Benoit New York
60 West 55th Street (Between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
Time has passed since our dinner at Benoit. I have trekked through the remote district of Mustang in northern Nepal, explored Buddhist caves that have been inhabited for over 3,000 years, and explored ancient landscapes that remind me of Death Valley and the Grand Canyon, but with Annapurna and Dhaulagiri overlooking the great Kali Gandaki Nadi river valley from 8,000 meters high. I have explored the temples of Delhi, been blessed at Bhoudanath in Kathmandu and photographed its lost alleys.
Since our dinner at Benoit, I have lost the vision in my left eye due to a detached retina which occurred in Mustang and had it repaired at an eye hospital in Delhi. I have spent the last ten days in my hotel room here doing little but reading, writing and listening while I lie face down to recover.
Alain Ducasse
Alain Ducasse is a master chef with impeccable credentials. His career began at Le Louis XV in Monaco where he earned three Michelin stars. In 2011 Prince Albert II of Monaco entrusted his wedding dinner to Ducasse. In 2005, Ducasse became the first chef to have three restaurants awarded with three Michelin stars at the same time.
Ducasse is also an entrepreneur. His “house” has Eight Professions: restaurant, hospitality, manufacturing, consulting, education, publishing, culture (cafes in museums, including Chateau de Versailles) and reception (events). He also co-founded the French Culinary School.
But what of the food? His food must be essential, responsible, humanist, and influential. From the website:
Each plate has its story and it is the produce, before the chef, who takes center stage. Anchored in the terroir, Alain Ducasse’s cuisine vibrates to the rhythm of its time, bringing together tradition and modernity, high expectations and respect for the product.
Ducasse has 45 restaurants around the world and a single restaurant in New York: Benoit.
The Chef of Benoit- Laëtitia Rouabah
Chef Laëtitia has supported the opening of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in London and been the Sous Chef at Le Jules Verne, Ducasse’s restaurant at the top the Eiffel Tower. At Benoit, her mission is to stay true to French bistro fare, and to bring a contemporary flair to the new menu, using market ingredients and expert technique to create flavors that range from the familiar to the unexpected.
Design
Benoit was designed by Dekar Design. The idea was to create Benoit as a classic French restaurant with a more inviting, residential feel and a modern new look.
Benoit is a restaurant and not a bistro. Authentic bistros are not designed and their decor arises over time organically. They reflect their history and the individual interests of their owners and patrons.
Time accretes design in bistros.
The bar is sophisticated with a fireplace, gilded golden mirrors, globe lights, red club chairs and beautiful mosaic floors. The tones glow soft and yellow. It is attractive and comfortable.
The main dining room has many hanging globe lights that suggest Japanese lanterns. There are large mirrors that create reflections of infinite lanterns. There is a vintage French poster on one wall: Cycles Cottereau. The tables and chairs are simple. The overall feel is air, light and sophisticated without being closed and stuffy.
The Food
We saw the William Eggleston photography show at the Met before we had dinner at Benoit. The photographs appear simple, almost casual and amateurish, but with attention their nuance and complexity slowly reveal themselves. Eggleston said that he is at war with the obvious: he composes form, light, shadow, texture and pattern in distinctive ways. Color is used dramatically. There is contrast between darkness and light, primary and secondary colors, emptiness and fullness, the obvious and the mystery. There is intelligence, clarity and subtlety behind his photographs. This is art.
Every day we strive to find that perfect balance between the excellence of French cuisine and the small Parisian bistro without losing the inherent generosity and the establishment’s deep-rooted history.
Chef Laëtitia Rouabah
You may choose three appetizers for $15. We chose the spicy shrimp ceviche, octopus and crispy cereals with the smoked pepper and raw vegetables.
Banal, boring, bland. The flavors were dull and confused. There was no clarity of concept or taste or texture. There was no art in the presentation. Some chefs experiment with appetizers and create bold, inventive and interesting dishes. Why not take a chance? After all, it’s only an appetizer!
We questioned whether we had received the correct appetizer: we could not find any octopus in one of the dishes. The waiters were not sure either and it took several of them to discover that indeed it was the octopus because they found a single piece of spongy rubber at the bottom of the pile. The raw vegetables could not be identified; they were dull, stale, dead.
Even the French onion soup was a disappointment. The cheese had a curious plastic consistency and taste. I did not finish it and left a pile of melted synthetic polymer in the bottom of the bowl. I love French onion soup and after dining at almost forty bistros in New York over the past three years I do not ever recall not finishing the soup.
I encourage the Benoit team to have the onion soup at Odeon or Cafe Luxembourg to learn what quality soup should taste like. Perhaps they could obtain a recipe?
The roasted cod (with mango and passion fruit), at $36, was cold and the mango and passion fruit were dull. A mysterious sauce was dripped around the plate like a Pollock painting but served no purpose.
The steamed striped bass, at $42, was served with spelt & seaweed, black olive and lemon condiment. It was the monthly special.
At this price point, the dish should have been spectacular. It should have been on par with Le Bernadin. I began to wish we were there rather than here.
The elements of the dish did not coalesce into an interesting whole. Everything felt soft. There was no structure to any of the elements. They were old and tired. The elements did not work together and the composition failed.
The only items of quality were the bread and the pomes frites which were competently executed.
Where is the boldness, the invention, the surprise, the excitement that we have the right to expect from a Ducasse restaurant?
There is nothing of the intelligence, clarity and subtlety of William Eggleston in the food at Benoit. The effect was more like photographic paper left out in the sun-dull, brown, imageless.
Benoit is not serving art, it is serving poorly executed craft. It is a French-corporate restaurant pretending to be an authentic bistro. Perhaps this confusion over its identity is the source of the confusion in its food.
I am writing this review on a British Airways flight in business class on my way to Nepal to trek in the Mustang district. The food in business class reminded me of the food at Benoit. The description in the menu sounds creative and interesting, but you always get over cooked fish or chicken, and stale, lifeless vegetables in a mystery sauce. Blandness and boredom prevails. But the airlines have an excuse; Mr. Ducasse has none. He has set the standard extraordinarily high and he has failed to meet his own standard.
Ducasse has built an important and successful culinary empire. He is a master chef. But he is neglecting his food; he is producing cafeteria food in an elegant environment served by indifferent and vaguely arrogant and superior waiters.
Corporate cooking by committee for the extraction of maximum profit seems to be Benoit’s goal.
Perhaps Ducasse should eat at Benoit and see for himself? He has integrity and I know he will be disappointed. I would love to come back if he would bring his food to high standards.
Great food vibrates with energy. It is fresh and alive. The flavors, textures and colors dance. Each bite stimulates and thrills. There is clarity and composition and creativity. There is attention to detail, their is caring about the quality of the end product.
We eat great food slowly because there is so much to experience. We remember our experience and talk about it the next day.
Thinking back about the dinner my only memory is expensive boredom and disappointment. There was no indicia of greatness here.
I do not recommend Benoit, particularly at this price point. If you want a fine dining experience go to Le Bernadin instead. Or, if you want an authentic bistro experience go to Odeon, Cafe Luxembourg or Luciene in the East Village.
Reviews
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/dining/benoit-review.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/reviews/09rest.html