I doubt New York City’s Craft restaurant, chef-owner Tom Colichhio’s flagship on E. 19th Street in Manhattan’s Flatiron District could have come at any other moment in culinary history than when it did. Nor could his Craft empire which presently includes Craftsteak, Craftbar, and ‘wichcraft and spans the US from Atlanta to Las Vegas have thrived the way it has. William Grimes, then restaurant critic now Obit writer for the New York Times captured the essence of Craft in a December 2001 review. Here’s what he had to say:
“Craft invites diners to take a trip. The destination is a simpler, cleaner, more honest America, a place where the corn is bright yellow, the bread exhales clouds of yeasty sweetness and the fish swim in water as pure as Evian. It’s a vision of food heaven, a land of strong pure flavors and back-to-basics cooking techniques.”
And when was this written? Mr. Colichhio’s restaurant opened shortly before the terrorist attacks of September 2001; Mr. Grimes’s words flow from the open wounds of a country struck by an incredible catastrophe, and its hopeful longing for resolution. Food is the remedy here, which Colicchio crafted up not a minute too soon.
Colicchio’s return to a simpler way of treating food, one that defers to its innate qualities was a refreshing practice in the era of vertical food. The 1990s was a decade when on trend chefs were plating increasingly tall visual presentations, as if a perfectly balanced tower would suggest that the elements comprising it would be, by proxy, just as harmoniously balanced on the human palate. Colicchio eschewed “culinary theatrics” in favor of an ingredient-driven approach to food and dining.
In suit, the menu at Craft attests to a pared down dining experience, where the diner selects a meat or fish by its preparation and a side from a no-frills list. Nowhere does an inflated description distract from Craft’s credo: skillful preparation sympathetic to once again elevating food to the starring role. While Colicchio’s craft may seem simple, perhaps obvious, he is actually part of a long lime of crafters that have confidently “revolted into the past” to offer the jaded something seemingly new. Like a good crafter, Colicchio seeks integrity in material and form.
Americans were ready for Craft. The 90s culinary scene bombarded diners with empty promises: food that was too often too difficult to eat, if physically satisfying at all. The aftermath of 2001 required a craft that was sensitive enough to offer succor to the wounded spirits and palates of Americans. The last thing New Yorkers wanted to digest were bits and pieces of a toppled tower of shaved tuna draping over a single fava bean. The food had to work on the human plane — a safe distance from the verticality of skyreaching food that all too easily can crumble to an indiscernible mess. Craft gave the people what they didn’t know they needed.
I am including links to a few video interviews and articles covering the rise of Craft.
