Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/407791
Caviar A LOOK INSIDE THE PORTALS OF GRANGE HALL'S NEW ACHINGLY CHIC ENVIRONS AND THE RESTAURANT WITH NO NAME BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PHOTOGRAPHY SHAYNA FONTANA. PHOTO ASSISTANT ELIZABETH FARRELL. As anyone who shops the glamorous, recherché chambers of Grange Hall knows, the world of co- owners Rajan Patel and Jeffrey Lee spins in a different direction. Their goods are a fine and idiosyncratic assortment, including such thrilling (or chilling, depending on your take) objects as a garnet-and-gold spider pin by Gabriella Kiss ($6,800), a brooch in the shape of a coffin by Julia de Ville ($300) and David Simcik's disquieting and beautiful found sculptures (Timmy Turner the Human Pincushion, $750). News of the 10-year-old store's expansion into the space next door (a former day spa) to allow for a restaurant caused a stir amongst those who wondered what exotic delectable cuisine might be on the menu. Deep-fried tarantula? Raw-blood soup? Balut? Not quite. Try Mediterranean tuna, chopped salad, vegan barley potage and cold-pressed juices. "When Rajan and I travel, we try almost anything," says Lee. "But for the restaurant, we wanted health- conscious foods — I can't even believe I even said those words — because Dallas eats lunch in a certain way." The restaurant, which opened in late October, has no name ("We probably won't ever call it anything," says Patel). They serve lunch, afternoon tea, wine, beer — and, because the restaurant caters to the same stylish and well-heeled clientele as the retail side, Petrossian caviar (served in a silver egg) at $112 and Krug Grande Cuvée, priced at $135 per glass. As Grange Hall's upper-crust customers know, the boutique isn't just about the oddities that have fueled its reputation for uncommon finds. This is where one buys Ted Muehling egg-and-dart candlesticks and exquisite Nymphenburg porcelain. (In fact, Nymphenburg has just teamed with Grange Hall to produce a custom made-to-order pattern based on the classic rococo Cumberland pattern.) It's where you stock up on Histories de Parfums fragrances, Costes candles, coffee-table books on Daphne Guinness, chic arrangements of poppies in a hollowed-out turtle shell or lavish oversized vases full of peonies for dinner parties. A nd now, it's where the design observant will sip Mariage Frères teas from delicate Nymphenburg and Richard Brendon porcelain cups and lunch on the Snob Sandwich, a rich concoction of Petrossian smoked salmon, caviar and organic egg salad on a toasted brioche ($22) and served on German-made, fine bone china (Dibbern's Carrera). The flatware is Portuguese, brushed gold and ebony from Cutipol, which — like everything else in the restaurant — is for sale, $27 to $73 per piece. There are exquisite sugars, oils, vinegars, salts and flights of honeys from around the world, curated by retired chef Wylie McAnallen, who has consulted for years on the music for Grange Hall and is now consulting on all things epicure. Lee and Patel brought in some serious talent to pull the culinary side together, including former York Street chef/owner Sharon Hague, who consulted, and chef Chad Martin (formerly of Hotel St. Germain), who mans the kitchen full-time. Martin spent six months perfecting the menu, the recipes and the presentation. His baked-to-order madeleines, served with burnt honey dip, are worthy of Proust, exquisitely plated with sprigs of hydrangea plucked from the 1,000-square- foot floral workroom in the back. While the entire building got a makeover — the front doors (massively rendered in heavy laser-cut steel) were moved to the parking-lot side, and the retail space was brightened with the addition of an cutlines chattels "MAUVE IS SUCH AN OLD, ODD COLOR THAT NOBODY USES ANYMORE," PATEL SAYS, "BUT I LOVE IT." Jeffrey Lee, Rajan Patel. Designed by Jeffrey Lee for the restaurant, the small menu of teas includes a cameo. Lee borrowed an image from Francois Boucher's painting, Madame de Pompadour for the check presentation booklet. Antique bronze fireplace chenets and dog pincushion.