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Jean-Georges Gives Sneak Peek of Fashion Week Prix-Fixe Menu

By Emily Frost | September 5, 2012 5:09pm

UPPER WEST SIDE — The Fashion Week glamour won't just be under the tents — as celebrity chefs including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, and Gino Barbuti whip up a mouthwatering prix-fixe menu in time for the runway shows.

Two dozen restaurants — including Vongerichten's Nougatine, Boulud's Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud and Barbuti's La Boite en Bois — are among those offering three-course lunch and dinner deals similar to those of Restaurant Week. Prices at the sought-after eateries range from $15 to $38 for lunch and $21 to $48 for dinner. 

The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District hit upon the "Fashion Plate Prix-Fixe" concept five shows ago, soon after Fashion Week moved from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center, to help area restaurants capitalize on the increased foot traffic. 

Both upscale and neighborhood favorite restaurants are seeking to entice fashionistas and soothe locals overwhelmed by the estimated 200,000 visitors expected to attend.

"[Fashion Week] creates a buzz in the neighborhood," said the BID's President, Monica Blum, "There are a handful of people who complain, but I think the public likes it and the businesses love it."

For his restaurant's prix-fixe menu, Vongerichten created a corn ravioli with a basil fondue and fresh tomato salad.

"I like to call it 'summer on a plate,'" he said Wednesday as he introduced some of the twelve items on his menu during a press conference at his restaurant. "There's only about three weeks [of summer] left."

The bright, fresh dish goes well with Fashion Week, Vongerichten added.

"When we think about fashion, we think about colors — so this dish has green and red," he said.

Later, as he presented his blueberry corn cake dessert with corn ice cream, he admitted he was on a corn craze.

"It's all about corn today... I love corn when it's at his best."

Vongerichten also favors local ingredients, an issue that matters in the New York dining scene. 

"Everything from the [ravioli] dish is about one and a half hours away."