Thursday, January 22, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests $115

Reviews about Brasserie 8 1/2 often start with the flamboyant modernist decor. New York Times critic William Grimes, for instance, wrote that its creators (Restaurant Associates) “seem to be drunk on design.” But while Hamptons Magazine writer Tess Ghilaga also delighted in the “design extravaganza,” she went on to declare that “the real masterpiece is chef Julian Alonzo.”

Alonzo grew up in Greenwich Village and learned to prepare food from Latin America alongside his mother, a native of Panama. As a teenager, he peeled vegetables for David Bouley at Montrachet. Later, he attended the French Culinary Institute while working nights at La Caravelle. After graduation, Alonzo got a job at Maxim’s in New York, which may have inspired his next choice: he went to Paris and into the kitchen at Guy Savoy. Then, he embarked on a whirlwind kitchen tour of Club Meds around the world. He returned to New York City for a job as sous-chef at SeaGrill, quickly moving up the ranks to chef de cuisine. Success bred success: Alonzo was selected as executive chef at Café Centro, then moved to Brasserie 8 1/2.

At the last, he “deftly updates [bistro] classics,” according to Time Out New York. His frisée aux lardons, for instance, is topped with poached quail eggs set in a tiny brioche. A banana split is “not what it seems,” Grimes wrote in the Times. “It’s a complicated dismantling and reassembling.” At the same time, “about half the menu heads off into nontraditional territory,” Grimes added. He happily advised diners to “prepare to be surprised” by little adventures such as oxtail marmalade with grilled hanger steak, or foie gras ravioli in cauliflower sauce flavored with vanilla oil. And many a critic has delighted in Alonzo’s whimsical take on the cheese course: he pairs a tiny spoonful of pungent Spanish Torta del Casar cheese with a glass of frozen sangría.

Desserts, according to Tess Ghilaga, are “worth every sugar-laden calorie.” It’s no surprise to find that their creator, Martin Howard, has been named among the top ten pastry chefs in the United States by Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design. A CIA graduate, Howard has worked his sugar magic in New York at La Crémaillère, The Hudson River Club, the Rainbow Room, and Beacon, and in Key West at the Pier House and Inn and Beach Club. According to Gourmet, Howard’s “desserts tend toward the spectacular”; Crain’s New York Business declared them a “wow.”