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.
“We’re doing the wine program right now, and it’s turned out to be quite a pain in the ass. Wine’s a little beyond me. Ian, our manager, is very knowledgeable about wine, but [the list] is going to be very small – maybe eight whites, eight reds, and four sparkling wines. I also want to have around five sakes. I’m a big sake fan. I want really, really random sakes that most people don’t have or don’t know about. We don’t want any of it to be competitive with the mixed drinks. I admit that I don’t have a really discerning palate when it comes to wine, but why would you worry about wine when you have Eben Freeman making cocktails? We put our heart and soul into the cocktails.
We’ll pair the wines as we go; we have a good game plan. But the menu changes so rapidly. It will change more than the wine list. In a couple of weeks I’ll be cooking in Tailor, and that’s all I really care about right now. The original menu is starting to evolve into another season, so I’m coming up with new recipes. That goes to show you how impatient I am with food. I’ve already fallen out of love with some of the ones we started with. As for when we’re going to open, I have no fucking idea how far out we are. I don’t even say anymore. I’ve said twice, and I don’t want to be wrong again.”
