It occupies an entire city block. From Park to Lexington Avenues, from 48th to 49th Streets. The Waldorf Astoria is a legend, a flagship hotel that preserves the past with dignity and proclaims the future with modern amenities. A hotel of this stature has to offer fine dining in opulent surroundings. On any given day royalty, heads of state, motion picture stars and celebrities patronize the restaurants in the hotel as do men and women that pause for a cocktail, then enjoy the best food in town.
William Waldorf Astor constructed the first Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in 1893. Alva Vanderbilt opened it with a charity ball. A legend was born. The family opened a second hotel adjacent to the first and called it the Astoria four years later. The hotels remained a bastion of society until 1929 when the buildings were demolished for the construction of the Empire State Building. Construction was begun on a new and even grander hotel at the present location on Park Avenue. Despite the Great Depression, the Waldorf Astoria opened in October 1931. President Herbert Hoover delivered the opening address and the grandeur of one of the world’s most elegant hotels welcomed guests. It was the largest hotel in the world when it opened.
Renovations continue on the massive building. Art Deco treasures have been restored and once again highlight the hotel’s public spaces. The entrance from Park Avenue is enthralling. Stairs lead up past uniformed bell caps whistling down taxis, chauffeured limousines whisking celebrities to their engagements and a criss-crossing of people from all over the world. Past tall bronze vases, brass and bronze window ornaments, a ceiling of gold painted scrolls with painted murals high above the whirl below is the Wheel of Life. The mosaic contains 150,000 pieces of tile. Small tiles radiate from the floor and give off to niches with leather and upholstered sofas and chairs.
In the busy atmosphere of the main entrance these niches offer private space for visitors to use their computers or hold conversations with friends and colleagues before or after dinner. Stop, sit, pause for a few moments. Enjoy the magnificent decor and artfully arranged fresh orchids on the tables. Absorb the history of the place, enjoy its elegance and beauty. This is a very special American icon that has been treasured over time by hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton. He kept a photograph of the hotel under the glass top of his desk for years before the Hilton Group purchased the hotel. It is now in the hands of new owners who will surely maintain the grace, dignity and stature of the grand spaces.
Take time, before dinner at the Waldorf Astoria’s Bull and Bear Restaurant or Sunday brunch off the main lobby at Peacock Alley, to savor the elegance of a by-gone era. From the tiled main entrance, walk east through the lobby. Tile gives way to elegant carpeting. Reception desks are always busy. People are always passing. Business executives are always meeting prospects. Right there, in the middle of all the hubbub is an amazing bronze clock. It cannot be missed and is a perfect rendezvous. Simply arrange to meet at the clock in the Waldorf. Despite its nine-foot tall elegance, it keeps accurate time so be prompt.
The clock was made in London by Goldsmith Company and put on exhibit for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, the year the original Waldorf was built. Purchased by the Waldorf Astoria it remained a focal point at the Rose Room of the original hotel on 34th Street. Admire the workmanship, take pictures. The eight sided clock weighs two tons. Panels depict seven U.S. presidents and Queen Victoria. It chimes on the quarter-hour.
There can be no finer restaurant in New York than the hotel’s renown Bull and Bear. Located on the ground floor level of the hotel on the Lexington Avenue side it retains a classic look yet is ultimately modern. The bar has its own Wall Street ticker tape that screens across the western ceiling edge. A tower of liquors range upward toward a sculpture of the restaurant’s name sake, the bull and bear. Symbols of Wall Street’s aggressive and reluctant moods.
“The great thing about our restaurant is that everybody dines here from royals to presidents. Three U.S. presidents dined together. Celebrities and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies eat here. It is a blessing for our chefs to have such a fine restaurant,” Gilbert Bolivar, Bull and Bear’s General manager, said.
The welcome is just as elegant and graceful as the setting. No roughnecks in stained brown jackets, no rushing, no crowded, noisy rooms where steaks are thrown onto plates and diners given the impression that they get the same time to eat them as they'd have at a fast food hamburger joint.
“We try to understand our clientele. We merge the traditional old world charm with foods preferred by today’s diners. Come to Bull and Bear and have a classical dining experience,” Gilbert added.
We were escorted to a window booth. The banquette and chair were leather. A fine linen cloth topped a soft table pad. Silver and crystal were perfectly placed. An off white linen napkin was carefully folded on a fine China charger. Server David Liang originally from Taiwan brought us the wine list and menus. A candle flickered on the table. The main dining room was perfectly elegant. Diners were spaced so that there was privacy. A decorative fount of flowers added to the beauty of the surroundings. The bar was in a separate room set with tables for those that want to take their meals there.
Bull and Bear has an impressive thirteen-page wine list. Selections will surely match any taste and budget from Chateau Latour Pauillac 1998 Bordeaux at $2200 a bottle to a good Chateau deClotte Lotes de Castillon 2008 at $72. Champagnes include Moet and Chandon at $25 the glass $95 bottle. Piper Heidsieck brut is $110 the bottle. Krug 2007 is $720 for a bottle of this vintage Champagne while the sommelier selection of Krug Grande Cuvee is $425 the bottle. Cocktails run $19 and have wonderful names like the Flat Iron Martini made with orange Vodka, Lillet Blonde and Cointreau. For the red wine lover Honig Napa Valley cabernet is $26 the glass, $105 the bottle.
The dinner menu is presented in an emblazoned leather folder. Bull and Bear is known for their shellfish. A highlight is their shellfish tower. Included is an artfully prepared platter of oysters from the Blue Island Oyster Company, Maine lobster, gulf jumbo shrimp, large chunks of lump crab meat and Alaskan king crab legs. The shellfish towers are generous and run $39 or $69 for a double portion. Caviar can be added for $100 more. For those that want the chilled Maine lobster cocktail, a half-lobster is served with herb aioli.
Gilbert recommended the shellfish platter and Waldorf salad. Made famous in song and story the salad is embellished with candied walnuts, sweet and sour apples as well as truffles, $19. Pan seared day boat scallops served with sweet corn, fava bean succotash and red pepper coulis is $26.
Steaks at Bull and Bear are incomparable. There is no steak joint in this City of Restaurants that even comes close. “I know the competition. I frequently visit other restaurants to see what they are doing. I specialize in opening steak houses,” General Manager Bolivar said. He has managed some of the best known restaurants on the east coast. “Our beef is CABA prime and dry aged 28 to 35 days. We use farms in the mid-west renown for their beef. We partner with the best cattle farmers to insure highest prime angus quality,” he explained.
Bull and Bear’s steaks are amazing. The bone in rib eye is Certified Black Angus. The 20 ounce portion comes to table perfectly seared, tender with marbling that will cause taste buds to prickle with its juicy flavor, $65. The porterhouse is a 30 ounce generous portion at $62. For those that relish the New York strip steak, it is 14 ounces of tender dry aged beef, $57. Gourmets will want to savor Bull and Bear’s Satsuma Grade A-5 Black Wagyu New York Steak that is sourced verified 600 days of being grain fed and aged 35 days, six ounces is $115.
Dinner offerings include broiled half chicken $36 and double cut rack of Colorado lamb $53. For those with a taste for ocean offerings Lobster Newburg with sherry cream gratin is $60. A special treat is the Ora King New Zealand salmon served with lemon butter and capers $38. The fish is so tender and delicious that its skin is as delectable as the flavorful and generous portion beneath. There is Dover sole meuniere and Georges Bank cod fillet as well. Sides such as giant steamed asparagus or parmesan truffle fries run $14.
Save room for dessert for Bull and Bear has pastry chefs that make everything from scratch. “From what I hear the red velvet cake was invented here along with Eggs Benedict,” Sean Olmstead, Waldorf Astoria’s resident Food and Beverage Manager explained. “We have our own pastry chefs working under the very talented Charlie Romano. We make all our own bread, cookies and pastries from scratch for all the events held here. There is a wonderful smell of baking when I come to work,” Sean added.
The red velvet cake is a Waldorf Astoria original prepared with Mascarpone cream cheese frosting, $16. It melts in the mouth with a blend of chocolate and cream cheese. Baked apple crisp, New York cheesecake and Tahitian vanilla bean creme brule also tempt the palate. All served with wonderful coffees or after dinner drinks.
“We are bringing brunch back to the Waldorf, Sundays from 10 to 2 PM in Peacock Alley. There is live piano music. Brunch is $98 a person,” Sean said.
There are many extraordinary treats at the Waldorf. David Gardelon, the culinary director, oversees a roof top herb garden. “David has brought six bee hives to the roof. We harvest 300 pounds of honey a year. We are making honey beer that just won a blind tasting,” Sean reported.
The Waldorf Astoria is incomparable. The food is extraordinary, served gracefully in elegant surroundings with sophisticated wine and cocktail lists. The tariffs are reasonable, actually more favorable than may of the factory-like steak houses that abound in New York City. For more information visit their websites at www.waldorfastoria.com, www.bullandbearsteakhouse.com or call them for reservations at 212-872-4606.
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