Welcome to the latest installment of the Launch, where Sam Mason, former pastry chef at wd-50, relates the ups and downs of preparing to open Tailor, the swanky restaurant and lounge coming together at 525 Broome Street.
“Ah, delays! I’m so used to delays. We’ve been held up for a week because the ventilation hood wasn’t built right and wasn’t ready in time. Most people have no sense of urgency; when the day’s over, they just walk out. They probably want to hang out with their families. It’s just getting frustrating. I wish I could convey just how frustrating. My kitchen equipment has been ready for a week. It’s supposed to be in. But I can’t risk its integrity by having it delivered before the guys put the hood in. Of course now, the equipment guys are saying, ‘We’ll have to charge you to store this stuff.’ It’ll be here on Friday. I don’t care. I want it on-site where I can protect it, rather than worrying about where it is. And of course we can’t finish the kitchen wall until all the stuff is in. By Saturday it should be here, and the Sheetrocking will be done and we can start painting. I’d like to say that the pace has finally picked up. I hope it has.
Thank God we had the sake tasting today. I needed to relax, badly. Fran and I went over to En Japanese Brasserie and tried fourteen different kinds of sake. Of course, after the first seven, they all taste the same. But we got a really nice Madeira, very old and oaky, and not sweet at all, and a sparkling white we liked a lot. It was a good time. But this is a stressful time. The Experimental Cuisine Collective is meeting tomorrow, but I won’t be able to make it. I have to worry about getting the kitchen into place. That’s my world right now.”
