Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 Restaurant Round-Up

OK, we all want to look svelte and trim for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. I don’t care what anyone tells you this is a very visual industry and you are often judged on how you look. Still, before and after the shows at the Tents you have to get some nourishment and the snack bars and trail mix distributed in the lobby at Lincoln Center is just not enough to satiate your palette or keep your strength up.

Just in time for MBFW, Fashion Reverie has come up with a few places that will satisfy that rumbling stomach and also not break the bank. These eateries are also great places to get away from the hustle and bustle of MBFW, and reflect with a colleague on the great collections you may have witnessed throughout the day.

Sirio Ristorante, located not far from Lincoln Center and right next door to the elegant and sophisticated Pierre Hotel is an ideal place to have a cocktail or a chic dinner.  (I personally recommend the blue pearl cocktail, a yummy combination of acai and blackberries mixed with vodka.) “The blue berries in the drink look like blue pearls which is why we named the cocktail, Blue Pearl. The Blue Pearl cocktail goes well with any appetizer because it is not too sweet and too strong.  It is good for both lunch and dinner because the cocktail has a great balance of sweet and sour,” explains Siro bartender Alla.

Named after legendary restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni, and designed by Adam D. Tihany, the restaurant is the sister restaurant to Sirio Ristorante at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Sirio Ristorante features a menu of contemporary and seasonal Italian cuisine that complements the casual elegance and modern feel of the restaurant.

“A great quick meal at Sirio’s in between shows at the Tents would be our Mediterranean Sea bass, simply grilled with a side of extra virgin olive oil and capers with basil. We have a great array of appetizers from poached lobster, delicately prepared octopus, to salmon tarter with crème fraiche … Sirio is a legend so everyone knows about the great dining experience of Sirio. When you think of Italian dining in NYC, Sirio is the best,” details server Sy Togaan.

Located just a few blocks from Sirio’s,  is Richie Notar’s Harlow, a full-service restaurant that evokes old Hollywood glamour while appealing to the modern culinary palette. Upon entering Harlow, guests arrive into a high-ceiling parlor space with plush club chairs and banquet couches throughout the room. There is also a semi-private dining area that seats about 25 with a rectangular, curved sunroof that on a sunny, clear day beams in warm sunrays that can add that special ambience to any afternoon lunch.

The approachable menu of simple, yet elegant cuisine was created by consulting chef Danny Ye. My personal lunch favorites were the California Cobb salad, spinach and artichoke salad, crispy fish sliders, and Lamb Gyro. The bespoke cocktail menu, created by Beverage Director Tyler Drinkwater, includes twists on classics.

Now, Fashion Week veterans know that a fair amount of shows are scattered throughout NYC during New York Fashion Week. So, for those fashion insiders who attend shows below 23^rd Street, Grape & Vine housed at the newly renovated Jade Hotel in Greenwich Village is a must dining experience. With its upscale, clandestine Art Deco ambiance, Grape & Vine is the perfect getaways for that fashionista who needs a sumptuous, but serene break from the managed chaos of New York Fashion Week.  Restaurant manager Jean-Pierre Yvart expands on the Grape & Vine decor “I came to this restaurant because it is integrated into the West Village and the décor reflects a different time, a time of elegance, sophistication and  intrigue. I love the kind of 1920s Prohibition, tucked-away mood of this restaurant. The velvet banquettes, and fireplace and early newspaper images from the Village Voice speaks to a particular time and place.”

“Everything that we serve is market oriented, available from local farms along the Hudson River. A great dish for lunch for those looking for a light lunch before heading back to the shows would be our salmon flat bread with capers. We also have some great salads with autumnal vegetables, and if you want to indulge your sweet tooth our carrot cake is divine, as well as our chocolate layer cake. We try to focus on something for every palette,” continues Yvart.

Great food, great libations, fantastic fashion; am I in Paradise?

Sirio Ristorante is located at 795 Fifth Avenue; Harlow is located at 111 East 56th Street, and Grape & Vine is located in the Jade Hotel at 52 West 13th Street.

—William S. Gooch