Jeremiah Tower's new gig: Tavern on the Green

[Jenise]

Interesting stuff from Grubstreet.com. Never been to the Tavern, and I didn't go to Panisse in Tower's heyday, but I did go to Stars about 15 years ago and found everything about our experience there tired. This article doesn't say but I'd presume the restaurant no longer exists.


The whole thing was Tower's idea.

Here's some unexpected news: Via a press release, the powers that be at Tavern on the Green have announced that the restaurant's new executive chef will be none other than legendary California chef Jeremiah Tower.

Jim Caiola and David Salama, the restaurant's current operators, have been on the hunt for a new chef since a series of bruising reviews led to the departure of Katy Sparks. Caiola tells the Times that it was Tower who first approached them about taking the gig: "Out of the blue, he came to us with this real passion for this restaurant," Caiola says.

The 71-year-old Tower, of course, is best known for his time at Chez Panisse, as well as his own San Francisco restaurant, Stars. A 1999 San Francisco Chronicle story on Tower's departure from the restaurant, which first opened in 1984, describes what it was like during its heyday while the chef was at the helm:

The wait staff was regarded as the best in the city. Chefs from all over made pilgrimages to sit near the open kitchen and simply watch the wild Tower-led crew of hot young cooks.

But Stars shone brightest in its dining room, where Tower floated from table to bar to kitchen and back again, a flute of Champagne in hand. Tall and handsome, he dressed in European suits or chef's whites, with a perfect white apron draped down to his ankles. He possessed an impeccable palate, an appetite for alcohol, a famous temper and a rich cache of stories from his travels around the world.

In New York, the stakes at Tavern are astoundingly high given the restaurant's unique financial relationship with the city, so it will be very interesting to see what Tower does. Per the release, the chef will "slowly be incorporating his culinary style into the current Tavern on the Green menu items" and will debut a full new menu after the holidays. Tower told the Times of the restaurant in its current form, "The place is beautiful now, but it has to be loosened up, more flowers, more fun."

Stars has been gone a long time.

In it's heyday it was sizzling hot. Trendy as hell. Lots of vibe in the room. Tower was the highly visible front man, and several young up and coming chefs with high energy and pizzazz dazzled in the kitchen. Lots of cocaine and champagne and wannabes.

But after a short time the glitter dropped off, the vibe got lost and Tower, quite frankly, seemed distracted and not quite there. Just going through the motions. The few times I have seen him since then he seemed vaguely bored and listless.

Maybe at 71 he feels like he has his groove back and wants one more shot at superstardom. Or maybe they're paying him a shitload of money just to stand around and look like Jeremiah Tower and impress people.

I honestly don't know. I have my suspicions it is the latter, but I hope it's the former.

[Jenise]

"Tired and listless" would describe the meal we had at Stars pretty well.

But yeah, interesting that at his age he wants to do this. Bringing the Tavern back would certainly be the restoration his reputation needs to go out in glory.

I don't know the whole recent history of Tavern on the Green -- we did go there maybe 15(?) years ago and it was tired and kitschy and over-decorated, with bland food, kind of a self parody. They go crazy putting a million little white lights in the bushes outside when Christmas is approaching.

What I remember is that the place closed down a couple of years after we went and remained closed for a long time, years. Sounds like it has opened again. You can't beat the location, right inside Central Park. If only the food lived up to expectations.