Belgium is well known for its food, although not for its Belgium is well known for its food, although not for its ‘health’ food. We typically associate the national cuisine with waffles, chocolate, mussels, beer and fries. Most of my own experiences with these foods have been in New York, and all were abundant, satisfying and unpretentious. Needless to say, I was somewhat surprised when I began reading about a new restaurant concept from Belgium that opened on the Upper East Side called Rouge Tomate, whose premise is nutritional value and respect for the environment.

As far as restaurants go, I’m a creature of habit but also very curious, so my dining choices usually reflect a balance between experiment and comfort. January, being a cold and heavy month, is a time I really appreciate my favorite restaurants, where I know staff and don’t need to read a menu. Elio’s, on the far Upper East Side, was warm, cozy and straightforward as always, with a menu that has no apparent changes since I first dined there 21 years ago. It’s also just as full, with its own brand of electricity and straightforward Northern Italian menu. Milo’s, in West Midtown, is perhaps known for having some of the freshest fish in New York, and I go there specifically for the best version of a Greek Salad better than any I’ve tried in Greece. Along with these two, Esca, which is run by David Pasternak, was impeccable on two recent occasions, and serves as tremendous example of how a restaurant should be run for longevity. I can’t say that I’ve ever been in a restaurant that felt more comfortable with itself than Esca. Others don’t age as gracefully as these, which are why I take them out of my rotation and head off in search of new classics.

Rouge Tomate’s philosophy would be easy to make fun of – it seems a bit too self aware and so meticulously thought out that it leads you to wonder if there would be any room left for spontaneity and magic in the food, or if the laboratory-like analysis would drain the product of its soul. There is no question that the concept, with its original location in Brussels, has been analyzed and sculpted into what we now have in New York. The guiding charter of Rouge Tomate is based on the principles of S.P.E, a series of guidelines developed by chefs and nutritionists, which reflect a “genuine respect for ingredients and balanced dishes”. The 3 main elements of S.P.E. are the sourcing of local and seasonal high quality ingredients, preparation that preserves the integrity of ingredients and nutritional value of foods, and enhancement, in which nutritional value is increased with unique ingredient combinations.

All of New York’s food critics have now weighed in on Rouge Tomate, with mixed results. The general consensus among them seems to be that the restaurant is vast, expensively done, beautiful, and pristine. The food has garnered very good reviews for its quality and execution, but not ultimately for the end result. It is sometimes characterized as precious, fussy and, occasionally, as somewhat bland. My own skepticism about the New York City critics, many whom tend to favor salty, porky, meat-centric preparations and who often seem so out of touch with their own bodies that they probably wouldn’t like what I would anyway, led me to Rouge Tomate with no preconceived expectations. And yet, they were spot on. Most of what I tried and saw at this new restaurant was vibrant, leading me to trust the kitchen’s standards, never leaving a doubt about their commitment to freshness and quality. However, could not help but imagine a board room full of analysts reviewing each and every dish on the menu. It somehow feels like many interior designs do, when the architect spends most of his or her time reviwing plans from a computer screen as opposed to being in the space, feeling its energy and light. Rather than repeat what the critics have written, and what I surprisingly agree with, I’m more interested in the S.P.E. and how it has impacted this concept.

The room is pristine, warm and much akin to what a 20,000 or so square food jewel box might look like. In the space previously occupied by the retail fashion shop and restaurant of Nicole Fahri, the décor is at once open and warm, yet slightly uncomfortable for an undefined reason. Perhaps it is the scale of the place. The night previous, at Elio’s, 100 or so seats are jammed into a room 3 times as loud and 8 times as dense, with less than a couple inches between guest’s chairs and conversations melting their way into neighbors tables. This is grand dining, on a scale like many of Sir Terrance Conran’s restaurants in London, but without the heightened sense of tension. The upper level is a large café and bar, all decorated in “rouge” and earth tones, the red being much more subtle and tasteful than one might expect. Downstairs is even more luxurious, but not in a 4 star dining way. restaurant is a bit hard to define. It is not trendy, and not necessarily fine dining. Yet, its not a bistro, bar, brasserie or trattoria. Perhaps it feels corporate.

Sourcing of quality local and seasonal ingredients is a favorite pastime of New York chefs these days, myself included. In reality, its not an easy feat, despite how many great products and suppliers there are in the city. We are in the Northeast, which doesn’t produce everything one might wish for in the winter, and in the busiest city in the country, so there are several factors making this a challenge. It is competitive, costly and challenging to source well, but it does appear that Rouge Tomate is making a very respectable effort. Bread is one thing New York does well – a bit more “S” could be allocated toward the bread purchasing or making effort. It was rather dry, rather white and devoid of a meaningful character. Small, pickled vegetables garnishing a hummus appetizer show off a bit of the boutique shopping element, although the slightly dry hummus, packed into a tiny ramekin, oppresses the general character of the dish. A chickpea panisse, cut into a baton like a thick, creamy fry, was a perfectly executed garnish.

It is not entirely clear what it is about the preparation at Rouge Tomate that preserves integrity more than it might at, say, Esca or any other restaurant that greatly respects the products it handles. Dishes to appear to be carefully cooked, with minimum impact and although not raw, they come to the table appearing somewhat like what they are – in color least. Many are molded, wrapped, chopped, diced and pureed into unrecognizable geometrical positions, so that your imagination does consider that there is a pretty decent amount of effort going into this food. If integrity is based on not losing the taste of an ingredient, and keeping its natural pigment, then I’d say Rouge Tomate does an admirable job. However, if the press release gives you visions of eating from a garden, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Enhancement is an interesting choice of words to describe food combining in a natural way, but I do see what the goal of Rouge Tomate’s menu is. They serve an excellent balance of protein, grains and plant based foods on many dishes. That said, the menu heavily relies on seafood and animal based ingredients, which they they build around. For a restaurant that prides itself on this factor, I was a bit surprised that of only a couple main course dishes that are vegetarian, all are reliant on heavier starchy productions and none are vegan. I also found it odd that anyone studying food combining would recommend the use of chicken stock as a base for a carefully cooked black bass.

There are a number of esoteric culinary styles that are not only fascinating, but delicious. Often, however, overly thought out foods can come across less sensual than cerebral and rather than being enhanced by the process, they are marginalized. I believe there is a balance of uber creativity and good down to earth cooking – one of my favorite examples was at the former restaurant of Lydia Shire in Boston, Biba. The dishes on the menu were so wildly described, it seems that it would be impossible for them to be given a title until they were tested, eaten and savored. I don’t know if this is true, but I always imagined she and her chefs preparing these delicious meals and taking poetic justice in describing them. It worked brilliantly. Other times, form trumps function. Its something I always try to balance in working with raw food, which requires a tremendous amount of thought, so I realize how challenging it can be.

For that reason, I believe that Rouge Tomate, if New York allows it room and time to grow, will blossom into its own over time, and perhaps in the very near future. It still has that room to overcome, but if the quality of execution reaches the quality of intention, they will have a good future.