yaokui: Apiary

Address: 60 3rd Avenue, New York, NY

http://www.apiarynyc.com

Phone: 212-254-0888

Despite the recent buzz, Apiary was actually opened in fall of 2008 by Jenny Moon (who used to worked as an executive assistant to Chef Daniel Boulud) and two partners from Ligne Roset, who were responsible for the lovely decor at the restaurant. At that time, a veteran NYC Chef, Neil Manacle, who used to be Bobby Flay's sidekick and ran three of Flay's restaurant was hired as the executive chef. It was said that the food at Apiary under Neil Manacle was inconsistent and diners were more intrigued by the restaurant's interior than the food. So that probably explains why I only took notice of Apiary after Scott Bryan from Veritas replaced Neil Manacle in Spring of 09 and I guess so did many other fans of Scott Bryan.

Apiary restaurant, despite its name, has nothing to do with bee yard and anything bee related. It's just a neighborhood restaurant that emphasizes on good, simple, seasonal American food created by chef Scott Bryan. A bunch of us went there during restaurant week to take advantage of the restaurant week menu, but I just recently found out that the restaurant is now offering $35 three course prix fixe menu Sunday through Thursday, and Monday is "No Corkage" night.

When I ate there, I was really impressed by the Tuscan mushroom soup, it was hearty and the parmesan and mushroom soup combination was delightful. The rest of the appetizers, diver scallops and hamachi crudo were also crowd pleaser, and everyone was looking forward to main dish after those impressive appetizers. I ordered roasted organic chicken since I wanted to see how good Apiary cooks chicken. It was actually not bad, pretty juicy, but I would only ranked it the third best roasted chicken after Nougatine and Locande Verde since the meat at these places were more flavorful then Apiary's. The skate was cooked well, but I wasn't crazy about the smoked bacon razor clam chowder and fish combination, it was a little heavy for me. Regrettably, I didn't pay too much attention to the amazing vanilla panna cotta dessert that I had ordered. I was actually too distracted by the appearance of Scott Conant of Scarpetta at the restaurant, and was trying the whole time to get good shots of the "Scotts" across the dining room. But Gan and other my friends who ate there that night would tell you that they thoroughly enjoyed the dishes at Apiary.

It's been a while since I was at Apiary and I wonder how the restaurant is doing now. But I believe they'll be fine they now have the right chef, the right food at the right price, a successful combination that will make it work this time. Needless to say, I will be back to Apiary next time for more good food. Just pray that no one famous (like Anthony Bourdain) walks in again and distract me from the food!