Michael White Dishes On His New Restaurant And Friendship With Anthony Bourdain – Exclusive Interview

So how has your experience been so far at the Lambs Club?

It’s been great. Gearing up was very exciting and people are booking parties in September and October already, so that really feels good. We’re in the doldrums of summer, but the fall is booking up, and that’s really exciting. And with such a great location there with Paramount and all the banks and all the Sixth Avenue and such.

I’m assuming you were a regular patron before the reboot?

Oh, sure. You bet. We had lunches there and holiday luncheons with friends. 

Cool. So can you tell me a little bit about your process when you form a menu?

Sure. Sure. At a restaurant that is in a hotel, and has a transient clientele, you have to have a great burger and you have to have things that are typical on a menu, whether it’s a brunch and avocado toast… But I love doing those types of things, it’s like an execution to the max, you know? 

The menu has a few crudos and light appetizers that people can come into the bar or mezzanine and have something quickly. The restaurant is very close to the Broadway shows so we open very early. There are always four or five tables of two that come before the Sarah Jessica Parker show across the street and stuff like that. Some people come in for a longer dining menu, and the 5 o’clock customers come in pre-theater. Then we get the actors that come over from various Broadway shows afterwards.  

Do you have a favorite dish?

Oh, wow. They’re all my children, really. It’s like picking my favorite Ramones song. I mean, we’ve had veal chops on for a while now. We’re doing lamb chops. Dover sole in the spring. It’s the fun in having kind of that clubby food. I don’t like to say that. That was weird … “clubby food.” But you know, a dark room. It has a fireplace. Now we’re going into fall so we’re working on some new things. Francis [Joven], the pastry chef, is making great Parker House rolls with everything bagel seasonings on top. So listen, I’m having fun there. That’s what’s great about it.

So you’re known for your pasta dishes, but there are only a few on the menu at the Lambs Club. Will you be building that out at all?

Yeah. I mean, obviously when truffles come into season … Although, it’s not going to be a great truffle season this year. It’s so damn hot in Europe right now, but let’s hope so. A hundred plus degrees in Italy right now, with very little rain. But at any rate, we’ll definitely do a risotto, a couple pastas, but specials are fun too. Using products of the moment. But everything will always be handmade. A typical restaurant wouldn’t have handmade orecchiette and things like that, if that makes sense.

When forming a menu, do you work with the beverage director, Christopher Miller to ensure that the two menus align?

For sure. Exactly. In spring, for example, artichokes and wine are tough, those kinds of things. So we definitely talk about those things when we’re implementing something on a tasting menu. But certain kinds of dishes are tough on wine. We have a very extensive wine list there, and people there are definitely Lambs Club devotees, if you will, that come in and know that it’s a great list, and deep wine list.