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Changes are afoot at The Knickerbocker Hotel, where new executive chef Adin Langille, is revamping the menus. He and Chef Charlie Palmer have taken a top down approach, starting at the rooftop bar St. Cloud. What can you expect at the 17h floor bar overlooking Times Square? We sat down with Langille for insights into the updated menu.
First to go was the cutlery: Gone are the days of having to awkwardly balance a cocktail, a plate, a napkin, and a fork while standing. “We wanted to have everything be easy to eat while holding a cocktail.” That means that new items are nearly all finger-foods.
“We also lightened up the food,” explains Langille, “so we’re doing fresh crudos, and increased vegetarian and vegan options.” The black bean hummus, for example, comes with a quinoa tabbouleh. Another aspect of that “lightening up” process includes adding what Langille calls a more “feminine” touch to traditionally heavy dishes. Case in point: fontina cheese and an olive aioli add balance to the braised short rib sliders (see below).
Chef Adin Langille’s new braised short rib sliders, topped with fontina cheese and an olive aioli.
Langille is most excited about the new “Cuban cigar” dish—a cubano sandwich rolled up with a dried-and-smoked herb ash. “One of my good chef friends, Shai Fargian in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I came up with the cigar. It fits really well with the Club Macanudo bar up here, taking a Cuban-style sandwich and presenting it like a Moroccan cigar.” To complete the look, Angille and his St. Cloud team serve them in a metallic ash tray.
Chef Adin Langille’s “Cuban Cigar” at St. Cloud.
Other items to look forward to are a salmon ceviche, served with a Peruvian-style pepper paste and crispy plantain, and a Kampachi crudo. The crudo has a yuzu foam and a dashi broth gelée—two flavors that hit the mouth earlier on—as well as seaweed and raspberry, which hit the mouth last. “The crudo starts off tasting super fresh, and then transitions through various other flavors before ending on the raspberry.”
Stop by St. Cloud at The Knick to try Chef Adin Langille’s new menu for yourself!
