Gramercy Izakaya By Michael Anthony | Tasting Table NYC

Michael Anthony cooks Japanese for one night only at Tasting Table

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THIS DINNER IS NOW SOLD OUT.

Even the most familiar restaurants hold their secrets.

Almost 20 years in, Danny Meyer's landmark Gramercy Tavern is finally releasing a cookbook, The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook ($50), full of the delicious stories behind the restaurant's history, décor, food and cocktails.

Anthony frying the potato puffs

One of its surprises: The restaurant's executive chef and partner, Michael Anthony, known for his fiercely seasonal American cooking, left the US to cook in Tokyo the day after he graduated from college and stayed there training for two more years.

He explains, "The front Tavern area at Gramercy Tavern is just a western version of a Japanese izakaya; a place where people feel comfortable, where they consume a wide variety of spontaneous small dishes–often cooked over coals."

On Wednesday, October 23, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Tasting Table readers are invited to join us in our Soho Test Kitchen & Dining Room as we welcome Michael Anthony for a one-night-only Gramercy Tavern izakaya dinner inspired by his time in Japan ($200 plus tax; purchase a ticket here).

Injecting miso-eggplant filling | Chef Michael Anthony

The evening will begin with cocktails and passed canapés, followed by a five-course meal with sake pairings (see the menu). Guests will take home a signed copy of The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook. Although the cookbook doesn't hit shelves until October 29, we procured an exclusive recipe for Anthony's Puffed Potatoes (get the recipe). He calls them "crispy, fluffy, mouthwatering little teardrops of potato joy."

Their secret? A Japanese twist, courtesy of a miso-eggplant filling.