My relationship with Craft got off to a rocky start. While the restaurant was getting a lot of good press, my first few meals weren’t that impressive. In fact, I pretty much wrote the restaurant off as one of those places that was liked by a less discriminating diner than I imagined myself to be. I also criticized the way chef/owner Tom Colicchio had deconstructed upper-middle cuisine, turning it into a modern-day version of an à la carte steakhouse; further, Colicchio’s deployment of the “great ingredients prepared simply” strategy didn’t always bear fruit. On certain days the ingredients could be terrific, but on other days not much better than average. And as is occasionally typical of ingredient-driven restaurants, sometimes the food seemed overly plain. One of the first meals I had at Craft seemed to encapsulate this particular problem—an order of softshell crabs was delicious, but the roast baby lamb didn't have much flavor and was tough.
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Craft - By far the best restaurant in this category of dining. Not only in New York City but probably anywhere. I know Tom Colicchio fashioned this restaurant after the à la carte menus of the steakhouses of old, but I have found that the best way to enjoy the restaurant is to set the menu aside and allow the kitchen to choose your dinner. Just tell them how many courses you would like, and they will send out the best ingredients they have on hand that day. They might treat you to succulent black pork from Idaho, or a Wagyu skirt steak, or maybe a Duclair duck from Massachusets. Or how about a two-pound lobster tail from Australia, or Craft stalwarts like the fork-tender short ribs, along with a selection of the best vegetables available that day? A party of six stands the chance of having the best meal, and if you organize a bottle of wine per course, you will have a veritable feast. A
Roast Duclair Duck from Craft
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