Public Restaurant – Global cuisine out of a design house

In the business world, being good at one thing does not mean excellence in another. However that still does not stop many businesses from attempting the difficult task of branching out into another field, sometimes even one that is completely unrelated.

This seems especially tempting for artistic designers. After all, they are the purveyors of everything stylish, sexy and cool. We’ve all see Porsche designers make footwear, BMW designers make espresso machines, and Prada designers tackle cell phones. Success, as it seems, varies.

One then cannot help but wonder what was going on in the offices of AvroKO when the idea of a restaurant named Public was conceived. AvroKo, self described as a “multidisciplinary design and concept firm”, worked on a few successful New York restaurants including the excellent Park Avenue, Quality Meats, and more recently Stanton Social. Instead of simply designing the interior, AvroKo started its own self-propelled project, which in 2004 became Public, an Australasian restaurant, by an American born, European trained chef who describes the concept as an American mash-up of global fusion flavors.

Designer touches are everywhere.

Any way you slice it, Public seemed like a concept conceived in a boardroom. A very artistic and creative boardroom, but a boardroom nonetheless. Then all of a sudden, it picked up a Michelin star in 2008. As part of my recent Super Mario-esque mission to collect the stars, a call was made for a quick reservation.

If not for the flag, not easy to spot at night.

Situated in Norlita on Elizabeth street, only a stone’s throw away from China town, Public resembles a high-end boutique more than a restaurant. Once you enter, the designer origins are obvious. The space is meant to resemble a public space, taking design cues from various public establishments such as post offices and libraries. Everything’s done tastefully, in a cozy atmosphere.

Haven't seen this setup since middle school libraries.

The menus are stored like books on a public library book shelf, and retrieved by our waitress. Upon a quick glance, I immediately realized that this cuisine is one which I am not familiar with. While most of the individual ingredients I have sampled in the past, you just wouldn’t expect to see it along side one another. In order to sample the widest selection, and not retreat to the comforts of familiar ingredients, I opted for the day’s “Sunday Supper” menu, a tasting menu.

The meal started off in spectacular fashion, a unique oyster served 3 ways. Progressively from raw to solidly cooked. The middle cup of what tasted like potato soup was phenomenal. The presentation, flavor and originality were all spot on. I’m very picky when it comes to oysters, and these were fantastic.

Oysters, 3 ways.

Then came a period of waiting, unusual for tasting menus of small portions. The restaurant wasn’t even that busy that evening. We took the moment to visit the very interesting bathrooms. I won’t spoil it for anyone, but “take a soap”. After the bathroom break, still no food. I don’t usually associate speed with taste, but somehow deep down I was a bit worried.

Scallops, unusually small for Manhattan.

When the scallops arrived, I was a bit disappointed. While I do understand that tasting menus meant smaller portions, I’d rather have fewer, big scallops than a few tiny ones. Okay I admit I’m being a bit mean after such a long delay, but these are honestly the smallest scallops I’ve seen in a Manhattan eatery. Taste wise it was solid, but nothing to write home about. (unless you blog)

Duck, how I lone for the duck of "Town"

Again there was quite a wait until the duck was presented, which as I always do, immediately drew comparison to the duck steak I sampled at the late midtown restaurant Town. The meat was tender, and flavored exceptionally well. A solid protein dish. Things were finally looking up again. Was it up to the Town level? close, but no star from me.

Sweet and Savory and Sour

This next dish I had an issue with. A mince meat pie that was sweet, was topped with berries, and the sauce reminded me a bit of Soy. Not my cup of tea, and judging from the looks of other diners who ordered the same menu, it’s not a taste that goes down easy. Some people can mix sweet and savory, for me it just doesn’t work. This was a protein dish that was too sweet. Ironically, it was soon followed by the dessert, which was a bit too salty. Oh the irony.

Rum cake was nice, but the plate was a bit salty.

Michelin claims that they judge only by what’s on the plate, but I find that difficult to believe. The slow service speed really set the tone for a rather disappointing evening. I always describe a good dining experience as an event, a journey on which the chef leads you from amuse bouche to dessert. The climax of this experience occurred too early with the decor and great appetizer, and went all down hill from there. We were teased by the talent and skills of the chef, but failed to see him execute to his abilities that evening.

Am I telling you to avoid the restaurant? Not really. The stunning decor is worth checking out, and the prices are very reasonable. Plus you can always go for brunch, which I heard is quite good. Perhaps I simply had bad luck with the Sunday evening menu. To borrow the words of Fox News, “we report, you decide”.

CS

Rating:  

Public (Make a Reservation)
210 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 343-7011