Have you heard of Ink48? You know, the Kimpton Hotel on 11th Avenue and 48th Street? Me neither. However, that changed when I was invited to lunch at Print, the farm-to-table focused restaurant on the lobby level of the building that employs a full-time forager named Johanna Kolodny to upgrade the quality and variety of ingredients featured on the menu. Lucky for the Kimpton, husband and wife team Executive Chef Charles Rodriguez and Executive Pastry Chef Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez have landed in Hell’s Kitchen for their first joint restaurant project, and with Kolodny's help, they're making quite an impression. After a couple of meals taken within the space—a modern, clean-lined expression of natural woods and autumnal colors—I knew the critics would soon leak word of this gem on the far West Side. Hopefully, I’m beating the usual suspects to the punch.
Though the menu changes often, some of the recent dishes that I found outstanding included an heirloom tomato salad with opal basil and tomato vinaigrette -- the colors of which created an amazingly bright rainbow of color against the stark white of the plate -- a generous Peekytoe crab salad, piled high over avocado salsa, cucumber, and purple shiso, and a pink snapper ceviche, kicked up a few notches by habanero peppers and offset by a tangy orange lime dressing. Curious about where your food came from? Just ask. Servers and staff are proud to share the names of the farms and purveyors that stock their kitchen, and on the restaurant's website, all menu ingredients link to corresponding farm sites. At Print, farm-to-table doesn’t feel like a publicity stunt, this is locavorism at its finest.
All of the menu’s offerings will sound equally tempting, but don’t-miss entrees included perfectly seared halibut atop a bed of mushrooms, topped with pine nuts and cranberries, as well as a crispy duck in huckleberry-ginger sauce, while a selection of chicken, pasta, vegetarian and steak options beg a look. At lunchtime, an assortment of soups (potato-leek, tomato), salads (Caesar, frisee with pears and blue cheese, beet with pistachio and goat cheese), and sandwiches (roasted pork and cheddar, a burger) round out the list of choices. Additionally, breakfast is served daily, and brunch is served on weekends.
If I can offer some advice, it would be to save room for dessert. Chef Carlucci-Rodriguez is Print's sweet-toothed mistress. I couldn’t pass up a fresh strawberry milkshake whipped to frothy perfection to accompany the must-must-must-have chocolate bread (yes, you heard me correctly), served with honey and local Brooklyn ricotta cheese. Savor it; it’s one of the better desserts in the city’s jungle of fine restaurants.
As if the food wasn’t enough, a massive year-round rooftop lounge called Press has some of the most breathtaking 360-degree views of New York City and awaits for after-dinner drinks. Behind the bar, Mixologist Chrissy Hassel, tapping the same philosophy as her chefs, uses foraged herbs and fruits like nutmeg and cloves, cranberries and apples to create a sampling of laced cocktails that, like the food menus, change seasonally. For fall, don’t miss the Ottawa Sun (Ketel One Orange vodka infused with dried cranberries and black peppercorns, club soda, simple syrup), and The Sentinel (house-made mulled cognac apples, dry cider).
Contrary to so many New York City restaurants, at Print the portions are large, the ingredients are incomparably fresh, the desserts are decadent, and the prices are reasonable. I guarantee you will not leave anything less than fully satisfied. Hurry before the foodie set catches on.
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