The return of Chef Mark Strausman
A brunch spot for your parents that includes bagels & lox
Oct
05
2021
Chef Mark Strausman, formerly of Freds inside of Barneys New York is back with banana-stuffed challah French toast & more.
In the fall of 2019, Barneys department store closed on Madison Avenue for good. And although, we’re not here to get into the bankruptcy saga. The closing of Barneys didn’t just mean the demise of a 96-year-old luxury flagship department store in New York City but also the end of Freds, Barney’s restaurant led by Chef Mark Strausman.
If you’ve been missing Freds and Estelle’s chicken soup, miss it no more. Chef Mark Strausman is back and this time you can avoid elevators, escalators, and racks of designer ready-to-wear looks.
Step right into Mark’s Off Madison (or M.O.M for short), Chef Mark Strausman’s new restaurant in New York City, and coincidentally (or not) located on Madison Avenue and 26th Street.
View this post on Instagram
What you’re getting
At first glance, the brunch menu gives us Sadelle’s vibes. Maybe their bagel fixings won’t come in a three-tier stand but it reads similarly with smoked fish platters, bagels, potato latkes, and challah French toasts. These are the Jewish staples that bring Chef Mark back to his childhood.
If we’re starting off this nostalgic trip with Chef, we’d go for Straussie’s house-cured lox platter with bagels, bialys, a trio of Gina Marie Cream Cheese, ( plain, scallion and vegetable) an artisanal cream cheese that uses three ingredients: cultured milk, cream, and salt, avoiding any additives. If you’re looking for something on the sweeter side, how about the banana-stuffed challah French toast with Vermont maple syrup and butter?
View this post on Instagram
Bringing together the culmination of Chef Mark’s 30-year career, Italian dishes are incorporated at M.O.M with 12-inch pizzas like the Old Danny Boy with Mutti tomatoes, Mark’s fresh mozzarella, Monini EVOO, eggplant slices, and marinated anchovies as well the spaghetti A.O.P., simply done with Chef’s spicy, garlic tomato sauce.
M.O.M is serving classic New York City deli finds in an upscale venue. We imagine you stopping in for brunch with your parents or with your best girlfriends; a culinary treat for tourists and native New York shoppers with hefty wallets that remember the days of Freds. To see the full menu click HERE.
Updated October 4th, 2021
