Such imperial prices dramatize the city’s inequities, but the building that some disdained as a fat cat’s bazaar has proven to be - for better or worse - the most influential construction project in New York. Within that one building rises a city of $10,000-per-night hotel rooms, $325 dinner menus, and $125,000-a-month rentals. The complex accelerated and symbolized New York’s metamorphosis into a high-end consumer product. The Time Warner Center represents the partial triumph of two opposite forces: big-money development and civic activism.
Two decades in the making, the project spanned four mayoral administrations weathered a stock-market crash, a major recession, and the 9/11 attacks and involved an army of architects, deal-makers, functionaries, and lawyers, not to mention the protesters who hoped to stop, or at least shrink it. To Stephen Ross, the lanky, gravel-voiced real-estate mogul who founded Related Companies and shepherded the building into existence, the opening of the Time Warner Center was the vindication of a $1.7 billion gamble.
A few guests seemed puzzled to find themselves toasting a shopping mall, even if it was a shopping mall–office building–condo tower–hotel–concert hall combo lording it over Columbus Circle. Cirque du Soleil aerialists writhed, Marc Anthony sashayed, and white-suited waiters distributed mini-BLTs (bacon, lettuce, and truffle). On a February night in 2004, some 6,000 of New York’s sparkliest turned out to fête the debut of a new celebrity: a 750-foot-tall, two-headed skyscraper clad in dusky glass. For pure scenic drama and beautiful food, Robert is a winner.In celebration of New York Magazine’s 50th anniversary, this weekly series, which will continue through October 2018, tells the stories behind key moments that shaped the city’s culture. Some complain that prices at Robert are a little high but, given the quality of the food and overall ambience, cost is not out of line with restaurants of similar quality. Even if you don’t need it, check out what may be one of the most charming restrooms in an NYC restaurant. You can also have a diet Coke or the Robert version of standard iced tea which is anything but. There are special cocktails of all kinds as well as a very decent wine list, wines by the glass and ‘special’ soft drinks including one made from elderberry flower. Service is gracious with waiters who don’t don’t hustle but serve at a civilized pace. Robert is a great place for a special occasion but one involving six or eight people at most –don’t go with a huge group. Ask for a table next to the window which you may or may not score. Instead of dessert at both lunch and dinner you can nibble cheeses from home and abroad priced at a selection of three for $15 or six for $22.Ī reservation is almost a must as the room is fairly small. The “Sunset” menu offers small plates including the mussels, a burger and fois gras mousse. Sunday brunch is also $32 with offerings that include a wild mushroom omelet, steak and eggs and a lobster Benedict.
There is a $32 lunch prix-fixe menu that’s a good deal if you are up for three courses. Besides a juicy cheeseburger, you can satisfy a burger craving with versions in lamb or turkey, each with inventive, unusual accompaniments like the turkey burger’s onion marmalade. The Cobb salad sings with great bacon and a poached egg. The shrimp gracing my Caesar salad were the largest I’ve ever seen and the white anchovies on top add a flavor note that’s far more subtle than the typical, oily anchovy. Mussels, served as an appetizer get a kick from chorizo while the pear and walnut salad is better than most variations on this theme. The food is as chic as the atmosphere and the vibrant pink, orange and lavender decor, sparked with an ample dose of Lucite, attracts plenty of “ladies who lunch” as well as tourists with money to spend and museumgoers looking for a terrific meal. The room is sleek and contemporary with mirrors angled to catch park views and a flat panel screen with a light display brightening up what would otherwise be a dull corner. This stylish restaurant is on the top floor of the Museum of Art and Design, overlooking Central Park and Columbus Circle.
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