Recipes From The Red Cat

The Red Cat restaurant was one of those eateries that stood out in lower Manhattan. It was a great place to get great food Their dishes were legendary. Foodies raved about their burgers and sauteed zucchini. The Red Cat may  be closing but their recipes will live on for home chefs.

It's closing was highlighted in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The food section maverick and former editor, Sam Sifton, and his photographer , Daniel Krieger went to visit this classic that will close this Sunday. The Red Cat has been there since 1999 , started by Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams. The restaurant was meant to evoke New England by way of Paris oozed a kind  of  particular kind of elegance only seen in New York.It was confident and relaxed, witty but not too formal, nor informal either. Its'  most famous dishes are its' hamburgers and the quick sauteed zucchini with pecorino cheese and almonds. There are also tempura fried green beans with sweet-spicy mustard that everyone orders and still  will keep ordering til the last order is taken.One of the best things about the Red Cat is that it's a family place. Mr. Bradley's father built the half hull model of a red cat boat on the wall.Workers have been there since the opening and one worker Valentin, Garcia -Luna has gotten his family jobs there.

Mr. Bradley fell in love with the restaurant scene when he was an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island. He worked at several, and arrived in New York in 1994,cooking for a number of chefs, including Jonathan Waxman at the Bryant Park Grill. He became a friend and a mentor - a part that he took on and nurtured the latest generation of chefs .Luckily the Food section has published some of the Red Cat's recipes. There s Jimmy Bradley's Salad with Gruyere Imagine  bacon laced potato salad married to a creamy fondue. The potatoes are oven roasted so there's a nice crispness to them which goes well with the bacon's crunch. The dressing starts with a roux and then the Gruyere along with heavy cream is simmered together.. The salad is made first and then ladled on to the cheese mixture. It's a great dish for the quiet days between Christmas and New Year's/ The tempura green beans with the mustard sauce would be a fantastic  holiday party nibble.It's the classic tempura batter made with  egg whites, seltzer and flour.  It's fried on canola oil and served  a mix of Dijon mustard, honey and soy sauce.

The Red Cat has given twenty years of great food and atmosphere.The recipes will live on, thanks to  home chefs recreating its' best recipes. They'll be going strong