Caviar-stuffed snow peas and oysters top a buttered blini at Caviar Russe in New York City.
June 2005
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Caviar Specialty Restaurants
For Special Occasions Or Anytime
Whether you’re a connoisseur or just learning about caviar, these restaurants either specialize in caviar or have signature dishes that let you compare and contrast different types. They also have knowledgeable staff that will help educate your palate.
If you’d like to add restaurants to the list, click here—and please send us as much information as you can.
Chicago
Tru
676 North Saint Clair (between Erie & Huron Streets)
1.312.202.0001
TruRestaurant.com
The signature crystal Caviar Staircase starts with Osetra on the top and steps to Salmon Caviar, Wasabi-Infused Whitefish Caviar, and Ginger-Infused Whitefish Caviar. Garnishes of chopped eggs, capers, and Bermuda onion let you mix and match flavors with the accompanying crème fraîche. (You can buy the staircase from Chef Tramonto.com and enjoy your own staircase at home.)
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A view from the top of Chef Rick Tramonto’s Caviar
Staircase.
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New York City
Caviar Russe
538 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor (between 54th & 55th Streets)
1.212.580.5908
CaviarRusse.com
You will almost feel transported to pre-revolution Russia, where the choices include a caviar tasting menu with caviar in every course. So that you don’t suffer withdrawal the next day, there’s an ample selection from the take-out shop.
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Lobster and caviar. |
Caviarteria
1012 Lexington Avenue (between 72nd and 73rd Streets)
1.212.759-7410
Caviarteria.com
Caviarteria has been New York’s answer to Petrossian for about 20 years: started by New Yorkers with a love of caviar. It’s a retail shop with a caviar bar where you can sit on a bar stool alone or with a friend and enjoy plates of caviar with Champagne. Some might call that a better alternative to Starbucks.
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Fire Bird
365 West 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues)
1.212.586.0244
FirebirdRestaurant.com
With the Russian Tea Room now just a memory, Firebird is what New Yorkers think of when they want imperial Russian cuisine. The beautiful townhouse “the 1912 home of a Russian gentleman,” is the project of J. William Holt and his wife, Baroness Irina von der Launitz, granddaughter of Vladimir von der Launitz, the mayor of St. petersburg until his assassination in 1907. The restaurant reflects the Holts’ extensive knowledge of, and passion for, Russian art, literature, and cuisine. |
Caviar sampler |
Petrossian
182 West 58th Street at Seventh Avenue
1.212.245.2214
Petrossian.com
Perhaps the number one caviar restaurant in the country in terms of breadth of offering. Petrossian’s Art Deco retail shop and restaurant are located together in a beautiful Beaux Arts building where you can enjoy caviar for lunch, dinner, and brunch. Because all of the company’s retail inventory is at hand, you can put together your own sampler of any and all caviars: the only limit is your appetite and pocketbook. For the more cautious, there’s a pre-set tasting plate with 50 grams each of Beluga, Osetra and Sevruga. A supremely knowledgeable staff will educate you in Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced Caviar Tasting. |
Sample five different kinds of caviar with champagne. |
San Francisco
Tsar Nicoulai
1 Ferry Building #12
1.415.288.8630
TsarNicoulai.com
This may be the most casual venue for such luxurious food—and that’s what makes it even more of a luxury. Anyone can dress up in his best and sit an an elegant banquette for an evening of white glove service. Here, you sit on a stool at a bar in an open-front stall in the bustling Ferry Building, San Francisco’s biggest gourmet marketplace. You’re nestled amid cheese shops, mushroom shops, tea shops, Italian food provisioners—and fellow foodies everywhere. But they’re racing by with packages and you’re the one relaxing with a flute of champagne and a Premium Caviar Sampler, comparing the differences among California Estate Osetra, California Estate Osetra, Iranian Asetra, Imported Sevruga, Hackleback Sturgeon. When you’re done, you can do some shopping and come back for the American Caviar Sampler. There should be a Tsar Nicoulai in every town. |
The Premium Caviar Sample, five caviars on blini with crème fraîche. |
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