Perrine, a French-American restaurant at the Pierre Hotel that opened in 1930, has introduced an alternate Indian menu as a nod to the hotel’s former restaurant, The Pierre Grill, which featured Indian cuisine from the 1940s until the 1970s, when The Pierre Grill closed.
“We believe Indian is the new French,” Michael Mignano, executive chef at the Perrine restaurant in The Pierre Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, said.
The revival draws on both old and modern Indian dishes, inspired by the hotel’s parent company, India-based Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. The new menu, which includes nine new dishes and sides, is presented alongside Perrine’s core French-American menu and will evolve based on guest feedback.
“Americans are interested more and more in the bright spices of Indian cuisine and the diversity of the flavors,” Mignano said.
Doing the Homework
Mignano familiarized himself with the Pierre’s original Indian restaurant menus thanks to the hotel’s extensive records of its history. Several years ago, The Pierre celebrated its 90th anniversary and collected extensive memorabilia for a gallery featuring the many eras of the hotel. Among the treasures unearthed were menus going back as far as renowned Chef Auguste Escoffier who prepared the first menus for The Pierre in the early 1930s.
“The Pierre Grill, where the Indian menu was featured, was an innovative restaurant for its time,” Mignano said. “It featured tableside cooking with waiters dressed in Indian garb and was extremely popular. It was also featured in many news articles for its uniqueness and innovation.”
Today’s Indian menu is a confluence of traditional Indian cuisine and modern-day creations:
“Taj operates The Pierre and we borrowed from their Indian ‘Taj-ness,’ as well as incorporated culinary legacy ideas from items featured on The Pierre Grill menu,” Mignano said.
A Smooth Menu Addition
If adding nine dishes, as well as sides, to the menu seems like a big addition, it’s a standard move for the hotel. The kitchen at The Pierre, Mignano said, is used to preparing a customized seasonal menu.
“Our goal is always to present seasonal, sustainably sourced menu items with a playful perspective,” Mignano said. “We have our core French menu, which is very popular and will never go away, but we also regularly include favorites from menus past, as well as items that reflect the best interpretations of seasonal ingredients.”
Presently, Perrine presents the Indian menu as a tip-in to the regular menu, similar to a specials menu. Popular items include the dhaba chicken curry, a modern take on chicken curry, with a French accent. Masala fish curry (using sea bass filets) gives a shoutout to Southern Indian influences. For vegetarians, dishes including aloo palak (spinach and potato side dish), vegetable biryani, and a paneer malai kofta curry (fried potato balls and vegetables in a creamy sauce), provide dynamic options.
“Going forward, items from the Indian menu may conceivably become part of the selections on our overall menu,” Mignano said. “First and foremost, Perrine is a French-American restaurant that focuses on modern-day interpretations of dishes with fresh ingredients, so as seasons evolve, so will the selections on the menu. Right now, we are taking our cue from the response of Perrine guests and will evolve the menus according to their preferences”
Tad Wilkes, former editor of Hotel F&B and Nightclub & Bar magazines, is a writer covering the food service industry.
