Food is Art: Saul at The Brooklyn Museum

Food is life. Food is politics. Food is love. Food is the new rock. Food is food is food is food is food.

Andy Warhol had his bananas & soup cans. Food is art. MOMA has Warhols. MOMA also has The Modern, the restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group that opened back in 2004 and is helmed (for now) by Gabriel Kreuther. Over the years, they've received a Michelin star and two and three star reviews from The New York Times.

Not to be outdone by its Manhattan counterpart, today The Brooklyn Museum opens Saul, the newest incarnation of the Michelin-starred restaurant that held court on Smith St. for the last fourteen years before closing down in July and upgrading to new digs just off the museum lobby, where the Museum Cafe once stood.

It's the next in a continuing tradition of improvements for Saul. Pete Wells, in his 2009 two-star review of the restaurant, described Saul's then ten-year journey as one where Saul and Lisa Bolton were "(l)ike couples in a starter apartment, they dressed the place up as money came in." Ten years later, where there were once "thick plates from Fishs Eddy," there was now "white Bernadaud china." Since then, Saul Bolton has gone on to open The Vanderbilt and Red Gravy in Prospect Heights. Now Saul's come to join them in the 'hood.

Saul explained their decision to move by noting that the Smith St. space "was in need of a renovation." By relocating to The Brooklyn Museum, they're now in a location that has an outdoor terrace, seats eighty-plus and sports a clean bar at the front, a communal table in the center & sleek lines on the ceiling. There's also a slight view of the museum's "Connecting Cultures" exhibit. That's way better than a renovation.

I got to hang out in the space for a little bit on Wednesday evening at a lil' preview featuring cocktails & sample bites that were representative of the ideas & ingredients behind Saul's artistically-created & plated menu items:

Salmon Toast

Lamb with Chickpea Puree

Cheese Puff with Parmesan

Marscapone-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Tartare

Brownie Bite

Cocktails

They'll be opening up tonight with the dinner menu and then adding lunch and brunch menus that were still being finalized as of Wednesday. The dinner menu will basically be a bunch of the dishes from the Smith St. menu, with a couple of new items added in. Personally, I'm hoping that one day I won't be cheap and I'll get to try out the "Duo of Skirt Steak and Oxtail." I mean, compared to the $98 four-course prix fixe at The Modern, Saul's not crazy expensive, as their three-course prix fixe comes in at $40, but still. I'm cheap and FiPS only pays me in Trident Layers gum.

Will the relocation of Saul ultimately mean anything for the neighborhood? Sure it'll bring another acclaimed restaurant to the area, but it seems like it'll be more of a destination restaurant, a place that non-Brooklyn Museum members will probably eat at no more than once a year if that. When they do though, there's a pretty good chance they'll leave feeling like it was worth it...and there's a pretty good chance that they'll feel at least a little bit artsier.

Saul, Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway

Read way more from Shawn at eatdrinksnack.com & eatdrinktaco.com.