One White Street: A Dining Utopia

It isn’t often that art, architecture, history, and exceptional food are combined and presented in an atmosphere that feels like walking into the home of a close friend. When One White Street, tucked into the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City, opened last August, the owners set out to create just such a place and have since found a loyal following.

The idea for the restaurant was put together by chef Austin Johnson and managing partner Dustin Wilson who met while both were in Paris–Johnson as executive chef for Gregory Marchand’s celebrated restaurant “Frenchie”. Wilson had ties to a wine store in TriBeCa and eventually convinced Johnson to move back to New York.
One White Street was three years in the making as the building was transformed from a 4-story historic townhouse to a restaurant. And this was no average townhouse. The site was formerly designated by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as the embassy for Nutopia–their vision for a country that had no boundaries and welcomed everyone. The concept of Nutopia never came to fruition but Lennon would be gratified to see that One White Street is fulfilling his dream of a place close to perfection, where everyone is welcome.

THE TRANSFOR- MATION
Turning a former townhouse into a restaurant is no easy feat. Wilson and Johnson turned to San Franciso-based designer Richard Felix-Ashman who set to work creating designs that would give each floor its own distinct feel and experience. Felix-Ashman is known for creating serene and calming spaces that feature layered textures and he curates art to bring depth to each space. The walls and ceiling of One White Street are done with paneled European white larch and balanced by the antique black limestone floor. Touches of deep blue from the tiles on the kitchen walls and mohair banquettes add to the richness of the rooms. Domestically sourced light fixtures provide perfect ambiance from the moment you walk in the door and are greeted by a spray of tiny lights that run along guitar strings strung along the stairway from bottom floor to top as an homage to the building’s former owners.

The main dining floors feature original photography by Gordon Matta Clark who was a central figure to the 1970s New York City art scene and whose work can now be found in prominent museums throughout the world.

The food at One White Street will wow, but the drink menu and wine list are also exceptional. Start with a cocktail–a classic martini or negroni. Or be more adventurous and try a Farm Cocktail that mixes ingredients like cucumber, carrot, and apple with bar standards like Bourbon and Vodka. There are also options from the “Nutopian Twists” list that offer a bit of a surprise in each glass.

There are two options for dining. The first floor and outside, either on the patio or under a covered structure, features small plates and seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. Inside on the upper floors, six-course tasting menus are provided and reservations are required.
Each floor has an open kitchen and seating for up to 14 people to retain an intimate dining experience. The room layout gives the feel of sitting in a friend’s kitchen, cocktail in hand, taking in the scents and scenes of a meal being prepared, while enjoying good conversation from your fellow diners.

NOT JUST FARMTO TABLE

While the building and its history may have appeal, the progressive American menu at One White Street is what keeps customers coming through the door. The basis for each plate is seasonal local ingredients that are grown at the owners’ Hudson Valley farm, Rigor Hill and composed into simple dishes that maximize unique flavors from unexpected combinations. The grilled scallop skewers offered tender scallops wrapped around roasted squash and served with pumpkin seeds and a farm pesto. Next was melt in your mouth glazed potato gnocchi bathed in brown butter and tossed with toasted hazelnuts, squash, and Mimolette cheese–a combination so tempting we used spoons to make sure no sauce was left behind. Salads may generally be seen as an afterthought, but the shaved fennel salad was the star of the meal served with a yuzu vinaigrette, blue cheese, and candied pistachios. There was not a strand of fennel left on the plate. A goat cheesecake with a balsamic reduction, figs, and bee pollen rounded out the evening.

The food at One White Street will wow, but the drink menu and wine list are also exceptional. Start with a cocktail–a classic martini or negroni. Or be more adventurous and try a Farm Cocktail that mixes ingredients like cucumber, carrot, and apple with bar standards like Bourbon and Vodka. There are also options from the “Nutopian Twists” list that offer a bit of a surprise in each glass.

The wine list is specially curated by Sommelier, Audrey Frick, who greeted us tableside to see if we had questions and share a bit of her background and training. Frick’s selected wine list features small family-owned wineries from around the globe. Don’t expect to find typical cabernets and chardonnays, but rather more unusual and enticing grapes like Sancerres, Garnacha, and Barolo. New York wines are represented and join vineyards from France, Spain, and Germany, as well the western U.S.

Lending to the friendly casual vibe of One White Street, Frick, and General Manager Jessica Friedman both visited our table and struck up conversations about our lives and theirs. By the end of the evening we were on a first-name basis with most of the staff and as we saw them bid goodbye to other patrons, we recognized why visiting One White Street seemed like coming home.

There are two options for dining. The first floor and outside, either on the patio or under a covered structure, features small plates and seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. Inside on the upper floors, six-course tasting menus are provided and reservations are required.

No matter which option you choose, you can be assured of a memorable meal, a staff that makes you feel like an old friend, and a dining experience that will make you want to linger and swap just one more story. Just remember there are always others waiting for your seat.