| La Tulipe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | May 1979 (1979-05) |
| Closed | February 1991 (1991-02) |
| Owner(s) | Sally Darr, John Darr |
| Head chef | Sally Darr |
| Food type | ClassicFrench cuisine; Nouvelle cuisine |
| Dress code | Casual[1] |
| Street address | 104 West 13th Street, Greenwich Village New York,NY |
| Coordinates | 40°44′12″N73°59′53″W / 40.736778°N 73.997945°W /40.736778; -73.997945 |
| Seating capacity | 65[2] |
| Reservations | Required[1] |
La Tulipe was a French restaurant in Manhattan owned and run by chefSally Darr. It was located inGreenwich Village from 1979 to 1991. The restaurant served classicFrench cuisine andnouvelle cuisine, and was often referred to as abistro.[3][4]
Though small and intimate, the restaurant proved influential, and afterMimi Sheraton awarded it three stars inThe New York Times six weeks after it opened, it was favored by chefs such asJulia Child,James Beard, andJacques Pépin.
ChefSally Darr and her husband John Darr opened La Tulipe in May 1979 in the renovated ground floor of atownhouse on West 13th Street inGreenwich Village.[3][4] John Darr handled the restaurant's dining room, and was its business manager andmaitre d’.[3][4] The restaurant was small, with about 65 seats.[2]
In July 1979The New York Times rated the restaurant 3 stars,[3] and in September 1979, in an article aboutnouvelle cuisine in theTimes,Mimi Sheraton wrote "Several Americans who do their own versions of this French cooking are also of interest. The best is Sally Darr, who cooks at her restaurant La Tulipe, 104 West 13th Street".[5]
In 1985The New York Times stated "La Tulipe has maintained its high altitude over the years ... Mrs. Darr ... stays at the controls and personally prepares every dish to order. It is evident that Mrs. Darr's entrees are nearly always well-conceived; she stresses flavor over flashiness."[6]
In December 1988,The New York Times changed its rating to 2 stars.[7]
After 12 years of operation, the restaurant closed in February 1991.[8] The high-flying Wall Street years of the 1980s had ended, and a recession had set in.[4] The venue was sold to a pair of restaurateurs, Donald Evans and Lora Zarubin, who planned to open a new establishment, called Lora.[8]
La Tulipe served classicFrench cuisine andnouvelle cuisine.[9]
The menu wasà la carte,[3] with five entrées on the ever-changing menu each night.[10]
It was open from 6:30pm to 10:00pm, Tuesday through Sunday, and closed on Mondays.[1] Reservations were required.[1] La Tulipe also hosted private parties for up to 50 people, with a four-course dinner, open bar, and wine.[11]
The restaurant advertised its recurring specials as "papillote de red snapper auxlégumesfondants", and "langue Valenciennoise";[1][4] the former was a fillet ofred snapper baked with vegetables and creamen papillote, and the latter combined smokedbeef tongue with chicken‐liver mousse andfoie grasde carnard, seasoned with green peppercorns.[3]
In a retrospective,The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Darr served what is known as cooking 'à la bonne femme' — classic but simple French dishes like roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, as well as her own innovations, like soft shell crabmeunière and an extravagantterrine of what seemed like hundreds of layers of smoked tongue and foie gras mousse."[4] TheTimes added that "Desserts were Ms. Darr’s forte: She was a skilled pastry chef, and her apricot souffle, shaped like a minaret and served table-side with a dollop of whipped cream flavored with kirsch, was a best seller."[4]
After receiving three stars from Mimi Sheraton inThe New York Times in July 1979, La Tulipe became popular with notables, celebrities, and celebrity chefs.[2][4] The restaurant was also a precursor to thenouvelle cuisine trend in the U.S.[2]
Julia Child quickly became a fan,[12][13][4] and invited the Darrs to her cottage in Provence.[14] Child coopted some of Darr's recipes,[15][12] and Darr appeared on her new television show,Dinner at Julia's.[13]
James Beard frequented the restaurant.[16][4]
Jacques Pépin was periodically a guest chef at the restaurant.[17][18][19]
Sara Moulton, who went on to be a popular cookbook author, magazine cooking journalist, and cooking-show host, waschef tournant (filling in as needed on any station in the kitchen) at La Tulipe between 1981 and 1983.[20][21]