The Wright Choice at the Guggenheim

On Friday night, I had the pleasure of dining at The Wright, the restaurant that just opened at the Guggenheim and serves as the newest addition to the Upper East Side’s fine-dining scene. The Wright only debuted its dinner menu last Thursday, yet its menu has been finely tuned and its dinner service is already running smoothly, promising patrons a fantastic meal in a chic new space.

Designed by Andre Kikoski (and named after legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright), The Wright is sleek and modern, the perfect complement to the Guggenheim’s contemporary design. Upon entering, the eye is immediately drawn to the bright oranges and yellows of artist Liam Gillick’s sculptural installation, The horizon produced by a factory once it had stopped producing views (2009), which consists of horizontal strips of colored aluminum mounted to the curved walls and illuminated with fiber-optics. The colors of the installation, evocative of a sunrise, are contrasted with the plush blue banquette that runs along the same wall, and all are set off by the smooth white surfaces that cover the rest of the 1,600-square-foot space, which seats 58 and features a communal table with full menu service and a European-style bar that offers small plates, panini, and specialty drinks.

Stepping into The Wright feels somewhat like stepping into a futuristic spaceship, albeit a very hip and trendy one. "Inspired by and created within an institution renowned for its art, architecture, and innovation, The Wright will extend that experience to food and service," explains Aaron Breitman, director of The Wright. That philosophy was clearly conveyed by The Wright’s attentive staff and unique menu, created by chef Rodolfo Contreras, a protégé of David Bouley.

After selecting a lovely pinot noir from The Wright’s extensive wine list, my friend and I explored chef Rodolfo’s menu and were impressed to find a varied and original selection of modern American fare. Appetizers include parsnip soup with Romanesco cauliflower; seared diver scallops with gently cooked shrimp and lump crab meat in a sea urchin sauce; and angus beef tartare with an herb salad topped with shallots and chives and brioche toast.

Meanwhile, entrées such as crispy skin striped bass with fennel, potatoes, and baby calamari in a sweet paprika sauce; Colorado lamb loin with beet and goat cheese gnocchi, eggplant, pine nuts and lamb jus; and 28-day dry aged beef sirloin with a bone marrow port shallot marinade and beef jus caught our eye.

We made our choices and were presented with a selection of warm rolls: cranberry walnut, olive, and French brioche. The cranberry walnut was rich and comforting, the olive extremely tasty, and the brioche perfectly crispy.

Our server then brought over an amuse-bouche consisting of a layer of avocado mousse, a layer of tomato mousse, and diced shrimp, topped with a dollop of cream sauce and beautifully presented in what was the equivalent of a tall shot glass. It was light, refreshing, and very well prepared, and it left us eager for the rest of our meal.

Next up was a selection of appetizers. We each tried an exquisite pair of Kumamoto oysters topped with caviar before moving on to marinated yellowtail with ginger oil, sweet white onions, apple, and cucumber. The yellowtail was tasty and delicate, and the onions served as an especially delightful complement. We also tried roasted red and golden beets topped with sheep’s milk cheese, citrus, and pistachio, a beautifully prepared dish that was full of flavor.

As we received each dish, our knowledgeable server carefully explained to us how each had been prepared. He was especially enthusiastic as he presented us with a sample of Maine lobster served with black trumpets and Marcona almonds in a Clementine sauce, an entrée that turned out to be our favorite dish of the evening. The ample serving of lobster was plump and tender, and the sweet, citrusy sauce provided the perfect contrast to the stronger almond and trumpet flavors. Simply put, it was amazing.

Next, we tried the pan-seared Alaskan halibut topped with Manila clams, scallions, and prosciutto nage, and the butternut squash risotto served with winter black truffles. The halibut was moist and flaky and practically melted in our mouths, and the rich and hearty risotto was well-paired with the sweeter-tasting truffle sauce. Excellent choices, both.

After our entrées were cleared away, we were brought an intermezzo consisting of a Clementine, lemon, orange, and kumquat purée topped with Greek yogurt sorbet. It was light and refreshing, with a slightly sweet, slightly tart taste to cleanse our palates.

We then sampled a selection of three desserts: a dark chocolate soufflé topped with Tahitian vanilla ice cream; a spiced pumpkin and chocolate cake served with pumpkin sauce and pumpkin seed oil ice cream; and a poached apple mille feuille served with nutmeg caramel, apple cider sorbet, and cream chantilly.

The soufflé, similar to a chocolate lava cake, won the award for richest and most flavorful, while the pumpkin cake was lighter, very tasty, and by far the most original dessert we had seen in quite a while. The apple mille feuille, meanwhile, was the lightest and most exquisitely prepared of the three, with thinly-sliced apple wrapped in tiers around the cream chantilly. All three desserts went well with a glass of sweet Muscat dessert wine and served as a satisfying culmination to a brilliant meal.

With such a creative and high-quality menu, a unique and modern atmosphere, and friendly, attentive service, The Wright is a perfect fit at the Guggenheim and a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

All photos courtesy of Philip Greenberg.

"American Stories" at the Met

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to check out the Met’s “American Stories” exhibit. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend visiting before the exhibit closes on January 24. Spanning the years 1765 to 1915, “American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life” is a collection of paintings that detail the social, political, and home lives of Americans during the exciting and often tumultuous time between the American Revolution and the start of World War I. Stepping into the exhibition galleries is like stepping back in time.

“American Stories” features the work of such talented American artists as William Merritt Chase, Charles Wilson Peale, John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and Thomas Eakins. All of the works on display illustrate everyday life for Americans during this defining time period, whether on the frontier or in the city, fighting in the Civil War or spending time with family.

The paintings in the collection are organized by theme, with one gallery focusing on portraits, including John Singleton Copley’s portrait of Paul Revere and Charles Wilson Peale’s self-portrait; another gallery deals with the switch from portraiture to pictorial storytelling. There is a gallery that highlights life on the frontier and another that focuses on the Civil War, both at home and on the front; and galleries that feature American home life and the lives of Americans abroad.

And now, the highlights.

I particularly loved the inside look at American home life shown through paintings like William Merritt Chase’s “Ring Toss,” in which the artist’s three daughters play in their parlor, and “The Open Air Breakfast,” which features Chase’s family breakfasting in an idyllic backyard setting. Frances William Edmonds’ “The City and Country Beaux” shows a young woman deciding between two very different suitors; and Henry Mosler’s “Just Moved” highlights a family getting settled in their new home. This segment of the exhibit offers a candid look at the small pleasures and intimacies afforded Americans while their country was going through such transformation.

A recurring theme in the exhibit is American political life, and one of the most memorable works to embody this theme is George Caleb Bingham’s “The County Election,” a skilled portrayal of the energy and mayhem surrounding a small town’s polling place on election day and an insightful look at the nature of American politics in the early 19th-century.

Americans abroad are featured in John Singer Sargent’s “In the Luxembourg Gardens” and “A Street in Venice,” two of my favorite works for their evocative brushstrokes and romantic moods. Meanwhile, I found another favorite in Lilly Martin Spencer’s “Reading the Legend,” a whimsical tribute to American literature that features a young couple falling in love over the novels they share.

The highlight of the exhibit, however, is Samuel F. B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre,” a striking piece that takes up nearly an entire wall in one gallery. Painted between 1831 and 1833, a time during which many fake European works of art were on the market and there was little training for budding artists, the work shows Morse and his friend, the author James Fenimore Cooper, discussing art in a gallery at the Louvre. Yet the gallery does not feature the works that were actually featured there at the time; rather, Morse filled it with the works of the Italian Old Masters in an effort to note what true masterpieces really were. His replication of over 20 such works is masterful.

On a side note, I paid $7 for the audio guide to the exhibit, which offers commentary and interpretations on a selection of paintings from a variety of sources. While this was at times insightful, the most interesting information it provided was also listed on the placard beside each work, and the commentary did not add anything particularly substantial. I would recommend putting your $7 toward a glass of wine in the café afterward.

The exhibit itself was simply delightful, however, and I’m contemplating one more visit before it closes on January 24.