FOOD, DRINK & NIGHTLIFE
(Left) Chef Mark Strausman in his new kitchen at Mark’s Off Madison in New York.(Right) Inside the dining room.
A ‘Mark’ of New York
Madison Square eatery serving up amazing classics
BY HEATHER CASSELL
Mark’s Off Madison,
also known as MOM,
is exactly what New
York’s tiny North of Madison
Square Park (NOMAD) neighborhood
needed: An upscale
diner that isn’t a diner. The
food that comes out of Mark
Off Madison’s kitchen has all
the warmth and love of home,
but with a refi ned palette of a
world-class chef.
The restaurant and bakery,
which celebrated its one-year
anniversary in November
2021, is the rendering of Chef
Mark Strausman’s long career
refi ning his craft behind the
stove.
The celebrated chef at
Fred’s at the top of the nowbankrupt
Barney’s of New
York, fortunately, already had
his foot out the door when
the hedge fund executives of
the high-end department store
unceremoniously fi red him.
He was simply standing up
for his rosy sautéed chicken
livers over sourdough toast.
They didn’t appreciate his or
others’ taste after nearly a
quarter-century of celebrities,
high-powered business people,
locals, tourists, and everyone
Leg of lamb on a bed of mashed potatoes swimming in the
gravy with a side of fall melody of Brussels sprouts and
pumpkin squash.
in between clamoring to get
reservations to dine at Fred’s at
the top of the posh department
store. The store ceased to
exist, for the second time in its
history, at the end of 2019.
Fred’s disappearance
appeared to be a loss to New
York, a chip off the Old New
York that was rapidly vanishing
during the global pandemic.
However, Strausman was a
step ahead of his hedge fund
critics and the timing was right
for him to re-envision the new
restaurant to accommodate the
PHOTO BY HEATHER CASSELL
pandemic. At the time of his
fi ring, he already signed the
lease for the former A Voce
space at Madison Square Park,
The New York Times reported.
At the corner of Madison
Square Park and East 26th
Street, Strausman launched
Mark’s Off Madison in
November 2020, allowing the
devoted fans he has collected
since 1988 — when he was a
chef at Sapore di Mare in East
Hampton, New York — to fi nd
him again.
His fandom grew as he
became part of the Tuscan
wave that hit New York during
the early 1990s, cooking in
the kitchens at Coco Pazzo
and Campagna and fi nally to
the top of Barney’s New York
in 1996, where he reigned for
24 years. The store brought
him to fans from Chicago, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco
(the last Fred’s he opened at
the top of Barney’s, he told
my dinner guest and me as
he fl oated from table-to-table
engaging with and thanking
diners) as the high-end store
fanned out from New York to
the west.
The slice of Old New York is
renewed for fans who instantly
fl ocked to Mark’s Off Madison
in search of his famous
Estelle’s chicken soup, lasagna
della nonna, sautéed chicken
livers, pizzas, and his beloved
Belgian fries, to new classics
being prepared in the kitchen
and bakery seasonally.
Everything is on the table
at Mark’s Off Madison. The
cuisine highlights Strausman’s
fi ne European dining training,
especially Italian cuisine, to
the Flushing kitchen in his
childhood Jewish home in
Queens, New York. It is there
where he started his storied
PHOTOS COURTESY MARK’S OFF MADISON
career cooking up Jewish
favorites like his down-home,
hand-rolled bagels and bialys
that fl y off the shelf (for
those who do not get up early
enough).
Mark’s Off Madison is
decidedly Jewish and European
with all the love and warmth
of the two communities
melded into one space, which
is quintessential New York.
Because of that, the restaurant
emanates a homey feeling that
makes you feel like family, a
family with a refi ned palette for
elevated comfort foods from
bagels to lasagna. After all, the
restaurant’s tagline is “where
uptown meets downtown.”
Diners can get a window
view into Strausman’s kitchen
to see the sous chefs working
their magic to deliver his fusion
of American farm-to-table
Italian classics and breakfast
creations in Mark’s Off
Madison’s main dining room.
Mark’s Off Madison hits
the mark. It strikes the perfect
balance between a warm and
inviting atmosphere and good
taste. It is a must-dine spot for
New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Mark’s Off Madison, 41
Madison Ave., ground fl oor,
Madison Square. 646-838-
8300, marksoffmadison.com.
Open for lunch Tuesday-Friday,
11:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m.; dinner
service Tuesday-Saturday, 5
to 10 p.m.; Saturday brunch,
10:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m.; and
Sunday brunch, 10:30 a.m.-4
p.m. Open for bagel take out
counter service on Saturday
and Sunday at 9 a.m.
6 December 30, 2021 Schneps Media
/marksoffmadison.com
