Volume 1, No. 8. May 18, 2001
It's
a cafe!
The Bronx Zoo announces the arrival of the Dancing
Crane Café, May 17, 2001. Measurements: 17,000 square feet (5,152 square
meters), seating for 1,160 people, 17 serving stations, 50 menu items plus assorted
beverages and snacks, 50 Chilean flamingos. Delivered by The Rockwell Group
architects and the Clark Wolf Company dining consultants.
To pay tribute to the new cafe's
state-of-the-art kitchen, which includes an open-fire pizza oven, the Bronx
Zoo invited two celebrity chefs out for the official unveiling of its new eatery.
Anthony Scotto of Fresco by Scotto prepared pizzas on an outdoor grill, while
Todd English of Olive's and his executive chef Victor LaPlaca prepared their
pies in the pizza oven. Though some invited groups didn't make it to the two-hour
celebration because of traffic congestion, the media and public got a true treat
at the chefs' hands.
"We thought, 'Hey! It's New York, everyone loves pizza," said Bonnie Sevy Koeppel,
vice president, park management, of the Wildlife Conservation Society, owners
of the Bronx Zoo. "They did their unique slice of New York." The staff were
treated to some free advice from the renowned, award-winning chefs and accompanied
them on a tour of the new facilities. "They gave us our celebrity chef seal
of approval," Koeppel said. For their part, the chefs got a kick out of the
setting and asked for a return engagement.
The Dancing Crane Cafe is part of a visitor hub at the center of the zoo that
includes a Bronx Zoo retail store which opened last year, an ATM, rest rooms,
and first aid station. The new cafe replaces what Koeppel called the "old, very
old" 430-seat Lakeside Cafe and offers an expanded menu of Italian dishes, salads,
wraps, and Belgian waffles in addition to traditional park food.
As part of yesterday's celebration, the zoo held off herding the flamingo flock
out onto the lakeside grounds until the cookout had started. Then, they arrived
in a burst of feathery pink pastel. "We staged that so people could see them
come out," said Koeppel, who wanted to drive home a key point about the Dancing
Crane Cafe. "It's what makes for the most unique dining experience in New York:
flamingos, great food, all in the middle of the zoo. Nobody's got 50 flamingos
plus this view."
©2001, Minton Enterprises LLC
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