Seagrill star for two decades, Brown gathered a platoon of 29 backers in March 2008 to open his own place across from the Planaterium just off Central Park West. By June he found himself forced to admit that $29 to $39 truffled entrees were not luring neighbors battered by stock market woes and he launched a $42 two course prix fixe in the bar.  That wasn’t enough either.  He finally added a burger bar in the party room.  Meanwhile, ironically, Brown helped buoy Ed’s Chowderhouse with his fabulous fish shack menu, giving Jeffrey Chodorow a hit where his earlier Center Cut had stumbled.

To read EightyOne Banks on Truffles and Chicken Wings, click here.