My first lunch at Michael’s was in 1995. Playboy magazine had flown me in from Moscow where I had snagged an exclusive interview with the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who was then running for president of Russia.
It felt like everybody who was anybody was in the room, which glowed with its minimalist design, spectacular flower arrangements and dramatic windows overlooking the tranquil garden in the back.
In that respect, it seems that much hasn’t changed about this now-legendary venue, where media moguls, politicians, real estate magnates and museum heads all meet to “see and be seen.”
On Wednesday night, Michael’s celebrated its 35th anniversary. It’s still a Midtown power lunch scene (the Cobb salad remains a fixture). But it also has expanded into power breakfasts (coffee, green juice and blueberry crepe pancakes) and dinners (Dover sole).
There’s also happy hour where Chef Kyung Up Lim’s duck confit bao, Korean fried chicken or shrimp and Korean steak lettuce cup are devoured.
Owner Michael McCarty, 71, still presides over his namesake restaurant, making his rounds from table to table at 24 W. 55th St.
McCarty, who studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, brought clean California seasonal cooking to New York when he opened in 1989. He also helped introduce New Yorkers to a large collection of Napa wines back when Midtown was still ruled by French restaurants.
The decor features art by his wife, the artist Kim McCarty, as well as Cy Twombly, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler and Marcel Duchamp. Robert Graham has reliefs in the foyer and in the garden — panels from the 1984 Olympics; Dennis Hoppers’ photographs are in the bathrooms.
On Wednesday morning, over coffee in a packed, buzzy room, McCarty pointed to a table in the back where Jasper Johns liked to sit every day for a month while working on his 1996/1997 retrospective at the nearby Museum of Modern Art.
“He’d sit at the back with Cy Twombly and conspire,” McCarty said.
This is where George Stephanopoulos and President Bill Clinton once reconciled, McCarty continued, pointing to another table. And Graydon Carter sat “at Table 7 — the last smoking table in New York” — with Fran Lebowitz, Liam Neeson and the late Natasha Richardson.
“They would sit there, puff away and talk for hours,” McCarty said.
At the time, smoking was still allowed in New York at bars and bar tables that were at least eight feet from the restaurant, McCarty added.
The McCartys are in from Malibu twice a month. Their Michael’s in Santa Monica recently celebrated its 45th anniversary.
“The restaurants are fraternal twins,” McCarty says. “The Hollywood types would come here to meet their agents and have a place to come for lunch.”
One of the secrets to Michael’s success is having great staff, led by General Manager Steve Millington, who greets the regulars by name, and maitre ‘d’s Loréal Sherman and Joana Andrade, along with chef Lim. All have been at Michael’s for more than 20 years.
And yes, guests’ preferences are noted in the computer system— and diners are discussed every day to make sure their needs are met and the delicate art of seating arrangements are made.
“We have a preshift meeting before lunch and dinner to discuss any special arrangements or needs that our guests may have,” Millington said. “It can be something as simple as no lemon with a Diet Coke or as complicated as a gluten allergy or sesame seed allergy. Birthdays are very important as well.”
Some of the nation’s top chefs also got their start at Michaels, including Nancy Silverton, Jonathan Waxman, Brooke Williamson, Sang Yoon, Miles Thompson, and Brian Bornemann.
“I think the key [to staying relevant] is that you are always evolving,” McCarty said. “You have to be aware of what is going on around you and you have to have your idea. Restaurants come and go quickly because they are just a thought. But people go back to the standards. You develop the classics, the Latin of the food world, and you make sure you are completely aware of your clients.”
In some cases, that means also “doing their weddings, bar mitzvahs, anniversaries and then their memorials! Five-stop shopping with the same people. It’s all about evolution — not mutation. Don’t change for a whim. Have your soul in it.”