66

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This venue is closed.

Who’s surprised that 66 is yet another vibrantly polished, vigorously idiosyncratic and entertaining eating destination? Have any of his other places suffered from a new addition to his potentially limitless culinary gallery? Who has ever even seen him sweat? And so I ask: Can anyone prove to me that Jean-Georges has not been cloned? Because I’m as sure of it as I am convinced Nigella Lawson spends more time at a makeup mirror than over a stove. There’s been so much refining and sharpening of each dish during 66’s initial six weeks that the immediacy of the menu’s flavors takes center stage, overshadowing Richard Meier’s superb, sleeker–than–a–Raymond Loewy–logo interior. The space employs a world’s fair’s worth of modernity—frosted glass, steel mesh, and resin—tempered by monochromatically soothing color, ingeniously recessed lighting, and canny geometry. The result is an open-yet-intimate series of rooms where one can speak and maneuver with ease, as well as effortlessly hear an enthusiastic, refreshingly intelligent staff. — Hal Rubenstein

Two-flavor stir-fried shrimp, $13; basil pancakes, $7

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Hal Rubenstein's Full Review (3/24/03)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Bitched-About Restaurant We Really Liked (2004)
• Best Waiters (2003)

Featured In

• Hot Plate: 66 (3/3/03)