Essential by Christophe, Upper West Side, NYC
Standing on the subway platform after Kevin Draper's lecture "The Second Toughest Job in the World: A History of New York City Mayors, 1700-1950" at New York Historical (no longer Society!) to grab the B downtown, I met this adorable, perky woman. We started talking about restaurants and squeezed in lots before one of us got off the B train. She mentioned working at the Michelin-starred Essential by Christopher and said I had to try it. I convinced a friend to join me at the inviting bar to sample some Chef Christophe Bellanca's dishes. The restaurant started us with an amuse bouche that I thought needed a touch of color. That [...]