NYC FINE/DINING...NOMAD by Guest Blogger CAMILLE COGSWELL

As I reminisce about the holidays and all of the over-indulging that I happily succumbed to, my stomach grumbles in longing nostalgia for the six-hour feast I had at The NoMad on Christmas Day. 

My family came to spend Christmas with me in NYC, my parents traveling up from North Carolina and my brother down from Maine. I was excited to host the holiday in my neck of the concrete woods and saw it as the perfect opportunity to show them the restaurant where I currently work, The NoMad. It's generally a special occasion kind of restaurant and I hadn't even had the chance to eat there yet myself, so I couldn't wait to share the experience with them. 

The NoMad is located in The NoMad Hotel, just north of Madison Square Park. The restaurant is the second for Will Guidara and Chef Daniel Humm, the same dynamic duo behind the world-renown Eleven Madison Park just down the street. The NoMad has generated a good deal of buzz itself since it opened in 2012, earning one Michelin Star and three stars from Pete Wells in the New York Times. 

The relationship between the two restaurants can be summed up in the analogy Guidara and Humm created for inspiration: Miles Davis is to EMP as The Rolling Stones are to The NoMad. In both kitchens hang huge black and white photographs of their respective muses. They also have a posted list of eleven words that Guidara and Humm thought embodied the artists and would serve as guidance in the experience and food they want to provide at each. Words such as cool, inspired, endless reinvention, and spontaneous embody Miles Davis and EMP, whereas words like loose, alive, genuine, enduring, and glamorous represent The Rolling Stones and The NoMad. 

The Atrium, one of the main dining rooms. (Photo credit: New York Times)

You can loosen your tie at The NoMad, or just not wear one. It's fine dining, but with boisterous character that's anything but stuffy. The hip, busy crowd and the eclectic Rock music make you feel vibrant, energetic, and comfortable. In the city that never sleeps, The NoMad never sleeps. Since it's a hotel restaurant, the kitchen is open for room service orders at all hours and offers breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner to both hotel guests and the general public. Even some of the menu items at The NoMad are inspired by techniques and dishes from EMP, but are made less fussy and more accessible to fit The NoMad's character. 

The vast dining area at The NoMad is broken up into five rooms with distinctly different décor, but all with a casually luxurious allure to them. The Parlor has red velvet armchairs and pressed, dried plants in panes lining the walls; the glass greenhouse roof in the Atrium lets you gaze up at the brick and stars; the dark and mysterious mahogany bar has carved elephants built in; a few tables sit by the fireplace that was imported from France; and the Library is lined top to bottom with books and even a spiral staircase. 

My family and I dined in the Parlor, where we had a great view of the Hearth, an area separate from the main kitchen where The NoMad's signature dish is prepared: the roast chicken for two. Perhaps the most extravagant item on the menu, the bird is filled with a brioche, foie gras, and black truffle stuffing and presented to you gloriously golden and whole. It's then carved and reappears at your table with each breast on a plate accompanied by warm lentils, sumptuous with smoked butter, studded with pickled carrots and roasted brussels sprouts. The dark meat of the chicken is turned into a salad, the creaminess of which is brightened by the acidity of citrus. 

The Roast Chicken for Two before carving. (Photo credit: New York Times)

We were enchanted first by the Fruit de Mer, stunningly tiered bowls of ice peppered with small vessels holding six different types of expertly prepared seafood and shellfish. Every bite was transporting: raw oysters with shaved champagne mignonette ice; crab salad with fennel and basil, capped with apple bavoise; uni panna cotta with caviar; hamachi tartare with olive oil and freshly grated horseradish. 

The Fruits de Mer Grand Plateau (Photo credit: Restaurant Girl)

Indulging in simplicity, the radishes, served as a snack, are dipped in clarified butter as elegantly as strawberries dipped in chocolate. The pear and daikon salad is also delightfully refreshing, both sliced thin and pickled, topped with hazelnuts and a blanket of wispy grated pecorino. And if you're looking for a spectacular entree that won't weigh you down, the arctic char is an amazing contrast of crispy skin and silky fish surrounded by shaved fennel and segments of citrus. 

Favorites in the slightly heartier realm include the delicately poached egg appetizer with roasted cauliflower, crispy kale chips, and parmesan foam. Curls of foie gras give elegant shape to the beef carpaccio, dotted with marinated mushrooms and balsamic vinegar. And the suckling pig gives a new meaning to succulence; the umami-rich and tender confit topped with crispy skin is accompanied by dates and dandelion greens. 

Dessert is my arena, so I have to tell you about my favorites. My pastry chef, Mark Welker, is known for the Milk and Honey: crunchy milk foam, honey-oat shortbread, and honey brittle sit below quenelles of milk ice that are striped with buckwheat honey. I love the Coffee, where vanilla ice cream is covered with coffee granita and dotted with espresso foam in between shards of cocoa nib brittle. Our apple cobbler is served straight from the oven in a cast iron pan, alongside cinnamon ice cream and mulled wine granita. Roasted bananas get a whimsical flourish of cardamom cremeux, banana ice cream, and soft pieces of peanut butter cookie. There is comfort rooted in Welker's desserts and familiar flavors too, but they are simultaneously incredibly unique and unlike anything I've seen before. 

Milk and Honey (Photo credit: Tabelog)

The NoMad has been recognized for having one of the best beverage programs in NYC and the NoMad Bar even won a James Beard award in 2014. It wouldn't be a stretch to say the cocktails are simply genius and there is a vast list of them. If it seems overwhelming the extremely knowledgable staff can pinpoint selections from preferences exceptionally well. The NoMad does many beverage collaborations, one of the most successful of which is Le Poulet, a brown ale by Brooklyn Brewery specifically crafted to pair with the roast chicken. 

The Elephant Bar (Photo credit: foodshootr.com)

So a question that kept popping up for me was: Is it more or less challenging to write this NYC Dining article about The NoMad, since I spend 50 or more hours of my week working there? It would have been hard to write if I was trying to sell you on something I didn't believe in. The reason it was easy is because I'm proud of the food we craft, inspired by my coworkers caring about genuine hospitality, excited by the experience we welcome guests into, and motivated by the chefs I work for. I'm excited to tell people about my job; I think it's a unique and fun place to spend your evening, which will generally be much less than six hours long... unless you enjoy yourself so much that you decide to move to the Library for an after-dinner drink... and then maybe one more by the fireplace.

Margaret, Will, Camille and Dan Cogswell

The NoMad

1170 Broadway

(347) 472-5660

Mon-Fri: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Sat-Sun: Brunch and Dinner

Snacks & Appetizers: $9 - $26

Main Courses: $22 - $37

Desserts: $15