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Who’s behind it: Chef and restaurateur Michael Mina continues to grow his Mina Group, the culinary force behind a dozen Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners, including his namesake restaurant in Las Vegas and seven Bourbon Steak locations. For the eighth Bourbon Steak, Mina is partnering with JW Marriott Essex House on Central Park South, taking over the hotel’s former lobby eatery. Joining as executive chef is Bryan Ogden, who has previously owned a few restaurants with his father, chef Bradley Ogden, and worked under Mina at the now-closed Aqua in San Francisco.
When it opened: Bourbon Steak New York opened May 20, 2024.
Why you should know about it: This is Mina’s first foray into New York City. “I’ve looked at New York many times, but always promised my wife that while raising kids, I’d never do New York,” said the chef with a chuckle. After attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Mina began his culinary career in Manhattan, with stints at Tribeca Grill and Charlie Palmer’s now-shuttered Aureole. However, his nearly 40-restaurant empire has largely grown on the West Coast until now. “[New York] was a big commitment, and it took me a long time because the goal was not to compete,” Mina explained. “It was to add something and have a sense of place. I realized I had an opportunity to do a new evolution of Bourbon Steak and it felt right.”
Mina recognizes that Bourbon Steak is the strongest concept in his portfolio and, with Bourbon Steak New York, he is reimagining it: He’s revamping the vibe, fine-tuning the menu and creating a lighter atmosphere than what’s typical for steak houses.
The culinary approach: Mina includes signature Bourbon Steak menu items like his tuna tartare with Asian pear and Maine lobster pot pie with market vegetables and a lobster-Cognac emulsion. He’s also introducing new dishes, aiming to amplify the classics with his culinary hallmarks: technique and precision.
“We made sure there were enough staples, but [did] not obsess over it,” the chef said. “If you want to come for a wedge salad and steak, they won’t disappoint. But we’ve had 20 years of constantly tweaking things, and we got to a great point where we could elevate with innovation, technique and a lot of wow factor.”
To that end, the restaurant brings in new service touchpoints, like rolling seafood carts serving items such as a shrimp cocktail with gin-spiked cocktail sauce or fresh sea urchins with Aleppo pepper, lemon and olive oil. And, instead of bread service, each table receives complimentary duck fat fries with pastrami spice. (Brioche with black truffle butter is also available, priced per person.)
But steak is, of course, the main draw. Mina and his team spent weeks sampling more than 50 cuts to find the best quality. There are prime options such as filet mignon, New York strip and a porterhouse dry-aged for 40 days, as well as Wagyu filet, rib eye and striploin cuts. Guests can add a variety of accompanying sauces, and à-la-carte sides complete the plate: Mina reimagines mac and cheese, serving it as a sliced and browned terrine with a black truffle béchamel, and he folds his creamed spinach into a soufflé with a bacon-parmesan cream.
What’s on the wine list: “The wine list feels like a Michael Mina list, not a typical steak-house [list],” said corporate wine director and Master Sommelier Jeremy Shanker. A New York native who has been living in California for the past seven years, Shanker has returned home to serve as Bourbon Steak’s lead sommelier. Among the selections are plenty of standards and head-turners like library vintages of Guigal’s Côte-Rôtie La Landonne and Robert Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, along with other aged California Cabernets, Bordeaux and hearty Rhônes.
Also on the list are healthy selections of Champagne, Chenin Blanc and white Burgundy. Shanker is particularly enthusiastic about the one-page “Secrets of the Sommeliers” section. “People who love wine will get really excited about [it],” he noted. “From Portugal to Spain and little corners of France you may not have heard of, this list includes wines somms get excited about.” Another full page is devoted to New York wines, including Finger Lake Riesling and reds from the North Fork of Long Island. “All under $100,” Shanker added.
Bourbon Steak New York opened with 700 selections, and Shanker plans to grow that to 2,000 within the first two years.
The design and neighborhood: Design firm AvroKo (which designed the first Bourbon Steak 18 years ago in Arizona) created a steak house with all the essentials while adding fresh touches. “They have a good grasp on New York and what is important to design a steak house,” said Mina. “We want to pay homage to what makes a steak house great, with big beautiful booths, but lighten it up.”
Trees and greenery are dispersed throughout, and a skylight provides natural light, illuminating the mix of metals and ceramic tiles in the dining room. Light brown hues and warm lights help create a relaxed atmosphere amid the Essex House’s Art Deco and Art Nouveau elements. Featuring marble fireplace mantels from the 1930s, Bourbon Steak’s two private dining rooms can accommodate groups of up to 24 and 12, or the restaurant can merge them into one larger space.—Aaron Romano
Barcelona Wine Bar Team Brings Corsica to Denver
Who’s behind it: The group behind 19 Best of Award of Excellence–winning Barcelona Wine Bar restaurants debuted a new sibling concept, Corsica Wine Bar, in Denver’s River North Art District (RiNo), which is filled with exciting eateries, wine bars and a thriving art scene. Barcelona Wine Bar CEO Adam Halberg tasked culinary director Patrick Connolly (formerly of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group) and executive chef Kelly Patton with developing a menu of small plates and apéros for the new restaurant.
When it opened: Corsica Wine Bar opened April 27.
The culinary approach: While Barcelona Wine Bar highlights Spanish cuisine, Corsica Wine Bar draws from Corsican and Provençal culinary traditions. Connolly and Patton’s menu opens with starters like nduja-stuffed dates with hazelnuts and tarragon and whipped ricotta toast with barberries, Espelette peppers and honey. Small plates made for sharing include cannelloni au brocciu (stuffed with Corsican-style cheese, Swiss chard and tomato sauce) and mussels l’aziminu, which are simmered with whitefish in a saffron-crab broth and topped with garlic croutons.
What’s on the wine list: Barcelona Wine Bar chief creative officer Gretchen Thomas developed Corsica Wine Bar’s 200-plus-label wine program, working with beverage director Emily Nevin-Giannini. Here, the focus is on the wines of France, particularly those from the restaurant’s namesake Mediterranean island, with a spotlight on smaller and family-owned Corsican wineries. The list also features regions such as the Loire and Rhône valleys. Beyond France are picks from quality Italian wineries like Piedmont’s La Raia and Sicily’s Arianna Occhipinti. More than 25 wines are available by the glass.
The design: Housed in a former warehouse, Corsica Wine Bar’s interior incorporates an exposed-beam barrel ceiling, a statement wall of glass bricks, and original mixed media pieces by Barcelona Wine Bar creative director (and local artist) Drew McConnell. The dining room utilizes charmingly eclectic decor such as reclaimed chairs and thrifted plates and glasses, and the bohemian atmosphere of the restaurant is captured outside as well: Wrapping around the exterior is a mural by South African artist Keya Tama, who combines both ancient and modern aesthetics with folk art imagery and geometric shapes in the expansive piece, titled Labor of Love.—Olivia Nolan
The Capital Grille Opens a New Location in Southlake, Texas
Who’s behind it: The newest Capital Grille joins more than 60 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning restaurants known for pairing top-notch American steak-house cuisine with serious wines. The concept is part of the larger Darden Restaurants, Inc., portfolio, which also includes Restaurant Award–winning Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood restaurants. Overseeing the new steak house is managing partner Dwayne Carpenter, a Southlake resident with more than 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
When it opened: The Capital Grille opened May 20 in Southlake.
What’s on the wine list: Each Capital Grille location tailors its wine list to the local clientele. “The Capital Grille features a global wine list. We are a classic American fine-dining restaurant with a … focus on Cabernet and proprietary reds from California, as well as unique offerings from around the world,” Darden director of beverage strategy Gabriel Valle told Wine Spectator.
The Southlake location has more than 350 selections, representing a 3,000-bottle inventory stored in a floor-to-ceiling wine cellar. The list is heavy on Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and red blends from California, including offerings from Kosta Browne, Clos du Val, Paul Hobbs and Harlan Estate. Beyond California, wines from Viña Montes, Penfolds, Guigal and more round out the program, as do 30 by-the-glass selections poured via a Coravin preservation system. As at other locations, private wine lockers are available for collectors to lease.
The culinary approach: Except for special off-menu items that vary by restaurant and season, the steak-focused menu is consistent across the Capital Grille locations, all notable for their in-house dry-aging programs. Cuts include a bone-in New York strip, a bone-in rib eye, filet mignon and more, all hand-carved daily by an in-house butcher. Beyond beef, the Capital Grille specializes in seafood like seared sesame tuna and the signature pan-fried calamari with hot cherry peppers.
The neighborhood: Southlake is an upscale suburb roughly equidistant to Dallas and Fort Worth, and a short drive from the DFW International Airport. The Capital Grille is just a couple minutes from the swanky Southlake Town Square, one of the nation’s largest outdoor shopping complexes. Visitors to the area can cool off at nearby Lake Grapevine if they’re seeking a reprieve from the Texas heat or, in the fall, take in some of the best high school football around. The adjacent town of Grapevine also boasts a charming downtown with many boutiques, restaurants and winery tasting rooms.
That’s not all: The Capital Grille team will open another restaurant on June 24 in Fort Myers, Fla. The restaurant will be managed by Seth Kooistra, a Fort Myers local who started his restaurant career nearly 20 years ago as a server and bartender at the Capital Grille in Orlando, Fla.—Kenny Martin
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