Remi
Mexico City, New York, Santa Monica, Tel Aviv
The crossed oars on blue-and-white awnings hang unobtrusively over
doorways. It could be New York, Santa Monica, Mexico City or Tel
Aviv. If these widely dispersed urban sites seem unrelated, they are
except for one fact. The crossed oars beckon to passersby to enter
Remi (it means oars in Italian), a restaurant created by
designer Adam Tihany and chef Francesco Antonucci.
At each restaurant, reservations are hard to come by and the tables
are filled with an eclectic mix of cosmopolitan trendsetters. The food
is Italian by origin and Antonucci transports his native Venice into
the kitchen, with modern touches of vivid colors and straightforward
flavors. The design is vintage Tihany, one of the world's most
sought-after restaurant designers. The Remi design revolves around
large paintings or murals of Venetian scenes with
blue-and-white-striped accents on the upholstery, highly burnished
mahogany-wood chairs and a light wood floor. In concert together,
Tihany and Antonucci have created a distinctly Italian yet
international blend of simplicity and elegance--both in the ambience
and the food.
"The four key words are value, quality, style and consistency," says
Tihany. "Mix them up any way you want, but it is the combination of
Francesco and me. We've been partners for 10 years now, and it just
keeps getting better. He recognizes the value of good design as I
recognize the value of his creativity and consistency."
Antonucci is most often found at the stoves in New York. The chefs
from the other Remis have all spent time there with him; in fact, the
Tel Aviv kitchen brigade and dining-room staff spent six months
working closely with him. He travels to the other restaurants to check
on their progress. The menus in each locale reflect subtle seasonal
differences in the availability of local produce, particularly in the
fish dishes. Tel Aviv presents its own challenges because imports of
Italian Parmesan are banned, which has forced the restaurant to find
creative substitutes while seeking a special import license for the
real thing.
Remi's signature dishes are available around the world, however, often
with only small variations. One favorite starter is an arugula salad
served with sweet-and-sour shallots, paper-thin slices of Parmesan and
a walnut olive-oil dressing that resembles a tapénade. The
salad is an exotic combo of sharp flavors from the arugula and rich
spiciness from the tapénade and walnut oil. Grilled and baked
fresh vegetables served with scented garlic oil are outstanding. In
New York, a crabmeat and shrimp cake with grilled polenta and baby
greens also makes the mouth water.
The excellent homemade pastas are always fresh. Try the ravioli Marco
Polo, a delicate pasta stuffed with seafood, usually tuna, and ginger,
and served with a light tomato sauce. The spaghetti al pomodoro is
laced with oven-dried tomatoes, virgin olive oil and roasted garlic
for an interesting twist on a simple Italian standard. If there's a
must on the Remi menu, it is the risotto. Antonucci's creativity comes
to the fore every time. The risotto is always a daily special, but
look for wild mushrooms with truffle oil, asparagus with shrimp or any
other combination.
The main courses usually include several dishes that deserve
sampling. The tonno al sapore del Mediterraneo (tuna with a taste of
the Mediterranean) is served medium rare with tomatoes, black olives
and a shallot sauce. Salmon is sautéed and served with a
horseradish sauce. A rolled chicken breast is stuffed with Fontina
cheese and prosciutto; in New York, it is served with a mushroom sauce
and mashed potatoes. Grilled lamb chops are an Antonucci specialty;
the best version is one with a pistachio herb crust.
For dessert, check out the crème brûlée, which is
creamy and rich with just the right touch of burnt sugar crust. And a
warm chocolate soufflé cake with cappuccino parfait is worth
its extra calories.
The wine lists are dominated by Italian producers. You can usually
find such super Tuscans as Ornellaia, Sassicaia and Tignanello. But
look deeper into the list for offerings from Carmignano or any of the
fine Italian Pinot Noirs that have been making their way to market.
Remi also specializes in grappas. Tihany takes some of the credit for
helping to transform the often rustic, Italian-distilled spirit into
an elegant, fancy postprandial apéritif by packaging it in
elaborate Italian glass bottles. In New York, he offers 23 grappas,
including two from the United States.
If there is one other thing that sets Remi apart, it is the partners'
devotion to cigars: both Tihany and Antonucci are cigar smokers. Every
Remi has a private dining room, or "chef's table," that is available
at all times for cigar lovers (reserve early). In the United States,
Remi suffers under the barrage of antismoking regulations, but the
restaurant in Los Angeles has an outdoor terrace where smoking is
always permitted. And in New York, the restaurant occupies a public
atrium at dinner from late spring to fall, where smoking is also
allowed. Tihany has added the Rialto Room in New York that was
originally designed for private dinners. During the winter, he plans
to turn it into an regular dining area where cigar smoking is
allowed. The beautiful room, with a 25-foot ceiling and a striking
Venetian-glass chandelier, is designed for smoking.
"All my partners are cigar smokers," says Tihany, who has joint
ventures for Remi in Santa Monica, Mexico City and Tel Aviv. "By that
virtue alone, they attract other smokers." All four Remis hold special
cigar dinners, and the George Sand Society, a women's cigar club that
also includes a few men, began at the Santa Monica venue. Tel Aviv and
Mexico City, according to Tihany, are always packed with cigar
smokers. Humidors are kept in each restaurant and in New York, he
offers a selection of Davidoffs, including the 2000, Ambassadrice,
Aniversario No. 2, and a Grand Cru; Griffin's No. 100 and No. 300; and
Avo Petit Belicoso and Pyramid.
Tihany views cigars as part of the Remi culture. "It's always been
part of what Remi offers. We've always been like this. It is part of
our aura and our image of having the finer things in life."
In fact, Tihany and Antonucci are on a mission to bring the finer
things in life to various places around the world. Their next likely
target? Moscow. That choice reflects the reasoning he says he used in
selecting Mexico City and Tel Aviv before London or Paris. "For the
challenge. A Remi in Paris would be interesting, but it's not a
challenge. In Mexico City, it's a visionary and timely product. It's
much more satisfying to do restaurants where we are helping bring the
revolution in food to them."
That's the Remi charm. Sit back. Smoke a cigar after a simply elegant
Italian meal and be a soldier in the Tihany-Antonucci mission to
spread the finer things in life throughout the world.
-- Gordon Mott
Remi
New York: 145 West 53rd Street
Phone: (212) 581-4242
Santa Monica: 1451 Third Street Promenade
Phone: (310) 393-6545
Mexico City: S.A. Dec. V. Andres Bello No. 10 PB, Col. Polanco
Phone: (525) 282-0062
Tel Aviv: 87 Hayarkon Street
Phone: (972) 3-527-8444
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