May 24, 2015 New. York Untitled at Whitney Museum

VFMay 24, 2015 New York Untitled at New Whitney Museum

we left Etown on the Keystone Express to New York at 9:45 and arrived in NY at 1:00.

we taxied to the Whitney and left our bags in the Untitled Restaurant on the first floor.

We then viewed the building and the collection.   The collection includes only 20th century American art starting with the Ashcan School around 1908.

There were many major woks of art, including the largest collection of Edward Hopper works. 

Here are some of the more interesting works:

Melissa joined us at 2:30 and at 3:00 we went to the cafe on the 8th floor for a snack and wine.

We chose a bottle of Cabernet Franc rose from Chinon and a a cucumber flatbread.

 We loved the wine and our waiter told us that Untitled is the only restaurant in the U.S. to sell it.

After seeing all the works in the museum, at 4:45 we met my niece, Rebecca Simon, and her boyfriend, Mickey, at a table outside Untitled.  At just after 5:00 we were shown to a corner table for 6.

Soon the Executive Chef, Michael Anthony, came over to the table and talked to us.

 Apparently, Rebecca and Mickey had spoken to him before we arrived and he realized that they were Gramercy Tavern aficionados and foodies.  

When I asked the chef, "What do you recommend for dinner? He said, "I am looking forward to your choices and would rather not say."

So all six of us began looking at the menu.  My first impression was the diversity and freshness of the ingredients when I examined the menu.  My second impression was complete confusion, trying to orchestrate the food and wine choices.  We were soon rescued when the head waiter came over and orchestrated dinner by saying, "Everyone just pick three or four dishes."  So each person began choosing dishes.  When that exercise was finisheds, I asked for help with the wine, and the head waiter sent over the sommelier.  We quickly reviews the dishes and she made several suggestions. After discussing lchampagne, we settled on rose.  We saw a bottle of rosé made by Reverdy Winery in the Loire and the sommelier recommended it and I chose it.  the selections were all over the menu, from smoked clams with cucumbers and yogurt to braked carrots with chili and peanuts.  I particularly liked the Cauliflower in Green curry sauce.  Probably the most interesting dish was a pasta dish, Stradette with broccoli rape and fresh cheese.  I chose Chicken fried and roasted with tsatsoi and dill for my main course.  Luke and Mickey chose the black bass which was caught of Montauck Point in a lovely broth made with the smallest shiitake mushrooms I have ever seen.

While we were eating the chef kept sending out dishes to try, such as lightly cured vegetables and a small dish of grilled leeks with a citrus Padilla sauce that were delicious.  Another standout dish was raw fluke with salmon egg caviar, radish, sorrel, and lime and tiny purslane leaves of a type In had not seen before.

Finally, we got to dessert and had to choose.  There were three choices;