Yahoo Lifestyle Inside ‘Top Chef’ Champ Buddha Lo’s New N.Y.C. Tasting Menu Restaurant
A two-time Top Chef champ is back in action in New York City.
Buddha Lo debuts on Friday his new and improved Huso, an elegant tasting-menu restaurant hidden inside the recently opened Marky’s Caviar space in Tribeca. In Huso’s former life, it was a caviar speakeasy at Marky’s on the Upper East Side. Now it’s more than doubled in size, with 28 seats, two levels, and a complete kitchen.
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“The new space is significantly larger, and we now have a fully functioning kitchen, as opposed to the makeshift one we had in our previous retail location,” Lo told Robb Report in an email. “This improvement allows us to be more creative and explore a wider range of techniques and ideas.”
That’s evident in Lo’s $265 signature menu, which spans 12 courses and can be accompanied by a standard or premium wine pairing ($200 or $450). Unsurprisingly, caviar is present in many of the opening dishes, such as an everything bagel tarte (king salmon, crème cru, Saint Urgeon Kaluga caviar) and tamaki egg with barbecued eel and Kaluga Royal Amber caviar. Lo, though, is being thoughtful about which plates get that extra-luxe touch.
“I make it a point to understand the different characteristics of each caviar to see what type of salinity it evokes and what enhancement they can bring to a certain dish as opposed to it just being there because we can,” he said. “Each caviar that is selected has a specific purpose on the dish and allows our diners to explore a vast range of caviar in ways that they may have never thought possible.”
His favorite dish on the first menu doesn’t incorporate any seafood, however. It’s the final savory course—dry-aged duck with beet and shiso. Lo has brought into the one plate all of his culinary training, he said, from traditional Chinese techniques that he learned from his father to the more formal techniques for dry-aging the bird. When it’s time to dive in, guests are shown the whole roasted crown, adorned with florals and Geraldton wax, before it’s brought back to the kitchen for carving and garnished with different versions of beets.
The accompanying wines have been curated by Huso’s general manager, Kevin Goyenechea, who comes from the Michelin three-star Jungsik. He’s put together a collection with more than 1,300 bottles from about 150 labels, with the wine cellar accessible from the eight-seat private dining room downstairs. There’s also a non-alcoholic pairing option, along with premium spirits and seasonal cocktails.
Just like the former Huso space, diners enter the restaurant through Marky’s retail shop, with the door blending in to the midnight-blue walls. That shade is mirrored in the banquettes, which stand out in the otherwise neutral-toned room, featuring cream-colored walls, gray leather chairs, and light oak floors and cabinetry.
It’s all of these elements that combine to form what Lo is hoping to create—in his own words, “an experience that feels more like an occasion than just a meal.”
Click here to see all the images of Huso.
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