Wow! What arrogance! Went to Gotham many times, but now I see that I'm part of the older crowd the new chef doesn't really want. Fortunately there are many other fine establishments willing to accept this retiree's reservation. Though I had not previously thought about it, I now look forward to the opening of Portale's new restaurant. This article is bad press for Gotham, good for Portale's new place. Too bad he is still a partner at Gotham. Hubris, your name is Victoria Blamey.
16
Well four of us ate at the "new" Gotham last night... ugh! If you loved Gotham and it's wonderful food then you better look at the new menu before you go. Not only was the menu limited in scope but we truly had a hard time trying to find something that sounded appealing. After the meal the four of us decided that the combinations of tastes were not to any of our liking. Hope Gotham survives, but we're following Alfred Portale to his new restaurant.
4
Millennial arrogance at its finest.
We can blame Blamey when it fails
13
The new chef seems bizarrely disrespectful of the restaurant that just gave her a massive new platform. I get that Gotham has become a bit stodgy but to toss EVERYTHING from the menu? That seems a bit radical. I also like her casual ageism sprinkled about the article. Either she or Gotham itself won't last the year.
23
I'd like to see where she'll be at 65...
I decided to visit Gotham after I read this. I’m a pretty savvy diner and Gotham was the stop on our circuit when we were in the mood for a really comfortable experience - quiet, plenty of elbow room, great service and a welcoming staff. These aspects of the experience have not changed because the room and management are the same. The food on the other hand was downright strange. We didn’t enjoy anything we ate. Nothing. Why all the pickling? Why, when the planet is burning, so much beef? I certainly didn’t feel that there was some great innovation or creativity happening. It crossed my mind that the disdain Ms. Blamey expresses for the Gotham brand and its patrons is being channeled into the pedestrian mash up she’s putting out there for us, to push us away maybe. The room is still mostly populated with an older crowd so I guess the cool kids she says she hopes to attract aren’t rushing in to squeeze out the old guard. It will be interesting to see what happens.
8
I suspect the defection of so many staffers at Gotham has more to do with her brittle, unpleasant attitude than her gender.
9
@Randy bingo. That's completely true. She is verbally abusive and extremely rude to her staff, both in the back of house and the front of house.
It doesn't matter how talented of a chef she is; if she continues to treat the people who work with her so poorly, she will never achieve any success.
Working in restaurants is a team effort--it's not the kind of business you can be successful in all by yourself. But Ms. Blamey seems to believe that she can, and her hubris is reflected in the comments presented, albeit very fairly, by the author of this piece.
5
These comments are all spot on. She is also very nasty to the staff who have been there all these years. What were they thinking when they decided to downgrade an institution like Gotham into a Vic’s Burger Joint? Tragic. Perhaps “Like Water for Chocolate” should have been on the owners reading list before she was hired? Hopefully the staff who is so gracious and timeless survives. There is a great culinary history to maintain there - maybe she should start with a basic seasoning- salt.
8
My goodness, how does this new chef manage to taste anything at all considering how engorged she is with her own hubris. Not to mention the delusion that people her age will be able to afford the food. After all, it still is Gotham. Unless the partners have decided to go nonprofit (which they might indeed, considering Blamey’s rude ageist comments), they’d better hope those “people my age” will have credit-card toting sponsors or relatives. One of the favorite restaurants of countless people I know - from their 20s and above - now smacks of elitist nonsense helmed by a technician who knows nothing about running a business.
13
This ageist woman will fail. I guess if you are older than 39, you’re not welcome at Gotham but who cares? She took all of your favorite dishes off the menu anyway. Spend your money at an establishment that values your custom.
12
WOW, Blamey’s arrogance has completely killed my appetite for the new Gotham. I’ll take my old person’s wallet elsewhere - like to Chef Portale’s new restaurant.
10
gee why not just change the darn name. seems unfair to leverage the gotham-portale brand when she feels so "anti-gotham". some of these ideas are good like having more informal bar menu but what is wrong with some vertical plating gotham was known for. I got no problem with cost saving on white tablecloth laundrey. and why not aspire to a demographically diverse crowd. We are a boomer/xer mixed couple and like seeing young people and older people in the mix. We will probably head to Portale also in our hood when it opens before coming here although the space is a sentimental favorite. I don't want to feel unwelcomed.
11
We were lucky enough to get to Gotham shortly before it closed for revamping. Our party included my octogenarian uncle and my younger teenage daughter—both they and the Gen Xers among us marveled at the delicious offerings, in my case 27 years after I was first lucky enough to enjoy the fare.
I hope the updated restaurant continues to do well, but I agree with the comments that suggest an arrogance about the new vision. The baby/bath-water adage comes to mind.
10
Wow. I'm speechless at her pomposity.
Ageist, arrogant, pretentious.
Boring.
19
George Orwell said that "Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
Shouldn't we all try to have friends from as many generations as possible?
21
What a disgrace. I adore Gotham Bar and Grill (and for the record, I'm 39, first went as a teen in the 90s with my parents). My wife and I were there a few months ago and were commenting on how great it is to have a major Manhattan restaurant still producing extraordinary cooking thats designed to be eaten, not photographed for social media. Gotham without the tuna tartare??? I mean just what NYC needs...another over priced New American restaurant with pretentious cooking filled with 25 year olds Instagramming everything they eat.
28
Thank you for publishing this article just in time for us to cancel our reservation.
29
Thirty some-odd years ago, Ms. Blamey's predecessor did something few at the time would ever dare: make a bet on fine dining on a still recovering block south of 14th street. In short order, Chef Portale was -- rightly and often -- cited with another downtown pioneer named Danny Meyer. Menus can and should change, but history is written in stone, and it matters. The PR guy in me hopes that Gotham's new chef (and managing partner, for that matter) got bad advice getting prepped for interview. She (they?) have a huge hole to climb out of.
21
Ms. Blamey is taking a beating in this comments section, ouch. While her comments in the article can be perceived as ageist, I don't believe that was her intent. I have eaten at Gotham numerous times -- the crowd tends to be older than any other restaurant I frequent. To be successful for another 35 years, something needs to change.
She clearly has new plans for the bar section of the restaurant. Wishing for a crowd of 40-somethings at the bar, eating oysters, is not meant to be a slight at seniors (who rarely eat at the bar). If the burger here can match Chumley's, the crowds will certainly come. I wish her luck, and I hope Gotham is around for another generation or two...
5
@btcarelli
The new Chef's comments, which are drawing some justified backlash, are not simply ageist. They're dismissive and bordering on disdainful of the work of her predecessor in the kitchen at BB&G.
The legions of diners who've walked through those doors for the past thirty-five years didn't come for Messrs. Csencitz, Kretchmer, Rathe or Bliss, the owners looking for a "new voice".
They came for Chef Portale's innovative food, and the gracious service offered consistently and without pretense....
Grace seems in short supply throughout much of this article. Perhaps the wisest course would be to just let the food do the talking.
31
I must be from another time. Not only was Gotham food "rich and reminiscent of a former era in fine dining, served on white dishes, on white tablecloths," but the phrase brought to mind a movie of another era, " girls in white dresses, with blue satin sashes." Ah, favorite things, where have you gone?
6
I love the old Gotham bar and grill, but changes are good, especially if it’s a hot new female chef. Until I read the article. I’m not even that old but I felt ancient, good luck with this press nightmare.
16
There is a reason the restaurant has remained a NYC institution for as long as it has. While a breath of fresh air is a good thing - bashing what the restaurant has been and her predecessor are unsavory (no pun intended..)
30
Chef Blamey is incredibly prideful and disrespectful to her very famous Michelin Starred predecessor as well as Chef Portale’s thousands of satisfied guests over the years. Truly creative, intelligent, secure people in any field know they stand on the shoulders of the giants of past generations, something Chef Blamey has yet to learn.
38
“I wouldn’t be doing justice to myself if we kept anything on the menu." What a bizarrely egotistical and insecure statement. Godforbid one should preserve some much-beloved elements of a New York tradition. Certainly, it's great that Ms. Blamey gets to flex her culinary muscle, I just wish it weren't at the expense of something so many people loved and will miss. Fingers crossed that the new Portale can explore new recipes while bringing back some old favorites.
25
I’ll consider going back to the Gotham Bar and Grill once I get the bitter taste of the arrogance of this new chef out of my mouth. That won’t be anytime soon.
27
The Gotham Bar and Grill’s owners obviously love their new chef, Victoria Blamey: “[S]he represents a contemporary approach. . . . We wanted a new voice.” I can’t wait. But, no, her new menu is not for me to experience. I am 75 years old and, as the new chef says, “I want the bar buzzing with people who are my age [39].” “You bring in younger, ambitious people [staff], and this is what you get.” So, will they check age before reserving a table or just put you in Siberia, never to be heard from again? Will the wait staff be winnowed down to teens? Didn’t such a business model strike anyone as morally and legally problematic: the owners, the new chef, the reporter, the New York Times?
27
Years ago I took my daughter on a college tour of NYU on a frigid rainy day; we both were literally shivering and soaked after the long afternoon. On a whim I called Gotham Bar and Grill to see if we could get in quickly for dinner, knowing we looked bedraggled and not up to NY's fine dining dress code. We were warmly welcomed at the door (met with an umbrella from our cab!) and enjoyed their hospitality with no sideways looks at our soggy appearances. I returned many times for both business and pleasure knowing I could rely on their wonderful service and excellent food. Some things never go out of style, and I hope the new chef understands that. Good luck to her! She has big shoes to fill.
16
I was taken aback by the dismissive tone of the comments by Victoria Blamey, the new chef at Gotham Bar and Grill. The restaurant has, after all, survived for 35 years, and it has many regular patrons (including me) who have enjoyed eating delicious food in its beautiful dining room. Ms. Blamey clearly has no respect for us, or our loyalty to a wonderful restaurant. There's nothing wrong with change, but trashing her predecessors as she did is surprisingly ungracious. I doubt I will return.
35
I agree. She made it clear I’m not welcome when she said she wanted to see people her age (which is my son’s age) in the restaurant.
22
Reading this article left me feeling as if I've been aged out of Gotham Bar and Grill...pity. Alfred Portale leaves a collosal legacy behind, the mark he made on dining in NYC will long be felt.
Good luck to the new Chef! When the attitude changes I might give the place a try again. Until then, let the people "her age" fill the seats.
25
@vbruno1 Agreed. Her whole attitude is off-putting. What do Blamey (and the owners) think is the benefit of essentially giving the finger to the host of regulars who have kept an aggressively priced restaurant in business for over 30 years? What kept me going back to Gotham was the consistency and quality of the "old" favorites that I could count on to be on the menu when I wanted them. If I want to go to a restaurant with more pronounced multicultural influences, full of diners intent on photographing each dish and barely looking up from their phones while they dine, I can check Eater or GrubStreet to find the never-ending stream of such restaurants that regularly open (and close) in NYC.
In addition, while breathlessly ushering in the new, Gotham's owners seem to want to have it both ways. As of today, Gotham's website has pictures of Blamey and touts her arrival, but continues to post all of the accolades the restaurant received under Portale, as if as the stars and favorable reviews were due to something other than his menu and his supervision of the kitchen. You don't get to have it both ways -- you can't toss the heralded chef and his entire menu and yet still try to convince people that they should come to your restaurant based on reviews of the chef and menu you have discarded.
37
I absolutely agree. Another regular here. I was disappointed by the changes she had already made over the summer, but was determined to come back to support the front of house staff we love so much. She couldn’t say one kind word about any of them or the community of neighborhood regulars? If they fire the staff now, at least this article will make for one doozie of an age discrimination lawsuit. Good job, owners.
13
Sounds great, EXCEPT for her ageism.
19
@M Speer
Your comment took the words out of my mouth.
7
“I want the bar to be buzzing with people who are my age, eating oysters or having a beautiful rillette....”
Ageist much, Ms Blamey?
17
Crudo with a pinch of ageism?
21
Ms. Blamey might want to add a dash of humility and diplomacy to her new menu.
33
Ms. Blamey might want to add a dash of humility and diplomacy to her new menu.
9
While I wish Ms. Blamey success in her new venture, I respectfully remind her that the "missed generation" occurred when Portale was awarded 3 stars by the Times. Yes, an ego is required when selling your creative vision, but one must pay homage to one's predecessor. She has a huge act to follow.
On another note, I had always hoped that Gotham would reconsider its interiors, which have needed updating for quite some time.
Mr. Portale, you will be missed!
25
@Robert
I dined at Gotham last night, Ms. Blamey's opener. The food was excellent! As a Gotham devotee, I was delighted to see it retained the entire front-of-the-house staff. Ms. Blamey is but one facet of this organization, albeit a significant one, but let's not forget that her success translates into continued employment for so many excellent and long-term employees. I give Gotham a lot of credit for its employee retention - says a lot about the management. Ms. Blamey is a chef. Not all chefs are cut-out for interviews. Let the food speak for itself. I'm equally excited to dine at Mr. Portale's new restaurant.
6
from what I hear, the management is much more in line with this chef's (ungrateful) attitude than her cooking...
1
What staff retention? More than half of the staff has left and the rest who are left all want to leave because she’s such a terror; she’s verbally and emotionally abusive to her staff. They didn’t leave because she’s a woman, as Blamey suggests in this article; they left because she’s a horrible leader and manager who doesn’t know how to treat people with decency and respect.
3
A half dozen oysters at Gotham is $22, and the terrine (no rillettes on the menu) is $29. Maybe Ms. Blamey is fully out of touch with "her generation," but I don't think you're going to find a lot of millenials with that kind of disposable income that will come fill up the bar, unless she's only talking about millenials in finance. After all, we're so busy blowing our chance to buy a million dollar 1 bedroom with our $5 avocado toasts that a $4 oyster seems downright irresponsible.
13
Terrific news. Gotham has been a long time favorite of mine by its menu needed to be refreshed and more innovative. Looking forward to tasting the new menu.
1
Gotham Bar & Grill was a NYC fixture for decades for a reason. Food and service were excellent. If the owners wanted to try something new, then they should've opened a new restaurant. We loved the restaurant and chef Portale, but I don't see a reason to rush back with the new direction. This was one of our go-to places but sadly, no longer.
31
Hooray!
Long overdue. Gotham had gotten very stale, and I’d stopped going years ago. Sounds like a great new move!
7
@DASW
I don't know...if I were a restaurant owner I might take comfort in the knowledge that my kitchen was stable, consistent and operating at three star level year after year. Change is inevitable. The back-handed slaps at Portale seem a bit misplaced.
Chumleys? Meh...
9