Toronto’s charismatic superstar chef Susur Lee is in New York today discussing details of his restaurant in the new Bowery Thompson Hotel with entrepreneur Jason Pomeranc. Hong Kong-born Lee, hailed by Food & Wine magazine for his boldly innovative Asian fusion as one of its "Ten Chefs of the Millennium" (along with Ferran Adria and Pierre Gagnaire), will close Susur to focus on his Manhattan debut. Pomeranc hopes for an opening just after Labor Day.  And what will New York crocodiles make of Lee’s revolutionary menu philosophy?  Heaviest courses come first in a Susur Lee tasting:  Prosciutto-wrapped bison in mustard sauce is a typical starter followed by foie gras and foie gras mousse, then guava sorbet with lychee-pineapple-lemongrass juice as  palate cleanser.  Roast scallops on crispy rice might be next, then caramelized black cod with salmon roe, followed by clear gazpacho with gin and a tomatillo tart with chorizo just before a sweet dim sum finale. At a table for two each person gets a totally different tasting.  Lee is not trembling. “I’ve been on my own since 14 so I think I’m ready for New York. I don’t do email. I don’t know how to open my cell phone messages so I get up every morning and just start thinking about food.”  

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