FREESTANDING OPTION
Chris D’Amico, chef at Gemma at The
Bowery Hotel in New York’s newest hip
downtown district, describes where he
works as sort of a hybrid. “We are a hotel
restaurant in the sense that we have
room service and an all-day menu, with a
separate staff for breakfast and overnight
requests, but we really see ourselves as a
freestanding restaurant,” he says.
dishes that they would like to feature,
and sometimes have questions about the
menu. But in the end, I order the food,
scrub the pots and clean the mats, and
order wine and beverages.”
Jan Greenberg, author of Hudson Valley
Harvest (Countryman Press, 2003), is
based in Rhinebeck, N. Y.
Gregory Goode
“In general, I feel that the concept of
a hotel dining room is dying. Even if
the hotel owners are operating the
restaurant, they usually farm out the
day-to-day business and run it as an
independent operation.”
Gemma at the Bowery Hotel in New
York functions independently in its
hotel setting.
The restaurant distinguishes itself from
the hotel with a separate entrance from
the street, as well as through the lobby,
and offers diners the opportunity to
dine outside in season, further tying
the restaurant to its community. True
to his Italian-American roots, refined by
frequent travels to Italy, D’Amico has
created an accessible and comfortable
Italian-based menu, serving dishes such
as Branzino Al Forno, a roasted sea bass
served on a wood plank; Pappardelle
with Oxtail Ragu; and Pollo Al Mattone,
pan-roasted Amish chicken served with
roasted bliss potatoes, cipollini and
chicory, garnished with a caramelized
lemon slice.
“This works so well because we function
independently,” he says. “Sure, the
owners will look at a dish and say, ‘This
is awesome.’ They will suggest certain
