New Yorker Mark Strausman comforts his city one dish at a time at his new restaurant, Mark’s Off Madison
by Heather Cassell
An upscale diner that isn’t a diner has taken up the corner of Madison Avenue and East 26th Street across from Madison Square Park in New York’s tony North of Madison Square Park (NoMAD) neighborhood.
Mark’s Off Madison, also known as M.O.M., is exactly what the neighborhood needed.
New Yorkers of all stripes are familiar with the chef and co-proprietor behind the simple blue diner-style awning with the restaurant’s namesake imprinted in a white flag in blue print that is dishing out anything but your typical diner food.
Mark Strausman, formerly of the now-bankrupt Barney’s New York’s crowning jewel, Fred’s, opened the doors to Mark’s Off Madison in November 2020. Fred’s was a must-dine spot for nearly a quarter-century. The restaurant attracted the famous, fashionable, powerful, and simply anyone with a decent palate to the top of the high-end department store for 24 years.
Barney’s New York hedge fund investors didn’t appreciate Mark’s or his customers’ world-class palate. He was unceremoniously fired for standing up for his noted rosy sautéed chicken livers over sourdough toast in 2019, reported the New York Times. Before 2019 ended, Barney’s shuttered its doors for the second time in the upscale department store’s history.
It appeared a piece of old New York was going to be a part of the city’s past, not its future. Fortunately, Mark saw the writing on the wall. He had already signed the lease for the former A Voce space at Madison Square Park when the fateful moment arrived, reported the Times. A few months later, the global pandemic hit. Mark pivoted again. He designed the restaurant to not only showcase his culinary experience but also be a restaurant for New Yorkers during every punch Covid-19 has thrown.
Everything is on the table at Mark’s Off Madison.
In the mornings, the bakery delivers bagels and bialys with the schmears from Gina Marie Cream Cheese and coffee from Fonte Coffee Roaster. For Saturday and Sunday brunch the kitchen serves up banana-stuffed Challah French toast served with maple syrup, frittata with a mix of mushrooms, and more.
In the afternoon and evening, guests are served European, mostly Italian, cuisine. Fans rejoiced to find familiar favorites on the restaurant’s menu. Mark brought his famous Estelle’s chicken soup, lasagna della nonna, sautéed chicken livers, pizzas, and his beloved Belgian fries from Fred’s to Mark’s Off Madison for lunch and dinner. He is also able to spread his wings fully dazzling diners with his fine European culinary training, especially Italian cuisine, and Jewish roots as he always has. The twist, he has added a farm-to-table element creating dishes using seasonal ingredients. The culinary experience harks back to Mark’s early days working in the kitchen at a professional farm-to-table restaurant. The menu will change with the seasons.
The Jewish boy from Queens started mastering his trade cooking for his family in his Flushing neighborhood home before acquiring the art of European, especially Tuscan, cuisine. He started refining his craft in the kitchen at Sapore di Mare in East Hampton, New York in 1988 before moving into the kitchens of New York’s Coco Pazzo, the former Campagna (which he also owned), and Fred’s where he was the reigning chef opening the restaurant on the top of every Barney’s New York located in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco since 1996.
Mark’s Off Madison takes its tagline, “where uptown meets downtown,” seriously. The restaurant is decidedly Jewish and European with all the love and warmth of the two communities melded into one space, which is quintessential New York. Because of that, the restaurant emanates a homey feeling that makes you feel like family, a family with a refined palate for elevated comfort foods from bagels to lasagna.
The 100-seat dining room interior is warm and inviting, yet stylish with hints of diner appeal and Italian style. The 85-seat outdoor dining area along East 26th Street is like eating in a garden. Then there is the takeout counter at the restaurant’s entrance which is bright and cheerful.
I was delighted to find Mark before a much overdue trip to New York recently. I had to find out what happened to the chef at Fred’s. Fortunately, Mark was easy to find, but reservations weren’t so easy to acquire. My Auntie, who introduced me to Mark’s culinary magic at Fred’s, warned me. It turns out, while it’s challenging to get a table at Mark’s Off Madison due to more than three decades of Mark developing a very loyal following, getting a table is not nearly as challenging as getting a bag of Mark’s hand-rolled bagels and bialys from his bakery, which is also located in the restaurant. They simply fly off the shelf, before anyone is barely awake.
Diners can get a window view into Strausman’s kitchen from the window in the main dining room. There the sous chefs work their magic delivering his fusion of American farm-to-table, Italian classics, and breakfast creations to life.
I savored two perfect filets of sole encrusted with Latke lightly bathed in a savory lemon herb sauce. I swapped out the fall vegetables of the day (the vegetables change daily according to availability) for sauteed spinach. The portion was healthy leaving enough for another full meal, especially if you order appetizers or a salad. My Auntie was my dinner guest that evening. We started with the bitter greens salad with artichokes tossed with hot and sweet sausage, olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. My auntie loved every last bite of the bitter leaves, but the salad wasn’t my garden of delight. I’m not a fan of bitter flavors. I’m also selective regarding spices in my food.
While I enjoyed my fish with a glass of Altesino’s 2019 Toscana Rosso, a fruit-forward estate red that was light enough that it didn’t overpower the fish, my Auntie enjoyed her lamb shank. The leg of lamb with the bone in it rested on a bed of mashed potatoes and dipped into a brown gravy. The fall vegetables – Brussel sprouts and pumpkin squash – nestled up against the meat. It was a perfect dish as the large droplets of rain hit the window next to us and the wind swirled through the street blowing New Yorkers sheltering under their umbrellas against the cold rainy fall New York night as they passed by the window.
The meal was topped off with traditional black and white cookies.
Old New York is back better than ever at Mark’s Off Madison. While many restaurants come and go in a New York minute, Strausman changes with it. Leaving a lasting mark on the city with his warm and inviting restaurants and good taste.
THE DIRTY DISH
Mark’s Off Madison (a.k.a. M.O.M.), 41 Madison Avenue Ground Level, New York, New York 10010. 646-838-8300. . marksoffmadison.com.
TYPE OF RESTAURANT: LGBT-Friendly, Independently-Owned, Italian Cuisine, Jewish Cuisine
RATING: 4 = Black
(0 inedible – 5 simply scrumptious)
AMBIANCE: Warm, inviting, stylish with hints of old New York Jewish diners and sophisticated European style.
SCENE: The atmosphere is relaxed sophistication. No dress code is specified, but many diners were dressed in business casual or jeans with collared shirts.
SERVICE: The service was attentive but not overbearing. Mark visited guests at their table chatting with them saying hello to longtime friends and regulars and getting to know new guests.
NOISE LEVEL: The pitch where we were sitting in the bakery section was perfect. The chatter from the full dining room did not carry over. The dining room wasn’t very loud, despite many various conversations happening simultaneously, when I walked through it to the bathroom.
RECOMMENDED DISHES: It’s hard to recommend a dish when the menu changes seasonally, but I loved my latke-crusted sole.
SIP: The glass of Altesino’s 2019 Toscana Rosso was a light fruit-forward estate red was perfect.
CHECK, PLEASE: $$$$ = Over $60
(price of dinner/lunch/breakfast/brunch for an individual meal not including tip)
THE EAT: Anyone familiar with Mark’s culinary style, which is a fusion of Jewish and Italian comfort with a little bit of love and just the right combination of flavors to take each and every dish to its full potential knows food can’t get better than this.
WORTH THE NIGHT OUT?: My taste buds are salivating to dine here again
Book your next California adventure with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .
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