Tom Colicchio to Head Up Cuisine at The Morgan Library & Museum
New York City’s Morgan Library & Museum is known for dynamic, creative culinary experiences, often pegged to current exhibitions. Earlier this year, the Morgan Café—one of two dining facilities on the site—offered a delightfully creepy Frankenstein Tea, featuring "bloody" marzipan fingers, chokeberry scones, a bright green cake with oozing chocolate ganache, tea sandwiches, and more. This past April, a “Shire-themed event with Hobbit-inspired cocktails” also took place, in tandem with its "Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth" exhibit. And earlier this week, the Morgan team announced the museum’s first-ever culinary collaboration with chef and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio, who’s being brought on by Restaurant Associates, an on-site dining management company.
“I have been working with Restaurant Associates for several years, and I find their ethos of taking care of their employees, sourcing sustainably, and trying to impact food waste is in lock-step with Crafted Hospitality’s,” said Colicchio. “The historic Morgan Library & Museum presents an amazing opportunity to further that mission in an iconic New York landmark.”
Starting this fall, both the Morgan Café—the more casual of the two venues—and the Morgan Dining Room will feature new dishes and cocktails from Colicchio. The cuisine has been described as “approachable, modern American dishes,” with a menu that updates seasonally to highlight fresh ingredients. While the full spread won’t debut until fall, expect dishes including Arugula-Hanger Steak Salad with parmesan, toasted pine nuts, and lemon confit; Steamed PEI Mussels with fennel, leeks, and white wine; Chicken Paillard with heirloom tomatoes, pickled red onion, and basil; and the TC Wagyu Burger with balsamic onions, truffled pecorino, B&B pickles, and fried fingerlings (shown above).
Earlier this year, Colicchio also made an appearance on the inaugural episode of "Hugh Acheson Stirs The Pot," the eponymous podcast from Hugh Acheson. The two chefs talked about everything from why you should make the most of your leftovers (appropriately, since the episode is titled “Tom Colicchio Heats Up Leftovers”) to Colicchio’s tip for perfectly sautéing vegetables—with conversation about José Andrés, restaurant staffing shortages, and essential cooking tips laced in between. Check out everything we learned in our episode recap.
