Prime KO on the Upper West Side is no longer. The restaurant recently rebranded as Prime West in its old West 85th Street location, and has brought acclaimed chef Edward Boarland from Paris to help implement its new vision.
Owner and founder Joey Allaham explained that Prime West was a way of bringing the Prime Grill concept to the West Side. The upscale Manhattan eatery on the East Side has outlasted most kosher restaurants and has grown for itself a name and reputation, complete with popularity and celebrity flair. It was a way of porting over a proven concept but also “reinvent[ing] ourselves,” as Allaham explained, with the addition of introducing French influence into the cuisine.
And that’s why they brought in chef Edward Boarland, formerly of Paris’s popular kosher restaurant, Le Rafael. Le Rafael’s executive chef, Simon Zanoni, also ran a two-star Michelin restaurant, but the restaurant closed its doors last month, allowing former sous chef Boarland to explore new ventures out west, after Allaham convinced him to join him in his new endeavor. “He’s a great guy with a great personality; I always look for personality before talent,” making the synergy beneficial to both. Currently, Chef Boarland is preparing dishes at Prime West, and will help shape and review menus in the future. “He’ll be coming every two months for two weeks,” Allaham said. At Prime West, Chef Boarland will be acting as a working chef and consultant, introducing a new menu every week of his stay.
Chef Boarland has come to New York with both his “front and back of house,” as Allaham explained. Chef Bourland’s established and trusted staff came with him to help bring the Prime West staff up to speed with his talents. His experience so far on U.S. soil has been “great,” Chef Boarland said, “and everyone is very friendly.” Allaham’s chefs have all been very excited, working overtime to learn from one of the best, with employees coming in at 6 a.m. though they “used to start at 1p.m.,” said Allaham. “A lot of preparation goes in[to Chef Boarland’s dishes], in every level in the dish.”
As Danielle Zaria Praport, a spokesperson for the restaurant, said, “When [looking at] the tech side of the dish, you’ll see it really goes to a whole nother level; it’s really beautiful, not to mention delicious.”
The meal experience is not to miss, especially for such talent. At the first tasting, patrons had the opportunity to enjoy a Jerusalem artichoke veloute with artichoke crisps and chestnuts as an amuse bouche. This soup dish was velvety but not too overpowering. A second course of chicken leg confit and sweetbread ravioli in a cepes sauce had patrons wishing there was bread on the table to lick up the remnants of both the soup and the sauce—perhaps the only gripe of the entire meal. A roasted duck breast with potato fondant, dates and poached kumquats was the main course, with an extremely well-cooked duck and a nice hint of sweetness that completed the dish. A pre-dessert fruit soup made of mango, pineapple and passion fruit with a touch of rum was excellent, with some wishing they could have had a vat of the delicious drink. Finally, a dessert of a warm chocolate tart with biscuit ice cream wrapped up the dish—the ice cream tasted as if it were dairy, though the chocolate in the tart may have been overpowering for some. However, among most kosher meals, the patrons agreed that this was among the best meals they’d ever tasted. Dani Klein of YeahThatsKosher.com, who attended the tasting, agreed: “I enjoy tasting menus over the typical restaurant experience, and Chef Boarland’s did not disappoint. The two standout dishes for me were the the Jerusalem artichoke veloute and the duck main course with potato fondant and kumquats.”
Service was impeccable, with staff constantly replenishing glasses and changing silverware between courses. The meal was not drawn out, and the entire experience could have lasted as long or as short as patrons wanted, with courses constantly coming out on time and no one waiting too long for the next item on the menu. Klein added, “Beyond the meal itself, I found Prime West’s service to be attentive and knowledgeable.” The experience is well worth the short trip into Manhattan, though it is recommended to find out when Chef Boarland is next in town to truly experience his French-inspired menu and dishes.
So is a Michelin star in the future for Prime West? Allaham isn’t thinking about it. Those envied stars also mean longer waits for reservations, and Allaham doesn’t want to intimidate prospective patrons from not opting to experience the Michelin star acclaim. The prestige, he explained, would change the dynamic of the eatery.
Next up, Chef Boarland and Allaham will be headed to Santa Monica, CA, where they will be building out a Pesach menu at the Fairmont Hotel run by Allaham’s brand, Prime Hospitality.
Still, Allaham is cautiously optimistic, acknowledging this experiment that he hopes will lend itself to future potential projects. “There’s nothing in this caliber and this sophistication and the level of quality of food where so much effort has been put into it,” he said. “That’s why I’m trying it, and if it works, it’s phenomenal.”
By Tamar Weinberg
