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Like Le Bernardin, Palio is also in the Equitable Center, and its kitchen is the province of the one-star Italian chef Andrea Hellrigl (a.k.a. Andrea da Merano, an honorary nom de cuisine he enjoys), who owns the Villa Mozart, a trimly polished Jugendstil-designed hotel in Merano. He stirs the pasta pots for Operator Tony May, who masterminds Palio's spacious and vaguely Japanese- looking dining rooms. So far Hellrigl's esoteric offerings have been uneven. They may be as institutionally dull as his lackluster codfish with potatoes or the watery mushroom terrine or as wonderfully executed as the ricotta dumplings with truffle butter or a risotto with sweet red peppers. "It is a challenge to give Americans a taste of my style," Hellrigl says. "Some definitely do not like the food," admits May, "but they may not understand it."
New Yorkers can expect even more on their plates if the plans of other European restaurateurs pan out. Alain Senderens, formerly of the three-star Archestrate and now of Lucas-Carton in Paris, expects to open on a midtown site. In addition to the fashionable Milan favorite Da Bice, other popular Italian restaurants, such as the posh El Toula chain and the sublime San Domenico in Imola, near Bologna, are seeking locations. Not all agree that New York is the only place to be. Michael Hutchings explains why he and the Roux brothers chose Santa Barbara. "This is a cosmopolitan town and is a getaway for the very rich. People demand a high quality of life, and so it's perfect for a first-quality restaurant." Lower overhead and less competition are also factors. Andre Surmain, the founder of New York's Lutece but now known for his Relais a Mougins in the south of France, opened a branch last winter in Palm Beach, Fla. He is encouraged enough to have what he calls "other tricks up my toque."
One of the earliest and most enduring successes has been Jean-Louis Palladin. In 1979, after ending his partnership in a two-star restaurant in Condom, France, he went to Washington to cook at the Watergate Hotel, in an intimate setting named for him, Jean-Louis. He is a master at game and sweetbread dishes, and his soups and sauces based on purees of sweet peppers are seductively silken. Such enticing food enthralled an audience that included President Reagan, who celebrated his 70th birthday at Jean-Louis and thanked the chef for immigrating.
Palladin does not think success here comes easily. "I work harder and have no family life. My one day off I sleep to noon with exhaustion. In France % there are the same hours but not the same pressures. In America you have to be on edge every day. When you are good, they will love you. But make one mistake and they will kill you." Agrees Surmain: "Americans squeeze you like a lemon, and when there is no more juice left, they just drop you." He advises also that it is important to have a good command of English, to appear well on TV talk shows.