The Grand Hyatt began upgrading its food program this spring with a stand selling Chikalicious desserts and such. Now we’re told it has hired the Breslin’s head pastry chef, Katzie Hamilton (previously of Spago), to join NoMi veteran Christian Ragano. Two weeks from now they’ll open New York Central in the space that until recently housed the staid Commodore Grill. Ragano (described by a rep as “tough” and “tattooed”!) was at NoMi (the three-and-a-half-star restaurant in the Grand Hyatt’s Chicago location) for nine years before leaving his post as executive sous-chef in July.
The team’s preliminary menu includes a pancetta-and-marrow burger, braised short rib with Manchego polenta, halibut à la planxa, and a salad of local lettuces with smoked-squash purée, root-vegetable crudite, and roasted-shallot vinaigrette. For dessert: pumpkin flan with horchata, pomegranate, and salted pumpkin seeds. The above rendering should tide you over while we wait for photos — we’re told Bentel & Bentel of the Modern and Eleven Madison Park have redesigned the space to include a glass-walled section suspended above the street for a prime viewing of 42nd Street. Sounds neat.
