madziast

i thought that you were being very cautious in your post, maybe even selling the food a bit short ("this isn't great food" - although it was quite good,right?). simple stuff done well can hit the right spot i'm tempted to give it a try although March was probably one of the worst meals i ever had. if i like it, i may even go to Nish

so food wasn't worthy of report or you just didn't get around to writing it up? i hear you about thosde carafes, made me feel like Epcot. i guess you do see a lot more in daylight is the Epcot-y feeling as strong during the day? do you know whether the lunch menu is much different from dinner or rather similar?

yikes, a warrant for Neroni's arrest?

damn, that rabbit schnitzel looked GOOOOD, definitely somehting that caught my eye. great to know it was as good as it looked. eta: lots of other promising items on the menu - or perhaps i'm just dying for some spring asparagus, peas, etc.

SO true! my 25-bottle Dalby is routinely stuffed with an extra bottle or two - or more! i love it and it's served me well for 5 or 6 years. no idea whether they make 15-inch ones (mine's 20") - worth checking out online. it was not very expensive either

wow, so much like my experience! and it was almost a month ago - the artichokes, the pasta, the wine - surprised none of these have improved. also surprised - and disappointed - they do not seem to be serving Balthazar bread?! does anyone know what bread they are serving? is it reaaly a different bread from the Balthazar Bakery? it was a typical Italian restaurnat Sullivan-style pugliese loaf (IIRC), light with large air pockets - nice enough but Balthazar's bread is so delicious... and why do they charge for the same radishes with anchovy and olive oil they do gratis at Gusto? i mean, throw some other vegetables in there or make it somewhat different, it just feels tacky to do the exact same thing - and charge for it, even if it's $5. they seem to be off to a rocky start. the upselling and pushing was relentless too - if i go back, i think i'd rather go for lunch. volume is not their forte - it might be better when slower - flinflon, how as your lunch?

Not as funny as you might think. When I was attending an Ongoing Maritime Education class in New Bedford, Mass a couple years ago, (I think it was for my STCW cert), I had a couple classmates who'd worked on swordfish boats; apparently bluefin, like swordfish, bask on the surface with enough regularity that hunting and killing them with harpoon is nor nearly as rare an activity as you might think. Every possibility that that tuna had been killed with Ye Olde Harpoone. Crossing over the Acushnet river bridge every morning, I several times saw boats with bow pulpits so elongated that they were stowed folded up over the flying bridge. That would be, I guess, where the harpooner stands in the final moments of the hunt. "Swordfish pulpit" returns some 13,000 responses on everybody's go-to search engine. ← nothing against harpooned - it's the "freshly harpooned" bit that i consider ridiculous. harpooned to order? out in the back? in the middle of Tribeca?

Ramsay himself said in opening interviews that he was going after 4 stars (and that he felt on par with NY 4-star chefs, i'm sure that got factored in as well. and, frankly, NY is notoriously hard on newcomers. ouside of Keller (more of a return) and Robuchon, nobody gets an open-arm welcome...

one of the most ridiculous I've seen: Freshly Harpooned Sashimi Quality Bluefin & Hamachi Tuna at a NY restaurant

i agree. looks like i'll have to give the Bar Room another shot (laughs aside, i'm looking forward to it - once the inevitable review-followers crush is over) i AM surprised at the harshnes of GT comments - i had a few meals at the Tavern recently, they were quite good, if not mind-blowing

mmmm, greens, love 'em all. often mix stronger greens like dandelion, beet or mustard with chard or spinach. love to saute them with onion and serve over toasted bread with fried egg for a quick lunch. or make a savory tart/quiche type of thing. got some nice swiss chard today and have some leftover bouley bread, will make a nice supper

lucky you, and i'm saying it seriously. i like other DM places and i'd like to like the Bar Room, which is more affordable for me than the Dining Room. i found it very chaotic on my visits, it just never went smoothly when i was there and the food suffered. three rather spaced visits (a few months after the opening, a few months later and then even more months later), yet similar problems experienced each time - i generally won't go back after a so-so or ok meal. the first visit wasn't the worst, mind you, i did go back. but i'm not a glutton for punishment. it happens - you and i can be just feet apart at nearby tables at the same restaurant on the same night and have very different experiences. DM is a professional, it's his job to make sure the NYT critic is recognized. Bruni has been to the restaurant before, staff at DM places tend to stay long, pictures abound, etc. i think any critic deals with being recognized (or suspicion thereof) but Bruni's pix were plastered all over Gawer & other websites when he first started, he might be the most recognized NYT critic (hey, blame the internet). so i'd bet that he was recognized - and it can make a difference you are right, of course, that every restaurant strives to give the NYT critic a perfect experience. but the comment is not about getting better service, it's about Bruni's more frequent interaction with DM, whom he has been quoting more often lately, especially on his blog. DM was not happy about the reviews Bruni gave EMP and The Modern - he wrote so in "Setting the Table." When the book came out a few of months ago, this was mentioned by a few publications and there was some "he said, he said" going on (including an allusion to it by Bruni on his blog). Ever since Bruni has been calling DM for comments on this and that, whatever puzzles him at the moment about restaurnat experience. that's what i meant - a certain shift since the days of Bruni's original reviews of EMP and The Modern. For the record, i have great respect for DM and his work, how he shaped the industry and how he runs his business. he has a lot to share and is a role model in the industry. i also applaud his honesty regarding reviews and critics in "Setting The Table," which, by the way, is a great book.

oh, i don't know. on each of my 3 visits there, there were bad food & service mixups. so unless they got it together in the last few months, i'm not holding my breath. then again, by now they know him well at the Modern, which should take care of food/service glitches. and he's been cozying up to DM lately (blog Q&A, calls for quotes, etc.) i'll be very curious to see the review. EMP will likely get 3 stars though.

mmmm... i'd like some of that

the photograps are gorgeous! thank you for sharing :-)

Franny's in Brooklyn - Feb & July (buffalo mozz and clam pizzas. heaven) 2 out of 4 meals. fantastic lovage drinks in July Onera - April Gusto - at least 4-5 transporting meals (out of about 20, only 2 or 3 were ok/good, the rest - great or near-transporting) Public - Feb Tocqueville - favorite restaurant so many great meals, best were in the summer (that sweet corn panna cotta! and not packed to the gills) The Tasting Room - Oct. (best mushroom soup i ever had) Geisha sushi bar only - March wd50 - June, corned duck, caramel panna cotta, hyssop drink, special aged sake at the bar same menu twice, both times equally fantastic Galileo, DC - July - il Laboratorio orgy (walking around the block in 5-inch stilettos to make room for cheese) Cabana Las Lilas in Buenos Aires - Sept. best steak (still dream about it) The Bell at Skenfrith, Wales - Feb. (amazing venison and cheese) Kentchurch Court - Regency era dinner at a private manor house on the border of England and Wales cooked by former chef to prince of wales. guest in full costume. '92 white burgundy, vintage sherries and ports can i have that for my b-day too? la croix in philly - just short of a top meal. so was rasoi in london disappointing: Jaleo in July was just mediocre - good shrimp, so-so everything else (when it made it out of the kitchen). Herbfarm was slightly freaky with all the victoriana and the food not really worth the trip. most disappointing meal of the year - airport ramada inn buffet instead of gordon ramsey (hospital rd) when our flight was canceled. don't even travel as much as i'd like to - have not had any international trips take place as scheduled in the past 2 years... funny how flights are always canceled on the way to, never from

Wait a second, I think you guys may be getting carried away with it - the new GM is mentioned as "new" in Oct., Ebberlyn's post is dated June. In the Star-Ledger review from March - 3 1/2 stars - the manager was a woman (the reviews are on their website). Also, middle of Dec. is probably the busiest time at any restaurant - I can't imagine any manager having the time to post on egullet, especially given the staff problems they have, as described in the posts. But it does sound like they've taken some action - possibly fired the offending staff members. Firing people at this time of the year is pretty much suicide, I'd think (hell, I couldn't fire a clueless OFFICE assistant right now), so it seems to me they have taken it seriously. I wouldn't discount it just yet. but maybe wait till after the holidays to check it out

this piece has a by-line, unlike other editorial on the page (which would have been collectively authored), so i don't see it as expressing the paper's official position. although it does make me laugh to think of the Times' official position as: "He says foie gras is cruel, but he could have also called it boring - a cliché slurped by too many diners who, we suspect, would swoon just as easily over the velvety succulence of Spam or schmaltz on rye, if they were prohibitively priced and listed on the menu in French."

my thoughts exactly. the writer chose not to talk about the charity dinner and what was on the menu - hard to believe he did not know about it as CT's being "outed" was in direct relation to that dinner my personal favorite: "He says foie gras is cruel, but he could have also called it boring" -- because "cruel" and "boring" are interchangeable? the whole comment (swooning over spam/schmaltz, etc.) patronizing and condescending but what do you expect of a writer who uses "we" rather than have the guts to say "I"? (isn't this an op-ed piece?) and who is it exactly - "we, the Times"? "we, more sophisticated diners, who consider fg 'cliche'? "me, myself and I"? pointless piece that misses the most important element

i agree on Daniel, ADNY and Per Se (expectations ARE high), as well as Eleven Madison , Gramercy, L'Impero and Veritas (even with expectations in check) - serfvice. by the way, sevice is always good at all those but food not exactly transporting and i want to be transported when i spend upwards of $200+ a person and not solely by wine. on the more casual end, Union Sq. Cafe, Lupa, Esca - all past their prime - so good when they first opened and on autopilot now. happens to most restaurants zeitoun - i loved ari nieminen's food at firebird (he did cook meatless meals us though) but couldn't see how it would fit into cafe des artistes so never went. i think he is a very talented chef but am probably going to sit water's edge out, too. hope he finds the right place in the city soon, i would love to see him do more personal, as opposed to "an institution" type of cooking. Spice Market - had an amazing meal cooked by Gray Kunz when they first opened and decent one after the review - it sort of felt like "now that we've bagged the review, we can start making $$" i definitely felt the drop in quality davidburke is fun and exciting food but it has started feeling like bordering on autopilot too. nicelhy surprised by a sushi bar meal at Geisha recently, excellent sushi chef. while wylie is very creative and still very exciting as a chedf, individual dishes can be hit or miss. somewhat surprisingly, the food at Public has been really excellent lately (for me the last 2-3 months), with shiso-wrapped oysters, rare kangaroo on a falafel cake and ceviche of abalone mushrooms. just a lot of fun, excitement, and great flavors, too.

on recent visit pizza was actually better (not that it wasn't good the first time - this was better. apparently, Luigi, Salvatore's brother, is the better pizzamaker), but there was one very active little mouse running out from under the pizza oven. at least i hope it was just one, not the whole family taking turns, lol.

definitely woodburning. Gothamist has not gotten around much, i guess, Salvatore, the pizzaiolo, has been making the gorgonzola and pear pizza at L'Asso, which opened last May and some other toppings were first created at Pie (by the Pound) on Fourth Ave. which opened in early 2003 and where he was the opening talent as well. the space No 28 is at was a restaurnat called Biamonte, also owned by the No 26 guys - behind that oven there is a whole kitchen where they may put another oven. i do like his pizza but find it extremely uneven in terms of quality/flavor. best when he makes it himself. observed an interesting practice of putting cheese first and than pooling sauce over it

i think so too. damn the rules of TV & IC (personally i don't think flay deserves to be IC but that's tv for ya). most of flay's food looked heavy and unfocused, esp. when they judges dug in. bayless' food made me salivate and very, very hungry (luckily, husband came home with a couple of tarts from Balthazar. highly recommend the hazelnut and caramel one. but i digress) what i found rahter interesting and suspect was that they cut steingarten's comments on 2 of flay's dishes. there was one positive and one negative and 2 dishes w/o a word from steingarten who's one of the most opinionated ppl on the subject of food??? instead they had the other two judges go on and on about the presentation as they didn't have much to say about flavors, it seemed. i was disappointed by the Zagat guy, he didn't really have that much to say about the food and kept talking about the presentation. maybe it was the editing (those were the most interesting sound bites then? hmmm) or maybe he was just nervous and shy. at any rate, i expected more. since i can't taste the food, i'd like to hear about the taste - i can see the presentation on the screen, thank you very much on the subject of editing - does anyone think that there were more negative comments aired about flay's food to make viewers think Bayless was going to win and then throw the surprise final verdict or did they just use what they had? i mean, based on the judges' comments flay should have lost - the cowboy breakfast was too salty and the buffalo overdone (ahem, that would be the main ingredient and challenge), the steak was tough, etc. is the IC supposed to have to DEFEND his food in front of the judges - "buffalo has so little fat it's hard," blah blah...??? you are the chef, right? the Iron Chef, master and all ah, forget it i think flay shoud only be allowed on Wickedly Perfect as far as tv shows go

Chief Asshat? I saw a few minutes of it. Mostly while boredly channel surfing. There did seem to be quite a bit of foodiness to the show, but Flay's role seemed to mostly be to come in at the end and under heavy editing bumble around a bit tasting stuff. Also, there was this hairdresser/style guy named David Evangelista who went on a lot about things being "sublime" and other over the top cliches. On the first show, there was some business about them picking apples and having to use every single apple regardless of type or quality for either some food or some craft project. I got a bit bored and missed a lot of it, but some of the food looked decent. Hey, look... it's better than "Joey", okay? Putting a nail through my forehead is probably better than that show. CBS has a website for it, where no doubt you can catch up on what exactly occured. ← well, jhlurie, you couldn't be more right... bobby flay's role seems to be wearing more makeup than anyone else presently on air candace b seems a total dimwit and proverbial blond - has yet to say anything of any value or wear an outfit that makes sense bold HAIRSTYLIST to spout opinions on style??? why??? steve cojocaru wasn't available?? http://us.imdb.com/Special/Emmy/2003/Photo...rivals1-41.html i'm sorry, are these people to dictate what style is? joan lunden should get whacked with a bushel of apples - she's a plastic ("wooden" would be a compliment here) TV person, just like the "style critics" the show employs bobbby flay has the most credibility and least pretense so far but with all the makeup, christ, how much credibility can he hold on to??? i think i'd rather see mario in this role, at least it would be entertaining highly miscalculated show - contestant- and critic-wise BUT, i have to say, the challenges are very challenging, esp. b/c of the time frame how bad can Joey be????

Well, I guess this isn't as much of an ethical issue since it's going to the trash anyway. But am I the only one thinking that it's sort of ew gross? Was is really good wine or something? ← Beard House usually doesn't serve "really good wine," at least not when i was there. it's usually good, rarely "really good." i think she just wanted more wine - nothing (and no one) would stop her... (the wine pours are not huge, mostly tasting size BUT there are many different wines). perhaps she just really liked the wine - one woman's plonk is another's Chateau Lafite?? it is kind of gross though, and possibly desperate