Since that time, Vongerichten has opened heralded restaurants in
New York (Mercer Kitchen, Nougatine, Perry St., 66, Spice Market),
Las Vegas (Prime Steakhouse),
Houston (Bank),
London (Rama, V),
Paris (Market), and
Shanghai (Jean Georges). He has written three
cookbooks, including
Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a
Four-Star Chef, and you can find his line of gourmet sauces
under the Vong label at boutique groceries and markets around the
world. So, like I said, when Vongerichten invites you to dinner,
you clear your schedule.
Vongerichten's latest venture is Café Martinique in
the Bahamas, a
re-creation of the island's legendary café whose original claim to
fame was an appearance in the 1965
James Bond flick
Thunderball. Of course, this is a new-and-improved version,
housed inside the Atlantis resort's brand-new 65,000-square-foot
marketplace, Marina Village. Though the original restaurant closed
in 1997, a few of the original Café Martinique employees have been
wrangled up to work again. You know, to keep it real.
THERE ARE SEVEN OF US eating on this night, and we have the
restaurant to ourselves. It's the evening after the grand opening,
and Vongerichten has arranged for the restaurant to be closed to
the public. When we reach the café's entrance, we are whisked up to
the dining area in a wrought iron birdcage elevator - a spectacular
piece put in place by restaurant/hotel design atelier Adam D.
Tihany, who also designed
Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York, among
many others.
With this re-creation, Tihany remained true to the café's original
British Colonial style. The large, open dining room is a royal
affair without losing touch with its location on an island -
expansive windows offer views out to the million-dollar yachts in
the adjacent marina. The soothing sound of a Steinway piano greets
guests ascending the regal mahogany staircase framed by etched
glass, in place because the elevator only holds so many. Whichever
route you choose, you'll start to feel a bit like James Bond
yourself.