatoes for about fifteen minutes. Yeah, and
they were They're very very good because they they're soft
in the middle and crispy on the outside, and they're
not hard and they're not too soft, and they they
stayed crispy the whole meal really much. We just got
right past that season of potatoes where they go where
(22:06):
they're out of the potatoes from last year, and your
young potatoes are still very kind of sugar. Yeah, and
so we're just getting into that sweet spotted potatoes. They were,
they were very very good. But remember you came on
my show and showed me how to make um the
onion rings from Balthazar's right, And guess when I made
(22:27):
them the other day. And I think I improved on
your recipe at the last second. I looking at the
flower and you use all purpose flower. I went to
won Dra try it. They are the best onion rings
anybody in the whole room. And had had try to
(22:49):
try the Wondering. I had never used it before for
Ra and it held on nicely. They're glorious color and
that the rest of the recipe is pretty much the
same with beer in the batter and stuff. But it
was really good. You use wonder and anything nice. Now
(23:11):
we have it on the shelf and we dust and occasionally,
depending on what we're cooking, well dust you could do
or crab or skate wing. Yeah, yeah, it's really it was.
It was just incredibly delicious. So I just wanted to
share that nice happens. Since so, um so, who designed
(23:32):
the restaurant? I mean, I'm sure you had a lot
of input, but did you have an architect or a designer.
We had a firm called Workstead that we are They
from Brooklyn, Yes, I guess technically from Brooklyn. Um it's beautiful. Yeah,
they didn't know. They did a great job. It was it,
but it is it definitely a collaboration. We worked closely
with them for over a year on every detail and
(23:54):
all the lighting fixtures are great. We chose them is
because they design their owlining well. Oh they doe chanelers.
They were beautiful sign those and it was beautiful and
the light is ambient but but not intrusive, and you
can still read the menu and it was it was
really really beautiful. And who is your matre d that'd
(24:15):
be Kevin King. He was great. He came by several
times to check on us, and we had the best waiter. Yeah, Craig, Craig,
you come in about the vodka? Dot know Kevin Kevin
and Kevin Sharkey mentioned it. Yeah, I said you didn't
like our vodka selection? Is that correct? Well? I drink
very little except I drink wine, and you have lovely wines,
(24:39):
but you didn't have a European or a Polish or
Russian vodka. This was great goose, great, but I can't
drink great like I like potatoes, potato, like gluten free vodkas. Yeah,
it just it just agrees with me. Great. Yeah, that's
like I could see that. So you have to please
get That's why you can come back and happen. What
do you do? What do you like that? I like Pilvidere.
(25:00):
I like I found a new one called Zubrovka that's
a potato of Polish vodka. Is very very nice and
it's not terribly expensive. It's but it's good. Yeah, are
well as Helix, I think and uh, which is a
French vodka. But yeah, you're you're you're right in saying
that there's not you don't have the originator there. Yeah
the other guys. Yeah, that's true. Well, if vodka tasted
(25:23):
like Gin, I think we'd probably have more at the place. Martini.
I like it. I like Gin, you do? Yeah? So
what about what about stories from opening the restaurant? What
about the clientele? What do they say? I've been pretty
receptive this this, this, this go around. I mean, look,
(25:46):
we've been really really fortunate, I think, I think coming
from where we came and opening French yet we had
a tremendous amount of goodwill and support from from you know,
from the press, from patrons, from peers and so on
and so forth. Uh and and and here it's just
sort of extended, you know, really fortunate with the staff
that we have. You know, Joel Michelle is our general manager.
(26:09):
We work with him, um many many years ago at
Baltasar and I think he was a manager over the pasties.
So he's another emigrat from Balthaz. Yeah, yeah, you know,
he he left and he did a little stint in
fine dining and then he you know, he worked with
Jean George and uh, you know, post COVID, there were
a lot of sort of free agents around. Um, a
lot of people sort of skeptical about getting back in
(26:32):
the business, but you know they you know, we were
sort of known entities to them and and and previous friends,
so so you know, they sort of took a leap
with us. Well your time. He was really pretty good
to be able to be planning and building a restaurant
during the most difficult time in New York restaurant history. Yeah,
just world history. Yeah, world history. But even in New York,
(26:53):
what a difficult time last two years have been. And
then to be able to open with great fanfare and
have people they're eating and enjoying in a in a
most iconic location, it's been. It's been fantastic. So are
you happy with the turnout? I mean you are. Biggest
adjustment is just you know, the times people would come
(27:16):
in for the or want table as their prime time
tables downtown French yet it's always been seven thirty eight
and here it's more six. Well, they kiss right out
of work, right, and you're getting that big bar rush
at five. Did you read in the New York Times
today how restaurant diners are now opting for earlier and earlier. Yeah,
so they can get home and watch their streaming shows.
(27:37):
So much to watch, isn't it funny? But no, I
think it's also healthwise. Earlier you eat, the better it
is for you for dinners and uh and then you
and then you also you know, get you know, you're
just coming out of the officers. No, you don't have
to stay late at the same late at the office
is not a priority. These days the same coming to
(27:58):
the office is not such a priority these days, which
is really I hate this. I hate this whole not
coming to work thing. So have you had any difficulty
filling the filling the spots in your restaurant in terms
of waiters, wait staff and kitchen kitchen staff is? Uh, yeah,
it's been difficult for sure. I mean, we're we we're
(28:21):
basically operating five dinners and that's our entire staff. You know,
should actually single them ountain and congratulate them as well.
You know, our chef, our executive chef as Walker Stern
who had a restaurant in Brooklyn, Michelin Starred and Jeffrey Teller,
who's are one of our chefs are executive chef company
(28:43):
ye and our pastry chefs as well, Maria and Michelle. Um,
we're fortunate that to sort of have a core group
that as as strong as they are and have plowed
through the whole, you know, pandemic situation with us, and
you're lucky. But I think I think is because of
you two guys who are such loyal employers and so
(29:04):
and so nice to work for, it, nice to be
friends with. I mean, it's it's it's really you're the
you're the glue together. You know, it's it's a pretty
good it's a feel good story right now, you know,
I mean it's a restaurant opening. They're still difficult. You
just went through it yourself and and you know, and
it's not like, Okay, we're open and it's over. It's
it's open. It's beginning. So how much time do you
(29:33):
spend at LaRock right now? All the time. Yeah, it's friendships,
all friendships, operating wealth. I'm very impressed with their wine
menu at French chet Where did you get all that wine? Yo?
An existing wine seller? I wish we did. No, we didn't.
We didn't have the money for that. We just started
to collect. We started to look. Our wine director is
(29:53):
Hore Riera. You know I know Hore over thirty years
we worked together at lahaw and big proponent of the
natural wine movement, and we knew we wanted to sort
of make that distinction with French Chett. And uh he
built out that wine list and in blank last night. No, No,
it was very Yeah, it was probably from a former
(30:14):
a former Bobbasar employee, Lauren Sairet. I bet you had
the lucky you Yeah, so we worked together as there. Yeah,
and so are you continuing at tradition here? Absolutely? So
that's your that's your wheelhouse. Yeah, I mean to to
move off of that would be disingenuine yea. And but
(30:37):
it's extensive. And so what do you what do you
find I mean when you when you're dealing with such
a eclectic clientele, but but pretty much all American? Well,
I guess you find it mostly American right now? Yeah,
or a New York American New York Americans do they do?
(30:59):
They do ask for anything that you don't want to make. No,
everyone's been very receptive menu and there's so many kind
of different choices to go there that by the way,
also the boys also ordered the big Steak. Yeah, they Thomas. Well,
(31:20):
you know why because we last week on my little
New Roku show, we cooked a coach to booth and
I on a grill and I had never really cooked
a great that kind of well it wasn't actually a coach,
but it was a Tomahawk. But but we reversed heared it,
you know, cooking it really slow for a long time,
and then we then we caramelized the exterior. It was
(31:44):
very good, but we were just comparing steaks, and your
steak was utterly delicious. And my favorite thing that I think,
after the crab, was the duck. Wow, where's that duck from?
Is that a long island? Long island? What a beautiful,
beautiful piece of duck And it was boneless. And then
(32:04):
the flavorful you have sugar on their it's what's the
what's the crystal things? That's honey, and then it's coated
and spices it is so yeah, and a lot of
is that coriander? Yeah, it was delicious, So a little
bit Moroccan kind of a to me, almost Roman kind
(32:26):
of inspired by that sort of stuck yeah, um yeah,
that's um. Yeah. Walker brought that to the menu. And
I love the Swiss chard. Oh, the Graton switch. I
grew a lot of Swiss chard and that was that
was just delicious. Yeah. So you have sort of the
influence of of of what a cream spinach would be
(32:49):
or how it would play in a steakhouse. But it's
that Gratton is a very French, French technique and approach,
and that meat is all sort of local beef, very
good beef premise as well. It is two boy, where
do you do all that because I went back and
I saw the kitchen. There's a whole So again, the
(33:10):
Rockefeller Center planned well for the for the future, and
you have enough space. Um, but the kitchen is beautiful
and that's a it's sort of square. Yes, yes, it's
not like a typical I guess straight line rectangle. Yes.
We're using these athor suites, which are a way to
work where you're kind of working across some people. So
(33:31):
it's it's communication wise, it's it's great. It's an amazing equipment.
And we have two sections. We have like an entree
section and then a separate app and garmage a section
where um, so there's two stoves and we can go
simultaneously because it's it's a very I love the kitchen.
It's beautiful than you and it looked like there's lots
of camaraderie and uh it's concentric squares. It's all tired.
(33:55):
They're just all tired. The there there there. What are
the hours of the restaurant? Uh five the bar opens
at five five to ten. We start seating dinner at
five thirty. Um. I hope to expand on that. I mean,
the idea is really to go continuous service from from
sort of eleven in the morning till eleven you know
(34:17):
at night with with sort of a continuous menu. We'll
see how that evolves. And then Petty d eight four right,
I'll be there for Petty Jane when I have to
go and do the Today Show. Yeah. I do regular
appearances on that Today Show right down the street and
it's always fun. Have you been on the Today Show yet?
We haven't. Oh they have to have you. Gosh, you guys,
(34:38):
should they should come over it? I got a face
for radio. Oh, yes, you're you'll be great on TV.
Oh look, people are walking by. We have windows right
on this ponds from a very big liquor store Moral.
That's a very nice quiet store. So if you could
have gotten the vodka for me right there, told me
(34:58):
go out and get stuffing. The only PoCA we have
is in Lee's like filing cabinet in the office. Next
day is to kill outside of the restaurant. What do
you do? What do you do with your kids? What
do you do on your do you have a day off?
We're having Sundays off lately. Um, when we have more
(35:20):
of a regular schedule, I guess you know my hobby
is to serve and to be in the ocean as
much as possible. We're out in Montalk. Yes, that's usually
where we go because it's closest. It's a year um
family stuff. Yeah, I mean the kids are into thrifting
these days, so we do a lot of that and
you know, I'm just hanging out and yeah, doing the
(35:40):
family stuff. That's great. And what do you do with
my getaway? The activity is steel heading, so it's uh
so fly fishing for steelhead or Atlantic salmon out West Alaska?
Do you go to Alaska? I was in Alaska in April,
Prince of Wale Islands. Guess what I got for my birthday?
(36:02):
I got a fly fishing lesson. Fantastic. I used to
tie all my brothers flies for them and I'm good
at that. But then my casting I went. I went
with Kenna Redski, who's a big fly fisherman from from
his restaurant across the street Patroon, and he uh and
he thought I was terrible castor. So I got a
(36:23):
fly fishing lesson, so I'm looking forward to that. I
actually think you'd be a great caster. Well. I love
doing it, I love catching you steal that is a
passion and m so try and do that as as
a as a getaway and then um ever do ever
do for tarpin um that's so that's hard. I did
that down in in uh in, Costa Rica for tarpon.
(36:46):
That's right, very my my fishing buddies, one of them
is turning forty next year, and there's plans of Rica,
not Costa Rica, and they've been talking about going to
Cuba and and doing a liverboard there and doing some
tarp and fishing. So Hemmingway action, a little Hemmingway action.
It's not steel head, but it was a hundred and
(37:08):
twenty five pounds and it took five hours to get
it in and my stomach was black and blue because
I was holding the room. I didn't have one of
those harnesses. I didn't know about that incredible and my
stomach was completely black and blue trying to hold the rod.
They say, it's pretty intense when you actually see that
tarp and eye for the first time. It's like you're
looking at it's like checking out. You're in a little robot,
(37:32):
like a little skiff, so you're not working anything. It's
rocking back and forth with this big fish it on
a wall somewhere. No, no, no, it's all catch and released.
Yeah you can't. Absolutely you can't keep your trophies. Yeah,
it's better, but they're very beautiful. Well listen, guys, I
think that you have to get back to your kitchen.
But I know this is great. I think that you know,
(37:53):
please okay. I think that you have done amazing things
in a very short period of time and developed a
clientele that really loves you and loves your food so
much and will follow you to the ends of the earth.
Each that crab and that and that fabulous duck and
those escargo I will. And I think it's just incredible
(38:16):
what you've done. And I wish you the very very
best of luck. Thank you so much for taking the
change today. And you should all look up lar Roc
New York City and it's called Larroc NYC dot com.
The menus are listed, and make your reservation early, because boy,
you will miss out if you come to New York
(38:37):
on a visit and don't visit lar Roc. Thanks every bank,
Thank you,
Host
Martha Stewart
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