The Wall street Journal

June 4 2012
Flow, Harmony, Salad at the Art Museum
Byron Smith
Byron Smith for The Wall Street Journal
The interior of Serai at the Rubin Museum of Art.
At the helm of Serai, the new restaurant at the Rubin Museum of Art, chef Ali Loukzada doesn't have to look far for culinary inspiration. He draws on the museum's Himalayan art collection to create "flow and harmony in the food," he says.
The Buddhist tomato salad ($9.50), with asparagus, cottage cheese and mango dressing, is a play on the round belly and red vestments of the Buddha himself, Mr. Loukzada, who was raised in Mumbai, says. "We add spices that I blend to make things unique and different."
Frankies, Indian wraps, are a favorite at Serai, like the Aloo Bhaji ($9) with potatoes, chick peas and cumin, or Tandoori Chicken ($10). Momos, Tibetan dumplings ($9.50-11), are also popular for sharing or as a light lunch. Large plates include the spicy Malabar shrimp curry ($14) and Shahi chicken korma ($11), a north Indian-style stew.
—V.L. Hendrickson
Serai, 150 W. 17th St.; open Monday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Tuesday. 212-620-5000.
A version of this article appeared June 5, 2012, on page A22 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Flow, Harmony, Salad At the Art Museum.

Wall street journal published an article on chef Ali!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577444721192958532.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTForthStories#articleTabs%3Darticle

http://issuu.com/TotalFoodService/docs/april2012/17

New York Times Review

The cafe in the Rubin Museum of Art has an Indian-Himalayan menu to match its collection of Asian works. It is run by Starr Events, the restaurateur Stephen Starr’s company. The chef, Ali Loukzada, offers Indian wraps, samosas, sausage bao buns, paneer curry, Himalayan red rice and a Himalayan bread sampler with raita chutney and Tibetan hot sauce. Desserts include semolina and pineapple halwa in a banana leaf.

Starr expansion

Starr Restaurants renewed its contract with Historic Philadelphia Inc. to run Franklin Square’s SquareBurger concession, now in its fourth year. Franklin Square recently unveiled a permanent event space, The Pavilion in Franklin Square, which will allow for year-round events. The $400,000, 36-foot by 36-foot structure was funded by the William Penn Foundation.
A separate but related division, Stephen Starr Events, has gotten the contract to run the Serai Café at New York City’s Rubin Museum, which is dedicated to Himalayan art. Starr and Chef Ali Loukzada introduce new menu options inspired by the Himalayas and Loukzada’s Indian roots. Starr is also exclusive caterer and operator of New York Historical Society’s Caffe Storico.

Just another perk of my job….

I love my job for many reasons but one of the best perks of my job has to be the access I get to some of the City’s best restaurants and the Chefs who run the show. Through this job I have been able to establish some wonderful friendships with many Chefs around the city. One such friendship I cherish is the one I have with Ali Loukzada of Buddakan. It is he who not only keeps me well fed, but also listens to my bitching and bounces culinary ideas off of me.
With Buddakan just a few blocks away, Ali and I talk nearly every day whether its shooting the shit or my company providing him with meat. Last week Ali asked me to stop by to try out some new dishes he was working on. I ran over there as fast as I could to check out a Pork and Duck Liver terrine,  a Sous Vide lamb, and a Crispy Pork Belly with Congee.
Now I know not everyone is a fan of offal meats (entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal), but since going to culinary school I cannot get enough. The flavor profiles that can be created with these parts is just unreal and many Chefs feature offal prominently on their menus. If you are into offal hit up DBGB for superb headcheese, Bar Boulud for pristine terrines, The Breslin for crispy sweetbreads, and Lupa for succulent stewed tripe.
After all the meat I ate the past weekend at Meatopia, I had installed a 3 day “meat cleanse” but thanks to Ali I kissed that idea goodbye as I dove into each dish with excitement and hunger! Check out the goods below!

Pork and Duck Liver Terrine with Red Onion and Sweet Cherry Confit with Toast Points and Frisee Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Various Lamb Parts Sous Vide with Fleur de Sel

*Sous Vide means to cook in a vacuum packed bag in a liquid bath*

Crispy Pork Belly with Congee and Pickled Vegetables

New York Post Hitching his Starr to artwork

SIDE DISH

For restaurateur Stephen Starr, fine dining goes hand in hand with fine art.
Starr — best known for Asian hot spots Buddakan and Morimoto — is expanding his string of upscale museum eateries with the opening this month of Serai, a Himalayan-themed eatery at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea at 150 W. 17th St.
Serai, under executive chef Ali Loukzada, refers to the overnight stopovers for caravans on trade routes, where travelers could eat, drink and purchase goods.
The museum is dedicated to the art of the Himalayas and India. The restaurant was inspired by Loukzada’s Indian roots. The menu, for instance, will include seasonal samosa, sausage bao bun and shahi chicken korma.

 

Serai transforms into the K2Lounge with a DJ on Friday evenings. A Pan-Asian tapas menu, along with a martini and wine bar, is available during evening gallery tours, concerts and film screenings, along with a Wednesday Himalayan Happy Hour.
Starr Events also is the exclusive caterer to the museum.
Starr, who followed fellow restaurateur Danny Meyer in mixing the world of fine art and dining, also operates eateries at the NewYork Historical Society and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Meyer has Untitled at the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Modern and its Bar Room at the Museum of Modern Art.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/hitching_his_starr_to_artwork_7T25pXAXv55dFd5oYepLqM#ixzz1wey2AZq1

New york times Dining & Wine

SERAI The cafe in the Rubin Museum of Art has a new name and a more focused Indian-Himalayan menu to match its collection of Asian works. It is now being run by Starr Events, the restaurateur Stephen Starr’s company, which also runs Caffè Storico, in the New-York Historical Society. The chef, Ali Loukzada, offers Indian wraps, samosas, sausage bao buns, paneer curry, Himalayan red rice and a Himalayan bread sampler with raita chutney and Tibetan hot sauce. Desserts include semolina and pineapple halwa in a banana leaf: 150 West 17th Street, (212) 620-5000.

Cooking for the president of the united states

Chef Ali Loykzada and his team including chef vikas Khana cooked for Obamas fundraiser at the Rubin museum may 14th!
Chef Ali made a Himalayan inspired menu for the event which included tamarind glazed spare ribs, chili crab salad, Kashmiri beet salad and a take on chaat salad which included curry leaf marinated chicken and rock shrimp balchow with various toppings like cucumber raita, chickpea noodle, etc! Chef Ali who made the transition from working at Buddakan to the Rubin museum says it was a good career move because he is doing the food he grew up with.
when growing up in India his mother cooked every day for him and his brothers and since Ali being the youngest in the family got the best of the attention from all his brothers and sister who always pampered him, till this day he eats dinner made by his mothers hands (says chef Ali) and even goes on to say that I could put all the love in my cooking but when your mother cooks for you there is a whole different level of love involved!