A week after the opening of The Back Room at One57, Sam Hazen explains why he quit on the eve of opening night. "I needed 54 people to do what they wanted me to do and they budgeted for 17. They grudgingly raised it to 39. Everything was based on how it works in some other Hyatt." On top of that, Hazen says the kitchen was poorly designed. Sebastien Archambault from the Blue Duck Tavern in D.C. was rushed in to run the restaurant, serving a pared down version of Hazen's menu. Update: Hazen clarifies that he quit several weeks before the restaurant's opening. [Insatiable Critic]
[Daniel Krieger]
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