The Tribeca townhouse at 1 White Street once belonged to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It’s where, in 1973, they established the Embassy of Nutopia—appointing themselves as ambassadors with diplomatic immunity, at a moment when the US threatened to deport Lennon for marijuana possession. In its current incarnation, One White Street opened in August 2021 as a vertical restaurant with a la carte menus on the first and third floors of the townhouse and a tasting menu on the second.
Chef Austin Johnson, previously of Eleven Madison Park and Frenchie, curates a seasonal menu driven by the partnership with Rigor Hill Farm in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley—90 percent of the restaurant’s produce comes from the farm. Beverage Director Suzanne DeStio, previously of Eleven Madison Park and Union Square Café, offers both wine and fresh juice pairings with Johnson’s tasting menu.
On February 1, 2024, that tasting menu upshifted into ‘A Dinner Party,’ presented as a communal, farm-to-table experience for guests. There are two seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. All guests are welcomed to their tables at once, greeted with fresh crudités of radish, carrots and turnips served with a creamy bean dip. Each of the seven courses are served family style to each table, with a couple personal stories thrown in by Chef Johnson.
DeStio uses Stargazer Riesling from Tasmania for the third-course dishes of chilled foie gras with apples, Long Island fluke crudo with fresh carrot purée, and radicchios with braised beets; the dry riesling’s crisp acidity cut through the richness of the foie gras while adding a pop of citrus to the crudo. The juice pairing also hit: The standout was a beet and lemon juice with the honey-roasted duck and corn loaf with popcorn butter; the juice’s earthiness worked similarly to a beet-forward pinot noir.
For the chocolate mousse dessert, presented by Johnson in the shape of his dog’s head, DeStio pours Kracher Beerenauslese Zweigelt, with rich cherry and red-currant flavors to compliment the decadent chocolate. The meal’s finale is a cornucopia of desserts that includes cotton candy, ice cream served in small frozen pieces a la Dippin’ Dots and a sweet and salty sunchoke truffle.
The cocktail program offers unique concoctions like the Alpine Regiment, a mix of Braulio Amaro, gin, pistachio and Green Chartreuse. Try the Grande Perry, made with Cognac, sherry, rum, pear and sparkling cider, or the non-alcoholic version the Perry Jr., a winter spiced blend of pear, lemon and NA sparkling cider, an equally tasty alternative.
Based in Los Angeles, California, Alissa Bica is the Associate Editor and Spirits Critic at Wine & Spirits. She is also a sommelier at 71 Above and co-runs the home wine tasting company, Côte Brune and Blonde. In any rare moments of free time, she writes about obscure grape varieties in the blog Off the Beaten Wine Path.
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