Louder than the fanfare surrounding Jeremy Ford’s new restaurant was the collective sigh of relief reverberating through the city’s foodie circles—the Top Chef-winning toque who’d left his post at Matador Room months prior was behind the line once more. Stubborn Seed is Ford’s first solo restaurant (a second one with Grove Bay Hospitality Group is in the works), and he’s every bit the fixated parent fussing over his new baby—in a good way. The eight-course tasting menu is sign of a chef who’s poured over every detail of the culinary experience: small, meticulously plated dishes that surprise (think a Spanish-inspired smoked foie gras paired with quince paste), delight (a warm celery root purée with a crackling maitake mushroom explodes with flavor) and amuse (foam, like the green curry froth beneath Seed’s Maine lobster claws, really makes everything taste better).
Time Out tip: Budding mixologists will want to order the Silver Dollar old fashioned, a DIY cocktail whose ingredients arrive on a silver platter for diners to assemble themselves.
