Beef Duo Bourguignon with Heirloom Carrots, Lardons, Chanterelles & Cippolini from Saint Urban’s May Côte de Beaune Menu
Ben Hon
Restaurants with prodigious wine lists usually have a variety of wines that pair perfectly with its dishes and if a diner chooses to hand over the decision, sommeliers to create perfect matches of the food and wine. Bottles and menu courses may change slightly but the core generally remains the same night to night. That’s not the way it works at Saint Urban. At this restaurant which opened in May and was named for the patron saint of winemakers, each month choices from the restaurant’s 3,000 wines collected over a span of six years and representing a different wine region and dishes reflecting that region are featured. The match is so evocative it will make diners feel that they’re actually there.
The Saint Urban dining room designed by Bentel & Bente with details associated with winemaking.
Saint Urban
The Chef’s Background
This location is actually the second Saint Urban, the first opened five years ago in the upstate New York city of Syracuse, the hometown of chef Jared Stafford-Hill where it attracted admirers including Wine Spectator which awarded it the Best of Award of Excellence for the restaurant’s wine program. This site in the Flatiron District is familiar to Stafford-Hill who honed his skills here when it housed the wine-centric restaurant Veritas featuring a textile entrepreneur’s immense wine collection and cooking which earned three stars from the New York Times. Its run, however, ended in 2013, apparently from high rents; Stafford-Hill also spent time in other important kitchens elsewhere in the neighborhood such as Gramercy Tavern across the street, Tom Colicchio’s Craft and in midtown, Alan Ducasse’s Adour.
4 Year-Aged Parmigiano Custard from the Côte de Beaune menu.
Ben Hon
Flavorful, Regional Courses
When the restaurant opened, the featured region was France’s Côte de Beaune, particularly the southern section of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, an area with which Stafford-Hill was also very familiar. The menu format was, and is still, a choice of a seven course tasting menu or four course prix fixe with a wider choice of dishes and optional tiered wine pairings. In May, the tasting menu included a start with a glass of Meursault to accompany a delicate, bright Meyer Lemon-Cured Danish Hiramasa, finished tableside with a caper and almond nage. Further courses included a creamy Chassagne-Montrachet with a 4-Year Aged Parmigiano Custard with Morels & Green Garlic; a floral Volnay matched Heritage Chicken on a Spit with Chioggia Beets and Rhubarb; a powerful Pommard matched the richness of the Beef Duo Bourguignon composed of short rib and ribeye and an apricot Eau de Vie was paired with a Chocolate-Apricot Financier.
A typical wine selection.
Ben Hon
The dishes and wines of Spain, Tuscany and the South of France followed; the latter including dishes such as Scallop Anchoïade with Artichokes and Flageolets, Pigeon with Bitter Greens, Raisins & Potato Purée and Lamb Clapassade with Eggplant Confit & Green Olives, all of which were silky and vivid. Accompanying wines included Domaine U Stiliccionu Ajaccio Emy-Lidia, 2021 A Domaine Comte Abbatucci Cuvée Collection “Général de la Révolution” 2014, Domaine du Gros’ Noré Bandol “Cuvée Antoinette” 2012 and A Domaine de Trévallon VDP des Bouches du Rhone 1995. The September menu showcases the Southern Rhône with dishes such as Quail with Foie Gras, Eggplant, Cherries & Almonds, Beef Daube with Wild Mushrooms and Comté with Nectarines, Zucchini & Truffle. The wines include Santa Duc Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues 2021, A Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas 1999 and Z Domaine Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo 1998.
The Next Regions
Fans of France’s Côte de Nuits, Piedmont and Bordeaux, stay tuned: those dishes and wines are due up in October, November and December, respectively. Then in a jump from the Old World to the New: California makes an appearance in January.
MORE FROM FORBESForbesUptown French Food, Downtown Decor: Maison Nur Opens In New YorkBy Laurie WernerForbes2 New, Enticing And Different Asian Dining Experiences In New YorkBy Laurie WernerForbesNew York’s Joomak And Hear & There: 2 New Asian Tasting Menu DisplaysBy Laurie WernerForbesGjelina And Opto Are Serving Some Of The Liveliest Food In New YorkBy Laurie Werner
Dining and Cooking