Little by little, classic French cuisine, with its decadent, butterfat-laden sauces, is establishing beachheads in the city, beginning with the arrival of Le CouCou and more recently with Le Gratin. Now there is Koloman, which opened two weeks ago in the Ace Hotel.
Chef Markus Glocker’s menu speaks with a decidedly Austrian accent. Here, the baked orbs of cheese-laden choux pastry known as gougeres are flavored not with Gruyère but bergkäse, and a salmon en crôute stuffed with a scallop and parsley mousse is offered up in a beurre rouge tinted rouger still with beetroot. Beef tenderloin also sports a crust, but not of puff pastry as in beef Wellington but of bone marrow.
Dessert goes all-out Viennese with apple strudel and a rendition of the Austrian crêpe, palatschinken, wrapped around fromage blanc, augmented by fresh berries.
Right now, Kolomon is open solely for dinner, though plans to open for breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch are afoot.
Kolomon, 16 West 29th Street, 212-790-8970.
