There are some dinners that you’ll never forget. For me, this dinner by Resident was certainly one of them.
The space, for one, was phenomenal. Resident handpicked a gorgeous TriBeCa abode for this occasion. It was a complex I had walked by a few times before, in awe of the giant wooden door and leafy stone facade.
As for the interior, the elevator transported us to a massive living room with modern decor, channeling Mad Men meets 21st-century-New-Yorker style.
The windows were equally as massive and offered a good view:
We sipped cocktails there and chatted away for a while before our chef for the evening introduced himself. His name is Matt Cruz and he is an absolute culinary genius.
Hailing from California, Matt made a very humble and grounded introduction.
The last Resident dinner I attended was very much pasta-based. It was an amazing meal, but Matt managed to match the same level of sheer ingenuity without using a single piece of pasta. Instead, we were served a wide variety of complex, surprising, yet incredibly delicious dishes, starting with a trio of appetizers – a jalapeño oyster, a foie gras bite, and beef tartare ‘tartlet’.
Once I tasted these, I knew we were in for a treat. In short, it’s the type of food that makes you stop talking.
Up next was the quite creative combination of ‘painstakingly peeled’ tomatoes, plums, and gooseberries topped with a tomato water gelée.
This was then followed by sake and yuzu dish:
Then came sea scallops under a bed of squash and chanterelle. After this dish, Matt invited us to rotate seats and meet new neighbors – an added bonus that I absolutely loved. If it hadn’t been for this, I wouldn’t have had one of the most interesting conversations that I’ve had in a long while.
Next up was the Araucana egg soup. Matt introduced all of his dishes with the passion of a true chef, but it was this dish that he spoke about most fondly because it reminded him of his grandmother’s chicken broth. Indeed, I could taste the love in this mushroom-infused creation.
Then, we had the wagyu beef, which was melt-in-your-mouth tender and paired with rich contrasting sauces along with black garlic and a Piquillo pepper.
Last, but certainly not least, was dessert, which consisted of two dishes – a melon, yogurt, and lime fusion followed by a blueberry nectarine masterpiece.
If it were customary to give a standing ovation and a ‘bravo’ at the end of a meal, I certainly would have done it. The atmosphere of the venue was one thing, but the wizardry that Matt performed as a chef was on another level. If he ever does open a restaurant in NYC, I will instantly make a reservation. It’s one of the things, in fact, that makes Resident so special. They do a phenomenal job of showcasing such talent. I just can’t wait to see who might be preparing their next meal.
Short Skirt Long Jacket 