Yahoo Movies Martha Stewart's New Restaurant Feels Like Dining In Her Own Home
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Martha Stewart is a dream dinner-party guest. Most of us would love to share a meal with her—especially one that she made. For me, this was confirmed last week in Las Vegas, when I heard her change her drink order. "I need agua," she said right after we finished our interview. "Actually, how about a pomegranate margarita?"
Wow, I thought. I love her style. The 81-year-old icon just opened her first restaurant, The Bedford, located at the Paris Las Vegas hotel. The space feels homey and intimate. It's the closest you can get to actually dining in Martha Stewart's home without being invited to Martha Stewart's home.
"The inspiration is my own home in Bedford, NY," she said. "I live in a 1925 farmhouse decorated by me, inspired by the kinds of things I really love—muted colors, lots of copper, lots of silver, lots of marble. It's a warm and cozy and elegant home, and I thought it would translate really nicely in a restaurant space."
The Bedford seats a maximum of 195 guests. The tables are either dark wood or white marble, adding both depth and brightness to the space. The walls are gray—Bedford gray, to be exact, from Stewart's own paint line—with wainscoting and faux bois. The sconces have a vintage look, with etched floral details and brass accents.
"If you've been to my home in Bedford, this is so much like it. People actually get the shivers when they come in here," Stewart said. "Snoop Dogg came to the opening party last night, and he said, 'Martha, this is just like your house.'"
There are mirrors everywhere. They cover the space behind the bar, which is long and made of white marble to match some of the tables. Beautifully lit display cases lining the walls are filled with glass dishes and vases. "These glass vitrines filled with antique collections of 19th century and 20th century glass come from my own house," she said. "I collected early American glass."
The semi-private dining room, the Brown Room, feels even more like someone's home. Like the main dining room, the tables are set with elegant glassware, silver cutlery, and very crisp linens. But the Brown Room has faux windows made of digital screens that go all the way up to the extra-high ceiling. The screens display Stewart's garden property in Bedford, and the images will change with the seasons.
The kitchen is semi-open and runs the width of the entire space. In between hundreds of hanging copper pots and pans (from Stewart's own line, of course), you can see the staff calmly working.
To some, Vegas might seem like an odd city for her first restaurant, as she's always been associated with New York and Connecticut. But for Stewart, Vegas feels like another home. She often visits to enjoy the restaurants and shows, and now she said she has another excuse to come.
As for the food at The Bedford, dishes vary from cozy and simple to elevated and fancy, a pretty good representation of Stewart herself. The wine list is extensive, and there is of course Stewart's own 19 Crimes Martha’s Chard, $19 for the glass and $76 for the bottle. Want to spend a little more? Several bottles are above $250, with the most expensive being a $1950 Bordeaux. If you're craving a cocktail, try the Martha-tini, which is shaken tableside with Zubrówka bison grass vodka (her favorite vodka at the moment), dry vermouth, and a lemon twist. There's also the Martha-rita, her twist on a margarita, made both classically or with pomegranate juice; a Caipirinha; a sour cherry mojito; and many more, including beer and non-alcoholic drinks.
Getting hungry? I'd suggest Oysters Rockefeller. David Rockefeller Sr., son of John D. Rockefeller (yes, that Rockefeller), was a close friend of Stewart's, and together they perfected a recipe for the dish that he adored. It's made with Pernod cream, spinach, watercress, and a parsley breadcrumb topping. Follow your oysters with the halibut and corn chowder, which is packed with clams and tomato confit. The whole roast chicken is stuffed with herbed breadcrumbs and carved tableside. If you want even more of a show with your dinner, try Martha's smashed baked potato, which is thrown at cutting board hard enough to split it, then dressed up with either caviar or bacon lardons and crème fraîche and chives.
If you can somehow still fit dessert, go with the dreamy upside-down lemon meringue pie. "We make a merengue as a pie crust, fill it with lemon filling, and then top it with whipped cream," Stewart said.
To live out your fantasy dinner party, plan a trip to The Bedford by Martha Stewart. After all, it might be the closest you get to dining with the icon herself.
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