Modern American cuisine as dazzling as the views at South Florida’s finest penthouse restaurant
PALM BEACH, FL – September 27, 2011 -- Director of restaurant development Bill Lalor, in collaboration with chef Brian Schuyler, have created new fervor for Top of the Point, downtown West Palm Beach’s breathtaking, destination restaurant now abuzz with rave-worthy allure. Like its sister enterprise Echo Palm Beach (another free-standing venture of Flagler System Inc), Top of the Point has transformed into a very distinctive and inviting place to dine and socialize …a dramatic turn from its former incarnation as the Governors Club.
This past Spring, Lalor – a veteran restaurateur/chef whose break-the-mold progeny of eateries have excited palates across the United States (such as NYC’s Canyon Road, Agave, The Saloon, and Gallagher’s Steak House in Las Vegas and Atlantic City) for almost 30 years – began to onceive new menus concepts for the penthouse-floor restaurant, located atop the Phillips Point East tower. In the process, he stirred up our country’s culinary melting pot with a clear affinity for sustainability, cosmopolitan tastes and the interplay of ingredients/seasonings, to create an innovative, globally-influenced menu of modern American Cuisine.
After the successful launch of a ‘Summer Road Trip’ series, a pre-fixe culinary spotlight on America’s favorite vacation destinations (from Nantucket, Newport and Hudson River Valley, to Door County Wisconsin, and Napa Valley), Lalor has introduced three-course, Fall Harvest menus ($49.95 per person) available October 4 – November 23, changing bi-weekly, which explore different cuisines with American roots. Savory northern specialties have their roots in New England, northern Pennsylvania, the heartland and beyond, such as Barolo-braised beef short ribs with celery-root and white-turnip puree, and halibut with corn veloute, maple-roasted squash and butterbean succotash.
Outside the kitchen, Lalor has evolved Top of the Point into a dynamic and sophisticated restaurant and bar, a setting that perfectly complements cuisine simply prepared but infused with originality and creativity. “We aspire to make Top of the Point a bucket-list restaurant of the Palm Beaches, and one of the best rooftop restaurant and bar experiences in South Florida,” said Lalor. “When our guests depart, they realize that the magnetism of top-floor dining isn’t merely about the view, but the wonderful food it accompanies.”
Lalor has found a perfect collaborator in Chef Brian Schuyler, a native of Bradenton, Florida, as they are both meticulous in their selection of the freshest local ingredients available. Schuyler skillfully blends the highest-quality products of his home region with seasonal influences, and brings each dish to life from the continuously changing menu. Proud to be “married to his kitchen,” Schuyler’s ardent love of cooking is infused in every single process involved – from executing the conception of a new dish (idea-becomes-paper sketch), to obtaining local, sustainableproducts; to the painstaking technical and artistic prep that transforms ingredients into flavorful creations.
Brian Schuyler started his impassioned vocational journey as a chef at age 16, when he began cooking professionally and sought post-graduate culinary education at a local community college. Concurrently, he placed first and third in national and state culinary competitions, respectively, earning several scholarships to attend the renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, at age 19. His graduation from the CIA not only equipped him with associate and bachelor’s degrees in culinary arts, but complementary work experience in exclusive upstate New York kitchens, such as The Belvedere Mansion in Rhinebeck and The Millbrook Winery in Millbrook.
Florida beckoned Brian to return south, and he was inspired to apply to The Breakers Palm Beach, one of America’s legendary resorts and known for its world-class culinary division. In 2004, he started as a cook at the resort’s Italian Restaurant, promoted to chef brigade within two years and then transferred to The Breakers’ signature fine dining restaurant as sous chef for the next three years.
Schuyler took a hiatus from resort culinary operations in 2009, joining the Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, where as sous chef, he oversaw two restaurants and a daily changing dinner menu. Two years later, the gifted but hard-working young chef reconnected with his former mentor, The Breakers executive chef of restaurants Anthony Sicignano, and Schuyler was excitedly referred to helm the kitchen of Top of the Point.
Today, Lalor and Schuyler are a model of collaborative, culinary leadership. When either is queried about Top of the Point’s fabulous food, neither the seasoned Lalor nor the 20-something Schuyler will hesitate to credit the combined talent and teamwork of those they guide in their kitchen. And for the guests that ascend the elevator to their panoramic establishment, the goal, accordingly to Schuyler, is “to elicit excitement, comfort, intrigue and pleasure.”
Top of the Point serves dinner Tuesdsay through Saturday. For reservations or more information, contact Top of the Point at (561) 832-2424, or go to www.topofthepoint.com .
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