[Truffle]

Any word on when Chef Andelbradt takes the reigns? He has a stellar reputation.

[JosephB]

The menu in the window still has Neil Annis as Chef.

[Truffle]

Yes it does, but perhaps the Compass financial team is waiting until Chef Andelbradt takes over the helm 24/7.

Anyone on the east coast, in NYC with word on the curious cuisine migrating up the west side?

Cheers

[Truffle]

Rumor or fact? Word's been passed that Chef Mark Andelbradt is no longer at Compass? Anyone on the beat?


Admin: Merged with another thread on the chef at Compass -jogoode

[JosephB]

Are you sure he ever started? I reported on this a while back: http://forums.egulle...3637&hl=compass. I live on the same block as Compass, and although I haven't been back since the change in the kitchen, I've looked at the menu in the window and have not seen any noticeable change. Also, there was no mention of the chef's name. I think that's odd.

[Truffle]

Last I checked Chef Andelbradt was on the website, but there's been little new information regarding Compass and its 'new direction'.

Heard a rumor, curious as to how it was playing out.

Thanks for your response-the only one!

Cheers-

[Truffle]

Somewhere this just in: NY Chef to assume responsibilities of CdCuisine at Tru.

Word?

[jogoode]

Katy Sparks now heads the Compass kitchen, replacing Andelbradt, according to the NY Times.

She's changing the menu...

[slkinsey]

jogoode, on Mar 4 2004, 03:01 PM, said:

Katy Sparks now heads the Compass kitchen, replacing Andelbradt, according to the NY Times.

For posterity:

Quote

KATY SPARKS is now in charge of the kitchen at COMPASS, 208 West 70th Street. Ms. Sparks who was the chef at Quilty's in SoHo, which closed, had been trying to open her own restaurant. . . . She described her new menu at Compass as global, with some Germanic touches like spaetzle, horseradish and pumpkinseed oil. She replaces Mark Andelbradt. The front room of the restaurant is to become a wine bar.

[Suzanne F]

Well, I guess that's easier for everyone than just linking to it, as I did yesterday on the Katy Sparks thread.

[Truffle]

It will be interesting to see what Katy Sparks brings to yet another change in hands at Compass.

That was a quick tenure at Compass for Chef Andelbradt. Anyone know where he went?

[rozrapp]

We managed to have one dinner at Compass during Mark Andelbradt's brief tenure, and we thought his food was superb. I remember that I had squash soup to start and a main course guinea hen with a grits accompaniment. But, I guess it's now on to Katy Sparks.

They've finally posted her new menus on their web site. They've done away with the low carb prix-fixe, and they've added a new lounge menu. Funny thing is with the previous chefs, Annis and Andelbradt, their names were on the web site. But no mention of Ms. Sparks on the site, though the pastry chef's name is there.

[Jinmyo]

*

Click.

[mikeyrad]

I'm sorry, I simply can't take any of Hesser's reviews seriously since reading the Spice Market thread and of course the brilliant Eurotrash blog.

This post has been edited by mikeyrad: 07 April 2004 - 07:54 AM

[SobaAddict70]

I think it's hilarious that in every Hesser review thus far, she has to -- just has to name drop a restaurant or two, as if the restaurant in question somehow isn't worth it.

Did we have to know that previous chefs have been from Lespinasse or from Aix? Really, Amanda? I thought a restaurant review was a brief summation of a critic's assessment of the food, the decor and the ambiance. I didn't know that mention of previous chefs who hailed from famous restaurants was a necessary element.

So, Amanda, talk to us. Tell us what you really think about Compass. It's clearly apparent that it's so not a Vongerichten fantasy. Is it a Lespinasse fantasy? An Aix fantasy? A Quilty's fantasy?

Which is it? Inquiring minds want to know.

Soba

[mikeyrad]

Quote

Oysters, grapes and chanterelles (a slight variation) mingle in a fruity cream sauce; a stack of deep-fried leeks gives the dish a little crunch.  It is the kind of dish that would earn an A-plus at the Culinary Institute of America, but might have been sloughed off most of the city's restaurant menus as too dated. It's worth revisiting.

This is the kind of writing that infuriates me! Pardon me for never having attended CIA. I guess I also don't understand what makes this dish so dated. Bottom line, I want to know how the dish tasted, whether the ingredients worked well together. I don't give a rat's ass how it would have fared as a CIA final exam.

This post has been edited by mikeyrad: 07 April 2004 - 08:55 AM

[Jinmyo]

mikeyrad, on Apr 7 2004, 11:54 AM, said:

I don't give a rat's ass how it would have fared as a CIA final exam.

Rat's ass with oysters and grapes is so March 1978. Or 1979. I forget.

edit:
Sorry. Tastes pretty much as one would suspect. Shaving the hair off improves it greatly but still, it is what it is.

This post has been edited by Jinmyo: 07 April 2004 - 09:33 AM

[slkinsey]

Just a reminder, guys. This is a thread about Compass, not about Amanda Hesser. Please discuss the review here insofar as it concerns Compass. Go over to Food Media & News for broader discussion of Amanda Hesser's writing and reviewing skills, etc. There you will find any number of threads in which you can discuss such things.

Since we already had a problem with the Spice Market thread veering widely off topic and turning into an Amanda Hesser thread, I will be acting aggressively to keep this one on topic. I communicate this to you that, having due notice thereof, you may govern yourselves accordingly.

[Daniel]

Went to compass this friday night and had a terrific meal. The setting was perfect, the scenery beautiful, large cosy quiet booth for two also a big plus, (with the exception of the cusions that kept spreading apart), the only problem, one incompetant waiter. Everyone from the bartenders to the really funny maitre di were pro's. If i wasnt on a first date i would have asked for a new server, but i was on good behavior.

The place was surprisingly empty for a friday night, which IMO is a good thing, but i think they might have been using bus boys as waiters. My waiter didnt even fully understand english, let alone the dishes he was serving. We wanted to order three appetisers and one entree. He refused to let us oder the appetisers first and then order the main course after we thought about it for a bit. Which after he left, i found out was not the restaurants policy at all. But regardless of him not being able to explain what was in the dishes, or how they were prepared, or even the type of bread that came in the beautiful bread basket, the meal and the company were excellent.

We started with the Fruits of the Sea, which consisted of shrimp, oysters and clams. Their was a mignionent sp?, a cocktail sauce, and a mayo dressing. Not a big fan of the mayo dressing, but the more choices the better. Everything was fresh, the oysters were west coast, the clams from the east. The shrimp spent half the year in la and the other in ny.

We then got the thyme roasted shrimp. The came heavily spiced which i loved. Head on and really meaty. They were awesome, I had no problem reaching over and sucking the discarded head of shrimp from the persons plate i was with. I dont know where that falls under on first date etiquette. But who cares.

The third appetiser we had was the rabbit arrabiata with manilla clams. This was really good stuff.. The rabbit was excellent. It was juicy, moist, and just all around amazing. It was better then the rabbit i had the next night at wd-50. This dish really made the most out of the flavors and now i know how rabbit tastes.. I have had rabbit at grand sichuan and other places, but this was the first time it was served in a sauce that brought out the flavor, and didnt hide it. It was so good I decided to tell me date she was eating rabbit. And she liked it so much that after a moment of shock, and a little mention of thumper, she continued to eat the dish.

Next came the entree. We ordered something with monkfish medallions. At this point i had a bottle of wine in me Coupled with my get to the restaurant a half hour early to drink beer and jamesons on a first date game plan, i dont really remember too much about the monk fish. Other then it was really good. I wanted to get the venison, but i am glad i didnt.. I dont know if she could have handle eating bambi and thumper in the same sitting.

For dessert we had the caramel parfait, which was excellent. And this chocolate soufle.. Both were very good. And by this point, our busboy/waiter had left for the evening and our closer was this real nice guy.

At the end of the night we met katy and i think there was a guy walking around who was an ex-cop.. Both were really nice. Definately looking foward to going back there.. It has all the class and style of a place with twice the Pretentiousness and half the quality of food.

[Pan]

Thanks for that report. My first reaction is that I may have learned more from your report than from Hesser's review, but that may have more to do with my reaction to the tone of the writing than anything else. Regardless, it sounds like you had a wonderful time, all told.

[oakapple]

Florence Fabricant reports that Katy Sparks has left Compass, the UWS restaurant that now needs its fourth executive chef in two years. The article cites a book deal with Knopf, which sounds like a cover story—not that she doesn't really have a deal, but that there's probably more to it than that. Amanda Hesser's demotion from two stars down to one can't have helped.

This post has been edited by oakapple: 30 June 2004 - 10:25 AM

[rich]

From reading eGullet, I've come to a single irrefutable conclusion - Amada Hesser wields more power than Alan Greenspan!

[ellenesk]

If memory serves, the hesser review focused more on the poor service, than the food.

[Daniel]

I thought amanda complained about the decor and ambiance, while i bitched about the service. The night i went, my waiter did not have full understanding of the english language, any of the dishes he was serving, or restaurant policy. However i thought the food was really good. Desserts included. Amanda seemed to make fun of the decor that a few months prior Grimes seem to applaud.
Who knows.. The only comparison that could be made between greenspan and hesser is there ability to rate restaurants appropriately.

[bloviatrix]

Has anyone ever heard of a chef leaving a restaurant because of a book deal? When I saw that, it made me suspicious. Like Oakapple says, it seems like a convienent excuse.

[rozrapp]

Oy! I'm beginning to think that my husband and I have some sort of spooky kiss of death for Compass chefs. Last fall, just after we had an excellent meal there, Mark Andelbradt left. Two weeks ago, we finally got to try Katy Sparks' food at a pre-ballet dinner, and now she's upped and left.

I never did get around to writing up a report. Not that it really matters now, but the meal overall was quite good. My lamb main course, in particular, was stellar.

While I know there have been complaints about service since Compass opened, we have never had any problem in that regard. During this last dinner, it was excellent. In fact, our server really put himself out when our daughter, who was supposed to meet us at Lincoln Center, surprised us when we were having dessert by showing up at the restaurant. We were seated in a booth that could seat four, so she slipped in beside me. She said she could go for something small, and our server couldn't have been nicer about discussing the different appetizers with her, having a bread basket and butter brought to the table, and seeing to it that her order was expedited. When he brought our goody bags containing those outrageously delicious scones, he included one for her.

I've always been a fan of Compass and hope they weather this latest departure.

[Suzanne F]

I'm just sorry to have missed Katy Sparks there. I loved her food at Quilty's.

[Daniel]

Went to the Elvis Costello concert last night and had planned on meeting this girl at Rosa Mexicano right across the street from Avery F.. I have never been to Rosa and didnt realize that it was so important! So after managing to come to my senses after finding myself standing on the street holding a beeper, i decided to see see how things are at Compass after Ms Sparks bounced.

The menu has pretty much stayed on the same course. They have kept a couple of the old appetizers, and changed some. I was upset to find the maya shrimp gone.. However, i quickly recovered after seeing the Rabbit and clams Arrabiata. This dish is still very good.

Since we had an 8 oclock show and i was set back from the Rosa thing, we had to hurry. We had a salad that had diced asparagus, chickpeas, hearts of palm, celery,carrot,and blue cheese. It had a lemon vinegarette. It was refreshing. Definately something i will make for a cp concert picnic.

Next we had soft shell crab in a plantain sauce. There were other things going on in the plantain sauce, but it primarily tasted like dipping crab into bannana fosters sauce. I ended up eating the crab with the arrabiatta.

Then carpaccio with fleur de sal and charred scallions. Served on the side was lobster and feta cheese, and toasted bread. Not bad.

Overall, this place was better then I thought it was going to be, but it was still not good. They have there sous chef working the kitchen and he is making dishes and trying hard. But it just has no umph.

Curious to see what the stoopid managment will fill the kitchen with this time. I spoke to the waiter and he basically said that Katy didnt like having to turn so many tables. That she liked a smaller intimate setting. But what the hell does he know. I am sure she confided her thoughts with the world.

After the concert went to Rosa Mexicano. Had the guacomole. It sucked. No lime? Place is pretty blah.

[ellenesk]

Anyone been to compass since Katy Sparks left?

[goldface]

ellenesk, on Oct 1 2004, 03:57 AM, said:

Anyone been to compass since Katy Sparks left?