[Nathan]

mcsping, on Oct 2 2007, 07:09 AM, said:

Here's my review from last Thursday night. Cliffs Notes: It was great and you should go.

pedantic notes:

1. the Blood and Sand is a classic cocktail. the one at Tailor is a riff on it.

2. Absinthe is not illegal. in theory, it is confiscated at the border, but many of us have had it couriered in for years and the better cocktail bars generally have it if you know to ask for it.

a few months ago Lucid was approved for importation so now you can buy absinthe at the liquor store.

[ulterior epicure]

It's probably of bygone interest now that most everyone on this thread has probably been to Tailor and ordered this dish (or tired of talking about this restaurant), but just in case anyone hasn't and is curious, here is the photo of the Black Olive Cake (with yogurt ice cream, house-made granola and blueberries), that I especially enjoyed at Tailor. Somehow, I had failed to upload this amidst all my others.

[BryanZ]

In it's short existence, much has already been said about Tailor. Some people love it, others hate it. Such is the territory for a hotly anticipated, much delayed, category-busting, modern restaurant with rock star pastry chef. Given all the hype, I think Tailor lives up to expectations. Does it serve the best food, the best desserts, or the best drinks? I would say no to each, but the whole experience is largely satisfying, educational, and cool all at once.

I now present the much-anticipated (by me anyway) Cocoa Tasting Menu at Tailor. This was from Sunday evening and only the second day Sam had rolled it out. Sam claims that it's still a work in progress, but I was quite impressed.



In addition to these dishes, my dining companion and I had a good bit more fun, also sampling the following dishes:

Peeky toe crab, pineapple, basil, pine nut puree
Duck tartar, marjoram pesto, pickled cherry jam
Snapper, avocado-pistachio, watermelon, black olive
Passion fruit poached char, lime pickle, coconut
Pork belly, miso butterscotch, artichoke
Pretzel ice cream, beer foam
Manchego cheesecake, concord sorbet, sage
Rum braised banana, mustard ice cream, brown butter cake

We began our evening in the downstairs bar with the violet gin fizz and a paprika punch. The violet gin fizz was a refreshing, if somewhat unsettling, mixture of acid and cream. I wish the floral component would've been more assertive. The drink has promise, but still could use some improvement. The paprika punch really plays up the savory cocktail trend that seems very popular right now. I've had a couple drinks now that do the jalapeno, cilantro, cucumber, thing, but this took the vegetal idea in a somewhat different direction. Nice and refreshing but for some reason I wasn't totally enamored. Maybe it needed one more layer of flavor. Smoked paprika? Also tried a splash of the smoked Coke. Totally smoky, totally delicious. When we went upstairs we did the Bazooka and the Crumble, the cocktail with the brown butter rum. The former is totally hilarious and at once nauseatingly tasty. It's kind of sad that I liked it more than my tiny, female dining companion. The brown butter drink was among the best cocktails I've had in recent memory. I totally dug this brand of savory, butterscotch-y goodness. Even the mouth feel of the drink is rich and unique. A very generous pour(s) of '06 Au Bon Climat chardonnay brought us back to earth. The '06 seems to me to be more restrained than previous vintages.

With all the drinks and dishes I tried, the evening was something of a whirlwind. We were very excited to be there and I think it's quite clear the staff is excited as well. Our captain knew the food down cold and was great throughout the night. The manager, also a very cool guy. It's easy for a place like this to be standoffish, but I felt welcomed and in my element. Then again, I'm something like their target customer, so I suppose that makes sense. Everyone who's complaining about the music and uniforms has to be crazy. Seriously. The "hot pants" that were such a big deal are nothing but nicely tailored shorts. Comparisons to Hooters? Give me a break. The iPod on this evening belonged to the same general manager and included an eclectic selection of music ranging from indie to country to hip-hop. Volume was fine. I really don't see what people are complaining about. I wouldn't even write about this if people didn't make it seem like Tailor was like a burlesque club with head-thumping music. The entire vibe is downtown, vintage, urban cowboy chic. I buy into that kind of thing.

The food itself was quite impressive. Although I think enjoyed the items from the a la carte side of the menu more, the chocolate side was certainly more adventurous. Although I felt the theme was made a bit too apparent at times, if I were to back I would still prefer to order the chocolate menu (or whatever special menu was being featured). The value of innovation and experimentation on that side of the menu outweighs what may be a higher tastiness quotient on the a la carte side.

Highlights were the char (best dish of the night), duck tartar, cheesecake, and pork belly. The duck and eel terrine with chocolate consomme and mango was perhaps the dish that best struck a balance between really interesting/ballsy and tasty. The chocolate consomme was assertive in itself and with the interplay between the duck and eel there a lot of richness going on. The foie dish is really, really tasty, but I see merit in the complaint that it does not taste strongly of foie. Like many dishes at Tailor, and in modern cooking in general, the best experience is achieved by dropping preconceptions of how a given ingredient should taste and just experiencing the dish as a whole. By doing that the diverse components in the very tasty snapper dish also make more sense.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself. This is, without question, a category-busting restaurant, but one that executes at a rather high level. Although people may try to compare it to p*ong, I don't think this is really apt. p*ong is a much less ambitious restaurant that is fundamentally a dessert bar with some cold savory items. Tailor is much more like wd~50 in that it, especially in this cocoa menu, asks diners to subtly reconsider what makes a meal a meal.

This post has been edited by BryanZ: 08 October 2007 - 09:22 PM

[ulterior epicure]

BryanZ, on Oct 8 2007, 05:40 PM, said:

I now present the much-anticipated (by me anyway) Cocoa Tasting Menu at Tailor.  This was from Sunday evening and only the second day Sam had rolled it out.  Sam claims that it's still a work in progress, but I was quite impressed.  I tried a lot of stuff on this evening and a full report is forthcoming.

For now, cocoa to the max.

Everything on that menu seems pretty "readable" to me with the exception of the "Duck and Eel Terrine" with chocolate consomme and sweet mango. I will be interested to hear how the consomme was incorporated. I recently had a dessert here in Kansas City where the chef is doing a chocolate consomme - a cold liquid in a shotglass. I'll be curious to see what from the cosomme takes with this terrine.

Looks like you did some fine eating at Tailor.

[tan319]

Sounds fantastic!
T

[AlexForbes]

Funny how things are relative... many of you have posted that you loved the char poached in passion fruit. Well, I'm Brazilian, and for some reason fish with passion fruit sauce has become a cliché there, done with varying degrees of efficacy everywhere - so I've gotten sick and tired of it. I did like Tailor's version, obviously more subtle and refined and tender and delicate than your average salmon with passion fruit sauce served at the beach near Sao Paulo, but still - it didn't excite me.

The snapper, however, which failed to wow some of you, was my favourite. I liked the strangeness of the combo - the chilly juiciness of the watermelon, the salty olives, and the cold fish sliced like sashimi. It all came together in the mouth, as an explosion of textures.

Another favourite was the foie gras with peanut butter - I didn't find it tasted like a chocolate bar, but rather, as a carefully calibrated mixture of the 2 ingredients, with a silky, rounded mouthfeel.

I'll go against the current and recommend the agua verde drink. It was the only one I tried,
since it was huge and I couldn't have 2 drinks before dinner, but I greatly enjoyed the freshness and the layered tastes: first the tequila, then the tomatillo and, at the end, a nice sting on the lips from the habanero peppers. Like liquid food, almost.

What else... again, to show that all this stuff is very subjective, the music did bother me. It went from hip hop to folk to rock to bossa nova and was too loud. Distracting, and made it hard to hear the others at the table.

And just so nobody accuses me of being antagonistic, I'll agree with most of you in that service is top-notch, uniforms are very cool and this is, indeed, one of New York's most interesting restaurants.

[AlexForbes]

And here is a photo of the entrance - by the way, what's with the no sign policy? It's almost like it's become very uncool to put up a sign when you open a restaurant... I don't usually care, except this time it took me a couple of minutes to figure out where the restaurant was, as I walked to and fro searching for the right number...

[Mayur]

New Yorkers like it when restaurants and bars play hard-to-get. It's an artifact of living in a crowded city; places that advertise openly seem all-too-likely to be overrun with out-of-towners and feel insufficiently "special" and local.

[daisy17]

Cocktails and dinner at Tailor on Sat night, in all spectacular. At the bar before dinner Alex made me an off-the-menu cocktail - a Nutty something - I can't recall, because I was too focused on how good this drink was. Walnut cognac, Benedictine, bitters. Fantastic, very well-balanced, and, um, nutty. Has autumn written all over it. Must make special mention of the ice used in my nutty whatever and in the crumble, I think. Single, large, perfect cube in a rocks glass. Gorgeous ice.

Friends had the Violet Fizz, which was subtle and well-executed, and the Charentais.

Upstairs at dinner I had the Crumble, which was so yummy (and not as sweet as I feared) and went very well with the pork belly, which was my favorite dish of the night. (Someone should have put pork and butterscotch together sooner.) The char was sublime and impossibly moist, and it worked so well with the spaetzle and coconut. I liked but wouldn't crave the snapper. Desserts were great, especially peaches and tomato and the rum banana with mustard ice cream. Questions around the table about the mustard ice cream pairing on that dish; I was the only one who thought it worked if you went really light on the ice cream.

Was surprised that the dining room wasn't full when we arrived at 8:45, and I don't think it filled up while we were there, either. Ok by me that it wasn't packed - we found seats at the bar before and after dinner. The space is comfortable but cool, and while you can tell that lots of attention was paid to detail, there's nothing overdone or pretentious about it.

Tailor definitely surpassed expectations (and what with all the talk about it before it even opened, those were some high expectations). The food was thoughtful and interesting AND it was delicious. I simply loved it all around. I feel like it's been a long time since I've said that about a new restaurant in NY.

[ajgnet]

Just checked out Tailor last night after waiting quite awhile for this opening. I was very disappointed. My complete thoughts, with full photos, are available on A Life Worth Eating; but here's the summary.

I opted for the "cocoa tasting menu" followed by 3 plates a la carte. In order:

- Squid salad, cocoa croutons, mint
- Chocolate gnocchi, brussel sprouts, lime purée
- Foie gras, peanut butter, cocoa, pear
- Chocolate-miso cod, cauliflower purée, argon
- Duck and eel terrine, chocolate consommé, sweet mango
- Beet ravioli, cocoa caviar, orange, tarragon
- Butternut squash cake, cocoa sorbet, walnut beads, maple
- Soft chocolate, sesame ice cream, mole
- Warm peach & tomato ricotta purée, black sesame caramel
- Rum braised banana, mustard ice cream, brownie butter cake
- Blueberries, black olive cake, yogurt sorbet

The presentations for all these courses were fantastic. The flavors, on the other hand, left me unfulfilled and confused. I appreciate Chef Mason's creativity very much; but at some point, every chef needs to take a step back and look at the flavors on the plate. Why were their brussels sprout leaves with chocolate gnocchi? Granted they help vary the color; but they did so at the expense of flavor. I also found nearly all the dishes to be too sweet, even some of those from the salty section. I would consider waiting a bit for the restaurant to work out the menu; it seemed a little schizophrenic.

[BryanZ]

I would argue the brussel sprout leaves were there to add vegetal bitterness. I actually thought they improved the dish.

[Nathan]

So we stopped by here on Saturday night after Back Forty for drinks and dessert. It'd been about a month since I'd last been in...Tailor seems to be really maturing as a restaurant.

the menu has grown (gotta return for the tasting menu soon), the bar has filled out, the list of cocktails and house infusions is larger (and very polished).

our dessert of pork belly was as good as the first time I tried it.

[docsconz]

I'm looking forward to trying it for myself later this month now that some of the initial opening hype and jitters are past. I have great faith in both Sam and Francis' abilities.

[oakapple]

I think it was a big mistake to draw so much attention to themselves, and then to open with the menu in such a fragmentary state, which left a number of the early reviewers underwhelmed. The question now is whether Bruni and Platt are still giving the restaurant time, or if they've more-or-less formed their impressions based on the beta-version, which really wasn't ready to be reviewed.

[ulterior epicure]

oakapple, on Nov 12 2007, 12:06 PM, said:

I think it was a big mistake to draw so much attention to themselves, and then to open with the menu in such a fragmentary state, which left a number of the early reviewers underwhelmed. The question now is whether Bruni and Platt are still giving the restaurant time, or if they've more-or-less formed their impressions based on the beta-version, which really wasn't ready to be reviewed.

Yes, but even early visitors, like myself, was able to read p-o-t-e-n-t-i-a-l into the operation. I can't say that I left gushing, or wanting to rush back, but I did see more than just a faint glimpse of hope for Tailor. On this forum, at least, it seemed that most of the (early) disappointment/disagreement over the restaurant wasn't with the food as much as with the volume and the threads.

This post has been edited by ulterior epicure: 12 November 2007 - 10:13 AM

[Gabe Quiros]

Letting everyone know that this weekend they introduced several new dishes on the menu on both the salty and sweet side.

Salty include an octopus dish, and a monkfish dish. And on the sweet side a french toast dish among others.

So definitely worth checking out.

[oakapple]

ulterior epicure, on Nov 12 2007, 10:12 AM, said:

Yes, but even early visitors, like myself, was able to read p-o-t-e-n-t-i-a-l into the operation.  I can't say that I left gushing, or wanting to rush back, but I did see more than just a faint glimpse of hope for Tailor.  On this forum, at least, it seemed that most of the (early) disappointment/disagreement over the restaurant wasn't with the food as much as with the volume and the threads.

Oh, I saw potential too. But I'm not sure whether the pro reviewers take that into account. Most of the time, they seem to review what the restaurant is, not what it could be. Usually, "not gushing or wanting to rush back" translates to a one-star review (or its equivalent).

This post has been edited by oakapple: 12 November 2007 - 11:10 AM

[ulterior epicure]

oakapple, on Nov 12 2007, 01:10 PM, said:

ulterior epicure, on Nov 12 2007, 10:12 AM, said:

Yes, but even early visitors, like myself, was able to read p-o-t-e-n-t-i-a-l into the operation.  I can't say that I left gushing, or wanting to rush back, but I did see more than just a faint glimpse of hope for Tailor.  On this forum, at least, it seemed that most of the (early) disappointment/disagreement over the restaurant wasn't with the food as much as with the volume and the threads.

Oh, I saw potential too. But I'm not sure whether the pro reviewers take that into account. Most of the time, they seem to review what the restaurant is, not what it could be. Usually, "not gushing or wanting to rush back" translates to a one-star review (or its equivalent).

Yes, well, the truly sad thing is that (in my opinion) a "pro reviewer" really should know better than to do any formal reviewing before the first month or two of the restaurant's opening. Every restaurant should be allowed some time to get up to speed.

This post has been edited by ulterior epicure: 12 November 2007 - 11:13 AM

[Melissa Hom]

Agreed. Didn't there used to be at least an unsaid three month grace period for the Times before a new restaurant was reviewed? Maybe I'm living in the 80s. It's unfair. They're taking crawling babies and dragging them to compete in the NYC marathon.

[Nathan]

Melissa Hom, on Nov 12 2007, 11:19 AM, said:

Agreed. Didn't there used to be at least an unsaid three month grace period for the Times before a new restaurant was reviewed? Maybe I'm living in the 80s.  It's unfair. They're taking crawling babies and dragging them to compete in the NYC marathon.

there still is. Bruni has reviewed exactly one restaurant inside of three months (it'd been open more like 2.5 months).

[Melissa Hom]

Perhaps the review came out within the 3-month time frame, but I know for a fact that he's been eating at recently opened restaurants that haven't reached its quarter-year milestone just yet.

[ulterior epicure]

Melissa Hom, on Nov 12 2007, 01:37 PM, said:

Perhaps the review came out within the 3-month time frame, but I know for a fact that he's been eating at recently opened restaurants that haven't reached its quarter-year milestone just yet.

I can't speak for Bruni, but I know that professional restaurant critics will often scope out a fledgling in order to get a more accurate sense of "how far the restaurant has come" by the time the formal reviewing process begins. There are restaurants who need a year to get into the "marathon," and those who only need a couple/few months. I would think/hope that those who can manage to ramp up and shave off the rough edges quicker, are more highly esteemed, in the end.

[oakapple]

Melissa Hom, on Nov 12 2007, 11:37 AM, said:

Perhaps the review came out within the 3-month time frame, but I know for a fact that he's been eating at recently opened restaurants that haven't reached its quarter-year milestone just yet.

Since he doesn't disclose his dining diary, we don't have a sense (and probably never will) to what extent those early visits color his view. Bruni has, on multiple occasions, reviewed restaurants after less than three months, but that's not the norm, and among major critics he is usually the last to weigh in. Of course, a review after exactly three months will necessarily be based on multiple visits inside of that window.

[Nathan]

Melissa Hom, on Nov 12 2007, 11:37 AM, said:

Perhaps the review came out within the 3-month time frame, but I know for a fact that he's been eating at recently opened restaurants that haven't reached its quarter-year milestone just yet.

so do I. of course he does. heck, he writes diner's journal entries about it. so?

edit: actually, I can think of two occasions where the review came just inside of three months. someone once claimed here that Bruni reviewed the Modern right after it opened but this turned out not to be true.

This post has been edited by Nathan: 12 November 2007 - 12:08 PM

[Gabe Quiros]

For those that were saying they had trouble finding the restaurant, I went by recently and noticed they already put up the "525" numbers on the door and sometime in the near future they will have a sign up.

This post has been edited by Gabe Quiros: 17 November 2007 - 02:52 PM

[oakapple]

Today, Tailor gets pummeled again, with Adam Platt's one-star review taking up just two paragraphs.

[Nathan]

what's absurdly amusing about that review is Platt's affection for the Bazooka...which tells you everything you need to know about his lack of taste (at least when it comes to cocktails).

the Bazooka is a joke, the first ironic cocktail. it's intended to be insipidly sweet and schlocky...that's why it's the one vodka drink on the menu. and he loved it.

he seemed to liked the food that he had. (he was spotted once and sat at the bar with his wife)

[docsconz]

Quote

I do remember, however, that there was never enough food on my plate

That's the last line from Platt's review. Funny thing is that if he didn't like the food, (he actually said he did), I don't get this line. If he did like it as he said he did when commenting on specific dishes, I don't really understand the panning of the restaurant.

I also couldn't tell from the article whether he is one of the "city’s grizzled, increasingly nostalgic band of restaurant critics" that looked forward to the arrival of a chef like Trabocchi (from his review of Fiamma in the same article) or one of the "younger, well-heeled diners" for whom "the appetite for showy auteur cooking has declined".

FWIW, I will be dining at both Fiamma and Tailor very soon and will report back on both.

[oakapple]

docsconz, on Nov 19 2007, 10:50 AM, said:

Quote

I do remember, however, that there was never enough food on my plate

That's the last line from Platt's review. Funny thing is that if he didn't like the food, (he actually said he did), I don't get this line. If he did like it as he said he did when commenting on specific dishes, I don't really understand the panning of the restaurant.

As I saw it, Platt was complaining about the overall incoherence of the concept, which is a reasonable objection. Like most critical judgments, it's not provably correct or incorrect.

It's also worth bearing in mind that Platt hardly ever gives three stars or higher. He gives three stars less often than Bruni. In fact, I can't remember Platt's last three-bagger. So with two being his practical maximum, an awful lot of decent places get one star.

Quote

I also couldn't tell from the article whether he is one of the "city’s grizzled, increasingly nostalgic band of restaurant critics".....

Unfortunately, Platt's reviews are full of reminders of how bored he is with the job.

This post has been edited by oakapple: 19 November 2007 - 11:29 AM

[xyz123]

Quote

FWIW, I will be dining at both Fiamma and Tailor very soon and will report back on both.

for me both were unimpressive

Edited by docsconz to fix formatting