EDITORIAL NOTE: MARCHE IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED.
Try as he might, Brian Molino cannot seem to unleash his inner chef-diva. Despite having inherited the mantle of executive chef at Marché at 74 State—one of the Capital Region’s most buzzed-about new restaurants, and serving food that actually lives up to the hype—Molino is polite, diplomatic, and possesses a disarming “aw-shucks” demeanor that would send Gordon Ramsay into a fork-flinging rage. Considering that Molino’s food is some of the best to be found in the tri-state area, it’s amazing he hasn’t yet found a larger audience. “We’re taking off slowly,” he says. “It’s increasingly getting busier, so we’re expanding at a pace that’s been nice.”
“Nice” is precisely the word to describe the knowledgeable, yet soft-spoken Molino, who grew up outside Philadelphia and moved to Albany during high school. After training at the Culinary Institute of America, he got the ultimate first job, working the vegetable station at New York City’s Craft, the premier restaurant of celebrity chef and restaurant impresario Tom Colicchio. Within nine months, Molino was promoted to sous chef. “Craft was a great fit,” he says. “Tom was excellent to work for, and the philosophy they have—local and seasonal as much as possible—is very similar to what we do here. The biggest difference is that they do incredibly high volume and still have to maintain the quality. It was important for me to learn that standard, even if the volume isn’t as high in this area.”
Molino tired of the New York City pace, and three years later moved back north. He was hired earlier this year as second-in-command to Eric Masson, a Parisian chef who had been brought on board at 74 State to develop the new hotel’s entire food service program—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and room service, as well as the lighter-bites menu served at the hotel’s upstairs bar, and to oversee Marché. Masson’s reputation for gastronomic finesse preceded him, but just five days after the restaurant opened, he was gone, with the management citing “philosophical differences.”
When asked if he can clarify the vague turn of phrase, Molino smiles, blushes, and says, “Nope.” Nevertheless, suddenly the 27-year-old was in charge of the kitchen. He admits he inherited a difficult situation, but continues, “I think [sous chef] Erin Boyle, [hotel general manager] Gary Smith, and I were carrying most of the momentum to begin with, so it turned out to be a very smooth transition.” The ongoing challenge has been to retain top-quality staff in an industry where turnover can be a monthly scourge. Molino currently manages a kitchen crew of 14, and the front-of-house staff, guided by dining manager Eric Stewart, numbers 20.
The 74-seat restaurant (in keeping with its street-number theme, the hotel also has 74 guest rooms) is the perfect size for the smaller, made-to-order menu, and has an upscale Old World ambience that is warm and comfortable. During dinner service, the iron pendant lamps, honey-colored Venetian plaster walls, and dark upholstered chairs and banquettes with nailhead trim are contrasted with stark white table linens. In the soft glow of candlelight and parchment-covered wall sconces, silver chargers cast bubblelike reflections on the ceiling. Large-paned mirrors over the booths along the walls also reflect light and make the room appear larger, as do the high, white embossed-tin ceilings. The overall effect is soothing, encouraging the diner to slow down and savor every bite.
It’s easy to appreciate the food at Marché. Molino began revamping the menu almost immediately after taking the helm, and discussing it is the only time he even comes close to bad-mouthing a colleague. He explains, “It was a very conscious decision to change [the menu]. I took out a lot of the weak links.... ” He stops, searching for the right words. “I change my mind a lot, and I wanted to do something new and different. There are now only two dishes [the Escargot and the House Salad] from the original menu. It’s constantly evolving.”
The new menu is a mind-meld of European fresh-market cuisine and American standbys reinterpreted for the modern, food-smart diner. Molino’s sauces and sides are creative and attention-grabbing, and the results are sublime. For example, you could try the Market Salad with flavorful mixed local lettuces, roasted beets, local goat cheese, candied walnuts, and a delightfully floral vanilla-beet vinaigrette, then progress to a first course such as the tangy Grass-Fed Beef Carpaccio with grape mustard, pickled shallots, and aged balsamic vinegar. There are seven entrees to choose from, including the rich Pancetta-Wrapped Chicken Breast with smoked chicken ravioli, baby turnips, and tarragon sauce, and the Eggplant Napoleon, which boasts a dreamy combination of fried eggplant rounds layered with goat cheese mousse, tomato jam, and shallots. Marché is not the place for a cheap-eats meal—a soup or salad, appetizer, and entree run about $42—but you could easily make dinner of a salad and a generously sized first course. Regardless of whether you choose the three-course à la carte, six-course degustation menu, or salad-and-appetizer route, the meal will be worth every penny.
In an example of marketing savvy taken from the pages of big-city restaurants, the Marché menu’s welcome page explains the restaurant’s local-seasonal-sustainable philosophy, and lists more than a dozen regional “preferred vendors.” According to Molino, it’s not about self-promotion. “We get to know the farmers, and that personal touch is important to us. Some even grow to cater to what we need. The difference between having something picked today and delivered tomorrow, as opposed to picked in South America today and delivered next week, is clear.”
The environmentally friendly philosophy extends to what’s done on-premise. The staff is in the planning stages for a rooftop herb garden, so that they can bring their own organic herbs to the table. In another nod to the planet’s health, the staff recycles their plastic containers and uses “green” cleaning and paper products.
Marché isn’t all about the food. Wine and cocktail lovers can also get their fill, with a full bar menu and 15 by-the-glass and 300 by-the-bottle wine selections—in categories like champagne and sparkling wine, sauvignon blanc/fumé blanc, “Worldly Whites” (lesser-known varietals such as Viognier and Chenin blanc), rosé/blush, pinot noir, Shiraz/Syrah, merlot, Meritage/cabernet blends, and “Worldly Reds” (Mourvèdre, Malbec, and Tempranillo, to name a few). Drink prices run from $6 for a glass of rosé to $305 for a bottle of Stag’s Leap limited-edition Cask 23 cabernet sauvignon. According to Stewart, “We offer many great wines to satisfy the connoisseur and the more casual wine drinker. We’ve also found that most Americans drink their wines three to four years after bottling, rather than aging them, so we’re focusing on acquiring more wines that will peak at this time.”
You could save your allotted carbs for a post-dinner port, sherry, Madeira, cognac, brandy, cordial, dessert wine—or any of a half-dozen opulent desserts, courtesy of Brazilian-born pastry chef Renata Ameni. “Her desserts are very, very refined,” says Molino. “She was trained in classically French technique, but she is so creative. Everything she makes is delicious.”
Molino may be effusive in his praise for his staff, but when asked about his own signatures, he again blushes and laughs. “I don’t know that I would say anything is a signature, not yet,” he says. He brushes off the question in favor of another challenge: creating his dream meal, from appetizer to dessert, off Marché’s menu. After a few minutes of careful consideration, he chooses the Grilled Quail (with butternut squash, toasted chestnuts, and aged balsamic vinegar), Market Salad, and Pancetta-Wrapped Chicken Breast. To wash it down, he selects a domestic pinot noir, and finishes with the Tasting of Chocolates for dessert.
“What’s great is that you can always find new combinations here,” Molino quickly points out, noting the daily additions to the menu. Unlike at many restaurants, vegan and vegetarian requests are not only honored, but welcomed. “A lot of the local foods we use are produce, so it doesn’t take much to show them off,” Molino explains. “I love the challenge of creating interesting vegetarian or vegan food.” He also professes a fondness for the degustation menu, which consists of six courses made, Iron Chef–style, on the spot, upon request (around $78 without flights of wine, or $98 with). “The spontaneity of it sparks creativity,” Molino effuses. “I have a lot of trouble sitting down and writing a menu, but when I have to create something off the cuff, I almost find it easier to just go to the walk-in and see what we’ve got.”
Since the beginning, Marché has invited local farmers and winemakers for monthly specialty dinners (organized by Boyle), in which the guest speaker gives a mini-lecture and fields questions on his or her product, and then diners sample five-course tasting menus featuring those products. Also on tap are feasts for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Holidays are when I have the most fun, eating with my family and my wife,” says Molino. “It’s about bringing people together. We want to be able to do that at Marché.”
Molino also plans to bring to fruition the Marché management’s goal to be “second to none” in the Albany dining scene. “I would like to think that we’re close to the top,” he affirms. “We’re trying to offer food that is accessible to everyone, yet pleasing to the most discerning guests. Eventually, we want to be known for having the best food in Albany.”
Molino continues his confident outburst: “I think Marché has a real place here. Albany is definitely ready for it. Our food speaks for itself, and the experience speaks for itself, especially in the way the front-of-house team is so attentive to people and shows so much professionalism.” But then, with characteristic politeness, he adds, “We’d really like people to give us a try.”
Marché is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 7am-10pm. 74 State Street, Albany. (518) 434-7410, www.74state.com/marche.php.
