First Friday Luncheons are open to Professional and Fellow members only; the menus appear in Previews.

Friday, November 2, 12:00 noon
Members $55, guests $65

At the tail end of an era of near-unrestrained excess, Mark Spangenthal’s cooking strikes a particularly soothing note of New York cool: as William Grimes concluded in his New York Times review of The Dining Room, Spangenthal’s "relaxed American style" is "stylish without strain." It’s perfectly conceived, perfectly balanced, perfectly sophisticated food: pan-roasted quail wrapped in tasso ham with cheddar-baked grits, rack of lamb with corn pudding. As Grimes noted, "The Dining Room proves that comfort does not have to be boring."

A native of Long Island, Spangenthal has been honing his culinary New York state of mind since he graduated from the CIA in 1984. He began his pro career at the Acute Café with Jonathan Eismann, then worked his way up to sous-chef at Alfred Portale’s Gotham Bar and Grill. In 1990, he signed on as opening sous-chef to Tom Valenti at Alison on Dominick. Three years later, he landed a sous-chef gig at Rick Laakkonen’s late, long-lamented three-star Luxe. In 1996, Spangenthal became opening chef for The Screening Room, the much-loved restaurant-cum-cinema in food-and-movie-mad Tribeca. And in August of last year, the owners of The Screening Room launched The Dining Room in the former Upper East Side home of Trois Jean.

In his new venture, Spangenthal’s cuisine is the featured attraction, and as Hal Rubenstein wrote in a glowing New York review, "he is definitely ready for his close-up." The close of a meal at The Dining Room, Rubenstein concluded, is "like ending dinner in heaven."