Tin Building by Jean-Georges — Attraction in New York

5/2/2023, Tues: I visited the Tin Building in late December 2022 over the holidays and was impressed with the local farms featured in the grocery section, including Lani's Farm and Norwich Meadows and Willow Wisp farms, which I often shop with at the Union Square Greenmarket, and which are mostly no-spray farms, better than larger usda organic farms that often use more scheduled organic sprays with less handiwork. December 2022: Toured the food court of Jean Georges Tin Building near South street Seaport in late Decmber 2022, and was impressed as I have been with Jean Georges other restaurants and food venues. There was a good selection of high quality organic whole grain sourdough (natural yeast starter) loaves of breads with creative flavorful ingredients and mixtures of grains, and baked goods as you walk in the food hall, with plenty of fresh produce from local farms, not to mention many expertly prepared foods. 1/29/2023, update: I tried the 3 following cookies, and all were very good, especially the pistachio raspberry cookie with raspberries on top which is something I have not seen before: pistachio & raspberry cookie: chewy brown sugar cookies, pistachio praline, house made raspberry jam $5.50 (and can see the raspberries on top) banana cookie: intense banana flavor, poppyseeds, baked with a freshly caramelized banana pressed into the dough: $4.00 vegan snickerdoodle: chewy, soft cinnamon cookie, vegan vanilla cream cheese frosting, dusted with cinnamon powder $4.00. In the produce section (in December 2022), I posted pictures below of brussels sprouts, radicchio, cabbage, etc from local farms that often come to the union square greenmarket that I know personally, and are local, and often used by the top restaurants and often better than organic produce found in grocery stores: Norwich Meadows, Lanis, and Willow Wisp. Lancaster Farms is also a respected source used from PA which is a Coop for smaller farms. A few of the labels in the grocery produce section may have been mixed up in error, though I can see how it is difficult to trace each item (ie cabbage) to each farm in this building and update it each time as the produce changes with the season. For example, Lani's Farm is not from PA, but from Bordentown, NJ, and when I talked to Lani's Farm, they didn't have red brussels sprouts, but it must have been from another farm such as Lancaster Farms. which is in PA - 12/26/2022.). Since Jean Georges Tin Building is brand new in 2022 and large and a new concept, I'm sure Jean Georges is still working this out, since it it great to know exactly which farm each type of produce comes from, almost like a farmer's market where you know the growing practice and how organic each ingredient of your food is and where sourced from, as good farm to table...

While we’ve been to The Fulton and Carne Mare, the two big restaurants on Pier 17, we never really thought to dine in the Tin Building which we thought of as more of a touristy place. But we live on the LES and decided to take a walk to the Seaport and see what it had to offer.

WHAT A FANTASTIC SPOT!!

We started at THE BAR where we ordered oysters, shrimp cocktail and a couple of drinks. It occurred to us after a while that somehow our food order didn’t make it into the system as they weren’t all that busy and our food wasn’t coming. We flagged down our server Daniel, who confirmed that his colleague hadn’t entered the order. He did, was super apologetic and told us our first round was on them.

This was the beginning of an evening of food and beverages with some of the most amazing hospitality we’ve experienced.

Frank behind the oyster bar immediately tended to our order and threw a few extra oysters on our plate. The oysters from Prince Edward Island were delicious. So were the shrimp served very chilled just the way we like. So after those dishes we tried the yellowtail tuna tartare and it too was delicious with a neat lime chili accompaniment.

With the first round on the house, we ordered a second round, trying some of their bespoke cocktails. The bartender Max was outstanding as was the Temple Smoke cocktail, an interesting cross between an Espresso Martini and a Manhattan.

It was around then that we met one of the two floor managers, Alex, who also apologized for the initial food delay and was incredibly engaging with us for much of the rest of our stay at THE BAR, and assisting us with a reservation at T. BRASSERIE, walking us over when we were ready to shift to dinner and even visiting us in the T. Brasserie dining room during dinner. The level of attention and hospitality that he showed us was off the charts!

During dinner, our server Carolina, was great, and then we met the other floor manager, Shane, yet another super attentive restauranteur who checked in with us several times throughout our dinner. The steak frite and the duck special both hit the mark and then Shane encouraged us to enjoy the crisp apple and ice cream dessert.

Shane then walked us upstairs to introduce us to the HOUSE OF THE RED PEARL, sort of hidden speakeasy/Chinese restaurant. Cool cocktails and Chinese food make a great combination so we are trying it for dinner tonight.

We also did a little shopping, buying some tinned fish and olive oil and even the young woman at the checkout, Gabriella, was great!

The food and beverages were worth going for on their own, but the level of hospitality and attention make this the kind of place that you should not miss. Another Jean-Georges winner! We’ll be...

I moved into the neighborhood last summer and quickly became a regular at Tin. Sadly not for everything I'd hoped - but for what works, it's a blessing. Knowing it's from Jean-Georges and a collection of restaurants and gourmet grocery, I expected something of a continental-fusion version of Eataly. On that front it falls short - but I've come to rely upon it as a place to relax and a good space for creative work.

To the first part - the fish at Fulton Fish Market in the Tin is rarely as fresh as it should be (it's worth the hike to Lobster Place in Chelsea Market for the best fresh fish in Manhattan) and the fruit/vegetable stand even less so. But the prepared food counters seem quite good - have used them for a couple of parties and occasional lazy dinner. The mercantile has interesting oils and vinegars, for example, but why are all the coffee beans roasted months ago? The coffee bar drip is abysmal but teas and espresso drinks are not bad.

There are some quite good restaurant spaces - the prepared salad shop is the freshest, best quality lunch salad in the area and good grab/go options too. Friends have said great things about the tacos, dosas, and the bakery as well. The Brasserie and Fulton Fish Co's raw bar are good (can't help but wonder why the fish seems fresher here than in what they sell by the pound) - though I really like Malibu Farm on the pier outside when bringing friends for dinner - and the wine bar is very comfy. Sadly for a Jean-Georges place, the wine is hit and miss around the spaces - good options at the Brasserie, not bad at the wine bar ... but Jean-Georges should be mortified by what they serve by the glass at the outdoor bar (hopefully they get that right when they reopen in the Spring - the outdoor space by the water in warm weather is absolute gold). The best atmosphere in an indoor bar is the cocktail bar upstairs - as long as you don't want a glass of red wine, since they keep all those bottles by the large lights of the bar, so they're all warm (you'd think enough people would notice - or the bartenders would notice that the bottles keep spoiling too fast).

So why four stars? Like I said, while it's not good for everything I'd hoped - what it's good for is great. I'm here nearly every day for one thing or another and doubt I'd like the neighborhood as much if Tin wasn't here. A quick bite, a relaxing drink, a place to work or read (laptops welcome anytime, free, good quality wifi), a fun place to bring people. Really appreciate the space - which is also the reason for the detailed feedback above. Hey,...